Customer Reviews
The definitive reference guide of fantasy - By: Steve Douglas, 06 Dec 2000 
This is a wonderful piece of work. If you wish to read it start to finish, or dip into it at random or to reference a particular subject it will not disappoint you. Want to know where your favourite writer was born,what influenced their writing, did they write other books under other names? Every time I pick this book up I find something completely new & am unable to put it down. One section cross references to another then another. Thought you'd read alll the books worth reading in fantasy, then pick this up & produce a five page list for your next book buying excursion. John Clute & John Grant the authors have produced a fine work. They ask for contributions if faults or omissions have been made, however, I challlenge you to find any!
Essential reading for any serious fantasy fan - By: , 20 Nov 1999 
This is an excellent, wide-ranging survey of the fantasy field. It covers everything you could think of: authors, films, television, comics, art, & major themes of the genre. As well as being highly informative, this is an encyclopedia that's genuinely entertaining to read. The editors have strong opinions about what makes good fantasy (ie not recycled pseudomedieval garbage), & that comes through strongly in some of the 'theme' entries. John Grant's movie reviews are also worth looking out for; they can be very funny at times!
Of course, it's not perfect. Any encyclopedia is out of date even before it's published (this only goes up to 1996), & something you look for is bound to be missing. Some entries attempting to define types of fantasy, or elements of its structure, can also be confusing. Many of these are written by John Clute, & he tends to use quite obscure words which will have you reaching for your dictionary in puzzlement. The entries on the structure of fantasy often refer to each other, making it hard to get a handle on the subject, espesciallly if you aren't familiar with the examples referred to.
Having said that, this is still the best single-volume reference work on fantasy, & I'm sure it will continue to be so for years to come. Worth reading, but a bit pricey..., so you may be better off with the paperback or looking for it in the library.
