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How to Find and Buy Comic Books Online

Comic books are a great way to escape into a world of fantasy and adventure. Whether you’re a collector or just looking for something fun to read, buying comic books online can be a great way to find the perfect comic book for you. Here are some tips on how to find and buy comic books online.

Research Online Retailers

The first step in finding the perfect comic book is researching online retailers. There are many different retailers that offer a wide selection of comics, so it’s important to do your research and find the one that best fits your needs. Look for retailers that have good reviews, offer competitive prices, and have a wide selection of comics. You can also check out forums and social media sites to see what other people are saying about different retailers.

Compare Prices

Once you’ve found a few online retailers that offer the comics you’re looking for, it’s time to compare prices. Prices can vary greatly from retailer to retailer, so it’s important to compare prices before making your purchase. You should also consider shipping costs when comparing prices as this can add significantly to the overall cost of your purchase.

Check Out Reviews

Before buying any comic book online, it’s important to check out reviews from other customers. Reading reviews can help you get an idea of the quality of the comic book as well as any potential issues with the retailer or shipping process. It’s also a good idea to read up on any return policies in case you need to return or exchange your purchase.

Buying comic books online can be an easy and convenient way to find the perfect comic book for you. By doing your research, comparing prices, and checking out reviews, you can ensure that you get the best deal on your purchase. With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to find and buy comic books online with ease.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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On a TV modeling contest, a judge said, Her simian walk is unbelievable." Was that a good thing?"
What is the definition of adverbiously , from Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities ?
In Oliver Twist , Dodger refers to Oliver as flash companion . Can't find a definition of this anywhere. What does it mean?
Do elocutionists kill people?
For my English homework, I have to write a love poem. I'm only 13 and I haven't had my first love yet. How would I go about writing about feelings that I haven't felt yet?
Where on the body would I find my sarcophagus ?
What's stolid ? It sounds like someone who's stupid and built solid like a wall.
What's a wonton person?
In which play did William Shakespeare state that misery loves company?
What's comfit ? Is it a different way of saying comfort?
Where did the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley take place?
What kind of person would a shallow-pate be?
What are myrmidons of Justice" in Great Expectations ?"
Faseeshis â€¦ no clue on the spelling, but I kind of got yelled at in school today for being that. What did I do?
In The Red Badge of Courage , what's an imprecation ?
The word portmanteau shows up in a lot of the literature I read for school assignments. It sounds French. What does it mean?
I did something really stupid yesterday, and my grandfather told me I was hoist with my own petard." What does that mean? And what's a petard ?"
How do you pronounce Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare's early comedies?
What's a bourse ? I read it in my finance class.
In The House of Mirth, what are oubliettes ?
In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, what are thimble-riggers ?
In Wuthering Heights , what's a thible ?
Which Hemingway story references the running of the bulls" in Spain?"
What's a clink? My dad mentioned that his granddad was there for a long time during World War I.
If somebody is toady," does it mean they're ugly?"
Who said all's fair in love and war" and where?"
Why is there so much talk about baseball, especially Joe DiMaggio, in The Old Man and the Sea ?
In the movie Failure to Launch , there's a line that goes, Well, she certainly is yar," in reference to a yacht. What's yar ?"
What does mangle mean in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities ?
I got detention because a teacher said I was being contumacious . What's that?
What are encomiums?
What are billets in The Three Musketeers ?
In Orwell's 1984 , what is doublethink ?
What are orts ? That's a weird word that reminds me of orcs from The Lord of the Rings .
What are alliteration and assonance?
How is John the Savage's name ironic in Brave New World ?
What's quinsy?
What is a doppelgÃ¤nger?
What is New Historicism?
I found the word unwonted in a book I'm reading. Is that a typo, you think?
In Heart of Darkness , what does cipher mean?
In the play The Glass Menagerie, would you describe Tom as selfish?
What does Kantian mean, from a philosophical perspective?
What's a colonnade ? My girlfriend is freaking me out with stories of her dream wedding where she walks down a colonnade. I know this is the least of my problems, but I'm curious.
My grandma says she knows how I feel when I knit my brows. Is she crazy?
Why is Shakespeare's play titled Julius Caesar , even though he is dead by Act III and plays a relatively small role?
I know bier has something to do with dead people, but what is it exactly?
My brainy brother owns a Harley and says his girlfriend is the pillion . Is he insulting her or just showing off?
I ran across the word mien in a book. Is it a typo?
Is a younker a person or a place?
Does precipitancy have something to do with the weather?
I'm writing a grade 12 comparative essay, and I need a book that I could compare with All Quiet on the Western Front. Any suggestions?
A friend says she suffers from ineffable sadness. What's ineffable ?
What's a scow ?
Is a maelstrom some kind of dangerous weather?
What is the meaning of this saying, The cat will mew and dog will have his day"?"
What is a paradox ?
The Picture of Dorian Gray mentions a panegyric on youth. What does that mean?
In Madame Bovary , what's a mairie?
In The Kite Runner, what's palliative mean?
So what's oligarchy ? In government class, my teacher mentioned that word when we were talking about the Blagojevich scandal in Illinois.
Is intrepidity a good thing or a bad thing?
My grandmother told me that she thinks grandpa should see an alienist. Does she think he's from another planet or what?
Do you have to have licentiousness to get your driver's license?
I ran across the word hardihood in something I read the other day. Is it some kind of clothing?
I saw mention of haversack in my history book. What does that word mean?
I'm guessing the word quadroon is four of something. But what's a roon?
I'm trying to understand Shakespeare's play, King Lear . Can you explain these quotes from Act 1, Scene 1?
In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment , what's a samovar ?
I came across a music channel that featured tejano," and then I saw the same word when I was reading Bless Me, Ultima. What does it mean?"
In The Awakening , there's a term prunella gaiter." I'm guessing that gaiters are a type of covering for your legs, like the gaiters I use on my ski boots to keep snow out. But what the heck is prunella? Is it a purplish color like prunes?"
What's sedulous mean?
In Chapter 2 of Jane Eyre , what are divers parchments ?
A friend of mine said she hopes to get a counterpane for Christmas. What's that?
In Wuthering Heights, what does munificent mean?
The other day, my dad called my friends a motley crew. Is that his way of saying I should hang out with a different crowd?
Why is there an authorship problem with Shakespeare?
What is it called when something is out of place in time, like a jet stream in a movie about ancient Rome?
In 1984 , does Winston die from a bullet at the end of the book or is he in a dream-state?
I saw some old guy in a soldier's uniform selling fake red flowers. He said it was for Veterans Day. What's the connection?
I was kind of flirting with this really cute boy when my teacher told me to stop palavering. Did she want me to stop flirting or stop talking?
My grandmother says when she was a kid in China, she became Catholic because of the Mary Knows nuns. I tried to look that up on the Internet but couldn't find anything. Can you help?
In The Count of Monte Cristo , does cupidity mean love? I'm guessing that because of, you know, Cupid . . . Valentine's Day.
My theater teacher called me a name the other day. I don't think it was supposed to be a compliment. What's a somnambulist, anyway?
Why was Tartuffe such a jerk?
To Kill a Mockingbird has this word fey in it, but I don't know what it means. Does it mean short lived or fleeting?
In Pride and Prejudice , what's probity" &mdash
I never met my grandma, who my mom says lives in a hovel and wants her to move in with us. Then I saw that word in Frankenstein . What's a hovel? I thought it was like a place that had room service.
I have a friend who said something about phantasmagoric. That's not real, is it?
Which of the following literary devices is used in these poetic lines by John Milton?
In Faulkner's A Rose for Emily," what does noblesse oblige mean?"
What is love?
What is suggested by the coin image in Book II of A Tale of Two Cities ?
Why does Satan rebel against God?
I'm reading Candide, by Voltaire, and one of the dudes is an Anabaptist. What's that?
What does the poem Summer Sun" by Robert Louis Stevenson really mean?"
What did Shakespeare want to say about his beloved in Sonnet 18?
In Romeo and Juliet , who was the last person to see Juliet alive?
What is the Catechism?
What is the overall meaning of the poem Before The Sun," by Charles Mungoshi?"
What does ague mean?
Is there a reference to venereal disease in Romeo and Juliet ?
What is the exposition in Othello ?
Who is the character Susan in Romeo and Juliet ?
What is a found poem?
What did Alice Walker mean in the essay Beauty"?"
Why did Dr. Frankenstein create his monster?
What is the name of the surgeon and the English ship he's on in Moby-Dick ?
What are the differences between an epic hero and a Romantic hero?
In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, does Gail Wynand commit suicide or only close The Banner at the end of the novel? I'm in a literary dispute over this!
What did W.E.B. Du Bois mean when he wrote of second-sight?
What is nihilism, and what should I read to get a better understanding of it?
What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
What are intelligent design and creationism and how are they related?
What is misanthropy ?
I would like to understand the poem Blight" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Please help."
Can you explain the significance of the question, Which came first, the chicken or the egg?""
In Little Lost Robot," by Isaac Asimov, why have some robots been impressioned with only part of the First Law of Robotics?"
Can you explain Cartesian Dualism and how Descartes' philosophical endeavors led him to dualism?
When reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice , what does entailment mean?
What does ignominy mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What does pecuniary mean? (From Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities )
How do I analyze Kant's philosophy?
What is an apostrophe in Macbeth ?
Is music a language?
Why should literature be studied?
In the book The Scarlet Letter , what is a vigil ?
The first week of school isn't even over yet and I'm already in trouble â€” I forgot my textbook at school and can't do my homework! What should I do now?!
What are the renaissance features/characteristics in Hamlet ?
What is the exact quote in Hamlet about something being wrong in Denmark? Something smells? Something is amiss?
What does Utilitarianism mean, from a philosophical perspective?
What was the form of English that Shakespeare used?
At the beginning of Act V, Scene 2 of Much Ado About Nothing, does Shakespeare insinuate that anything is going on between Margaret and Benedick?
What was the "final solution" in the book Night by Elie Wiesel?
With the many novels out there, is there a database of some sort that can narrow down your choices to a specific book of interest for pleasure reading? And if not, why hasn't there been?
How do you pronounce Houyhnhnms ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
I just took the quiz on The Great Gatsby on this site. How can Jordan Baker be described as a professional golfer? To my knowledge, the LPGA did not form until the mid-1950s. Shouldn't she be referred to as an amateur golfer instead?
What are the humanities?
If Father, Son, and Holy Ghost aren't names, what is God's name?
What classic novels take place in Florida?
In which Hemingway short story is the saying, "Children's shoes for sale"?
Who is the "lady" that Robert Plant speaks of in the song "Stairway to Heaven"?
Was Odysseus the one who planned the Trojan horse, in the Trojan War?
How do I get my smart-but-hates-to-read son interested in reading?
Poetry gives me problems. How can I figure out what poems are about?
How do you analyze a novel?
What does it mean to ululate ? (From Golding's Lord of the Flies )
Is ambrosia a salad? (From Homer's The Odyssey )
What is a harbinger ? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be refractory ? (From Dickens' Great Expectations )
What is a querulous kid? (From Wharton's Ethan Frome )
What does the word runagate mean? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What is the word, imprimis ? (From Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew )
What does the word alchemy mean? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What is an estuary ? (From Conrad's Heart of Darkness )
What or who is a scullion ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is a schism ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
What does it mean to be salubrious ? (From Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights )
What is a replication ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is vicissitude ? (From Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables )
Can you define indolent ? (From Wharton's House of Mirth )
What does the word replete mean? (From Shakespeare's Henry V )
What are orisons ? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What does it mean to be ephemeral ?
What does it mean to be placid ? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
What is a paroxysm ? (From Stoker's Dracula )
My English teacher got really mad when I said I was nauseous . Why?
What does it mean to be farinaceous ? (From Tolstoy's Anna Karenina )
What does dejection mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What is animadversion ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What does it mean to be timorous ? (From Shakespeare's Othello )
Someone called me erudite . Is that good?
What is a mountebank ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What does incarnadine mean? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be puissant? (From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar)
What is a purloiner? (From Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities)
What does it mean to be affable ? (From Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment )
What does it mean to be ostensible ? (From Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court )
What does compunction mean? (From Dickens's Bleak House )
What is behoveful ? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What is a precentor ? (From Golding's Lord of the Flies )
What does it mean to be loquacious ? (From Cervantes's Don Quixote )
What does imprudence mean? (From Ibsen's A Doll's House )
What is a conflagration ? (From Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde )
What does it mean to be spurious ? (From James' Daisy Miller )
What is a retinue ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
What does the word forsworn mean? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What does the word hauteur mean? (From Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby )
What are vituperations ? (From Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl )
What are ostents ? (From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice )
What is a sockdolager ? (From Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn )
What does insuperable mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What is calumny ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is an augury ? (From Sophocles' Antigone )
