Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels
Encyclopedia
Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, An English-Language Selection, 1946-1987 is a nonfiction book written by David Pringle
, published by Grafton Books in 1988 (UK); next year by Peter Bedrick Books (US). The foreword is by Brian W. Aldiss.
Primarily the book comprises 100 short essays on the selected works, covered in order of publication, without any ranking. It is considered an important critical summary of the field of modern fantasy literature.
Modern Fantasy followed Pringle's 1985 Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels
, published by Xanadu. In the introduction he commends the nearly simultaneous 'rival' followup by Xanadu: Stephen Jones
and Kim Newman
, Horror: The 100 Best Books (Xanadu, 1988).
In the introduction to the earlier book, he had distinguished "Supernatural Horror" and "Heroic Fantasy" as the other important divisions of fantastic fiction beside science fiction. They may be represented by Dracula
and The Lord of the Rings
, featuring "the irruption of some supernatural force into the everyday world" and "set in completely imaginary worlds" respectively. Here he adds "the Fabulation, or absurdist metafiction—stories which are set in the real world, but which distort that world in ways other than the supernaturally horrific." He names Thomas Pynchon, Angela Carter, John Crowley, and Geoff Ryman as authors of fabulations included in his hundred.
While covering no foreign-language fantasies and few children's or 'light' fantasies, "I have tried to make a balanced list, and in so doing I have included some books which are not really to my taste—they may well be other people's favourites, though. In truth, there are not a hundred masterpieces of modern fantasy, any more than there a hundred masterpieces of science fiction." "[A]t least some of the novels I have selected are masterpieces of modern literature, full of beauty and wonder. The others are craftsmanlike entertainments which I happily commend to you for your enjoyment."
David Pringle
David Pringle is a Scottish science fiction editor.Pringle served as the editor of Foundation, an academic journal, from 1980 through 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective which founded Interzone in 1982...
, published by Grafton Books in 1988 (UK); next year by Peter Bedrick Books (US). The foreword is by Brian W. Aldiss.
Primarily the book comprises 100 short essays on the selected works, covered in order of publication, without any ranking. It is considered an important critical summary of the field of modern fantasy literature.
Modern Fantasy followed Pringle's 1985 Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels
Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels
Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984 is a nonfiction book by David Pringle, published by Xanadu in 1985. The foreword is by Michael Moorcock....
, published by Xanadu. In the introduction he commends the nearly simultaneous 'rival' followup by Xanadu: Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones may refer to:In the arts:*Stephen Jones , English magazine editor*Stephen Jones , Australian music and video artist*Stephen Jones , British editor and author...
and Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
, Horror: The 100 Best Books (Xanadu, 1988).
Modern Fantasy
Pringle says in the introduction, rebutting one academic complaint about the sprawling scope of fantasy, "But it seems to me that fantasy is an indiscriminate form. ... We may even view it as the primal genre, essentially formless, a swamp which has served as the breeding ground for all other popular fiction genres ... Up to the eighteenth century, almost all narrative fictions, both verse and prose, were fantastic to a greater or lesser degree."In the introduction to the earlier book, he had distinguished "Supernatural Horror" and "Heroic Fantasy" as the other important divisions of fantastic fiction beside science fiction. They may be represented by Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
and The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, featuring "the irruption of some supernatural force into the everyday world" and "set in completely imaginary worlds" respectively. Here he adds "the Fabulation, or absurdist metafiction—stories which are set in the real world, but which distort that world in ways other than the supernaturally horrific." He names Thomas Pynchon, Angela Carter, John Crowley, and Geoff Ryman as authors of fabulations included in his hundred.
While covering no foreign-language fantasies and few children's or 'light' fantasies, "I have tried to make a balanced list, and in so doing I have included some books which are not really to my taste—they may well be other people's favourites, though. In truth, there are not a hundred masterpieces of modern fantasy, any more than there a hundred masterpieces of science fiction." "[A]t least some of the novels I have selected are masterpieces of modern literature, full of beauty and wonder. The others are craftsmanlike entertainments which I happily commend to you for your enjoyment."
The 100 best novels
- Titus Groan, Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
(19461946 in literatureThe year 1946 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 7 - Walker Percy marries Mary Bernice Townsend.*Launch in the United Kingdom of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V...
) - The Book of PtathThe Book of PtathThe Book of Ptath is a science fiction novel by author A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in book form in 1947 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 3,021 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Unknown in October 1943...
