Rating: 
Summary: all I can say is thank heavens I bought this used!!!!
Review: There are so many disappointments here I don't know where to start but I'll give it a try just in case you are considering purchasing this paperweight. All I can say is Thank God I bought it used! First, no pictures AT ALL. Second, there is a very annoying problem with the text. When you read the sentence above with the words 'AT ALL' in capital letters you probably emphasised those two words in your head. This is a normal thing to do especially now with e-mail etiquette using words written in capital letters as a form of 'written yelling'. Well, the authors, editors, whomever, chose to capitalize [as opposed to italicize], all the words in each listing that appear elsewhere in the book as a heading. This makes for very dis-jointed and annoying reading. Of course this is a personal opinion of mine, it may not bother you. So here is another one, jargon, or I should say more correctly, made-up terms by the authors supposedly referring to fantasy books. This book is filled with these imaginary terms that no one else has heard of but them. It reads like someone's lame thesis. As if they wrote this overblown dissertion all about fantasy books and tried to make themselves sound so very literary and intellectual. Kind of pathetic folks!
Here is an example, [the capitalization here is theirs], they try to place fantasy books into categories that they have names for such as 'a PLANETARY ROMANCE'. For all you lovers of Anne McCaffrey out there this should offend to no end; and I quote under the entry for dragons [pg 295] the following "In the PERN PLANETARY ROMANCES by Anne MCCAFFREY they are again, [dragons], semi-sapient, capable of an emotional bonding to their selected riders that is quasi-sexual." unquote.
Webster's dictionary defines sapient as possessing or expressing great sagacity. Yeah..... okay, you could have just said semi-intelligent but you would still be wrong as they were not semi or quasi anything. They were fully sentient and fully intelligent but I guess semi-sapient sounds smarter to some people! [even if it is incorrect]. And 'a PLANETARY ROMANCE'?, what the hell is that supposed to be?
Not to mention I would not call these books romances. It makes them sound cheesy which they are certainly not. And while on the subject there was nothing sexual, quasi or otherwise, between the dragons and their riders!!! and if you think there was you are just sick. The dragons share a telapathic bond with their riders and therefore share their lives and their feelings with each other. That is all. If you read sexual into that well then you just have way too much 'sexual' on the brain.
So perspective purchasers of this unworthy tome that is just ONE entry concerning one of the most well known, loved, and highly recommended fantasy series ever written. And oh my do they butcher it. You can take it from there.
The only possible use this book has besides propping open the back door is that it lists authors works in order. So if you are starting to read a series and are unsure of the sequence of the books, they do list that information for you. For that much they can have the one star. If possible I would have not even given this book even that much. Sorry folks but that's just my opinion as someone who has been reading fantasy for over 25 years.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent work for scholars and the curious.
Review: This book is indispensable. It reviews major films and books and also explains the history behind fantastic ideas (vampires, etc.). Not only that but it analyses plot motifs and language. The only problem is is that reviews films and books with only slight fantasy content, to detriment of more fantasy heavy cinema. But everyone should have this book. It will make you examine fantasy from many angles and perspectives.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Read
Review: This is the most exhaustive Fantasy reference available. All of the contributors are concise, probing and informative. Even if you don't know the author or work being cited, it is as revealing as its arguments are persuasive, which can lead you to the library to learn more. For anyone who gets lost in the sea of jargon used throughout, the book is a glossary in itself, so don't fret! It includes the definitions of common Fantasy terms such as "Swords and Sorcery", "Fairy", and esoteric terms, like "thinning". Basically, if it's not in here, it's not worth reading -- or at least according to the authors. They said that they've only discluded authors who they consider relatively unimportant. A long entry indicates the importance of the author, so of course Tolkien's entry takes up a few pages. Get books by those authors if you want to read the groundbreaking genre-defining stuff. John Grant's movies reviews are very inciteful and comprehensive. Without giving ratings, he often hints at what made one either good or bad, which can help you decide whether to see it or not. If you want to get more interested in Fantasy, but can't pick the good books and movies from the bad, this should enlighten you. I find it a great means of escape. Lawrence
Rating:
Summary: A cornucopia for fantasy lovers
Review: This wonderful book will give great enjoyment to anyone who loves fantasy. It is amazingly comprehensive, well-written, carefully edited and proofread, and as fair and objective as it's possible for such a book to be. In addition to the extensive coverage of authors (including those not known primarily for fantasy), it also includes a great deal of information on movies and TV. As an opera lover, I was delighted to find 24 pages on that topic. A few of the most curiosity-piquing entries are Cauldron of Story, Timeslips, Thinning, Recursive Fantasy, Rationalized Fantasy, Crosshatching, Into the Woods, Instauration Fantasy, Godgame, and Taproot Texts. Read this book to find out about all these and much, much more.