What does squally mean? (From Dickens' Great Expectations )
What does corporal mean? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be plausible ? (From Sinclair's The Jungle )
What is a dearth ? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
What does it mean to vacillate ? (From Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest )
What does it mean to obtrude someone? (From Dickens's Great Expectations )
What is a heterodox ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What is felicity ? (From Austen's Emma )
What does it mean to be effacing ? (From Adams's The Education of Henry Adams )
What is a repast ? (From Chan Tsao's Dream of the Red Chamber )
What does insouciance mean? (From Sinclair's The Jungle )
What is a soliloquy ? (From Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn )
I was reading The Iliad and there's this word in it: greaves . What's that?
What does the word prodigality mean? (From Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby )
Is there an easy way to understand The Canterbury Tales ?
What does the scarlet letter symbolize?
What is the significance of Grendel's cave in Beowulf ?
How did Hawthorne show that Hester Prynne was a strong woman in The Scarlet Letter ?
What purpose do the three witches serve at the beginning of Macbeth ?
What can you tell me about Grendel from Beowulf ?
What figurative language does Stephen Crane use in The Red Badge of Courage ?
Why is Roger so mean in Lord of the Flies ?
How do Gene and Finny mirror each other in A Separate Peace ?
The old man and the young wife — what's up with story plots like this?
What part does vengeance play in The Odyssey ?
What kind of a woman is Penelope in The Odyssey ?
Do fate and fortune guide the actions in Macbeth ?
How does Frankenstein relate to Paradise Lost ?
How has the way people view Othello changed over time?
How does Henry change throughout The Red Badge of Courage ?
What's so great about Gatsby?
How is To Kill a Mockingbird a coming-of-age story?
Why did Ophelia commit suicide in Hamlet ?
What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter ?
What is a slave narrative?
What's an anachronism ?
Doesn't Raskolnikov contradict himself in Crime and Punishment ?
What is the main theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ?
What does Shakespeare mean by memento mori ?
What are inductive and deductive arguments?
How does Alice Walker break the rules" of literature with The Color Purple ?"
What role does Friar Laurence play in Romeo and Juliet ?
Why did Elie Wiesel call his autobiography Night ?
How does Shakespeare play with gender roles in Macbeth ?
Where did Dickens get the idea to write A Tale of Two Cities ?
What's the purpose of the preface to The Scarlet Letter ?
What role do women play in A Tale of Two Cities ?
Who are the heroes and villains in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
What are the ides of March?
Was Kate really a shrew in The Taming of the Shrew ?
What role does innocence play in The Catcher in the Rye ?
How are Tom and Huck different from each other in Huckleberry Finn ?
What is blank verse and how does Shakespeare use it?
How do the book and film versions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest differ?
What is a satirical novel?
What is the role of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 ?
How can I keep myself on track to get through my summer reading list?
How does Jim fit into the overall theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ?
What is a major theme of The Great Gatsby ?
How does Shakespeare use light and darkness in Romeo and Juliet ?
Who is the narrator in Faulkner's A Rose for Emily"?"
In Lord of the Flies , what statement is William Golding making about evil?
How is The Catcher in the Rye different from other coming-of-age novels?
How does Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird show two sides?
Was there supposed to be a nuclear war in The Handmaid's Tale ? I couldn't tell.
What is experimental theater"?"
Does Jonas die at the end of The Giver ?
What is an inciting incident, and how do I find one in Lord of the Flies ?
How does King Arthur die?
In Julius Caesar , what does this mean: Cowards die many times before their deaths
How do you write a paper on comparing a movie with the book?
Please explain this Kipling quote: Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.""
What is a tragic flaw?
What is a motif, and how can I find them in Macbeth ?
Why didn't Socrates write any books? After all, he was supposed to be so intelligent and wise.
Why are there blanks in place of people's names and places in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice ?
Was Othello a king? A prince? He's referred to as My Lord" but I'm not sure of his actual title."
I need to download some pictures of Juliet. Where would I find these?
Why does Odysseus decide to listen to the Sirens, in The Odyssey , by Homer?
What does prose and poetry mean? What's the difference?
In The Scarlet Letter, why is the scaffold important and how does it change over the course of the novel?
Why does the legend of King Arthur hold such a powerful grip over us?
Do you like to read books?
What are the metrical features in poetry?
What are the riddles that Gollum asked Bilbo in The Hobbit ?
Can you tell me what these two quotes from Much Ado About Nothing mean?
What is connotation, and how do you find it in a poem?
What is a dramatic monologue?
What is formal fallacy?
In the movie Dead Poets Society, what are some themes and values that are relevant to Transcendentalism. What is Transcendentalism?
Why didn't Mina Harker realize she was under Dracula's spell when she witnessed her friend fall prey to him, too? Wasn't it obvious?
In The Three Musketeers by Dumas, Cardinal Richelieu is labeled as the villain. How could he be presented as a hero instead?
In Romeo and Juliet , what are the different types of irony used? Um, what's irony?
What is the main theme in Fahrenheit 451 ?
In Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities , what fact in Book the Second: Chapters 1-6, confirms Darnay's release?
Why is Invisible Man considered a bildungsroman?
In A Doll's House , what risqué item does Nora reveal to Dr. Rank that eventually prompts him to disclose his own secret?
What is a definition of short story?
What percentage of people are considered geniuses?
How do I write and publish my own novel?
Do I use the past or present tense to answer this question: What is this poem about?" "
A Closer Look at Internships
Consider Working for a Nonprofit Organization
Create a Top-Quality Cover Letter
Deciding Whether to Go for Your MBA
Dress the Part for a Job Interview
Appropriate Attire: Defining Business Casual
Famous Americans Who Started Out in the Military
The Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization
Five Job Interview Mistakes
Getting Good References for Your Job Hunt
Lying on Your Resume
Make the Most of Days between Jobs
Military Career Opportunity: Translators and Interpreters
Network Your Way into a Job
Prepare for a Job Interview
Preparing for Job Interview Questions
Putting Your English Degree to Work
Putting Your Education Degree to Work
Take Advantage of Job and Career Fairs
Tips for a Better Resume
Understand Negotiable Elements of a Job Offer
Visit the College Career Office
Write a Resume That Will Get Noticed
Write a Thank You Note after an Interview
Writing a Follow-Up Letter after Submitting Your Resume
Your Military Career: Basics of Officer Candidate School
Your Military Career: Requirements for Officer Candidate School
Know What to Expect in Graduate School
Paying for Graduate School
Plan for Graduate Education
Tackle the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
What Does School Accreditation Mean?
Writing Essays for Your Business School Application
Apply to Graduate School
Basic Requirements for Grad School
Choose a Graduate School
Decide if Graduate School Is Right for You
English Majors: Selecting a Graduate School or Program
Getting Letters of Recommendation for Your Business School Application
Graduate School Application: Tips, Advice, and Warnings
Graduate School: Applying as a Returning Student
How to Find a Mentor for Graduate School
How to Prepare for Grad School as an Undergrad
How Work Experience Affects Your MBA Application
Master's Degree in Biology: Choosing a Grad School
In what countries does Toyota produce and market cars?
How would you use the PDSA cycle in your personal life?
I am confused about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing negative numbers.
Who are some famous female mathematicians?
Given the set of numbers [7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42], find a subset of these numbers that sums to 100.
The speed limit on a certain part of the highway is 65 miles per hour. What is this in feet per minute?
What is the sum of the angles of an octagon?
In math, what does reciprocal mean?
How many grams in an ounce?
A number is 20 less than its square. Find all answers.
How much is 1,000 thousands?
How do I find the angles of an isosceles triangle whose two base angles are equal and whose third angle is 10 less than three times a base angle?
Explain with words and an example how any number raised to the zero power is 1?
If I had 550 coins in a machine worth $456.25, what would be the denomination of each coin?
What three consecutive numbers add up to 417?
How many 100,000,000s in 50 billion?
Of 100 students asked if they like rock and roll or country music, 7 said they like neither, 90 said they like rock and roll, and 57 said they like country music. How many students like both?
What's the formula to convert square feet into square meters?
In math, what is the definition of order of operations?
What's the difference between digital and analog?
What is the square root of 523,457?
What are all of the prime numbers?
Our teacher told us to look for clues in math word problems. What did she mean?
How do I figure out math word problems (without going crazy)?
What good is geometry going to do me after I get out of school?
I keep forgetting how to add fractions. Can you remind me?
My teacher talks about the Greatest Common Factor. What's so great about it?
Got any tips on finding percentages of a number?
What does associative property mean when youâ€™re talking about adding numbers?
How do I use domain and range in functions?
How do I change percents to decimals and fractions? How about decimals and fractions to percents?
What should I do if my teacher wants me to solve an inequality on a number line?
What is a fast and easy way to work word problems?
How do you combine numbers and symbols in an algebraic equation?
How do I go about rounding off a number?
What is the First Derivative Test for Local Extrema?
Can you describe a prism for me?
How can I double-check my answers to math equations?
How do you factor a binomial?
I get the words mean , mode , median , and range mixed up in math. What do they all mean?
How do you combine like terms in algebra?
Can you make it easier for me to understand what makes a number a prime number?
Explain probability to me (and how about some examples)?
Solving story problems is, well, a problem for me. Can you help?
What's inferential statistics all about?
Finding percentages confuses me. Do you have any tips to make it simpler?
What's a quadratic equation, and how do I solve one?
How do you figure out probability?
How do you add integers?
How do you use factoring in quadratic equations?
What are limits in calculus?
I've looked everywhere to find the meaning of this word and I can't find it. What's the definition of tesseract ?
In geometry, how do you get the perimeters of a square and a rectangle?
What is the absolute value of a negative number?
A rectangle swimming pool is 24m longer than it is wide and is surrounded by a deck 3m wide. Find the area of the pool if the area of the deck is 324m 2 . Where do I even start to solve this problem?
How do you classify numbers, as in rational numbers, integers, whole numbers, natural numbers, and irrational numbers? I am mostly stuck on classifying fractions.
How do you convert a fraction to a decimal or change a decimal to a fraction?
I am trying to find all solutions to this algebra (factoring) problem, x 3 – 3x 2 – x + 3 = 0, and I keep getting the wrong answer. Please help!
Sometimes when I'm doing my pre-calculus homework I need help on some of the problems. Do you know where I can find help on the weekends or whenever?
How do you convert metric measurements?
I'm curious about converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, or Fahrenheit to Celsius. How do I convert from one to the other?
In basic math, the fraction bar shows division. So why does this equation show multiplication instead of division? 9/9 = 1 because 1 x 9 = 9.
I'm taking geometry and I'm having problem with the angles and the degree. Is there a way you can help me out?
The perimeter of a rectangle is 66m. The width is 9m less than the length. What is the length and width of the rectangle?
How many dollars are in 5,000 pesos?
How many ounces in a pound?
I'm having a hard time remembering percent of change. All I have is P (percent) = amount of change over original amount. Is there a better way of understanding it?
How do I figure out tangrams?
What are quadrilaterals?
What is the least common multiple of 8, 6, and 12?
How do you convert decimals to fractions?
How did the planet" Pluto get its name? I know it's named after the mythical god of the underworld, but why?"
What is the difference between the earth's core and its crust?
What does gender really mean?
What does plum pudding have to do with physics?
What is the functionalist perspective in sociology?
What does pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis mean?
Why aren't viruses considered living things?
Why does your breathing rate increase when you exercise?
Everyone says you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton swabs because you could break an eardrum. But if you do break your eardrum, will it grow back?
What is a mole?
How, and why, is body fat stored?
Where on the body do you find ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium?
Since she was only married for 72 days, does Kim Kardashian have to give back her wedding gifts?
In the United States, how can you get buried at sea?
What exactly is Salvia divinorum , and is it legal?
What is the composition and volume of whole blood?
Should I refer to a widow as Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?
Is it possible to catch more than one cold at a time?
Why does the Earth have more gravitational force than the moon or some other planet?
Did humans evolve from monkeys or apes?
What is the largest organ in the human body?
How did we end up with both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales?
What is absolute zero?
What is cell theory?
How come when humans flatulate, it smells bad?
How do I convert mL into µL, and vice versa?
What is the most abundant element in the earth's crust?
Is global warming man-made?
What exactly is wind? And why does it blow?
This sounds really disgusting, but I'm curious: Can humans drink animal blood, or any other kind of blood?
Why is space exploration important?
How is photosynthesis essential to life on earth?
What is the highest mountain in New Mexico?
What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist?
Who are the unbelievers" referred to in The Koran? What is it that they do not believe?"
What is the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites?
What happens when you die?
Why is it important to memorize where the 50 states are on a map?
What kind of endangered species are there? Can you give me some examples, please?
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open, so when you drive a car, is it against the law to sneeze?
What are tectonic plates?
I have boy trouble. I want to ask out my friend, but I am not sure he is going to say yes. Plus, he said he had a girlfriend when we talked during school. Plus, my parents don't want me to date.
Why is the sky blue?
Do you really shrink at the end of the day and then grow in the morning?
What is the difference between matter" and "mass"?"
What does "nature versus nurture" mean?
What are closed contour lines?
What is homeostasis ?
What does the periodic table look like?
Do you know anything about the law of conservation of energy? Is it really a law?
I thought I knew what work means, but my physics teacher defines it differently. What's up with that?
How do plants know when to drop their leaves?
What's the surface of the moon like?
