Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy: Amazon.ca: David Pringle: Books

Product Description

Ingram

From Tolkien to Terry Pratchett, this lavishly illustrated reference to the fantasy field has been compiled by the award-winning editor of "Interzone". 158 color photos/illustrations. 31 b&w photos. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, informative book, Oct 20 2001

By	D. Blondel "dblondel" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ultimate Encylopedia Of Fantasy (Hardcover)

I've really enjoyed this book so far, it's very informative, and is beautifully designed. In 250 pages you can only cover so much of the fantasy universe, but I think they did a good job.

I did notice that there are a lot of opinions, but there are many more facts, and the opinions make for a slightly more interesting read than just facts, as long as you take them with a grain of salt. I didn't notice overly negative opinions though, I saw a mix of positive and negative. And face it, a lot of pulp and mass-produced fantasy entertainment isn't of the best quality, that's just reality; I don't think it's unreasonable to call those types of items 'derivative'.

In summary, definitely a fun book to browse through; even extends into gaming (learning the origins of D&D, etc was very cool). I never would've thought that I'd learn the origins of the name 'Wendy' from this book!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Overly critical, Jun 27 2001

By	Colt Hangen (Santa Cruz, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Encylopedia Of Fantasy (Hardcover)

Though the effort, layout and content are commendable I find one key problem with the book as a whole; it's just *FAR* too negative in it's mini-reviews of fantasy material (particularly film and t.v.). The amount of negative comments is so pervasive that I wondered, at times, if the authors even enjoyed fantasy, period. Virtually every fantasy classic is bashed for being anything from contrived to tawdry to banal. Yes, it's a work of opinion but (and I feel this is obvious) anyone who would pick up an Encyclopedia on any specific genre and to read so very much negative review was extremely off putting to me.

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2.0 out of 5 stars An Opinionated Encyclopedia?, Jun 15 2000

By	Max Ink (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Encylopedia Of Fantasy (Hardcover)

As much as I appreciated the general quality, layout and design of this publication, I was "put-off" by the very opinionated writing which I found throughout the book. When I read entries in ENCYCLOPEDIAS, I'm accustomed to INFORMATION, not OPINIONS. Oh well...

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, informative, and a visual pleasure
Though "ultimate" is an overstatement, there is much to enjoy here. This book is nowhere near as comprehensive as Clute and Grant's Encyclopedia of Fantasy, but it does... Read more

Published on April 20 2000 by Sheila L. Beaumont

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, informative, and a visual pleasure
Though "ultimate" is an overstatement, there is much to enjoy here. This book is nowhere near as comprehensive as Clute and Grant's Encyclopedia of Fantasy, but it does... Read more

Published on April 20 2000 by Sheila L. Beaumont

4.0 out of 5 stars I think it's a great book!
I came across this book at the library, and checked it out right away. From just skimming thru it I can see that there could be more on the subject, but I still think it's a great... Read more

Published on Jun 8 1999 by Hilde H. Helseth

1.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete
I had great expectations when I saw this book on the shelf. A brief skim through seemed promising. Unfortunately, any book that claims to be "The Ultimate Encyclopedia of... Read more

Published on Mar 26 1999