, A. E. van VogtA. E. van VogtAlfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
(1947) - The Well of the UnicornThe Well of the UnicornThe Well of the Unicorn is a fantasy novel by Fletcher Pratt, the first of his two major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by William Sloane Associates in 1948, under the pseudonym George U. Fletcher...
, Fletcher PrattFletcher PrattMurray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
(1948) - Darker Than You ThinkDarker Than You ThinkDarker Than You Think by Jack Williamson, originally a novelette, was expanded into novel length and published by Fantasy Press in 1948. The short version was published Unknown in 1940...
, Jack WilliamsonJack WilliamsonJohn Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...
(1948) - Seven Days in New CreteSeven Days in New CreteSeven Days in New Crete, also known as Watch the North Wind Rise, is a seminal future-utopian speculative fiction novel by Robert Graves, first published in 1949.-Summary:...
AKA Watch the North Wind Rise, Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
(1949) - SilverlockSilverlockSilverlock is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature....
, John Myers MyersJohn Myers MyersJohn Myers Myers was an American writer, best known for his literary fantasy novel Silverlock.-Life:Myers was born in Northport, Long Island on January 11, 1906 to John Caldwell Myers and Alice MacCorry Myers and grew up in various places in New York, including New Paltz and NYC. He knew from the...
(1949) - The Castle of IronThe Castle of IronThe Castle of Iron is the title of a fantasy novella by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, and to the novel into which it was later expanded by the same authors. It was the third story in their Harold Shea series...
, L. Sprague de CampL. Sprague de CampLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
, Fletcher Pratt (1950) - Conan the Conqueror, Robert E. HowardRobert E. HowardRobert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
(1950) - The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
, C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
(19501950 in literatureThe year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
) - GormenghastGormenghast (novel)Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake, is the second novel in his Gormenghast series. It is the story of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Groan and Lord of Gormenghast Castle, from age 7 to 17. As the story opens, Titus dreads the pre-ordained life of ritual that stretches before him...
, Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
(1950) - The Dying EarthThe Dying EarthThe Dying Earth is a 1950 collection of fantasy short stories by author Jack Vance. It is the first book in the Dying Earth series. It was nominated for the Retro Hugo in 2001.-Stories:*Turjan of Miir*Mazirian the Magician*T'sais...
, Jack VanceJack VanceJohn Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
(1950) - The Sound of His HornThe Sound of His HornThe Sound of His Horn is a 1952 dystopian time travel/alternate history novel by the senior British diplomat John William Wall, written with the pseudonym Sarban. It relates the story of a British naval lieutenant, Alan Querdillon who, after becoming a POW during the Battle of Crete awakens in a...
, SarbanSarban (author)John William Wall , pen name Sarban, was a British writer and diplomat. Wall's diplomatic career lasted more than thirty years, but his writing career as Sarban was brief and not prolific, ending during the early 1950s...
(1952) - Conjure WifeConjure WifeConjure Wife is a supernatural horror novel by Fritz Leiber.Its premise is that witchcraft flourishes as an open secret among women. The story is told from the point of view of a small-town college professor who discovers that his wife is a witch....
, Fritz LeiberFritz LeiberFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
(1953) - The Sinful Ones, Fritz Leiber (1953)
- The Broken SwordThe Broken SwordThe Broken Sword is a fantasy novel written by Poul Anderson in 1954. It was issued in a revised edition by Ballantine Books as the twenty-fourth volume of their Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in January 1971. The original text was returned to print by Gollancz in 2002.-Plot:The book tells the...
, Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
(1954) - The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
(1954–551954 in literatureThe year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
) - Pincher MartinPincher MartinPincher Martin: The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin , is a survivalist novel by British writer William Golding, first published in 1956...
, William GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
(1956) - The Shrinking ManThe Shrinking ManThe Shrinking Man is a novel by Richard Matheson published in 1956. It was adapted into a motion picture called The Incredible Shrinking Man in 1957 by Universal Pictures. A remake has been proposed which has been pushed back several times from 2001 to the current day; at one point it was to have...
, Richard MathesonRichard MathesonRichard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
(1956) - Dandelion WineDandelion WineDandelion Wine is a 1957 novel by Ray Bradbury, taking place in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois — a pseudonym for Bradbury's childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois...
, Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
(1957) - The Once and Future KingThe Once and Future KingThe Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
, T. H. WhiteT. H. WhiteTerence Hanbury White was an English author best known for his sequence of Arthurian novels, The Once and Future King, first published together in 1958.-Biography:...