Rating: 
Summary: An essential reference work
Review: To begin, John Clute and company's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is an essential book for anyone who is serious about fantasy. Having said that, much of this review is going to focus on negatives rather than positives. As can be expected with any book this size, mistakes have crept in. Within the first few days, I found several errors, mostly minor. A book attributed to Lynn Abbey which was written by Robert Asprin, a mistaken title for a book by Charles de Lint, that sort of thing. These mistakes, however are minor. Perhaps a bigger problem with the Encyclopedia is the strange inclusion and omission of authors. Neither Sterling Lanier or Steven Frankos are included in the book, however Steve Szylagi, who has written a single fantasy novel has received an entry. According to Clute, the book does not claim to be as complete as its predecessor, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and the editors were forced to make some cuts. It would have been nice if he could have given some hint as to the selection criteria in the front matter. One friend suggested that if an author was included in the first book they would be left out of the second book, but too many authors appear in both books for this rule of thumb to be applied (Charles de Lint, Mervyn Peake, Larry Niven, etc.) A larger percentage of The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is given over to thematic entries than The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Fantasy, however, has more common themes and prototypes than science fiction does, therefore making these types of entries a larger portion of any survey of the field. Still, the reader has to wonder about entries such as "Pornographic Fantasy Movies" which is so vague ("few researchers are willing to sit through the stuff...") as to be titillating rather than informative. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy also repeats one of the faults of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. The author entries could contain more biographical data to supplement the bibliographical data already included. I'm not looking for gossip, merely some idea of what helped formulate the authors' writing. Despite these flaws, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is a major and important reference work. Essential to any library. Clute is still in negotiations to issue the Encyclopedia on CD-Rom. He says that if a deal goes through, he'll be able to replace author entries which were cut from the print version. The electronic format would be a welcome addition to the printed book.
Rating:
Summary: An Academic Vocabulary for Fantasy -- Better Than It Sounds!
Review: WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS ANECDOTAL I had coveted this book for quite some time before I ordered my copy. Aside from being a longtime and irredeemable fantasy geek, I am also an English teacher at a small independent school, and our reference library has a copy. This fact has enabled me to waste many happy free periods rifling through the _Encyclopedia_ instead of, say, grading papers or thinking deep, serious thoughts about the state of pedagogy in America. But before you write me off as a disgrace to my profession, hear me out: _The Encyclopedia of Fantasy_ is a remarkable book, and any time I have spent with it in lieu of more mundane tasks is time very well spent indeed. I can even justify this frivolous perusal academically, because what really makes the _Encyclopedia_ a great resource isn't so much its exhaustive listing of authors or titles (much of which information is available elsewhere anyway), but the fact that Clute et al. have managed to accomplish nothing less than a rigorous, consistent, and phenomenally well cross-referenced taxonomy and analytical vocabulary for fantasy. I know, I know, that sounds awfully dry, but it isn't. I'm a word junkie, so I love learning apt new terms for things, especially if those nameless concepts have gone begging for far too long. When Clute coins the term "thinning" to describe any fantasy world that, over time, loses its magic [Middle-earth, anyone?], you cannot help (assuming you're an aficionado of the genre) but say to yourself, "Aha! Now I know what to call it!" Furthermore, the fact that this vocabulary is employed consistently throughout the _Encyclopedia_ allows for thematic and formal juxtapositions of specific works, combinations and comparisons that might not occur even to the serious fantasy buff. Who needs hypertext when you've got such meticulous cross-indexing? I recently received an Amazon.com gift certificate from thoughtful in-laws, and decided that even though I have access to a copy at school, I had to have an _Encyclopedia of Fantasy_ at home, both for reference while reading/writing and for couch-sprawl browsing. I splurged and bought the $75.00 hardback. I had a hunch it would get a lot of use, and I wanted it to last. Money very well spent, as far as I'm concerned, and if you're a fantasy partisan, a literary theory wonk, or just someone who gets off on thousands of pages of really, really small type, you'll probably agree.