How does the number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom differentiate it from another atom?
How do big rocks wear down over time?
What does genetic recombination mean?
How has DNA matching really made big difference in finding out who committed a crime?
What's the difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?
What is incomplete dominance?
Can hydrocarbons be considered compounds?
Can you explain what molar mass is?
Aren't fungi really plants?
What information is contained in a chemical equation?
What are the endocrine and exocrine systems?
How do electrical charges interact?
Are there more than three kingdoms of life? I can never remember.
What are the characteristics of electrically charged objects?
How does anomie theory explain deviant behavior?
Why would anybody think there might be life on another planet?
What are chemical solutions?
Do you know of any way to simplify the overall subject of biochemical genetics?
Can a loud noise really shatter glass?
How do magnetic fields work?
Did Clarence Darrow really call an animal in to testify at the famous monkey trial?
What role does the thyroid gland play in the human body?
What did Mendel discover about heredity when he was playing around with plants?
How many laws of motion did Newton come up with, and what are they?
What in the world is constructive and destructive interference?
How do viruses do their dirty work?
What do bones do, except give us a skeletal structure?
Do all viruses look alike?
My teacher keeps talking about solubility. What does that mean, anyway?
How do positive and negative reinforcement work?
How does nondisjunction relate to birth defects?
With all the germs in the world today, how come everybody's not sick all the time?
What is thermal equilibrium?
How are sound waves created?
What do taste buds look like — up-close?
How often does an eclipse happen?
What is the chemical composition of saltwater?
I was told to write a 15-sentence answer to this question: When in life do you learn to expect the unexpected? I don't really know of an answer. Can you help me figure it out?
My school is having a blood drive and I am considering donating blood. Can you tell me more about the whole process and if it is painful?
Where can I download music for free? And if I do, is it illegal?
How do I convince my parents to give me ten bucks?
How should I deal with being a perfectionist?
How do I convince my little brother and sisters to stay out of my room?
Can you eat a rooster?
How do I work out a problem with a teacher who loses the assignments I turn in and then accuses me of not doing the homework?
Could a Tyrannosaurus rex kill King Kong?
How would you describe a rainbow to a person who has been blind their ENTIRE life and doesn't understand colors?
Will a tattoo inhibit hair growth?
When did gays come about?
I was wondering if the tilt on the earth's axis is important to animal life on earth. Could you explain?
What are the four types of tissue found in the human body?
Is there any easy" way to understand the Krebs Cycle?"
Why are prostaglandins sometimes called tissue hormones?
What is cell death? And what is the difference between apoptosis and necrosis?
How do I find the molar mass of the elements on the periodic table?
What do the symbols on the Periodic Table mean? For example, Gold-Au, Silver-Ag, Lead-Pb, Potassium-K, Tin-Sn, Iron-Fe, and Mercury-Hg, where did these symbols come from?
How is your mind connected to your dreams? Does this have anything to do with psychology?
What are the three main functions of the skeletal system?
What are the characteristics of a moneran, protist, and fungus?
Why does a placebo work? And who does it work for?
What are two properties of metals, nonmetals, and metalloids?
What is lymph? Is it part of the circulatory system in our bodies?
Can there be life on Mars?
How much of the ozone layer is left?
Is it possible for a marine mammal to be infected with rabies?
What exactly does the RNA do?
What is the sperm travel process?
What is a bacterial colony?
Dealing with the myth of Cinderella, written by the Grimm brothers, how could you analyze it in terms of archetypes that Carl Jung used?
What exactly is blood clotting and what are the processes involved?
What is the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission?
Does a person have to have the same blood type as his or her brothers and sisters?
My teacher said that eating poisonous mushrooms can make you sick or even kill you, but that they're not the only fungus that can. What is she talking about?
What is the chemical equation for orange juice?
What kind of structures are opposable toes?
What is an oral groove?
Dogs are spayed, but humans have hysterectomies. Isn't it all the same surgery?
What does the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) do?
What is the angle formed by a horizontal line and a line of sight to a point below?
After I take the ASVAB, what is my obligation to the military?
If I choose to take the computerized version of the GRE, will I be typing or writing my analytical and issue essays?
Are there any MBA programs that don't require the GMAT?
Can you use a calculator on the GMAT? What are you allowed to take in with you to the test?
Should I keep taking the GMAT until I get a good score?
How is the ASVAB scored?
I canceled my GMAT score right after I took the test. Now I'm wondering if I did the right thing.
What is the ASVAB AFQT?
Where can I take the ASVAB?
Is it better to guess on GMAT answers or would that count against me?
How is my GMAT score used by grad schools?
Is it true that the writing assessment sections of the GMAT are graded by a computer?
What kinds of scores are reported on the GRE, and how long will it take for me to get my scores?
What do I need to bring with me to the GRE testing center?
How are GRE scores used?
How do I learn stuff for in-class exams?
How do I get ready for a math test?
Can I take a calculator to my ACT exam?
Do you have any tips for doing well on the AP Chemistry test?
What can I expect in the math part of the SAT?
How can I prepare for the SAT essay?
What is the Critical Reasoning section of the SAT like?
Is there a fun way to learn SAT vocabulary?
What books should I read for the AP English Literature exam?
How can I make sure I finish the AP essay question in time?
Since I made the soccer team, I don't feel like I have enough time to study. Do you have any study tips so I can use my time better and make sure I don't get kicked off the team for my grades?
I'm a huge procrastinator. How can I manage my time effectively to catch up on my assignments?
What kind or amount of note-taking is optimal? I get lost while making a notation and miss other parts of the lecture.
I study so hard for my tests that I know I know the material, but then I always panic and bomb. How can I reduce my test anxiety?
I do really bad on quizzes. I'm okay with tests and homework, but I do horribly on quizzes. What can I do to prepare for quizzes?
I've screwed up horribly this semester. I always say I'm going to change my habits, but I always end up getting lazy and doing something else. I want to succeed, but how can I get rid of my own laziness?
If you have any music or audio notes playing on tape, CD, or whatever and you fall asleep, is it true that you'll have whatever was played memorized by the time you wake up?
I have trouble understanding a book when I read. I try to read so that I can finish the book quickly but still understand what's going on. Could you give me a few tips on how to understand a book while reading at a quick pace?
What is the best study method when trying to cram three chapters all at once?
What if I have a really bad memory? When I read a page of a book, I can't go back and remember it.
Why do some teachers say light a peppermint candle? I mean, I don't think it helps you concentrate.
I really suck at taking multiple choice tests. Do you have any suggestions for not psyching myself out before a big test?
Is there a WRONG way to study?
Are the math questions on the GMAT extremely difficult and complex?
Does it matter whether I take the SAT or ACT in my junior year or my senior year of high school?
What does AP mean?
How can I explain to my friend what I mean when I call him tedious ?
Does the word privations has something to do with the government?
What's the difference between goulash and galoshes?
What exactly is a parallel structure?
I have a bet on this: Learnt is a real word, right?
Is a boor somebody who boos or somebody who bores?
Somebody in my drama club used the word ostentation the other day. What does that mean, anyway?
Define paraphrasing.
What's another word that means the same thing as malevolence ?
I find the same typo in a lot of books I read. Shouldn't connexion be connection ?
What do you call a word that only ever appears as a plural?
What s the difference between like and such as
Can you show an easy way to remember when to use I" or "me" in a sentence? (And please skip the technical grammar rules.)"
Should I say, â€œCan I have a banana?â€ or â€œMay I have a banana?â€
Is the proper capitalization Atlantic ocean or Atlantic Ocean ?
What does the word supercilious mean?
Is grippe something that makes you sick?
Does the word elucidation have something to do with drugs?
How would you use fervid and fervent in a sentence?
How can someone become a good writer?
How do you cite CliffsNotes in APA, MLA, and CMS styles?
What period in history does histrionics cover?
People used to die from consumption. Does that mean they ate too much?
Is it ever okay to start a sentence with the word but?
What is the longest word in the English language?
I'm learning English now, so I gave myself an English name â€” Vivi." However, an American told me that "Vivi" is not suitable for a name. There are some local reasons. So I want to know if "Vivi" really can't be used as a name."
When writing a paper, what do I do to the title of a book? Do I underline it or italicize it?
Please look at this sentence: Both Peter and John like soccer. Should it be: Both Peter and John likes soccer.
What are the four genders of noun?
What is it called when a word is the same both forward and backward?
Do swans really sing when they die
What does indignation mean?
What is a pundit ?
What is a cleft sentence
What is the difference between narration and first person?
Is it grammatically correct to say take some shots"?"
My teacher thinks I plagiarized an essay; what should I tell him?
Why do some authors use the word an before all words that start with an H? Is this form of writing correct?
My school newspaper claimed that I am. is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. Isn't Go. a complete sentence?
How did people make up the lb. abbreviation for pounds?
Which is correct: "if I was" or "if I were"? And why?
How would you use the word antecede in a sentence?
Could you please explain the difference between affect and effect ?
How do I write a good thesis statement?
What do people mean when they talk about information in the public domain?
What's the big deal about plagiarism, anyway?
Is there a difference between envy and jealousy ?
Can you define the words prostate and prostrate ?
What does it mean to be threadbare ?
Is there a difference between the words ignorant and stupid ?
I used the word reoccur in a paper and my teacher said it should have been recur . Can you tell me the difference?
What does it mean to be flabbergasted ?
When should I write the word lose and when should I write loose ?
What does ad infinitum mean? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
Do loath and loathe have different meanings?
I got marked down on a paper for using the word irregardless . Why?
What does it mean to be fastidious ? (From Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo )
Do stationary and stationery mean the same thing?
How is the word among different than the word between ?
What is a hierarchy ?
What is the difference between tortuous and torturous ?
Can you help me understand the difference between the words censor and censure ?
I get farther and further confused. Can you help?
I can t keep principal and principle clear Can you help
My teacher lowered my grade on a paper because I described a scene as grizzly . I thought that was a word.
Are the words gamut and gauntlet interchangeable?
When do I write some time instead of sometime and sometimes ?
Can you help me figure out when to use the word lay instead of lie ?
Can you tell me when to use faze instead of phase ?
What is the difference between avenge and revenge ?
What is the difference between the words precede and proceed ?
How do I fix a run-on sentence?
How useful are automatic spell-checkers?
Is it okay to begin a sentence with and ?
When is it okay to use sentence fragments?
What is future perfect tense?
Is it okay to split infinitives?
Why do people often confuse than and then in writing?
When do I use commas with clauses?
How do I decide which type of pronoun to use when I have multiple pronouns?
What types of words or phrases should I avoid in my writing?
What is parallel structure in writing?
When should I use apostrophe-S?
What is a clause?
I have to write an essay, and I'm having a hard time getting started. Do you have any tips?
How can I make the most out of my first draft?
What should I avoid when writing the conclusion of a research paper?
Are can and may interchangeable?
What is passive voice?
What does it mean to be quixotic ?
What are linking verbs?
What does it mean to use redundant adverbs?
How do I organize a comparison essay?
How do I decide between who and whom ?
How do you use possessives in front of gerunds?
Can I end a sentence with a preposition?
How do I decide on the scope of my essay?
What are participles?
What's the difference between will and shall ?
Which adjectives can't be modified with more and most ?
What are indirect objects?
Should I use his , his or her , or their ?
What's the difference between farther and further ?
What is a storyboard?
What exactly is a theme of a story, and how can I recognize it?
Why is English class called English in school? English is a language, so I don't think it should be a class. Please help me understand.
What is tone exactly and how do you find it in stories?
Where do you start when writing a character analysis?
What is a dynamic character? What is a static character? How are they different?
What's the difference between description and narration?
I don't get onomatopoeias! It's as hard to spell as it is to understand!
What is a gothic tale?
What is the author's style" of a book?"
What is a one-word sentence called?
What word class would the word Novembery fit in to?
My instructor wrote on my paper to be careful about using passive voice. What does that mean?
Is it grammatically correct to say, She went missing"? What is the rule?"
I need information on the social roles of language. How are individuals judged based on their use of language?
What is the origin of the word promotion ?
What's a preposition?
What are some examples of homographic terms?
I have to write an essay for my AP world history class and my teacher said to use direct comparison, but I'm confused on what he means by that. Please Help!
I'm reading The Scarlet Letter in my Honors AP English class and my teacher wants us to do a 5 paragraph essay. What's the best way to start the introduction?
What are some examples of transitions that I can use in my writing assignment?
What does APA stand for?
In typing a term paper, what is the proper spacing after a period? I think I've read that one space is now acceptable.
What is meant by argue your own thesis?
How do I write an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph?
What are easy ways to identify figurative language?
When writing a persuasive essay, what words can take place of being verbs," such as is, are, has, be, were, and was? My teacher crossed all of those out of my paper? What words should I use to replace those?"
I have to write a dialogue that might take place between the speakers of The World Is Not a Pleasant Place to Be" and "Where Have You Gone." What exactly is a dialogue?"
What is the literary device of writing exactly as a character speaks, even if words are misspelled and the grammar is non-standard?
What are the types of tones/attitudes in writing?
What are the first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view? Which is used for formal essays?
What is a good sentence for the word plinth ?
What are footnotes and endnotes? How do I start off a title page?
Why can't you be rude or sarcastic in your thesis statement?
How do you write a paper, when the topic is yourself? How do you research that kind of thing?
What would a raging river be like?

