The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference [Paperback]

"The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic" isn't meant to be academic text simply because it's title has the word "complete" in it. I'm amazed that any fantasy writer would take things so literally. Instead, this book is meant as a concise writer's reference, an overview or compendium of various bits of knowledge for those who are just looking for a fast fact or a short reference on something interesting that they can further research themselves. It's more a book for ideas and a brief explaination of topics than anything else, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. In fact, much like "Everyday Life in the Middle Ages: The British Isles, 500 to 1500" -- another book I've reviewed that seems to get confused with indepth works of academia -- not having to search through mounds of college level text just to find a small bit of knowledge makes it that much more valuable to some of us.

I'm a writer of a dark fantasy series based in a feudal society and I've found this book not only invaluably helpful but also extremely easy to handle. Let's face it, there are just times we writers want a quick fact about etiquette, dress, manner, magic, etc and not an entire lecture. That's when I pick up this book, page to the correct section, and 9/10 times will instantly find what I'm looking for. It sure beats scanning mountains of academic text to find a simple fact or two.

The introduction by Terry Brooks explains most of this. The book is easy to handle and extremely easy to use with chapters written by various fantasy authors covering everything from fantastic creatures, dress, weapons, armor and armies, magic, witchcraft, castles, world cultures, various traditional fantasy cultures, and so much more! There's something for everyone and that's a rare find in fantasy reference books for writers today. I didn't expect, nor did I want, each chapter to go into excruciating detail on every topic presented. One or two pages of explaination are enough for me. After all, I'm a big girl. If I find something of interest I'm perfectly capable of researching it further on my own. I don't expect the authors to do my work for me, they've already helped me too much the way it is. Besides, if you're like me, then it'd take the fun out of writing because one of the reasons I write fantasy is to discover new facets about my world as I go. I LIKE to research, because that's when I learn.

"Complete Fantasy Reference" is really the perfect starter (primer) for those just beginning or considering the possiblities of a series set in a magical Medieval society; or, like me, for those of us who are already in the midst of their series and just looking for a touch of realism or a new idea to explore. I always have it close by when I'm writing. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it now. Highly recommend.

With this in mind, a book like "The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference" comes along and hits average fan fiction writers right where they live. And that's a shame because plenty of writers out there will think a book like this will be helpful. Truth is, it is anything but.

The word "Complete" in the title is about as hopeful as hopeful can be. Consider this: the book ends with a single paragraph describing a trebuchet, a very important piece of medieval weaponry. One lowly paragraph. How would anyone writing fantasy in that time period get anything from one paragraph? Just 276 pages in a trade paperback size does not a complete reference make on even one of the many topics addressed here. I wrote a paper in college on medieval weaponry that put this book's section on that topic to shame. This is true for almost any topic. Werewolves? Half a page. The Incas? Two and a half pages. The Holy Roman Empire? Three quarters of a page. By trying to be all things, this book gives no writer any reference worth using.

This book is cobbled together from several sources, so its flow is stilted. Illustrations are sparse and not from a single illustrator, so there is no uniformity. The chapters are written by various authors and the topics covered include:
*Traditional Fantasy Cultures
*World Cultures
*Magic
*Witchcraft & Pagan Paths

*Commerce, Trade, & Law in Contemporary Fantasy
*Fantasy Races
*Creatures of Myth & Legend
*Dress & Costume
*Arms, Armor, & Armies
*Anatomy of a Castle
Still, any writer worth his salt has to do far more research to make his world believable than what can be derived from this work. For that reason, what purpose does this book serve? None that I can see.

Writers Digest books publishes dozens of helpful books. This is simply not one of them.