(19581958 in literatureThe year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
) - The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan HoagThe Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag"The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" is a novella by Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally published in the October 1942 edition of Unknown Worlds magazine under the pseudonym of "John Riverside". It also lends its title to a collection of Heinlein's short stories published in 1959...
, Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
(1959) - The Haunting of Hill HouseThe Haunting of Hill HouseFor the Richard Matheson novel, see Hell House, made into a film titled The Legend of Hell House.The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by author Shirley Jackson. Finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the twentieth century,...
, Shirley JacksonShirley JacksonShirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
(1959) - Titus AloneTitus AloneTitus Alone is a novel written by Mervyn Peake and first published in 1959. It is the fourth work in the Gormenghast series. The other works in the series are Titus Groan, Gormenghast, the novella Boy in Darkness, and the fragment Titus Awakes.-Plot summary:The story follows Titus' journey in the...
, Mervyn Peake (1959) - A Fine and Private PlaceA Fine and Private PlaceA Fine and Private Place is a fantasy novel written by Peter S. Beagle, the first of his major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Press on May 23, 1960, followed by a trade paperback from Delta the same year. Frederick Muller Ltd. published the first United Kingdom hardcover...
, Peter S. BeaglePeter S. BeaglePeter Soyer Beagle is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. His most notable works include the novels The Last Unicorn, A Fine and Private Place and Tamsin, and the award-winning story "Two Hearts".-Career:Beagle won early recognition from The Scholastic Art &...
(1960) - Three Hearts and Three LionsThree Hearts and Three LionsThree Hearts and Three Lions is a 1961 fantasy novel by Poul Anderson. It is also a 1953 novella by Poul Anderson which appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction.-Plot:...
, Poul Anderson (1961) - The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything, John D. MacDonaldJohn D. MacDonaldJohn Dann MacDonald was an American crime and suspense novelist and short story writer.MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida...
(1962) - Glory RoadGlory RoadGlory Road is a fantasy novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published in hardcover later the same year...
, Robert A. Heinlein (1963) - Witch WorldWitch World (novel)Witch World is a 1963 fantasy novel written by Andre Norton. It is the first book in the Witch World series.-Plot summary:During World War II, Simon Tregarth had risen from a common soldier to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In post-war Europe, he had become involved, almost accidentally, in the...
, Andre NortonAndre NortonAndre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
(1963) - The MagusThe Magus (novel)The Magus is the first novel written by British author John Fowles. It tells the story of Nicholas Urfe, a teacher on a small Greek island...
, John FowlesJohn FowlesJohn Robert Fowles was an English novelist and essayist. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Fowles among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Birth and family:...
(19651965 in literatureThe year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
) - Stormbringer, Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
(1965) - The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49 is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, first published in 1966. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, it is about a woman, Oedipa Maas, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero...
, Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
(19661966 in literatureThe year 1966 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 14 - Dissident writers Yuli Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky are sentenced to hard labour for "anti-Soviet activity"....
) - Day of the Minotaur, Thomas Burnett SwannThomas Burnett SwannThomas Burnett Swann was an American poet, critic and fantasy author.His criticism includes works on the poetry of H.D. and Christina Rossetti.-Poetry:...
(1966) - The Eyes of the OverworldThe Eyes of the OverworldThe Eyes of the Overworld is a fantasy fixup by Jack Vance published in 1966, the second in the Dying Earth series. It features a series of linked stories detailing the travails of the self-proclaimed Cugel the Clever...
, Jack Vance (1966) - The Owl ServiceThe Owl ServiceThe Owl Service is a novel by Alan Garner first published in 1967. It is a contemporary interpretation, which Garner described as an "expression of the myth", of the story of the mythical Welsh figure of Blodeuwedd, whose story is told in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.The legend concerns a...
, Alan GarnerAlan GarnerWith his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...
(1967) - Rosemary's BabyRosemary's BabyRosemary's Baby is a 1967 best-selling horror novel by Ira Levin, his second published book. Major elements of the story were inspired by the publicity surrounding the Church of Satan of Anton LaVey which had been founded in 1966.-Plot summary:...
, Ira LevinIra LevinIra Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
(1967) - The Third PolicemanThe Third PolicemanThe Third Policeman is a novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It was written between 1939 and 1940, but after it initially failed to find a publisher, the author withdrew the manuscript from circulation and claimed he had lost it. The book remained...