Often, writers of fantasy fiction devote a series of books to the same world or characters.

Some of the most famous examples of fantasy fiction are The Chronicles of Narnia , The Lord of the Rings , His Dark Materials (which begins with The Golden Compass ), and The Wizard of Earthsea collections. Note that the Harry Potter series also qualifies as fantasy fiction, even though the books take place on contemporary Earth.

Fantasy fiction is frequently confused with science fiction, which might incorporate some of the same tones and themes, but the plot of a science fiction story will also rely on technology that is advanced beyond what we know today. The Star Wars movies are an example: Even though Star Wars is set in the past, takes place in another galaxy, and has mythical creatures as characters, the plot also centers on science (space travel, as well as weaponry and other technology that humankind has yet to invent). Therefore, Star Wars is science fiction rather than fantasy.

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Fantasy has been a tool in the storyteller’s kit since ancient times and today counts as one of the highest selling genres in fiction and film - but what is it?Let's define fantasy fiction.Fantasy fiction: a definitionFantasy fiction is a literary genre and a sub-genre of speculative fiction. Fantasy fiction is…

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Fantasy Fiction
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A Raisin in the Sun
Amiri Baraka
Arcadia Tom Stoppard
August Wilson
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
David Henry Hwang
Edward Albee
Eugene O'Neill
European Drama
Fences August Wilson
Goethe Faust
Hedda Gabler
Henrik Ibsen
Jean Paul Sartre
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Lillian Hellman
Long Day's Journey into Night
Lorraine Hansberry
Luigi Pirandello
Luis Valdez
M. Butterfly
Murder in the Cathedral
No Exit Jean Paul Sartre
Oedipus Rex
Oliver Goldsmith
Prometheus Bound
Pygmalion Overview
Sean O'Casey
She Stoops to Conquer
Six Characters in Search of an Author
The Cherry Orchard
The Children's Hour
The Glass Menagerie
The Homecoming
The Iceman Cometh
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Little Foxes
The Misanthrope
The Way of the World
The Wild Duck
Tom Stoppard
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
William Congreve
Zoot Suit Luis Valdez
Age of Revolution
American Gothic
American Romanticism
Black Mountain Poets
Colonial Era
Confessional Poetry
Dark Romanticism
Early National Era
Fireside Poets
Literary Modernism
Modern American Drama
Modern American Poetry
Modern American Prose
Native American Literature
New Formalism
New York School
Poetry Slam
Puritan Literature
San Francisco Renaissance
Slave Narrative
Transcendentalism
A Journal of the Plague Year
A Map of the World
A Tale of Two Cities
Albert Camus
Alexandre Dumas
Alias Grace
All Quiet on the Western Front
An American Childhood
Angie Thomas
Anita Desai
Anna Karenina
Annie Dillard
Antelope Wife
As I Lay Dying
Asian Literature
Babylon Revisited
Bernard Malamud
Blood Meridian
Bobbie Ann Mason
Book of Daniel
Brideshead Revisited
Brothers and Keepers
Captain Corellis Mandolin
Carson McCullers
Cat's Cradle
Cathedral by Raymond Carver
Charles Bukowski
Charles Chesnutt
Clear Light of Day
Cormac McCarthy
Crime and Punishment
Cry the Beloved Country
Daniel Defoe
David Foster Wallace
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Don DeLillo
Don Quixote
EL Doctorow
Edith Wharton
England England
Erich Maria Remarque
Ethan Frome
European Literature
Evelyn Waugh
Fahrenheit 451
Fathers and Sons
Flaubert's Parrot
Ford Madox Ford
Frances Harper
Franz Kafka
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gertrude and Claudius
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Going After Cacciato
Gravitys Rainbow
Great Expectations
Gulliver's Travels
Gustave Flaubert
Haruki Murakami
Henry Fielding
Herman Melville
Hermann Hesse
In Cold Blood
In the Lake of the Woods
In the Time of the Butterflies
Infinite Jest
Invisible Cities
Invisible Man
Islands in the Stream
Italo Calvino
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev
JD Salinger
Jack Kerouac
James Baldwin
James Fenimore Cooper
Jane Hamilton
Jazz (1992) Toni Morrison
Jean Toomer
Jill Ker Conway
John Cheever
John Edgar Wideman
John Fowles
John Updike
Jonathan Swift
Joseph Heller
Joyce Carol Oates
Julia Alvarez
Julian Barnes
Kafka on the shore
Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Mansfield
Kingsley Amis
Kurt Vonnegut
Leo Tolstoy
Light in August
Louis de Bernieres
Louise Erdrich
Love in the Time of Cholera
Madame Bovary
Maggie A Girl of the Streets
Mansfield Park
Margaret Laurence
Markus Zusak
Martin Amis
Maxine Hong Kingston
Miguel de Cervantes
Milan Kundera
Moll Flanders
Mrs. Dalloway
Naked Lunch
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Northanger Abbey
Norwegian Wood
Notes From Underground
O Pioneers!
Oceanian Literature
Octavia Butler
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men Chapter 1
Of Mice and Men Chapter 2
Of Mice and Men Chapter 3
Of Mice and Men Chapter 4
Of Mice and Men Chapter 5
Of Mice and Men Chapter 6
On the Road
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Passing by Nella Larsen
Philip K. Dick
Philip Roth
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Rabbit, Run
Ragtime Novel
Ralph Ellison
Ray Bradbury
Raymond Carver
Richard Wright
Robinson Crusoe
Rudolfo Anaya
Sandra Cisneros
Saul Bellow
Scarlet Letter
Sent for You Yesterday
Serafina's Stories
Ship of Fools
Sister Carrie
Slaughterhouse Five
Song Of Solomon
Sons and Lovers
Stephen Crane
Tess of the D'Ubervilles
The Adventures of Augie March
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Age of Innocence
The American
The Aspern Papers
The Baron in the Trees
The Book Thief
The Book of Ruth
The Catcher in the Rye
The Conjure Woman
The Crying of Lot 49
The French Lieutenant's Woman
The Garden Party and Other Stories
The Good Soldier
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart of The Matter
The House of Mirth
The House of the Seven Gables
The House on Mango Street
The Joy Luck Club
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Loved One
The Making of Americans
The Man in the High Castle
The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Member of the Wedding
The Metamorphosis
The Natural
The Plot Against America
The Portrait of a Lady
The Power of Sympathy
The Red Badge of Courage
The Road from Coorain
The Sound and the Fury
The Stone Angel
The Stranger
The Sun Also Rises
The Temple of My Familiar
The Three Musketeers
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being
The Wapshot Chronicle
The Woman Warrior
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Theodore Dreiser
Thomas Pynchon
Tim O'Brien
Time's Arrow
To Kill a Mockingbird
To the Lighthouse
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Virginia Woolf
Vladimir Nabokov
Voyage in the Dark
Washington Irving
We Were the Mulvaneys
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
White Noise
Wide Sargasso Sea
Willa Cather
William Faulkner
William Hill Brown
William S. Burroughs
77 Dream Songs
A Barred Owl
A Red Red Rose
A. R. Ammons
Adrienne Rich
Alexander Pope
Allen Ginsberg
An American Sunrise
And death shall have no dominion
Andrew Marvell
Anne Bradstreet
As I Walked Out One Evening
As Kingfishers Catch Fire
Balder Dead
Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter
Beowulf Poetry
Binsey Poplars
Briefings Collection
Carl Sandburg
Carolyn Forche
Chicago Poem
Concord Hymn
Concord Hymn by Jack Spicer
Crossing the Bar
Crossing the Swamp
Danse Russe
Derek Walcott
Diving into the Wreck
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dover Beach
Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
Dylan Thomas
E. E. Cummings
Easter 1916 Poem
Edgar Allan Poe
Edmund Spenser
Edward Kamau Brathwaite
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy for Jane
Elegy for a Jet Pilot
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Biography
Elizabeth Bishop
Emancipation from British Dependence Poem
Epitaph on the World
European Poetry
Five Flights Up
For Jane Meyers
For That He Looked Not Upon Her
For the Union Dead
Frank O'Hara
Garrett Hongo
Gary Snyder
George Gascoigne
George Oppen
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gertrude Stein(1874-1946)
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn Brooks
Helen In Egypt
Henry David Thoreau
Here Philip Larkin
Hilda Doolittle
How We Became Human
I Carry Your Heart with Me
I, Too Langston Hughes
Idylls of the Kings
If I Could Tell You
If you forget me Pablo Neruda
In the Waiting Room
Jack Spicer
James Schuyler
John Ashbery
John Berryman
John Crowe Ransom
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
Law Like Love
Leaves of Grass
Leslie Marmon Silko
Let America be America again
Li-Young Lee
Life Studies
Lorine Niedecker
Louise Glück
Mary Oliver
Matthew Arnold
May Swenson
Meaningful Love
Midsummer, Tobago
Mountains and Rivers Without End
Musee des Beaux Arts (1939)
My Papa's Waltz
My People Langston Hughes
Ode to the Confederate Dead
Of Being Numerous
Ogun by Kamau Brathwaite
On Being Brought from Africa to America
On Her Loving Two Equally
On My First Sonne
On the Banks of the Ohio
On the Bus with Rosa Parks
One Hundred Love Sonnets XVII
Pablo Neruda
Paterson by William Carlos Willaims
Phenomenal Woman
Philip Freneau
Phillis Wheatley
Picture Bride
Pied Beauty
Poems on Various Subjects Religious and Moral
Poetry of Departures
Rebecca Hammond Lard
Richard Eberhart
Richard Wilbur
Rights of Passage
Robert Browning
Robert Hayden
Robert Lowell
Sailing to Byzantium
Seamus Heaney Digging
Seasons of the Soul
Sic Vita Thoreau
Sir Philip Sidney
Some Trees Poem
Songs of Innocence
Spring and All
Storm Warnings
Storyteller
Sunday Morning
Sylvia Plath
The Author to Her Book
The Bean Eaters
The Black Walnut Tree
The British Prison Ship
The Buried Lake
The Centaur
The Colonel
The Convergence Of The Twain
The Day Lady Died
The Death of a Toad
The Definition of Love
The Empty Glass
The Faerie Queene
The Groundhog
The Hollow Men
The Indian Burying Ground
The Juggler
The Kaddish
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
The Man He Killed
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Odyssey
The People, Yes
The Rape of the Lock
The Raven Edgar Allan Poe
The Red Wheelbarrow
The Second Coming
The Shield of Achilles
The Unknown Citizen
The Weary Blues
The Wild Honey Suckle
The Wild Iris
The Windhover
Theodore Roethke
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Those Winter Sundays
Thou Blind Man's Mark
To Brooklyn Bridge
To His Coy Mistress
To My Dear and Loving Husband
To Penshurst
To a Dark Girl
Wallace Stevens
Walt Whitman
We Real Cool
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
William Butler Yeats
William Carlos Williams
Yellow Light
[Buffalo Bill 's] by E. E. Cummings
African American Diaspora
African American Literature
American Crime Fiction
American Diaspora
American Jewish Fiction
Appalachian Fiction
Canadian Fiction
Chicano Poetry
Chinese American Literature
Frontier Novels
Latin American Literature
Local Color Novel
New England Fiction
Southern Fiction
A Good Man is Hard to Find
A Rose for Emily
Battle Royal
Death by Landscape
Desiree's Baby
Dry September
Flannery O Connor
Guy De Maupassant
Interpreter of Maladies
James McBride
Jhumpa Lahiri
The Necklace
The Pardoner's Tale
The Tell Tale Heart
The Things They Carried
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Save the explanation now and read when you’ve got time to spare.

