New authors and collections. Somewhere between epic historical fantasy, sword and sorcery and Tolkien-esque fantasy exists a thick vein of storytelling that would make Robert E Howard and H.G. Wells proud. Following the great success of our Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, Ghosts, Horror, Science Fiction, Murder Mayhem and Crime & Mystery we present a compilation of savage swordplay, and high magic, of daring deeds and gaudy battles, in a blazing mix of classic and brand new writing, with authors from the US, Canada, and the UK. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Susan Murrie Macdonald, Beth Dawkins, Kate O'Connor, Voss Foster, Joanna Michal Hoyt, Lauren C. Teffeau, A. Creg Peters, Alexandra Renwick, Amy Power Jansen, Tony Pi, Therese Arkenberg , David Busboom, Erin Gitchell, M. Elizabeth Ticknor, Zach Chapman, and Michael Haynes. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Homer, John Buchan, A. Merritt, William Morris, and Clark Ashton Smith.

When her island home is invaded by enemy soldiers, her family captured, and the town enslaved, Taylina must find a way to fight back and free her people. But their enemies have powerful warships, sorcerers, and dragons. Her simple people are no match. Her only hope is to venture onto the forbidden half of the island and seek the one individual powerful enough to battle their enemies, a dragon known for eating humans rather than helping them. Find out what happens to Taylina and meet the dragon who thinks he’s a god in Dragon Rider, a prequel to Lindsay’s USA Today bestselling Dragon Blood series. In addition to Dragon Rider, Beginnings features four previously published fantasy adventure novels, all with new introductions from the author: Encrypted The Emperor’s Edge Balanced on the Blade’s Edge Warrior Mage

Once upon a time all literature was fantasy, set in a mythical past when magic existed, animals talked, and the gods took an active hand in earthly affairs. As the mythical past was displaced in Western estimation by the historical past and novelists became increasingly preoccupied with the present, fantasy was temporarily marginalized until the late 20th century, when it enjoyed a spectacular resurgence in every stratum of the literary marketplace. Stableford provides an invaluable guide to this sequence of events and to the current state of the field. The chronology tracks the evolution of fantasy from the origins of literature to the 21st century. The introduction explains the nature of the impulses creating and shaping fantasy literature, the problems of its definition and the reasons for its changing historical fortunes. The dictionary includes cross-referenced entries on more than 700 authors, ranging across the entire historical spectrum, while more than 200 other entries describe the fantasy subgenres, key images in fantasy literature, technical terms used in fantasy criticism, and the intimately convoluted relationship between literary fantasies, scholarly fantasies, and lifestyle fantasies. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography that ranges from general textbooks and specialized accounts of the history and scholarship of fantasy literature, through bibliographies and accounts of the fantasy literature of different nations, to individual author studies and useful websites.

This book considers fantasy film and its relationship to myth, legend and fairytale, examining its important role in contemporary culture. It provides an historical overview of the genre and its evolution, contextualising each fantasy film within its socio-cultural period and with reference to relevant critical theory.

Using a broad definition of fantasy to include myth, folklore, legend and fairy tale, this survey of the genre will entice as well as inform any student interested in the mysterious, mystical or magical. Beloved authors like J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Morris and Robert E. Howard are examined closely.