, Flann O'BrienFlann O'BrienBrian O'Nolan was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. Best known for novels such as At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman and An Béal Bocht and many satirical columns in The Irish Times Brian O'Nolan (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was...
(1967) - Gog, Andrew SinclairAndrew SinclairDr Andrew Sinclair is a prolific British novelist, historian, biographer, critic and film-maker. He was a Founding Member of Churchill College, Cambridge. He directed the film, now regarded as a classic, of Under Milk Wood. His book The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman won the...
(1967) - The Last UnicornThe Last UnicornThe Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel written by Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968. It has sold more than five million copies worldwide since its original publication, and has been translated into at least twenty languages....
, Peter S. Beagle (1968) - A Wizard of EarthseaA Wizard of EarthseaA Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, is the first of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in the fantasy world archipelago of Earthsea depicting the adventures of a budding young wizard named Ged...
, Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
(19681968 in literatureThe year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
) - The Swords of Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber (1968)
- Black EasterBlack EasterBlack Easter is a Nebula Award-nominated fantasy novel by James Blish in which an arms dealer hires a black magician to unleash all the Demons of Hell on earth for a single day. It was first published in 1968. The sequel is The Day After Judgment. Together, those two short novels form the third...
and The Day After JudgmentThe Day After JudgmentThe Day After Judgment Is the second of a pair of short novels by James Blish. The first is the novel Black Easter. They have more recently been published as a single book called The Devil's Day.-Plot introduction:...
, James BlishJames BlishJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
(1968, 1971) - The Green ManThe Green ManWritten in 1969, The Green Man , is a novel by the noted British author Kingsley Amis. A Times Literary supplement reviewer described The Green Man as “three genres of novel in one”: ghost story, moral fable, and comic novel...
, Kingsley AmisKingsley AmisSir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
(19691969 in literatureThe year 1969 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The first Booker Prize is awarded.* "Penelope Ashe", author of the bestselling novel Naked Came the Stranger, is found to be several people who each took a turn writing a chapter of what they described as "junk" in...
) - The Phoenix and the Mirror, Avram DavidsonAvram DavidsonAvram Davidson was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche...
(1969) - A Feast UnknownA Feast UnknownA Feast Unknown is a novel written by American author Philip José Farmer. The novel is a pastiche of pulp fiction, erotica, and horror fiction...
, Philip Jose FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
(1969) - Fourth MansionsFourth MansionsFourth Mansions is a novel by American author R. A. Lafferty, first published in 1969. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1970.-Plot introduction:...
, R. A. LaffertyR. A. LaffertyRaphael Aloysius Lafferty was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, as well as for his etymological wit...
(1969) - Red Moon and Black MountainRed Moon and Black MountainRed Moon and Black Mountain: the End of the House of Kendreth is a fantasy novel by Joy Chant, the first of three set in her world of Vandarei. It was first published in hardcover by George Allen & Unwin, London, in 1970. The first paperback edition was issued by Ballantine Books as the...
, Joy ChantJoy ChantJoy Chant is the pen name of British fantasy writer Eileen Joyce Rutter . She is best known for her three novels on the House of Kendreth.-Works:...
(1970) - Time and AgainTime and Again (novel)Time and Again is a 1970 illustrated novel by Jack Finney. The many illustrations in the book are real, though, as explained in an endnote, not all are from the 1882 period in which the actions of the book take place. It had long been rumored that Robert Redford would convert the book into a movie...
, Jack FinneyJack FinneyJack Finney was an American author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again. The former was the basis for the 1956 movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes.-Biography:Finney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and given the...
(1970) - GrendelGrendel (novel)Grendel is a 1971 parallel novel by American author John Gardner. It is a retelling of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.Grendel...
, John Gardner (1971) - Briefing for a Descent into Hell, Doris LessingDoris LessingDoris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
(19711971 in literatureThe year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...
) - Jack of ShadowsJack of ShadowsJack of Shadows is a novel combining elements of both science fiction and fantasy written by American author Roger Zelazny. According to him, the name of the book was a homage to Jack Vance. In his introduction to the novel he mentioned that he tried to capture some of the exotic landscapes so...
, Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
(1971) - Watership DownWatership DownWatership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, Richard AdamsRichard AdamsRichard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...
