Lin Carter succeeds brilliantly in Imaginary Worlds in telling a tale theretofore unattempted in verse or prose--to write an inclusive history of the fantasy genre. Unbelievably, a systematic history of fantasy literature had never been written until this book, published in the 1970s. Imaginary Worlds succeeds on every level, crafted by Carter, a minor master of the fantasy genre himself, and clearly one of its biggest fans.
Carter expertly traces the roots of the fantasy genre, linking modern fantasy to the mythologies of the ancients and the hero tales of folklore through the prose romances of the middle ages. He strives to identify the earliest roots of the modern fantasy genre in the nineteenth century prose romances of William Morris, such as the Glittering Plain and Well at World's End, possibly having been inspired by Meredith's Shaving of Shagpat. From there, the action leapt continents to the new world of the American pulps, where figures such as Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, of John Carter and Conan fame, respectively, fanned the torch into a roaring inferno. This was the most priceless section of the book, at least to my mind, because it provides a critical synopsis of fantasy literature from the pre-Tolkien period. Names such as Lord Dunsany, E.R. Eddison, and Fritz Leiber, while at least the equals of Tolkien in influence and quality, are virtually unknown today, except to the lucky few. Carter gives an interesting take on the reception of Tolkien among already hardcore fanstasy fans, who apparently regarded Tolkien as something of a poseur at first.
The book is entertaining, inclusive, and informative all the way through. Imaginary Worlds will direct a discerning fantasy lover to the good stuff, the golden mother load of fantasy, which is so pitifully absent from the shelves of the modern book store. True, works published later than Imaginary Worlds are neglected by force of the laws of nature, but seeing how fantasy(and all literature) has since decayed, this may be a good thing.
This book was originally published as a part of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, edited by Lin Carter himself. In this series, spurred by the success of Tolkien's works, Carter sought to bring neglected classics of fantasy back into print. Many great, even unparalleled authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, HP Lovecraft, and Cabell were rightfully restored to mainstream publication by this series. Each volume features innovative, evocative cover art together with a scholarly introduction by Carter, similar in vein to Imaginary Worlds. A complete list of the series, including its essential precursors, can be found on Wikipedia.
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