The American Fantasy Tradition [Paperback]

Brian M. Thomsen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2003

The ancient tales of long-dead civilizations to the wild success of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, fantasy has fired our imaginations for as long as there has been story. Whether sweeping sagas of fantastic adventures or cautionary tales told around the campfire, fantasy is deeply woven into the very fabric of humanity, wearing many faces and coming in many flavors.

But what fantasy is distinctly American?

The American Fantasy Tradition sets out to answer this very question. This comprehensive critical anthology of American fantasy literature applies the groundbreaking theorems of such esteemed American literary critics as Leslie Fiedler, Richard Chase, and Irving Howe to the genre of fantasy in an effort to delineate the true American tradition of fantasy from the more prominent Anglo-European canon, breaking it down into three distinctive strains:

The American Tale: Folk, Tall, and Weird

Stories that might be considered fables or legends, much like the epics of the Age of Heroes from the classical eras of Rome and Greece, or the tales of the fairy folk from the European tradition, or the fables of Aesop.

Fantastic Americana

Stories set directly within the American historic landscape, much as the Arthurian tradition is set within the confines of British history.

Lands of Enchantment in Everyday Life

Stories that involve what might be called the American spirit, focusing on worlds that exist in the shadows of our own, just beyond Rod Serling’s famous signpost for The Twilight Zone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The largest, most comprehensive, and best anthology of American fantasy literature I have ever seen."—Terence Malley, editor of the Writers for the Seventies series

"A fine overview of some of the most important American fantasy written since Washington Irving right on up to our day. I highly recommend this fine collection."—Ray Bradbury

About the Author

Brian M. Thomsen is a Tor Consulting editor who dropped out of pursuing a Ph.D. in English in favor of a career in publishing. He was one of the founding editors of Warner/Popular Library's Questar Science Fiction & Fantasy line, and the editor of C.J.Cherryh's Hugo Award winning novel Cyteen. He has also been a Hugo nominee, has served as a World Fantasy Award judge, and is the author of two novels and numerous short stories for such publishers as Tor, Daw, Ace, TSR, and others.

He was born in the borough of Brooklyn where he currently resides with his wife, Donna, and two talented cats named Sparky and Minx.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (September 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765304562
• ISBN-13: 978-0765304568
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, November 27, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)

For a book this length that is looking at urban or rural American fantasy, there seems to be a couple of notable omissions - there is no example of Robert E. Howard, yet there are two stories by Ellison, King, Wellman, etc., and generally the second one is rather minor and not adding anything.

Given the more academic title or look to this is presumably what the editor is trying for, the introductory material is pretty short and limited.

Also, if you don't like a lot of stories lapsing into what I suppose you could call 'realistic' hillbilly jargon, or old-fashioned rough speech, this is definitely not for you.

That being said, the stories are reasonable, having a 3.36 average.

American Fantasy Tradition : Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving
American Fantasy Tradition : Feathertop A Moralized Legend - Nathaniel Hawthorne
American Fantasy Tradition : Uncle Remus - Joel Chandler Harris
American Fantasy Tradition : The Saga of Pecos Bill - Edward O'Reilly
American Fantasy Tradition : Rosy's Journey - Louisa May Alcott
American Fantasy Tradition : The Yellow Sign - Robert W. Chambers
American Fantasy Tradition : The Shadow Over Innsmouth - H. P. Lovecraft
American Fantasy Tradition : O Ugly Bird! - Manly Wade Wellman
American Fantasy Tradition : The Fool - David Drake
American Fantasy Tradition : Narrow Valley - R. A. Lafferty
American Fantasy Tradition : Jackalope - Alan Dean Foster
American Fantasy Tradition : The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
American Fantasy Tradition : Children of the Corn - Stephen King
American Fantasy Tradition : Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight - Ursula K. LeGuin
American Fantasy Tradition : The Jolly Corner - Henry James
American Fantasy Tradition : A Ghost Story - Mark Twain
American Fantasy Tradition : The Other Lodgers - Ambrose Bierce
American Fantasy Tradition : Ma'ame Pelagie - Kate Chopin
American Fantasy Tradition : The Devil and Daniel Webster - Stephen Vincent Benet
American Fantasy Tradition : The Valley Was Still - Manly Wade Wellman
American Fantasy Tradition : The Howling Man - Charles Beaumont
American Fantasy Tradition : Twenty-Three - Avram Davidson
American Fantasy Tradition : We Are the Dead - Henry Kuttner
American Fantasy Tradition : Where the Summer Ends - Karl Edward Wagner
American Fantasy Tradition : Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa - W. P. Kinsella
American Fantasy Tradition : Hatrack River [short story] - Orson Scott Card
American Fantasy Tradition : The Hero of the Night - Bradley Denton
American Fantasy Tradition : The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - Harlan Ellison
American Fantasy Tradition : The Griffin and the Minor Canon - Frank Stockton
American Fantasy Tradition : The Enchanted Buffalo - L. Frank Baum
American Fantasy Tradition : The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Stetson
American Fantasy Tradition : The Moving Finger - Edith Wharton
American Fantasy Tradition : Slow Sculpture - Theodore Sturgeon
American Fantasy Tradition : The Coin Collector ["The Other Wife"] - Jack Finney
American Fantasy Tradition : Prey - Richard Matheson
American Fantasy Tradition : The Geezenstacks - Fredric Brown
American Fantasy Tradition : Paladin of the Lost Hour - Harlan Ellison
American Fantasy Tradition : The Black Ferris - Ray Bradbury
American Fantasy Tradition : Bed and Breakfast - Gene Wolfe
American Fantasy Tradition : Dead Run - Greg Bear
American Fantasy Tradition : Mrs. Todd's Shortcut - Stephen King
American Fantasy Tradition : Among the Handlers or The Mark 16 Hands on Assembly of Jaysus Risen Formerly Snake-o-rama - Michael Bishop