(19721972 in literatureThe year 1972 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Fiction:*Richard Adams - Watership Down*Jorge Amado - Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra *Martin Amis - The Rachel Papers...
) - The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor HoffmanThe Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor HoffmanThe Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, published in the United States as The War of Dreams, is a 1972 novel by Angela Carter. This picaresque novel is heavily influenced by surrealism, Romanticism, critical theory, and other branches of Continental philosophy. Its style is an amalgam of...
, Angela CarterAngela CarterAngela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
(1972) - Sweet DreamsSweet Dreams (novel)Sweet Dreams is a 1973 novel by Michael Frayn.The plot addresses the question of what happens when a middle-class intellectual man dies. Why, he goes to a middle-class intellectual Heaven of course...
, Michael FraynMichael FraynMichael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy...
(1973) - The Forgotten Beasts of EldThe Forgotten Beasts of EldThe Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip, first published by Atheneum Publishers in 1974, and later Magic Carpet Books in 1996. It is the winner of the 1975 World Fantasy Award...
, Patricia A. McKillipPatricia A. McKillipPatricia Anne McKillip is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels. Her novels have been winners of the World Fantasy Award, Locus Award and Mythopoeic Award. In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement...
(1974) - Salem's Lot, Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
(1975) - The Great Victorian CollectionThe Great Victorian CollectionThe Great Victorian Collection, published in 1975, is a novel by Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore. Set in Carmel, California, it tells the story of a man who dreams that the empty parking lot he can see from his hotel window has been transformed by the arrival of a collection of priceless...
, Brian MooreBrian Moore (novelist)Brian Moore was a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter who emigrated to Canada and later lived in the United States. He was acclaimed for the descriptions in his novels of life in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, in particular his explorations of the inter-communal divisions of The...
(1975) - GrimusGrimusGrimus is a 1975 fantasy and science fiction novel written by Salman Rushdie. It was his literary debut.The story loosely follows Flapping Eagle, a young Indian who receives the gift of immortality after drinking a magic fluid...
, Salman Rushdie (1975) - Peace, Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
(1975) - The Malacia Tapestry, Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
(1976) - The Dragon and the GeorgeThe Dragon and the GeorgeThe Dragon and the George is a 1976 fantasy novel by Gordon R. Dickson, the first in his "Dragon Knight" series. A shorter form of the story was previously published as the short story, "St...
, Gordon R. DicksonGordon R. DicksonGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author.- Biography :Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937...
(1976) - Hotel de Dream, Emma TennantEmma TennantEmma Christina Tennant FRSL is a British novelist and editor. She is known for a postmodern approach to her fiction, which is often imbued with fantasy or magic. Several of her novels give a feminist or dreamlike twist to classic stories, such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr....
(1976) - The Passion of New EveThe Passion of New EveThe Passion of New Eve is a novel by Angela Carter, first published in 1977. The book is set in a dystopian United States where civil war has broken out between different political, racial and gendered groups. A dark satire, the book parodies primitive notions of gender, sexual difference and...
, Angela Carter (1977) - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, Volume 1: Lord Foul's BaneLord Foul's BaneLord Foul's Bane is the first book of the first trilogy of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever fantasy series written by Stephen R. Donaldson. It is followed by The Illearth War.-Plot summary:...
, Stephen R. DonaldsonStephen R. DonaldsonStephen Reeder Donaldson is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist, most famous for his Thomas Covenant series...
(1977) - The ShiningThe Shining (novel)The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The title was inspired by the John Lennon song "Instant Karma!", which contained the line "We all shine on…". It was King's third published novel, and first hardback bestseller, and the success of the book firmly established King...
, Stephen King (1977) - Fata Morgana, William KotzwinkleWilliam KotzwinkleWilliam Kotzwinkle is an American novelist, children's writer, and screenwriter. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He has won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Doctor Rat in 1977, and has also won the National Magazine Award for fiction. Kotzwinkle wrote the novelization of the...
(1977) - Our Lady of Darkness, Fritz Leiber (1977)
- GlorianaGloriana (novel)Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen is an award-winning work of literary fantasy by British novelist Michael Moorcock. It was first published in 1978 and has remained in print ever since.-Genre:...
, Michael Moorcock (1978) - The Unlimited Dream CompanyThe Unlimited Dream CompanyThe Unlimited Dream Company is a novel by J. G. Ballard, first published in 1979. It was nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1980.- Plot :...
