Written by new and established voices of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Alchemy With Words offers something for writers at all levels. Its sage advice will help you avoid many amateur mistakes. Explore World Building, Religions, Food, Fighting & Weaponry and much more, to craft an exceptional story.
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Editorial Reviews
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"Comprehensive, with much advice on historical settings, weapons, combat, world building and such, and fantasy writers can profit by it."
- Piers Anthony, Author of the Xanth Series -
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
150 of 155 people found the following review helpful
By Moira Allen
Format:Paperback
I've picked up many "genre" writing books that have proved a huge disappointment -- maybe a chapter or two of genre info followed by the usual "how to type a manuscript" stuff. This book is a refreshing change! For anyone seeking to build a "realistic" fantasy world, it's a compendium of expert advice -- covering food, clothing, weapons, warfare, religion, even a fantastic (no pun intended) section on diseases. There have been criticisms of this book based on the fact that many of the contributors aren't "established" fantasy authors. What they ARE is experts in the fields upon which they are contributing, whether that field is medicine, weaponry, or what-have-you. In short, if you were going to look up "experts" to talk to about some aspect of the world you're building, these are the people you'd ask. This book will stay on my shelf! --...
59 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy is a great reference guide for the aspiring fantasy author who is bubbling over with all the "How do I" questions. It is also a wonderful resource for those who have been writing in the genre for some time, but maybe need to understand one aspect of the genre more than another.
I personally found the sections on medieval food, medieval clothing and the sections on armor and combat very helpful.
You can't go wrong with this on your bookshelf.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Heather
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a great resource for fantasy writers. It draws attention to details that could easily be overlooked by a writer in this genre; details that would make a story richer for their inclusion. It stimulates the imagination as one considers how information from each chapter might work in the world/story he or she has created.
However, it has been poorly edited and is full of typos, spelling mistakes and poor grammar. One occasionally stumbles upon a sentence so poorly constructed that it requires a struggle to understand the author's meaning, and one chapter is so disjointed and full of errors that it is very difficult to follow. This inattention to detail would make me leery of accepting the information on medieval customs as fact, and I would be careful to check any of the information from this novel against another source before using it (though some would say that's a good idea with any research).
Aside from that caveat, I still highly recommend this book to beginning fantasy writers, as it may open your eyes to avenues of world and character creation you never considered before.
However, it has been poorly edited and is full of typos, spelling mistakes and poor grammar. One occasionally stumbles upon a sentence so poorly constructed that it requires a struggle to understand the author's meaning, and one chapter is so disjointed and full of errors that it is very difficult to follow. This inattention to detail would make me leery of accepting the information on medieval customs as fact, and I would be careful to check any of the information from this novel against another source before using it (though some would say that's a good idea with any research).
Aside from that caveat, I still highly recommend this book to beginning fantasy writers, as it may open your eyes to avenues of world and character creation you never considered before.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Volume one
Here is a breakdown of this guide - this is not a novel, so there are no such things as *spoilers* here:
Chapter 1 - Roots of Fantasy - a brief history of Fantasy... Read more
Chapter 1 - Roots of Fantasy - a brief history of Fantasy... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joe
3.0 out of 5 stars
"It's okay..." <thinks a little more> "ya, it's okay."
It's a resource. There is a real collection of resource material here. A few spelling mistakes made my view of the material drop, but a lot of time was put into it, and it will... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Aaron Gerber
3.0 out of 5 stars
Offers Some Thoughtful Info, Despite Its Drawbacks
Good reference guides for fantasy writers are few and far between. I know, because I've pawed through most of the options. Read more
Published 17 months ago by K.M. Weiland, Author of Historical and Speculative Fiction
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Delight to Read
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
I found this book to be excellent. It brings together a variety of writers with different takes and views on how to write things. Read more
I found this book to be excellent. It brings together a variety of writers with different takes and views on how to write things. Read more
Published on May 23, 2011 by Jennifer Scarpa
5.0 out of 5 stars
FUN TO READ
Ive had a few books that help me with technical writing but they often read like text books. This one is fun to read and focuses on my genre of choice.
Published on June 28, 2010 by Cody J. Engstrom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Starter! Even for Mangakas!
This book is great for getting started. It's inspiring and provides a wide range of information which is very useful to keep all your writing-angles in check. Read more
Published on April 27, 2010 by Lauren M. Willier
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's good
That is not the cover and it includes a bit too much imformation, overwelming the reader with so many pages. Read more
Published on March 15, 2010
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good addition to a writer's reference shelf
This book offers information that is hard to find anywhere else. I am glad I purchased it, but, as an editor, I noticed several errors and felt the level of editorial fine-tuning,... Read more
Published on November 25, 2009 by Janice Phelps Williams
1.0 out of 5 stars
Intro
To those out there: I just fninished reading the intro, and I got to the part on the gods. I have to highly disagree that writing about fake gods are fun, better than Christianity. Read more
Published on July 29, 2009
1.0 out of 5 stars
self-congratulatory and silly
How do you get published in Fantasy Fiction? One way is to start your own company and write books about writing. I can only think that is what must have happened here. Read more
Published on May 9, 2009 by SML
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