So easy going...feel...sleepy.

4 out of 5


Scarecrow lives

3 out of 5


Whatchoo talkin' about, Rabbit?

3.5 out of 5


I made this!

4 out of 5


An animal thing.

2.5 out of 5


Serpentskin books - don't get 'em.

3.5 out of 5


Small town's Esoteric Order of Dagon proves more than a little fishy.

4 out of 5


A good whack from a silver string axe leaves your big turkey ghost just a cold casserole.

3.5 out of 5


Got to be careful with that spell bulldust.

3 out of 5


Ditch illusion psychic projection projectile fun.

3.5 out of 5


Imaginary hunting reality.

4.5 out of 5


Stone loser.

3.5 out of 5


Corncifixion row monster.

3.5 out of 5


Don't eat the salmon.

2.5 out of 5


Ghost me.

2 out of 5


Giant fake phantom fegged, furniture desired.

3.5 out of 5


Dead room.

3.5 out of 5


Room for the young.

2 out of 5


"For if two New Hampshiremen aren't a match for the devil, we might as well give the country back to the Indians.""

4 out of 5


Deal just not worth it.

3.5 out of 5


Captive devil.

3.5 out of 5


Bad inheritance, bad age.

3 out of 5


Unknown Soldier sympathy.

3.5 out of 5


Vineland devil flaying.

3.5 out of 5


"If you build it, he will come."

4 out of 5


Bloody Mary land.

2 out of 5


Martyr cycle.

3.5 out of 5


City god call.

3.5 out of 5


Be good townspeople or I'll eat you.

3.5 out of 5


Bovine evil overlords? Blimey.

3 out of 5


The decor around here needs serious work.

3.5 out of 5


Which wife?

2.5 out of 5


Charged cancer cure.

4 out of 5


Alternate wife pleasing.

4 out of 5


Doll hunted mummy dearest.

3.5 out of 5


Strange dolls.

4 out of 5


Watch passing.

3.5 out of 5


Skeleton ride.

3.5 out of 5


Demon guests.

3.5 out of 5


Trucking hell, man.

3.5 out of 5


Holey bits.

2.5 out of 5


Bad Assembly.

3 out of 5

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Truly Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!, December 2, 2002

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)

Editor Brian Thomsen has given readers a true treasure chest of wonderful stories spanning the entire American experience. I can't say enough great things about this 43 story set. The book is divided into three sections:

Folk, Tall and Weird Tales
Including such classics as "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Lottery," as well as more modern tales like Stephen King's "Children of the Corn" (far superior to any of the film versions) and Ursula K. Le Guin's "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight."

Fantastic Americana
Boasts such classics as Mark Twain's "A Ghost Story," Stephen Vincent Benet's "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and much, much more.

Lands of Enchantment and Everyday Life
Includes great stories from writers such as Edith Wharton, L. Frank Baum, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Gene Wolfe, Michael Bishop, Greg Bear...I could go on and on.

I should point out that this collection is one of American (not British) fantasy dealing with Americans caught up in strange and fantastic situations, not one of dragons, knights, and maidens (although you may find one or two in the book).

I knew the book was destined to be a winner when I read the opening selection (and the book's only poem): "this changed everything," a powerful poem about 9/11. If this book isn't on your Christmas list, email Santa today.

602 wonderful pages

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans of American Fantasy, rejoice!, July 22, 2003

By 

Don C. (Burlington County, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent collection of fantasy stories for any fan of this genre. It brings together some of the world's best known authors and writers from this field with an almost chronological listing of fantasy stories this country has ever produced. Starting with the ultimate historically original fantasy "Rip Van Winkle" and working its way up to stories by such authors as Stephen King, Alan Dean Foster and Theodore Sturgeon, this one volume is an superb collection of American fantasy stories that every collector of this genre should add to their library. I feel that if I taught a college-level literature class on this topic, this would be my textbook. Excellent book!