Rating: 
Summary: Great book! Only lacking in a few areas.
Review: Let me just say that I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book. It's touted as the "Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic" and I wasn't quite sure it would hold up to that title.Well, the title is not exactly the most appropriate, but this is still an amazing book! If you're looking for tons of illustrations, in depth descriptions, detailed myths and legends and detailed magic, well, this isn't the book for you, I'm afraid. This book should probably more accurately be called "Real World Historical Tidbits That You Can Cannibalize For Your Own Fantasy Setting". That's what it is, really. And it's a great book for that! Rather than explicit detail on just any one area, this book gives you several different areas which you can start from and continue on from there. Several world cultures from our history are detailed, as well as medieval european occupations and all about witches and wicca. The chapter on witches is actually extremely compelling. I found the portions I was most interested in -- arms, armor, clothing and castles -- to be a bit more on the fluff side, but still informative. This book could have been improved if it had a few more illustrations (sometimes a brief description just doesn't do it) and a bit more depth in a few areas. But it's definitely worth buying, no matter what. You will still love this book -- I recommend to lots of people that they pick it up (and they do!).
Rating:
Summary: Great book! Only lacking in a few areas.
Review: Let me just say that I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book. It's touted as the "Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic" and I wasn't quite sure it would hold up to that title. Well, the title is not exactly the most appropriate, but this is still an amazing book! If you're looking for tons of illustrations, in depth descriptions, detailed myths and legends and detailed magic, well, this isn't the book for you, I'm afraid. This book should probably more accurately be called "Real World Historical Tidbits That You Can Cannibalize For Your Own Fantasy Setting". That's what it is, really. And it's a great book for that! Rather than explicit detail on just any one area, this book gives you several different areas which you can start from and continue on from there. Several world cultures from our history are detailed, as well as medieval european occupations and all about witches and wicca. The chapter on witches is actually extremely compelling. I found the portions I was most interested in -- arms, armor, clothing and castles -- to be a bit more on the fluff side, but still informative. This book could have been improved if it had a few more illustrations (sometimes a brief description just doesn't do it) and a bit more depth in a few areas. But it's definitely worth buying, no matter what. You will still love this book -- I recommend to lots of people that they pick it up (and they do!).
Rating:
Summary: Much better than other complete references
Review: My inital review of this was 4 stars, but upon further analysis I belive it deserves 5.
This covers a variety of topics, similar to other "complete" fantasy writing books (The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy). This is far more detailed than the others and is an excellent reference. The sections on clothing, arms, armor, and castles ave instructional pictures. There are long lists of common jobs for the rich and poor, as well as a surprisingly thorough (for the amount of space) run down on creatures of myth. The magic section is fascinating, and covers topics such as what animals symbolize, the Freemasons, and astrology. There's a nice chapter on world cultures that looks at their government, military, religion, economy, arts and science.
Without a doubt, this is the best book of its kind.
Rating: 
Summary: A book that even JRR Tolkien would refer to...
Review: Once upon a time, I decided to try my hand at creative writing, and began a long search for books that would help me. I go to a local Border's bookstore and come across this book. After casually flipping through it, I figure that it'd be worth buying. As with just about every book I've purchased, I underestimated the power of this book. It's a valuable resource for fantasy writers as it gives information about magic and the various races and creatures of myth and fantasy. If you're into historical fiction (Especially concerning the Middle Ages), no problem. This book outlines the structure and daily life of a castle as well as help formulating your own armies and battles. Another valuable component is the presentation of a diverse range of cultures from around the world, allowing fantasy writers to get inspiration from places other than Europe (a traditional muse for the genre). Writers everywhere, I cannot stress enough how much this book should be a part of your reading materials.
Rating:
Summary: This book will stimulate your imagination.