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Fantasy has been a tool in the storyteller’s kit since ancient times and today counts as one of the highest selling genres in fiction and film - but what is it?

Fantasy Fiction definition

Let's define fantasy fiction.

Fantasy fiction: a definition

Fantasy fiction is a literary genre and a sub-genre of speculative fiction .

Fantasy fiction is concerned with magic, the impossible, or the fantastic. It can be set in a fictional world that may contain characters inspired by myth or folklore , such as trolls, elves and dragons.

There are various types of fantasy fiction, including:

Fairy Tales
Animal Fantasy
Lost World/Lost Race

High Fantasy

Portal Fantasy

Humorous Fantasy

Magic Realism

Fantasy Fiction books and examples

Let's look at some examples.

Fairy tales

Fairy Tales started life as 'Tales of Wonder' – stories handed down orally of fantastic, otherworldly events and people. During the Renaissance , people began to write down and collect these stories.

In 17th-century France these tales became very fashionable for reading aloud at salons, and Madame d’Aulney started writing sophisticated versions, called Contes des Fées (Tales of Fairies) (1696-98). A fellow writer, Charles Perrault, also started writing Histoires, or Contes du temps passé (Mother Goose Tales) (1697).

A century later, in Germany, the Brothers Grimm collected together myths and legends to prevent them from being lost to future generations. They published this collection as Grimms’ Fairy Tales (1812), and so the fairy tale canon was expanded.

The salon began in the 18th century and was an informal gathering at the houses of intellectuals, usually wealthy women, where literature, the arts, and sciences were discussed.

Animal fantasy

In Animal Fantasy means animals taking on human characteristics. Animals speak and act like humans in many of these stories. For example, the wolf in Red Riding Hood or the cat in Puss in Boots.

Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Books (1894, 1895)
Kenneth Grahame - Toad of Toad Hall (1908)
Richard Adams - Watership Down (1972)
Gabriel King - The Wild Road (1997)
David Clement-Davies - The Sight (2001)
M.I.McAllister - Urchin of the Riding Stars (2004)

The fiction of heart’s desire

As the Gothic and Sensational novels grew in popularity over the 18th and 19th centuries, fantasy takes a bit of a backseat with the exception of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies (and both of these were written with children in mind); instead, science-fiction kicks off with the novels of Jules Verne.

In the late 19th century fantasy fiction began to flourish again in both children’s fiction and adult literature. A couple of authors had a far-reaching influence on the genre:

F. Anstey (1856 – 1934)

Rider Haggard (1856 – 1925)

F. Anstey ’s comic novel Vice-Versa (1882) describes a boy discovering a magic stone that allows him to swap places with his father. This and other novels by Anstey were extremely popular; his blend of humour and fantasy inspired other writers such as E.Nesbit, who wrote Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, The Story of the Amulet.

Anstey’s Vice-versa has since been adapted several times for film, and was retold in a mother-daughter version by Mary Rodgers in her 1972 novel Freaky Friday .

Anstey's original concept continues to influence Hollywood age-swap films like Big (1988), 18 Again! (1988), Opposite Day (2009) and Shazam! (2019).

At around the same time as Anstey another writer, H.Rider Haggard , was writing about lost kingdoms and peoples in his Quatermain novels King Solomon's Mines (1885), She (1886) and Allan Quatermain (1887). Zhese were part of a whole new ‘Lost World’ genre that includes A.Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (1912) and Rudyard Kipling's The Man who would be King (1888).

In these novels, explorers and adventurers make perilous journeys into as yet undiscovered parts of the world, experiencing the extraordinary, the bizarre, the ‘unreal’ in a series of unearthly, at times surreal, escapades featuring hidden kingdoms, secret cults, and magic.

Rider Haggard is seen as the father of the lost world genre whose influence extends to J.R.R.Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft and later, in the film world, the Indiana Jones franchise.

High fantasy & portal fantasy

No discussion of fantasy fiction would be complete without mentioning two of the most influential writers of fantasy literature: J.R.R.Tolkien and C.S.Lewis.

Tolkien is widely regarded as the patriarch of fantasy fiction for his works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) which are considered ‘high fantasy’ novels. Tolkien’s work has seen many imitators and has helped shape modern fantasy fiction.

High Fantasy concerns itself with epic tales, larger than life heroes and villains that are not usually human.

The Hobbit describes the adventures of Bilbo Baggins who is suddenly whisked off on a journey of magic and adventure by Gandalf the wizard. Gandalf takes Bilbo with him on a treasure hunt to the lair of the dragon Smaug. The Hobbit was an immediate success, and Tolkien followed it with his trilogy The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien further developed the world he had created, creating a complete mythology for it.

Initially poorly received, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings achieved popularity in the 1970s, followed by film versions and global recognition from the 1980s onwards. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings exist in their own complete mythology and world created by Tolkien, with influences including Norse folklore and Tolkien’s own experiences of World War I.

C.S.Lewis wrote both science-fiction and fantasy. His first book in the series of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1950 and explains how the four Pevensie children discover the magical kingdom of Narnia by stepping into a wardrobe. Like Tolkien, Narnia was a world Lewis had created, inspired by Celtic literature, mythology and personal experience.

The Chronicles of Narnia are not cut off in another realm, however. They are accessible to humans from this world, by means of portals such as the wardrobe in the first Chronicle. Literary influences include Plato, Dante, Milton, and Spenser. The Chronicles have been adapted for radio, television and film and remain a firm children’s classic.

Fun Fact: both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S.Lewis belonged to a group called The Oxford Inklings. This was a group of writers that met up regularly in an Oxford pub to read and discuss their writing.

Humorous fantasy

The humorous style of Anstey was continued by Thorne Smith ( Topper (1926), Turnabout (1931)). His stories contained friendly ghosts and body swaps, updated for the reading public of between-the-wars America. Both Topper and Turnabout were adapted for film and television. Two sequels for Topper were also filmed: Topper Takes a Trip (1939) and Topper Returns (1941). His influences can also be seen in later films: Ghostbusters (1989) , Beetlejuice (1988) and Night at the Museum (2006).

In 1983, The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett was published, the first in a series of comic fantasy novels. Terry Pratchett's Discworld series evolved into a colourful, chaotic parallel universe filled with a medley of trolls, dwarves, wizards, humans and gods. The books teem with eccentric characters and themes or countries that mirror those of Earth including politics, journalism, Hollywood, society, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and most of all the foibles of human behaviour.

Pratchett’s work ranges from slapstick to satire , making gentle fun of fantasy cliches while also containing underlying philosophical depth and serious messages. Several of his works have been filmed: Hogfather (2006), The Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic (2008), and Going Postal (2010).

Humorous fantasy can be traced back to the ancient world: Greek Old Comedy (written before 400 BC) is mainly satirical fantasy, (for example, Aristophanes’ The Birds (414 BC) is about a city in the air called ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’).

Another, later writer, Lucian of Samosata (c. 120 - 180 A.D.) wrote parodies and his Lucianic Dialogues and The True Story are humorous fantasies which pre-date Pratchett by over 1000 years, poking fun at the ‘imaginary voyage’ fiction of Lucian’s own generation. The original stories are lost, but Lucian’s parodies send explorers to the moon (like Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865)) and to the Underworld, where Charon the ferryman leaves his post to explore the mortal world and see how humans live (like the character Death in Pratchett’s Reaper Man (1991)).