, J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
(1979) - Sorcerer's SonSorcerer's SonSorcerer's Son was first published as a mass-market paperback in 1979 by Del Rey Books. It is the first novel in "The Book of Elementals" series by Phyllis Eisenstein...
, Phyllis EisensteinPhyllis EisensteinPhyllis Eisenstein is an American author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and has lived there most of her life. While attending college at the University of Chicago, she met her future husband Alex at a weekly gathering of Chicago's science...
(1979) - The Land of LaughsThe Land of LaughsThe Land of Laughs is fantasy novel by Jonathan Carroll. It was first published by Viking Press in 1980 and is the author's first novel. The novel was notably reprinted by Orion Books in 2000 as volume 9 of their Fantasy Masterworks series.-Plot summary:...
, Jonathan CarrollJonathan CarrollJonathan Samuel Carroll is an American author primarily known for novels, which can be characterized as magic realist, slipstream or modern fantasy...
(1980) - The Vampire Tapestry, Suzy McKee CharnasSuzy McKee CharnasSuzy McKee Charnas is an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She has won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. A selection of her short fiction was collected...
(1980) - A Storm of Wings, M. John HarrisonM. John HarrisonM. John Harrison , known as Mike Harrison, is an English author and critic. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories, , Climbers , and the Kefahuchi Tract series which begins with Light . He currently resides in London.-Early years:Harrison was born in Rugby,...
(1980) - White Light, Rudy RuckerRudy RuckerRudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
(1980) - Ariosto, Chelsea Quinn YarbroChelsea Quinn Yarbro-Biography:She was born in Berkeley, California. She attended Berkeley schools through high school followed by three years at San Francisco State College .In November 1969 she married Donald Simpson and divorced in February 1982...
(1980) - Cities of the Red NightCities of the Red NightCities of the Red Night is a novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It is part of his final trilogy of novels, known as The Red Night Trilogy, followed by The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands, and was first published in 1981. It was his first full-length novel since The Wild Boys a...
, William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
(19811981 in literatureThe year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...
) - Little, BigLittle, BigLittle, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament is a modern fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982.-Plot synopsis:...
, John CrowleyJohn CrowleyJohn Crowley is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and mainstream fiction. He studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer...
(19811981 in literatureThe year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...
) - Lanark, Alasdair GrayAlasdair GrayAlasdair Gray is a Scottish writer and artist. His most acclaimed work is his first novel Lanark, published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years...
(1981) - The War Hound and the World's PainThe War Hound and the World's PainThe War Hound and the World's Pain is a 1981 fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock, the first of the "von Bek" series of novels.The book is set in Europe ravaged by the Thirty Years' War. Its hero Ulrich von Bek is a mercenary and freethinker, who finds himself a damned soul in a castle owned by Lucifer...
, Michael Moorcock (1981) - Nifft the Lean, Michael SheaMichael SheaMichael Shea is an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author living in California. He is a multiple winner of the World Fantasy Award.-Life and work:...
(1982) - Winter's Tale, Mark HelprinMark HelprinMark Helprin is an American novelist, journalist, and conservative commentator.-Background:Helprin was raised on the Hudson River and in the British West Indies, and holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. His postgraduate work was done at Princeton...
(1983) - Soul Eater, K. W. JeterK. W. JeterKevin Wayne Jeter is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters...
(1983) - Tea with the Black DragonTea with the Black DragonTea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by R. A. MacAvoy. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1983, the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1984, and won MacAvoy the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1983 and the Locus Award for best first novel in 1984...
, R. A. MacAvoyR. A. MacAvoyRoberta Ann MacAvoy is a fantasy and science fiction author in the United States. Several of her books draw on Celtic or Zen themes. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984.-Biography:...
(1983) - Cold HeavenCold Heaven (novel)Cold Heaven is a novel by Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore, published in 1983.The plot concerns a lapsed Catholic, Marie Davenport, who is about to leave her husband Alex for her lover, Daniel, when Alex is apparently killed in a boating accident and then seems to have risen from the dead...
, Brian Moore (1983) - The Anubis GatesThe Anubis GatesThe Anubis Gates is a time travel fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It won the 1983 Philip K. Dick Award and 1984 Science Fiction Chronicle Award.- Plot summary :...
, Tim PowersTim PowersTimothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
(1983)) - Who Made Stevie Crye?Who Made Stevie Crye?Who Made Stevie Crye? is a Horror novel by author Michael Bishop. It was released in 1984 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,591 copies. It was the author's first novel and third book published by Arkham House.-Plot summary:...
