Read On...Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste (Read On Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Barry Trott (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Librarians who do readers advisory for teens or adults will wonder how they ever got along without this funny, opinionated, wide-angle guide. Hollands has arranged approximately 800 titles, each with a brief, enticing annotation, into over 100 topical lists of 10 or fewer titles. Gathered beneath one of five rubrics dubbed "appeal characteristics"-Story, Character, Setting, Mood, and Language-the lists range from specific themes ("'You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die!' The Fantasy of Revenge") and familiar set pieces ("Armageddon Out of Here: Fantasy's Furious Final Battles") to character types ("Smaug Gets in Your Eyes: Fantasy's Formidable Dragons"), genre-expanders ("Steaming Up the Looking Glass: When Romance Is Nice, but Sex Is Better"), and even length ("Never Toss a Dwarf: Fantastic Fantasies with a Low Page Count"). Nearly all of the titles within those lists are in print and include enduring classics and books recently published. Though the focus is on books for older readers, younger ones are served by a few lists, and titles particularly recommended for teens are marked with a symbol. Award winners are similarly labeled, and also listed by award in an appendix. Other standard resources, such as Ruth N. Lynn's Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) are more comprehensive, but not so current, or as engagingly written.—John Peters, New York Public Library
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Review

“Offering readers' advisors a wide-ranging look at fantasy fiction, Hollands, an RA specialist at the Williamsburg Regional Library, VA, organizes over 800 titles by appeal factor, in terms both broad, like story, character, language, and mood, and highly specific, like steampunk, Arthurian legend, and even brevity. The detailed table of contents makes the book ideal for browsing, and the index of authors, subjects, and titles serves the reader looking for an exact match. Two appendixes address suggested trilogies and series and past winners for various awards. A brief history of fantasy adds some deeper context to the themed lists presented here. Award winners and appropriate YA suggestions are marked, as are recommended choices for readers new to the genre....[t]he text's accessible arrangement makes a handy ready-reference for brief questions, and the sheer number of possibilities all but guarantees readers will find something appealing. Recommended for all RA collections in public libraries.”–Library Journal

“[A] very good introduction to the topic of fantasy fiction and provides an excellent starting point for referring library customers to authors and titles that may be of interest to them....Readers of fantasy fiction will enjoy this book and will find many other books to read. Thus, it will be a useful purchase for most public libraries. Academic libraries that support classes in fantasy literature or creative writing will also benefit from having the book on their shelves.”–American Reference Books Annual

“This latest volume in the Read On series is a wonderfully useful readers' advisory tool for the fantasy genre....[A] great tool for librarians who need a quick readers' advisory reference in this extremely popular genre. Plan to keep it handy when teen fantasy fans, always avid readers, come looking for more recommendations.”–VOYA

“Starred Review The newest entry in the Read On readers'-advisor series, Fantasy Fiction is an important contribution to readers' advisory. Annotations for more than 800 titles are arranged by the familiar appeal factors of story, character, setting, mood, and language....Hollands' book is more than just another reference source for fantasy fiction. His pithy, insightful, and sometimes just plain funny annotations also make this nearly impossible to put down. The book will be helpful to readers' advisors working with fantasy readers but is bound to appeal to fans as well, so make sure copies are readily available for browsing....[H]ighly recommended for all public libraries.”–Booklist

“Whether you're exploring the genre yourself, building your library's collection, or helping your patrons find something fantastical to read, Neil Hollands's Read On...Fantasy Fiction is a useful toolbox. More than 800 titles are organized into 100 categories, and the quirkiness of some of the categories....[i]s one of the hallmarks of the publisher's Read On series.”–American Libraries

“This volume was compiled to assist librarians in providing readers' advisory services to adults and children who enjoy fantasy fiction. Some 800 titles in the genre are organized into approximately 100 thematic lists, which are then sorted alphabetically by author. Some of the sub-genres and themes highlighted include coming-of-age stories, the making and breaking of curses, Arthurian fantasy, barbarian warriors, graphic novels, and puns.”–Reference & Research Book News

“Librarians who do readers advisory for teens or adults will wonder how they ever got along without this funny, opinionated, wide-angle guide. Hollands has arranged approximately 800 titles, each with a brief, enticing annotation, into over 100 topical lists of 10 or fewer titles....Nearly all of the titles within those lists are in print and include enduring classics and books recently published. Though the focus is on books for older readers, younger ones are served by a few lists, and titles particularly recommended for teens are marked with a symbol. Award winners are similarly labeled, and also listed by award in an appendix. Other standard resources, such as Ruth N. Lynn's Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) are more comprehensive, but not so current, or as engagingly written.”–School Library Journal

“[A] near perfect guide to fantasy literature in all its guises from Clive Barker's Abarat (the first entry in the lovely index) to David Zindell, the last entry....One of the best reading list guides I've ever had the pleasure to read! Highly recommended for readers for their use at home and for librarians who have the same job as Hollands does -- be they a general reference librarian or a children's librarian. It's that good.”–greenmanreview.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (May 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591583306
• ISBN-13: 978-1591583301
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,378,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun, Useful Reference, November 13, 2007

By	Bud Webster "Bud Webster" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

Several years ago, I was asked by the King William, Virginia County Schools to visit one of their middle-schools and give a series of talks and readings to the kids. I was impressed by their eagerness to read, spurred on primarily by the success of J. K. Rowling, Goosebumps and the Animorphs. I found myself at every turn being asked "What should I read now?" I gave them what authors and titles I could, but there's always the chance that my taste and theirs wouldn't coincide and I was concerned that a suggestion I made would be so disliked that it would turn the Asker against reading, a result devoutly NOT to be wished.

I wish now that I'd had a copy of Neil Hollands' READ ON...FANTASY FICTION back then, it would have made things a lot easier. What Hollands has done is create a reference sorted by ideas. Looking for books about wizards? Go to "Chapter Two: Character" on the table of contents and eyeball down to this entry - "Wizards and Warlocks: The Wise, the Wily, and the Wacky." Turn to the appropriate page, and there are seven authors and eight books listed beneath a brief descriptive paragraph. Same thing with barbarians, urban fantasy, giants and/or little folk, and practically every other subject you could want suggestions for.

Hollands, a librarian by profession, has a keen sense of placement that serves him well here. There's crossover, of course, but no more than is necesary and it's clear from the breadth of his listings that he has a near-encyclopedic grasp of authors and titles.

In addition, he also has a keen sense of wit; hardly a page goes by without a humorous reference or pun, which makes this one of the scarcest of references: one that's fun to simply sit back with and browse for the hell of it.

If you have kids of your own, or tend to those kids who are somebody else's, I recommend this one highly as a terrific way to answer the inevitable "NOW what can I read, Mr. Hollands? NOW what, huh? HUH?" before you go quietly out of your mind. In fact, I'd go so far as to recommend it to booksellers, both new and used; I intend to use my copy to suggest material with which I'm unfamiliar to those book buyers who have exhausted my stock and are still jonesing for a Good Read. I may even let them read READ ON...FANTASY FICTION (without taking it home, of course. Let 'em buy their own copy).