Review: Terry Brooks' introduction to Fantasy Reference is a writer's guide in disguise. He learned from his editor of fifteen years that "It is harder to write good fantasy than any other form of fiction." Why? "The temptation to free-fall through a story chock full of incredible images and wonderful beings can be irresistible -- but, when not resisted, almost invariably disastrous." The book is worth the price just for this introduction, but there is so much more. Chapter 1: Traditional Fantasy Cultures. These essays help writers get a sense of history for their fantasy tale to develop successfully. These include Feudalism, Christianity, Knighthood, Political Entities, and more. Each of the main topics is subdivided for ready reference. For example: Peripheral Cultures provides a brief history of the Mongols, Moors, Magyars, Normans, Picts, Saracens, Saxons, and Vikings. Chapter 2: World Cultures are a critical backdrop in any story. "Nevertheless, many fantasy novels today seem to be set in an unending series of northern European countrysides..." (Michael J. Varbola) This chapter discusses science, art, military, economy, etc., to help writers make the places real and visual. There are great ideas here. Chapter 3: Magic. The heart of a good fantasy is the magic that binds the world together or can rip it apart. Reading the history of magic helps writers understand spells, and know how the culture developed within Magic's realm. Chapter 4: Witchcraft and Pagan Paths describes ways to recognize a witch, what witchcraft is, traditions and religions, and herbs. An example is "weik" is an Indo-European root word having to do with religion and magic. Chapter 5: Commerce, Trade, and Law in Contemporary Fantasy begins "It is a misconception that the Middle Ages was broken into three factions: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed." (Sherrilyn Kenyon) This chapter discusses the infrastructure that made civilization work. It is filled with elements that any writer needs. Chapter 6: Fantasy Races shows the physical similarity or differences between (e.g.,) elves and dwarves; these are the descriptions defined by myths and legends, and are, therefore, plausible. You will find many other topics within this chapter that can help your definitions. Years ago I read about a hero who was killed, and at the moment of his death, he called out to one of the mythical gods to save him. Instead of dying, he fell into a different land in the body of an elf. I laughed so much when this protagonist called himself a Vulcan. Chapter 7: Creatures of Myth and Legend has an alphabetical listing of these creatures, the country of origin, the appearances, and magic. For example, a banshee lives in Irish legend, and wails when death is approaching. Lorelei is a water spirit of German legends. Chapter 8: Dress and Costume is about the materials, designs, clothing, and more. Many drawings accompany the descriptions to provide a rich and fertile field in which imagination can play. Chapter 9: Arms, Armor, and Armies provides writers an overview of ancient and medieval battle gear. In the dictionary, you will find, for example, that a javelin is a light spear; the pilum has a soft metal neck so that bends on impact and can easily be removed from a shield. The Gallic term is gaesum; the Roman is pilum. There are diagrams of a suit of armor (front and back), with the terms labeled so you know where a poleyn, cuisse, or greave is worn. Chapter 10: Anatomy of a Castle is required reading for fantasy writers to create the look, feel, smell, vision, and every other aspect, of a castle. There are diagrams of different castles such as a typical medieval one, the Great Wall of China, or Himeji Castle. This information can help you build a castle. If you are using castles, be sure to draw them out so that you know where the catwalk, curtain walk, bastion, and other places are. That will help keep your characters moving in the right direction. There is a flaw in the book is the binding, which breaks easily if you open it too far. To me, this is minus 1/4 of a star because I want my books to last, no matter how many times I read them. However, books can be replaced, the knowledge they bring cannot. Five stars. Victoria Tarrani
Rating: 
Summary: Incomplete and dispensable
Review: The greatest lack of this book is the lack of recommended reading. I don't mean fantasy recommendations I mean reference works where more details can be found on the subjects presented. Parts of this book are an overview of famous fantasy worlds, parts of it are simple dictionary like lists of occupations, clothes, weapons, animals and so on.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre
Review: The two best things about this book are the title and the cover artwork. This book is exceptional only in its mediocrity. Anyone who has read much fantasy and/or played fantasy role-playing games will find this book somewhat unhelpful. The contents deal mostly with medieval customs and clothing, as well as modern witchcraft. If, however, you know next to nothing about fantasy writing and would like to try writing it, this would be a reasonable book among others to buy...though I can't imagine why someone in such a situation would attempt to write fantasy in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: When "Complete" isn't...
Review: There are plenty of desperate people out there, but perhaps none are more desperate than writers seeking their first big hit. 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.
Rating:
Summary: When "Complete" isn't...
Review: There are plenty of desperate people out there, but perhaps none are more desperate than writers seeking their first big hit. 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Writer's Resource
Review: This book gives an overview of many aspects common to fantasy novels - medieval society and the feudal system, different cultural beliefs about magic, different civilizations, and so on. All of the information presented is based on Earth history and cultures, which the majority of fantasy novels being produced are derivative of, at least to some degree. As such, it's an excellent resource which I recommend.
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