Note : Lucian’s tale of explorers sailing to the moon on a waterspout has also been regarded as a very early form of science fiction .

Magic realism

Magic Realism evolved as a rebellion against the Expressionist movement, and as a reaction to the grime and tragedy of the modern cityscape. It is a form of escapism, a means of viewing the world not through rose-tinted spectacles, but through a kaleidoscope of frequently changing colours. Magic realism exists in a dislocated kind of reality where anything magical might quite normally happen. For instance, someone might see a unicorn in the back garden or grow a monkey's tail and while it may be unexpected, these incidents will be treated as part of everyday life.

The narrative style in magical realism does not follow a predictable line either: the first act is not necessarily followed by the second and third; there may not be an actual climax, or if there is, it won’t happen when you expect it to.

The term was first used in 1925 by Franz Roh and the genre became popular in Latin America in the 1940s - 60s.

Authors who contributed to the genre of Magical Realism :

Neil Gaiman

Franz Kafka is among the earliest authors of Magical Realism with his novella Metamorphosis (1915). In the novella , the unfortunate protagonist Gregor Samsa wakes up to find he has turned into a huge insect. His transformation, rather than arouse horror and pity, merely annoys his father and Samsa is confined to his room where he dies of neglect and despair.

Jorge Luis Borges is Jungian in his philosophy, believing in the unity of the past, present and future and of all humanity as one. His short stories contain themes of labyrinths, libraries, mirrors, dreams and philosophy.

Example titles:

Ficciones (1944)

The Aleph (1949)

Neil Gaiman writes a wide range of literary works from fantasy through horror to surrealism and magical realism . His novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013) is a combination of all four as the narrator returns to his hometown and begins to remember events from his childhood. The memories take on an increasingly improbable and surreal form of the hero’s journey and concern monsters in human shape and ‘hunger birds’.

Characteristics of fantasy fiction

The basic elements of writing apply to any novel whether fantasy, science fiction , mystery, thriller or literary:

A well-planned and structured plot (and possibly subplots)
Believable, filled out characters

After that, the world in fantasy fiction has to be convincing, with its own structure and system, and this applies to any magic involved – magic does not need to be explained away the way science does in sci-fi, but its spells need to be consistent, its mages, witches and wizards need to have lore and beliefs that they follow (with dire consequences if someone breaks the rules).

Typical elements of fantasy fiction include:

Magic or supernatural powers

Enchanted kingdoms

Powerful witches/wizards/warlocks

Talking animals

Mythical beasts (flying horses for example)

Trolls, dwarves, elves, fairies

Objects with magical properties (flying carpets, magic staffs, amulets, enchanted stones etc)

Fantasy fiction is inspired by mythology, fairy tales and legends. Rather than creating new stories, the fantasy novel is retelling old ones, although in a new way, with a fresh voice or perspective.

Fantasy fiction characters

Fantasy fiction characters often hold specific roles and there can be recognisable archetypes including:

A hero or heroine
A wizard or wise old woman
A helpful (talking) animal
A trickster (usually a character that can shapeshift, or change their appearance at will)
A wounded or dying KIng
An innocent or ‘divine’ child
The guide: this may or may not be the wizard or wise woman; they will appear at the necessary moment to help the hero gain access to the inaccessible: enchanted castle, locked tower, the invisible bridge and so on.
An imprisoned knight or guardian of an enchanted relic

These characters are again based on folklore ; Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) traces the origins of the Hero, the Antagonist , the Mage or Wizard, the Soothsayer, the Ally in ancient mythology from around the world.

Study tip: the next time you read a fantasy novel , or watch a fantasy film, see how many of these archetypal roles you can identify.

The difference between fantasy and science fiction

Fantasy fiction is concerned with myth , legend and magic. Science-fiction is concerned with science: problems and obstacles are overcome by the use of scientifically designed equipment or machinery. Even if the science may seem to verge on the ‘fantastic’ such as time travel machines, or talking computers, it will still be based on a theory or evidence that such things might at some point be possible.

Both are sub-genres of speculative fiction . There is some discussion as to whether science fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy because many elements are similar, it's only the setting and the way the fantastical elements are couched in pseudo-scientific terms that differ.

Fantasy fiction explores and frees the imagination: it creates and expands on new worlds that contain gods and monsters, myth and legend, runes and spells. Its technology tends to be ancient, often worked with magic, spells, incantations, energy. It does not rely on any scientific reasoning; its logic is bound up in rituals, oral storytelling, and instinct. Its comparative freedom from ‘reality’ as we know it allows us to escape our own surroundings and to stimulate our own creativity, which may help explain its continued popularity over time.

Fantasy Fiction - Key takeaways

Fantasy fiction is concerned with magic, the impossible or the fantastic.
Fantasy fiction is concerned with myth , legend and magic, whereas science-fiction is concerned with science.

Frequently Asked Questions about Fantasy Fiction

--> what are fantasy fiction examples .

A.Conan Doyle's The Lost World,

J.R.R.Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic etc

--> What is fantasy fiction?

In the modern sense, fantasy fiction is concerned with magic, the impossible or the fantastic.

--> What are the characteristics of fantasy fiction?

--> what's the difference between science fiction and fantasy.

Fantasy fiction is concerned with myth, legend and magic, whereas science-fiction is concerned with science.

Final Fantasy Fiction Quiz

Fantasy fiction quiz - teste dein wissen.

What are fantasy fiction examples?

Show answer

A.Conan Doyle - The Lost World (1912)

J.R.R.Tolkien - The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55)

Terry Pratchett - The Colour of Magic (1983) etc

Show question

What is fantasy fiction?

In the modern sense, fantasy fiction is concerned with magic, the impossible or the fantastic.

What are the characteristics of fantasy fiction?

What's the difference between science fiction and fantasy?

Name two members of the Oxford Inklings group.

J.R.R.Tolkien and C.S.Lewis.

True or false: In 17th-century France fairy tales became very fashionable for reading aloud at salons.

True or false: Mary Rodgers in her 1972 novel Freaky Friday retold a story by E. Nesbit.

False: Mary Rodgers in her 1972 novel Freaky Friday retold a story by F. Anstey.

True or false: ‘Lost World’ genre includes A.Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book .

False: ‘Lost World’ genre includes A.Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Rudyard Kipling's The Man who would be King.

True or false: Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) traces the origins of the Hero in ancient mythology from around the world.

Complete the following: Modern fantasy fiction is concerned with … the impossible or the …

Modern fantasy fiction is concerned with magic, the impossible or the fantastic.

Complete the following: Fairy Tales started life as Tales of …

Fairy Tales started life as Tales of Wonder.

Complete the following: F.Anstey’s comic novel Vice-Versa (1882) describes a boy discovering a magic … that allows him to … places with his father.

F.Anstey’s comic novel Vice-Versa (1882) describes a boy discovering a magic stone that allows him to swap places with his father.

Complete the following:In lost world novels, … and adventurers make perilous … into as yet … parts of the world.

In lost world novels, explorers and adventurers make perilous journeys into as yet undiscovered parts of the world.

Choose: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is filled with ... and ...

Choose: Fantasy fiction characters include ... and ...

a hero or heroine

What is hard fantasy also known as?

High fantasy

What is low fantasy also known as?

Soft fantasy

What is hard fantasy?

Hard fantasy includes a fantastical world that has its own detailed history and mythology, and certain rules, limitations and principles for the magic to work (such as cultural, social and political rules). Reason and logic are essential elements in hard fantasy as well detailed world-building.

What is low fantasy?

Low fantasy includes elements of the real world and fantasy elements. It incorporates accepted norms and constructs of the real world, real histories and places we are aware of with fantasy to change the way the world acts and the way we perceive it. It is governed by vague or undefined limitations and rules.

How does low magic affect the plot of a story?

Low magic is usually the problem of the story and not the solution. Sometimes it can be used to help the protagonist but, in most cases, this magic complicates the events of the story. As a result, the protagonist must either rise against this magic, deal with the complications it is causing or succeed regardless of it.

What is the key difference between hard fantasy and low fantasy?

The key difference between hard/ low fantasy is that hard fantasy requires readers to let go of their perceptions and beliefs of life and enter a world that has a completely different system from what they know. Low fantasy allows readers to use their current beliefs about the world and combine them with the new ideas in the novel.

Can hard and low fantasy be present in the same story?

What are the two forms of worldbuilding?

Soft worldbuilding and hard worldbuilding

Can you have elements of soft worldbuilding and hard worldbuilding in the same story?

Who are ‘door writers?’

Writers who prefer hard worldbuilding are door writers. Writers who use hard worldbuilding give readers a door into the world by allowing them to walk in and see everything there is.

Who are ‘window writers?’

‘Window writers’ (writers who prefer soft worldbuilding) only provide readers with a window to the world, so the readers do not have a proper view of the world and must infer things at times.

Who introduced the terms ‘door writers’ and ‘window writers?’

V.E. Schwab

What is hard worldbuilding characterised by?

sense of realism

What is soft world building characterised by?

concrete rules

What type of fantasy is Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001)?

Low fantasy

What is contemporary fantasy?

The Contemporary fantasy sub-genre includes fantasy stories based in a modern setting. The characters in these stories live in the modern day with magical and supernatural elements interwoven into the setting. The magic system or magical creatures are either present in the world or live in an alternate world that interferes with the present world.

What other subgenres is contemporary fantasy an umbrella category for?

Urban fantasy, Mythic Romance, Noir Fantasy

What are Mythic Romances inspired from?

What is Noir Fantasy?

This fantasy sub-genre is a form of noir-style crime plot with strong fantastical elements.

According to Farah Mendlesohn, what four characteristics can be seen in fantasies?

Portal-quest

What happens in portal-quest fantasies?

In portal and quest fantasies, the character leaves a familiar setting, passes through a portal and enters an unknown destination. While portal fantasies don’t need to be quest fantasies, a lot of them are.

What happens in immersive fantasies?

In immersive fantasies, the characters accept and understand the rules of this fantastical world. To them, these magical or fantastical elements are ordinary, so it is the role of the author to inform the reader of the new fantastical rules and world.

What happens in Intrusion fantasies?

In intrusion fantasy, the role of the intruder is to make the fantastical world more ‘real’ due to the interruption.

What happens in liminal fantasies?

It is ambiguous if the fantasy is something real in the fictional world or if the fantasy is simply just the product of the protagonist's imagination.

Unlike Contemporary Fantasy, which subgenre of Fantasy literature is set in the past?

Historical Fantasy

What texts did the notable contemporary fantasy writer C.S. Lewis write?

The Chronicles of Narnia (1956)

Unlike Contemporary Fantasy, which subgenre of Fantasy literature is set in the future?

Science Fantasy

What is the difference between Contemporary fantasy and Urban fantasy?

The difference between contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy is that urban fantasy is a sub-genre of contemporary fantasy where the plot primarily happens in a city. It is a type of fantasy that happens in the real world and deals with issues from contemporary urban populaces.

What are the key elements of Urban fantasies?

Urban setting

Why are classical romance villains like ghosts, vampires and demons popular in Urban fantasies?

These types of characters are popular as villains and even heroes in urban settings as it presents the dark and light side of humanity. For example, vampires look like normal people but they have a thirst for blood.

True or False - Wuxia is not a story, it is a phenomenon.

Define Wuxia.

The word wǔxiá (wuxia) is made up of two words: wǔ ,

which means 'martial' or 'military' , and xiá , which translates to 'hero', or 'chivalry'. Wuxia , as a whole, roughly translates to 'martial hero'.

Why is it difficult to find a perfect translation of the word 'wuxia'?

