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Fantasy Gamebooks
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, which later became fantasy literature, fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century onward, it has expanded into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animation, and video games. The expression ''fantastic literature'' is often used for this genre by Anglophone literary critics. An archaic spelling for the term is ''phantasy''. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror fiction, horror by an absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that reflect the actual Earth, but with some sense of otherness. Characteristics Many works of fantasy use magic (paranorma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Whirlwind Seizes The Wreath
''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the Most common words in English, most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popular Culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art [cf. pop art] or mass art, sometimes contrasted with fine art) and cultural objects, objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. The primary driving forces behind popular culture, especially when speaking of Western world, Western popular cultures, are the mass media, mass appeal, marketing and capitalism; and it is produced by what philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, Theodor Adorno refers to as the "culture industry". Heavily influenced in modern history, modern times by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday life, everyday lives of people in a given society. Therefore, popular culture has a way of influencing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspension Of Disbelief
Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoying its narrative. Historically, the concept originates in the Greco-Roman principles of theatre, wherein the audience ignores the unreality of fiction to experience catharsis from the actions and experiences of characters. The phrase was coined and elaborated upon by the English poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his 1817 work '' Biographia Literaria'': "that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith". Origin The phrase first appeared in English poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge's '' Biographia Literaria'', where he suggested that if an author could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a story with implausible elements, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horror Fiction
Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society. History Before 1000 The horror genre has ancient origins, with roots in folklore and religious traditions focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic, and the principle of the thing embodied in the person. These manifested in stories of beings such as demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Some early European horror-fiction were the Ancient Greeks and Ancie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Encyclopedia Of Fantasy
''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a companion to the online edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. Other than adding death dates, there are no plans to update the encyclopedia''.'' The book was well-received on publication, receiving the Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, and Locus Award in 1998. Format and content The ''Encyclopedia'' was published in a format that matches the 1993 second edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. It is slightly smaller in terms of content, containing 1,049 alphabetical pages, over 4,000 entries and approximately one million words, the bulk of which were written by Clute, Grant and Ashley. A later CD-ROM edition contains numerous revisions. The ''Encyclopedia'' uses a similar system of categorization to ''The Encyclopedia of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Clute
John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history"Davis, MattheJohn Clute: Yakfests of the Empyrean, ''Strange Horizons,'' 18 September 2006. and "perhaps the foremost reader-critic of science fiction in our time, and one of the best the genre has ever known." He was one of eight people who founded the English magazine '' Interzone'' in 1982 (the others included Malcolm Edwards, Colin Greenland, Roz Kaveney, and David Pringle). Clute's articles on speculative fiction have appeared in various publications since the 1960s. He is a co-editor of '' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (with Peter Nicholls) and of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (with John Grant), as well as the author of ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Science Fiction,'' all of which won ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Grant (science Fiction Writer)
Paul le Page Barnett (22 November 1949 – 3 February 2020), known by the pen name of John Grant, was a Scottish writer and editor of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction. Biography Born Paul le Page Barnett in Aberdeen, Scotland, Grant sometime wrote under his own name, as Eve Devereux, and under various other pseudonyms; he has also ghostwritten a number of books. The author of some 70 books in all (excluding ghostwritten books), he has published several original novels as well as one novel in the Judge Dredd series and, with Joe Dever, 11 novels and a novella collection in the ''Legends of Lone Wolf'' series; edited several anthologies, beginning with ''Aries 1'' (1979) and most recently ''New Writings in the Fantastic'' (2007); and has written dozens of nonfiction works, including several relating to fantasy and science fiction. His collaborators have included David Langford and, as illustrator, Bob Eggleton. With John Clute, he co-edited ''The Encyclopedia of Fan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world or setting (narrative), setting, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing the world with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, culture and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers. Worldbuilding often involves the Fantasy map, creation of geography, a backstory, flora, fauna, inhabitants, technology, and often if writing speculative fiction, different peoples. This may include social norms, social customs as well as invented languages (often called ''conlangs'') for the world. The world could encompass different planets spanning vast distances of space or be limited in scope to a single small village. Worldbuilding exists in novels, tabletop role-playing games, and visual media such as film, films, video games, and comics. Prior to 1900, most worldbuilding was conducted by novelists, who could leave imagination of the fictional setting in part to the reader. Some a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch
Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witches has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from ancient Mesopotamia, and in Europe, belief in witches traces back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorcerer (fantasy)
A magician, also known as an archmage, mage, magus, magic-user, spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources. Magicians enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore, and are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games. Character archetypes People who work magic are called by several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the terms: ''magician'', ''mage'', ''magus'', ''enchanter/enchantress'', ''sorcerer/sorceress'', ''warlock'', ''witch'', and ''wizard'', each have different meanings depending upon context and the story in question. ''Archmage'' is used in fantasy works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of magicians. Enchanters typically practice a type of imbued magic that pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setting (fiction)
A setting (or backdrop) is the time and geographic location within a narrative, either non-fiction or fiction. It is a literary element. The setting initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. The setting can be referred to as story world or '' milieu'' to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction. Role Setting may refer to the social milieu in which the events of a novel occur. The elements of the story setting include the passage of time, which may be static in some stories or dynamic in others with, for example, changing seasons. A setting can take three basic forms. One is the natural world, or in an outside place. In this setting, the natural landscapes of the world play an important part in a narrative, along with living cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theme (literature)
In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's ''thematic concept'' is what readers "think the work is about" and its ''thematic statement'' being "what the work says about the subject". The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single abstract noun (for example, love, death, betrayal, patriotism, or parenthood) or noun phrase (for example, coming of age, grief during wartime, or the importance of community). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the thematic idea of loneliness in John Steinbeck's '' Of Mice and Men' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
