Fantasy Masterworks is a series of British
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, le ...
s intended to comprise "some of the greatest, most original, and most influential
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
ever written", and claimed by its publisher Millennium (an
imprint of
Victor Gollancz
Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian.
Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Chris ...
) to be "the books which, along with
Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
,
Peake and others, shaped modern fantasy."
[According to the back cover of e.g. ]
It has a companion series in the
SF Masterworks
''S.F. Masterworks'' is a series of science fiction novel reprints published by UK-based company Orion Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Hachette UK. The series is intended for the United Kingdom and Australian markets, but many editions are dis ...
line. A separate ''Future Classics''
Gollancz editor Simon Spanton on the Future Classics promotion
/ref> line has also started featuring eight science fiction novels from the last few decades.
The books were numbered only through No. 50; in the 2013 reboot of the series, the books are unnumbered, have a uniform look, and feature introductions by well-known writers and critics.
Numbered paperback series (2000–2007)
New design
* Also published in the ''Fantasy Masterworks'' numbered series.
See also
* SF Masterworks
''S.F. Masterworks'' is a series of science fiction novel reprints published by UK-based company Orion Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Hachette UK. The series is intended for the United Kingdom and Australian markets, but many editions are dis ...
References
External links
List of Fantasy Masterworks in order of publication with extensive reviews
��List of Fantasy Masterworks numbered series in reverse order of publication with shorter reviews at The SF Site.
The Fantasy Masterworks List
��A graphical presentation of the Fantasy Masterworks.
{{Fantasy fiction
Fantasy books by series
Lists of fantasy books