, Michael BishopMichael BishopMichael Bishop may refer to:* Michael Bishop, Baron Glendonbrook , British businessman and politician* Michael Bishop , American science fiction/fantasy author...
(1984) - The Digging LeviathanThe Digging LeviathanThe Digging Leviathan is a science fiction novel written by James Blaylock. It was first published in 1984 by Ace Books. The source was Blaylock's first novel The Chinese Circus, which was never finished.-Plot summary:...
, James P. Blaylock (1984) - Nights at the CircusNights at the CircusNights at the Circus is a novel by Angela Carter, first published in 1984 and that year's winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Fevvers, a woman who is – or so she would have people believe – a Cockney virgin, hatched from an egg...
, Angela Carter (1984) - The Businessman: A Tale of TerrorThe Businessman: A Tale of TerrorThe Businessman: A Tale of Terror is a novel written by Thomas M. Disch, and published by Harper & Row in 1984. The Businessman is a contemporary novel, a form that Disch—best known for his science fiction—had not hitherto tried, although all of his subsequent adult novels have shared its...
, Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
(1984) - Mythago WoodMythago WoodMythago Wood is a fantasy novel written by Robert Holdstock that was published in the United Kingdom in 1984. The conception began as a short story written for the 1979 Milford Writer's Workshop; next a novella of the same name appeared in the September 1981 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy &...
, Robert HoldstockRobert HoldstockRobert Paul Holdstock was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celtic, Nordic, Gothic and Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenre of mythic fiction....
(1984) - The Glamour, Christopher Priest (1984)
- The Witches of EastwickThe Witches of EastwickThe Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands....
, John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
(1984) - HawksmoorHawksmoor (novel)Hawksmoor is a 1985 novel by the English writer Peter Ackroyd. It won Best Novel at the 1985 Whitbread Awards.-Story:Set in the late seventeenth century, architect Nicholas Dyer is progressing work on several churches in London's East End...
, Peter AckroydPeter AckroydPeter Ackroyd CBE is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a particular interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot and Sir Thomas More he won the Somerset Maugham Award...
(1985) - The Dream Years, Lisa GoldsteinLisa GoldsteinLisa Goldstein is a Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award nominated fantasy and science fiction writer. Her 1982 novel The Red Magician won the American Book Award for best paperback novel, and was praised by Philip K. Dick shortly before his death...
(1985) - The Fionavar TapestryThe Fionavar TapestryThe Fionavar Tapestry is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Guy Gavriel Kay, set partly in our own contemporary world, but mostly in the fictional world of Fionavar. It is the story of five University of Toronto senior law and medical students, who are drawn into the 'first world of the Tapestry' by...
, Guy Gavriel KayGuy Gavriel KayGuy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid...
(1985–87) - The BridgeThe Bridge (novel)The Bridge is a novel by Scottish author Iain Banks. It was published in 1986. The book switches between three protagonists, John Orr, Alex, and the Barbarian. It is an unconventional love story.-Plot summary:...
, Ian BanksIan BanksIan Banks may refer to:* Iain Banks , Scottish writer* Ian Banks , fictional character on the American television series One Tree Hill* Ian Banks , former footballer and current manager of A.F.C. Emley...
(1986) - The Hungry Moon, Ramsey CampbellRamsey CampbellJohn Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
(1986) - ReplayReplay (novel)Replay is a novel by Ken Grimwood first published by Arbor House in 1987. It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.The novel tells of a 43-year-old man who dies and awakens back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body. He then begins to relive his life with intact memories of the previous 25...
, Ken GrimwoodKen GrimwoodKenneth Milton Grimwood was an American author who was born in Dothan, Alabama. In his fantasy fiction Grimwood combined themes of life-affirmation and hope with metaphysical concepts, themes found in his best-known novel, the highly popular Replay...
(1986) - The Unconquered Country, Geoff RymanGeoff RymanGeoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing for University of Manchester's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of...
(1986) - The Day of CreationThe Day of Creation- Plot summary :The main character of the novel is the World Health Organization doctor John Mallory who, six months after his arrival in Central Africa, finds that intense guerilla activity has left him without patients. He devotes himself, instead, to the task of bringing water to the region,...
, J. G. Ballard (1987) - Aegypt, John Crowley (1987)