Rating:
Summary: A Mess
Review: Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards---and deserving---as every other reviewer has stated, this work is indispensable for anyone interested in fantasy fiction, whether scholar or casual reader. Comprehensive would be an understatement, as the authors have collected almost every reference, author or subject pertaining to the genre in one weighty volume, ranging from the Dolorous Stroke of Arthurian Romance to the influence of opera or film upon the fantastic imagination. Writers both influential and otherwise are included, and cogent examinations made into the conventions, tropes and history of this aspect of speculative fiction. True, as often happens with all efforts to compile an encyclopedic reference, this work reflects a certain cultural and Euro American bias, with certain, perhaps crossover, authors from the third world absent, as well as the burden imposed by the rapid passage of time, that demands constant revision, newer (at least for European and American audiences) and significant authors, such as the Australian writer, Sara Douglass, missing mention. Hopefully a new and updated edition will soon be forthcoming. But these quibbles are petty and unavoidable compared to the monumental accomplishment this volume represents, and I find myself continually referring to its pages for additional background upon authors and thematic elements that catch my interest, often individual entries leading to further study and references, as well as authors whose work I was not previously acquainted with. As varied and vast as the world of fantasy has become in recent years, this work will surely open up new vistas for any reader, as well as firmly root the history, influence and contributions of the genre in the larger perspective and traditions of our literature. The first of its kind, and a worthy addition to the companion volume by the same authors for science fiction, this work is invaluable, one of the most significant works ever published in fantasy, and deserving of a place of prominence on the shelves of anyone interested in fantasy or the writing of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Essential For Anyone Interested In Fantasy Fiction
Review: Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards---and deserving---as every other reviewer has stated, this work is indispensable for anyone interested in fantasy fiction, whether scholar or casual reader. Comprehensive would be an understatement, as the authors have collected almost every reference, author or subject pertaining to the genre in one weighty volume, ranging from the Dolorous Stroke of Arthurian Romance to the influence of opera or film upon the fantastic imagination. Writers both influential and otherwise are included, and cogent examinations made into the conventions, tropes and history of this aspect of speculative fiction. True, as often happens with all efforts to compile an encyclopedic reference, this work reflects a certain cultural and Euro American bias, with certain, perhaps crossover, authors from the third world absent, as well as the burden imposed by the rapid passage of time, that demands constant revision, newer (at least for European and American audiences) and significant authors, such as the Australian writer, Sara Douglass, missing mention. Hopefully a new and updated edition will soon be forthcoming. But these quibbles are petty and unavoidable compared to the monumental accomplishment this volume represents, and I find myself continually referring to its pages for additional background upon authors and thematic elements that catch my interest, often individual entries leading to further study and references, as well as authors whose work I was not previously acquainted with. As varied and vast as the world of fantasy has become in recent years, this work will surely open up new vistas for any reader, as well as firmly root the history, influence and contributions of the genre in the larger perspective and traditions of our literature. The first of its kind, and a worthy addition to the companion volume by the same authors for science fiction, this work is invaluable, one of the most significant works ever published in fantasy, and deserving of a place of prominence on the shelves of anyone interested in fantasy or the writing of fiction.
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