This is because the stories of the xiá are so embedded in Chinese popular culture, and have narrative roots dating back to Ancient China. The genre originated in fantasy literature, but its intense popularity has led to an extensive range of adaptations, including video games, dramas, operas, and films.

What do Wuxia stories normally depict?

Wuxia stories usually depict heroes of lower social class rising up against oppression, tackle injustices and right social wrongs. Martial arts is also an important part of all wuxia tales.

When did the term 'wuxia' originate?

Although the term 'wuxia', as a form of popular literature, is a recent conception, similar tales and legends have existed in Chinese literature for millennia. However, s ome stories that bare resemblance to modern wuxia date back as far as 300-200BCE. It was in 1919 that 'wuxia' was first popularised as a term.

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The 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

Fantasy is the oldest genre of literature, but its best release ever landed just six years ago.

Fantasy is the oldest genre of literature, pre-dating the invention of bound books by thousands of years thanks to mythology and folklore. Yet even now, readers and critics can’t always agree on what fantasy is and what it isn’t. For some, ancient poetry like Beowulf, The Odyssey, and The Epic of Gilgamesh is fair game. For others, the modern genre for adults began with George MacDonald’s Phantastes in 1858, the story of a thirsty 21-year-old who wakes up in Fairy Land and falls in love with a marble statue sculpted by Pygmalion.

Origins aside, most scholars agree on a basic definition: fantasy is when something we consider supernatural occurs that can’t be explained by technology (as in science fiction) or the macabre (as in horror). Of course, there are no strict borders between these genres, and many books could be reasonably shelved under all three. But for this list, we concentrated on novels that are primarily fantasy, which is why you won’t see genre-straddlers like Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time or Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun .

To keep this lineup manageable, we only included books originally published as a bound book on paper—which ruled out classics like Journey to the West and One Thousand and One Nights —and ensured they were currently and easily available in print. We also limited the list to one book per author, to avoid crowding it with multiple titles in the same series.

While all lists are subjective, we emphasized books that brought something new and innovative to the genre—books that inspired other fantasy writers as well as readers. In ranked order, here are the best fantasy books of all time.

Harper Voyager The City of Brass, by S. A. Chakraborty

The first novel in Chakraborty’s trilogy is set in 18th-century Cairo, where a thief-slash-exorcist named Nahri accidentally summons a djinn warrior. Together, they travel to the “city of brass,” a magical metropolis called Daevabad. Nahri’s story continues in two fast-paced sequels, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold, while a spinoff story compilation, The River of Silver, is forthcoming this October.

Anchor The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

The only book on this list written during National Novel Writing Month, Morgenstern’s debut novel is an atmospheric fairy tale about Le Cirque des Rêves —a traveling magical circus that only appears at night in Victorian England. The nonlinear story is full of surprising secrets that keep coming until the very end.

Vintage The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

The author of Never Let Me Go has only written one fantasy novel, but he knocked it out of the park. In the Dark Ages after the death of King Arthur, a mysterious “mist” prevents Britons from storing long-term memories. An elderly couple, convinced that a son they can barely remember is missing, journeys across the country to find him, where they stumble upon ogres, a dragon, and Sir Gawain.

Broadway Books The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins

Carolyn and her eleven siblings live together in the house of their father, a seemingly immortal man whose library grants them special powers. To say anything else would spoil this riveting, one-of-a-kind novel full of surprises and paced like a thriller.

Tordotcom Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark

In Clark’s harrowing novella, white supremacists summon demonic entities when The Birth of a Nation premiers in 1915. Seven years later in Georgia, three battle-ready Black women armed with a sword, a rifle, and explosives come together at Stone Mountain to stop a demon-infested Ku Klux Klan from bringing about an apocalypse.

Dalkey Archive Press The Other City, by Michal Ajvaz

Translated into English in 2009, The Other City is a challenging but immensely rewarding novel set in Prague, where an unnamed narrator discovers a purple book written in an indecipherable language; he then realizes that there’s another, surreal version of the city existing in the same space as the familiar one. His midnight travels through this “other city” are rich with Borgesian and Dalíesque imagery, resulting in a reading experience you’ll never forget.

Tordotcom The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, by Kai Ashante Wilson

Another strange forest is at the center of The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, Kai Ashante Wilson’s 2015 novella about two men descended from dead gods. They lead an expedition through the Wildeeps, where multiple worlds overlap and magical creatures stalk their party. It’s a captivating world, expanded upon even further in 2016 by a followup novella, A Taste of Honey .

Liveright Publishing Corporation The Unfinished World, by Amber Sparks

Amber Sparks plays with form, genre, and archetypes in this nuanced collection of short stories. An assortment of knights, werewolves, astronauts, librarians, time-travelers, and dinosaurs haunt these pages, but never as tropes—despite their fantastical premises, each story is grounded in emotional realism.

Tordotcom Witchmark, by C.L. Polk

Winner of the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, Witchmark is set in a secondary world similar to Edwardian England and ruled by noble families with magical powers. The setup is fantastic and the characters are nuanced, but the book really shines in the latter half, thanks to a series of revelations you’ll never see coming.

Penguin Books Tales of Falling and Flying, by Ben Loory

Ben Loory’s very short stories are almost a genre unto themselves, somewhere between fairy tales, fantasy vignettes, and absurdist sketches. They'll make you think, wonder, and laugh out loud. None of these 40 stories ends like you expect it to—not even the one about the Dodo.

Harper Perennial What Should Be Wild, by Julia Fine

Fine’s debut novel opens with one of the most stunning first lines of all time: “They grew me inside of my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.” Born with the power to kill and revive living things with a single touch, 16-year-old Maisie Cothay embarks on an adventure through a mysterious forest to find her missing father.

Tor Books A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab

Schwab’s Shades of Magic series begins with this blockbuster, where a few rare magicians have the power to travel between four versions of London—Red London, full of magic; Grey London, our own world in the Regency era; White London, a dying city; and Black London, destroyed by magic long ago. It’s as fascinating as it sounds.

Vintage The Vorrh, by Brian Catling

A dark, polarizing novel filled with passages of exquisite beauty and heartache. Shortly after World War I, an English soldier arrives in the African city of Essenwald—which was transported brick by brick from its original location in Germany—as a base camp for his journey across a vast unmapped forest, armed with a bow made from the bones and sinews of his dead wife. It gets even weirder from there.

Berkley Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay

In the 1970s, Guy Gavriel Kay helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion after the passing of J.R.R. Tolkien. In the decades since, Kay has become one of the most prolific fantasy writers of his generation, often setting his novels in worlds that closely resemble historical places on Earth. His most impressive book, 1990’s Tigana , takes place on a planet with two moons, magic, and a culture inspired by medieval Italy’s warring provinces.

Tordotcom The Black Tides of Heaven, by Neon Yang

An epic novella in Yang’s Tensorate series, The Black Tides of Heaven was a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards in 2018. The twin children of a brutal empress, Mokoya and Akeha grow up in a monastery where they develop magical powers. After declaring their chosen genders as youths, they fall into opposing sides in the war over their mother’s empire.

Bantam A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

When the first book in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series was published in 1996, no one could have predicted that Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow would become household names two decades later, courtesy of HBO. While the two most recent volumes have lost some of the momentum Martin built in the first three, there’s no denying that the original A Game of Thrones is a landmark event for turning so many well-worn genre tropes upside down.

Yearling The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman

It’s hard to pick the best book in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The Golden Compass is a fascinating if somewhat arduous introduction to Lyra’s world, full of daemons and airships and armored polar bears, while The Amber Spyglass takes the biggest narrative risks (not all of which pay off). But The Subtle Knife is a fast-paced romp through the multiverse, unburdened by the setup and windup duties that sometimes weighed down the first and third books in the series.

Orbit Queen of the Conquered, by Kacen Callender

A Black woman with the power to read minds, Sigourney Rose seeks revenge on the colonizers who killed her family in Callendar’s adult debut, set in an island world inspired by the Caribbean. It’s a remarkable story of royal intrigue, manipulation, and corrosive power that won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2020.

Small Beer Press Kalpa Imperial, by Angélica Gorodischer

The late Argentine writer Angélica Gorodischer deserves far more attention for this novel-in-stories, translated by none other than Ursula K. Le Guin in 2003. Every chapter in Kalpa Imperial is narrated by a different storyteller and describes the rise and fall (and rise and fall again) of an unnamed empire. It’s a smart, whimsical take on the way power corrupts real and imaginary societies.

William Morrow & Company Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

Inspired by England’s pre-Tolkien fantasy writers like Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees, Gaiman’s 1999 novel Stardust feels like a timeless classic. A tale of faerie markets, witches, and feuding princes, it’s also a romance between a half-human, half-faerie young man and a fallen star in the shape of a young woman. Bright and breezy, it’s short enough to read in a single sitting.

Adam Morgan is a literary critic and the founder of the Chicago Review of Books , Southern Review of Books , and Chicago Literary Archive .

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Meaning of fantasy fiction in English

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I started writing fantasy fiction : stories of knights and magic and other realms .
For whatever reason , fantasy fiction has settled into the quasi-medieval, with magic , wizards and all that.
The comic book brings together characters from Victorian fantasy fiction , including Henry Jekyll, Captain Nemo, and the Invisible Man.
There seems to be an insatiable appetite for fantasy fiction in the Harry Potter mould .
Afrofuturism
allegorical
autobiographical
boy-meets-girl
director's cut
passion project
police procedural
psychological
tragicomedy

Translations of fantasy fiction

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moral victory

an occasion when you prove that your beliefs are right, although you lose an argument

Reunions and housewarmings (Words for different parties)

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What are Fantasy Novels?

A fantasy novel is a genre of literature which features fantastical elements. The stories categorized in this genre often feature mythological creatures and magic. Depending on the type of subgenre the novel is, the setting of the story can be in an alternate universe, the past or even the present. The universal factor in all these stories is, however, the fact that the events that happen in the story could not happen in real life. This drastically separates fantasy from other forms of fiction .

Novels are pieces of fiction that are longer in length than other forms of literature and are written in prose. Thus, they are distinguished from short stories by their length, from poems by their prose, and non-fiction by their fiction. Fantasy novels are differentiated from other forms of literature because of the aspect of fantasy in them. The characters and settings of a fantasy novel usually include an element of magic or the supernatural. In addition, it may also feature a mythical creature such as a dragon , fairy , or elf.

Several subgenres of fantasy novels exist, including high fantasy, dark fantasy and comic fantasy. High fantasy is commonly characterized by good fighting against evil. An example of this type of fiction is J.R.R. Tolkien ’s Lord of the Rings. Dark fantasy novels usually include elements of horror. Comic fantasy is a form of fantasy that involves humor.

Graphic novels can also be fantasy novels.

Settings in fantasy novels can vary drastically depending on the subgenre of the novel. High fantasy usually takes place in an alternate world. However, other forms of fantasy can take place in a modern setting, the past, the future or in an alternate dimension. Some forms of fantasy novels take place in medieval times. Another subgenre, urban fantasy, will take place in a contemporary setting—either real or imagined—and feature fantastical events or people.

Fantasy novels can be children's stories or they can be for more mature readers.

The fantasy genre is closely related to science fiction. However, they are technically different. While both have to do with events or places that have not and may not exist, science fiction uses science to do this. In other words, in theory , science fiction could happen with the correct technology. Despite the differences, the two genres are commonly placed together—sometimes even lumped into the same category.

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Discussion Comments

I love fantasy. It is my favorite genre of book.

I like to seek out new authors. Some of the best selling fantasy novels are not always the best; take Twilight for example, though that is an extreme case.

