Magic Words, Magic Worlds

Form and Style in Epic Fantasy

AvMatthew Oliver,Donald E. Palumbo

Häftad, Engelska, 2022

Del i serien Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Beskrivning

While all fiction uses words to construct models of the world for readers, nowhere is this more obvious than in fantasy fiction. Epic fantasy novels create elaborate secondary worlds entirely out of language, yet the writing style used to construct those worlds has rarely been studied in depth. This book builds the foundations for a study of style in epic fantasy. Close readings of selected novels by such writers as Steven Erikson, Ursula Le Guin, N. K. Jemisin and Brandon Sanderson offer insights into the significant implications of fantasy's use of syntax, perspective, paratexts, frame narratives and more. Re-examining critical assumptions about the reading experience of epic fantasy, this work explores the genre's reputation for flowery, archaic language and its ability to create a sense of wonder. Ultimately, it argues that epic fantasy shapes the way people think, examining how literary representation and style influence perception.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2022-06-24
Mått:152 x 229 x 14 mm
Vikt:367 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Antal sidor:284
Förlag:McFarland & Co Inc
ISBN:9781476687131

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Mer om författaren

Matthew Oliver is a professor of English at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Recensioner i media

“[A] strong, well-written, and thoroughly researched book, and it addresses a topic of scholarly concern (i.e., epic fantasy) that has been woefully neglected in the secondary literature.”—Dennis Wilson Wise, University of Arizona

Innehållsförteckning

Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: Building Worlds with Words in Epic FantasySection I: Syntactic ComplexityChapter 1.“The Riotous Conflagration of Beauteous Language”: Flowery Style, Defamiliarization, and Empathic ImaginationChapter 2.“A Necessary Subtraction”: Simplicity, the Violent Emotion of Editing, and the Editing of ViolenceSection II: Narrative PerspectiveChapter 3.Third-Person Heroism: Authority, Omnipotent Narration, and the Distribution of VisibilityChapter 4.First-Person Epic Novels: Metafantasy and Fluid PerspectiveSection III: WonderChapter 5.Spoiler Alert: Twists, the Sense of Wonder, and Narrative TranscendenceChapter 6.The Mundane Fantastic: Stylistic Magic and Genre CollisionsSection IV: Narrative FramesChapter 7.Narrative Frames: Paratexts, Blurred Boundaries, and the Deconstruction of Essentialist NarrativeChapter 8.Frame Narratives: Historical Truth, Literal Metaphors, and Epic IronyChapter NotesWorks CitedIndex