@Denha, I like romance fantasy novels, but I know what you mean. Some writers seem to lay it on a little thick with the way that the protagonist gets into trouble but, in the end, finds true love with someone both wonderful and unbelievably attractive. I still like reading YA fantasy novels too, though.

I love fantasy writing, and some of my favorite writers, such as Diana Wynne Jones, sometimes manage to to combine high fantasy, comic fantasy, and dark fantasy all in the same books; these are the best fantasy novels, in my opinion. I do love to read young adult, possibly even more than books aimed at adults, just because these stories tend to be faster-moving and more thrilling, while "adult" books tend, for my taste at least, to spend too much time trying to involve romance, sex, and other "grown up" things.

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28 Fantasy Books That Will Transport You to Other Worlds

Nothing sweeps you off your feel like a novel about an imaginary world—preferably one with a few mermaids or dragons or powerful yet unappreciated sorcerers.

There was a time, in recent memory, when fantasy lovers hid their affection for sword and sorcery from the world, when talk of wizards and warlocks was relegated to comic book conventions and groups of sweaty teens huddled around card tables in suburban basements. That time is long, long over: Game of Thrones was the most popular TV shows of all time, Amazon has thrown tens of millions of dollars at fantasy IP, and Dungeons and Dragons is proudly played by celebrities like Vin Diesel and Aubrey Plaza.

In terms of books, fantasy might be the oldest literary genre, dating back to ancient texts like the Illiad and Beowulf . The most moving stories use magical devices as a foil for the real world, speculating on how society would act and react if the rules of reality were different. Others establish elaborate universes and characters that span generations and multiple volumes.

Though coming up with 28 was tricky, here’s a selection of the best of the best of the genre, from YA all the way to treasured literary classics. May you fall under the spell of each and every one.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty

Adventures are typically for young men, unencumbered by responsibilities or maturity. Unless you’re Amina al-Sirafi, a kick-ass pirate mom who used to sail the Indian Ocean in search of treasure, and is now on a desperate mission to find a young heiress in the company of an unscrupulous sorcerer. This middle-aged woman is in her prime and showing the kids how it’s done: fighting monsters, outwitting demons, and exploring islands drenched in dangerous magic. When things are at their toughest, you want Amina al-Sirafi at your back, with a sharp sword and a clever remark at the ready. This book has some great stuff about being true to yourself versus fulfilling your family obligations, and it’s based on solid historical research on medieval seafaring in the area, but what it mostly is, is fun. —Amy Goldschlager

Be Sure: Wayward Children, Books 1-3 , by Seanan McGuire

The Hugo Award–winning Wayward Children series ( Every Heart a Doorway , Down Among the Sticks and Bones , and Beneath the Sugar Sky, all collected in Be Sure ) is set at a school for children who have visited magical worlds of dancing skeletons, strawberry-soda seas, and deep-diving mermaids and can’t quite readjust to their old life on Earth. Some are so desperate to find a door back to their fantastical adventures that they’re willing to do anything—even murder. McGuire uses a fantasy lens to compassionately explore the struggles of young people looking for that place where they finally fit, despite societal pressure that demands that they pretend to be “normal.” If you used to be that “weird kid,” hiding in corners and inside books, this series is for you. —A.G.

The Eye of the World , by Robert Jordan

The Dark One, an evil force imprisoned inside a weakening cell, threatens the world. The Dragon Reborn, a reincarnated savior with powerful magical abilities, is born to a dying warrior woman on the slopes of a snowy mountain. Accompanied by a band of village youths, he seeks to defeat the Dark One, in The Wheel of Time, the sprawling, 14-book series. The depth of world-building is incredible, the characters indelible, and it comes to satisfying conclusion. —Sam McKenzie

Witch King, by Martha Wells

Kaiisteron, a body-swapping demon, and his good friend, the Witch Ziede, escape from captivity in an underwater tomb. Picking up companions along the way, the two set out to discover who put them there, rescue Ziede’s kidnapped wife, and explode a conspiracy that has roots in their mutual past, when they fought a massive invasion from a genocidal army of unknown origin. Here you’ll find multiple magic systems, believably self-serving political intrigue, tender moments of found family, and really interesting exploration of gender identity (but in a pleasantly matter-of-fact, not preachy, way). While fairly self-contained, there are sufficient dangling threads at the end that lend themselves comfortably to a series, if Wells is so inclined; let’s hope so. —A.G.

Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

A civil war breaks out in the kingdom of Westeros, and House Stark finds itself embattled in a bitter conflict with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Meanwhile, a displaced queen gathers an army to retake her former home while an evil force from the icy North threatens to wipe out humanity. A Song of Ice and Fire is a gritty, realistic fantasy series where magic and mythical species take a back seat to political machinations and impeccable character development. —S.M.

The Way of Kings , by Brandon Sanderson

An assassin from a faraway land murders the Alethi King, Galivar. Five years later, Galivar’s brother, Dalinar, leads a war of attrition against the race of monstrous creatures known as the Parshendi who are blamed for the killing. Meanwhile, Kaladin, a disgraced former soldier turned slave, and Shallan, a noblewoman from a powerless family, seek to improve their fortunes in seemingly disconnected ways, while an ancient force of power intent on exterminating the world of men pulls the strings. —S.M.

The Fellowship of the Ring , by J.R.R. Tolkien

The armies of Men, Elves, and Dwarves square off against Sauren, a god-like villain who leads a tide of Orcs and Trolls bent on consuming the world. Frodo Baggins and his loyal friend Sam embark on a quest to deliver a magical ring to the fires of Mordor, guided by the wizard Gandolf. The Lord of the Rings is required reading for fantasy fanatics, notable for its rich and detailed world, satisfying story of loyalty and courage, and fanciful characters. —S.M.

Dune , by Frank Herbert

On the unforgiving desert planet Arrakis, where water is more valuable than gold and giant worms eat mining rigs whole, House Atreides attempts to ally with the local Fremen people to battle their historical foe, House Harkonnen, for supremacy. Paul Atreides is the young heir to his house, prophesied to lead humankind to a better future. Combining political intrigue, environmentalism, and mysticism, Dune remains relevant to conversations about consumption and stewardship of our planet nearly 60 years after publication. —S.M.

Sourcery , by Terry Pratchett

A magical staff wielded by a powerful sorcerer leads a hostile takeover of Unseen University and subverts its wizardly faculty into a campaign of world domination. The cowardly Rincewind, a wizard incapable of performing magic, and Canina the Hairdresser (daughter of Conan the Barbarian) attempt to come to the rescue with mixed, zany results. Terry Pratchett’s hilarious, inventive, and rich Discworld novels are an interconnected series of 41 books that can pretty much be read in any order. —S.M.

The Fifth Season , by N.K. Jemisin

In a dark, brutal world where magic users are feared and hated, those lucky enough to avoid being lynched by ignorant townspeople are forced to live as slaves, part of the Fulcrum, an organization tasked with limiting the damage caused by the frequent tectonic shifts that wrack the land. Meanwhile, three women in disparate stages of life, all of whom possess the forbidden gift of Oregeny, embark on dangerous journeys. The Fifth Season is a tragic and beautiful post-apocalyptic yarn. —S.M.

The Name of the Wind , by Patrick Rothfuss

A chronicler records the story of a washed-up hero turned innkeeper; an orphaned boy named Kvothe who comes from humble beginnings becomes a wizard university’s most talented pupil, attracting enemies with the speed of his rise. Obsessed with escaping poverty and discovering the mystery behind his parents’ murder, Kvothe pushes his luck and talent to the limit. Rothfuss constructs a compelling world with richly detailed economies, cultures, and history that is home to a thrilling story. —S.M.

The Lies of Locke Lamora , by Scott Lynch

The island of Camorr is a city divided between powerful criminal gangs and a mercantile nobility. A sticky-fingered young orphan named Locke is raised by a con-man priest to lead a band of thieves, known as the Gentlemen Bastards, who pull off one elaborate scam after another, living above the law until a dark and violent competitor threatens everything Locke has gained. Lynch’s writing is fast-paced and witty, and readers will be drawn into the action from page one. —S.M.

Assassin's Apprentice , by Robin Hobb

A young boy is born, the bastard son of a prince, growing up in the shadow of his legitimate family at the king’s court. Raised by the reticent keeper of hounds and mentored by an assassin, young Fitz learns he has a larger-than-expected role to play in the fate of the kingdom. The setting is engaging and vibrant, the characters jump off the page and pull the reader in, and the plot moves at breakneck speed. —S.M.

The Blade Itself , by Joe Abercrombie

The Union is threatened by the incursions of the self-styled King of the North and the sadistic Emperor to the South. A barbarian with a violent past, an arrogant, spoiled nobleman, a twisted torture victim turned inquisitor par excellence, and a vengeful former slave find themselves in the thick of it, while an old, cantankerous wizard hides big plans for them all. The Blade Itself is dark and plain old hilarious at times, each POV dripping with personality. —S.M.

The Once and Future King , by T.H. White

T.H. White’s fanciful retelling of the beloved Arthurian legend is full of humor and wit, following the life of England’s most famous knight, from his childhood adventures fighting alongside Robin “Wood” to being transmogrified into fish and fowl to his coming-of-age finding of Excalibur and ascension to Knight of the Round table and king of all the land. At times tragic, undoubtedly epic, and always funny, The Once and Future King belongs on any fantasy lover’s bookshelf. —S.M.

Redwall , by Brian Jacques

A rat named Cluny and his army of vermin lay siege to the walls of Redwall Abbey, a peaceful monastery populated by talking mice. A young hero Mattheus fights to defend the abbey, befriending a warlike clan of sparrows and battling an evil serpent along the way. Each Redwall installment features a battle between benevolent woodland creatures fighting evil “vermin” in a formulaic yet comforting series that spans hundreds of years, jumping forward and backward through time. —S.M.

Gardens of the Moon , by Steven Erikson

The Malazan Empire, a militaristic, expansionary society, is in the midst of a 100-year campaign to conquer the world. A company of soldiers fighting for the empire known as the Bridgeburners attempt to infiltrate the last remaining Free City and undermine it from within. However, as the Empress grows more and more tyrannical, the Bridgeburners are forced to reconsider their true loyalties. Gardens of the Moon is a complex and interesting novel packed with magic, gods, assassins, and war. —S.M.

American Gods , by Neil Gaiman

The old gods are living beings who walk the Earth and draw power from those who worship them, increasingly finding themselves endangered as the world turns toward newer gods like Technology, Media, and Conspiracy Theories. Shadow gets out of jail early when his wife is killed in a car accident, setting off on a road trip with his mysterious new employer, Mr. Wednesday. American Gods is packed with Americana and fascinating tidbits of lore alongside ample humor and wit. —S.M.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell , by Susanna Clarke

In an alternative England during the early 19th century, true magic once existed but now belongs to scholars who cannot practice it. Two magicians reveal themselves and attempt to restore magic to its rightful place. The relationship between Jonathan Strange and his tutor, Mr. Norell, degrades as rivaling techniques to pursue a common goal drives a wedge between them. A dense yet playful take on the supernatural that channels authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen with expertise and flair. —S.M.

Perdido Street Station , by China Miéville

New Crobuzon is a decrepit and sprawling city where races of humanoid creatures coexist uneasily together. When a human scientist named Isaac takes on the task of healing a bird-man’s wings, he accidentally unleashes a monster loose on the city. Meanwhile, his insectile girlfriend, Lin, entangles herself with a powerful mob boss who drags the couple into an underworld of crime and corruption. Perdido Street Station is a perversely unique Victorian steampunk blend of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. —S.M.

Sam McKenzie is a tech employee by day and fantasy author by night. He writes about fiction, technology, and culture. Follow him on Twitter @samckenz

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