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Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings
Winner of the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Myth and Fantasy Studies (2016)
Fantasy worlds are never mere backdrops. They are an integral part of the work, and refuse to remain separate from other elements. These worlds combine landscape with narrative logic by incorporating alternative rules about cause and effect or physical transformation. They become actors in the drama--interacting with the characters, offering assistance or hindrance, and making ethical demands. In Here Be Dragons, Stefan Ekman provides a wide-ranging survey of the ubiquitous fantasy map as the point of departure for an in-depth discussion of what such maps can tell us about what is important in the fictional worlds and the stories that take place there. With particular focus on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Ekman shows how fantasy settings deserve serious attention from both readers and critics. Includes insightful readings of works by Steven Brust, Garth Nix, Robert Holdstock, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, China Mieville, Patricia McKillip, Tim Powers, Lisa Goldstein, Steven R. Donaldson, Robert Jordan, and Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
Fantasy worlds are never mere backdrops. They are an integral part of the work, and refuse to remain separate from other elements. These worlds combine landscape with narrative logic by incorporating alternative rules about cause and effect or physical transformation. They become actors in the drama--interacting with the characters, offering assistance or hindrance, and making ethical demands. In Here Be Dragons, Stefan Ekman provides a wide-ranging survey of the ubiquitous fantasy map as the point of departure for an in-depth discussion of what such maps can tell us about what is important in the fictional worlds and the stories that take place there. With particular focus on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Ekman shows how fantasy settings deserve serious attention from both readers and critics. Includes insightful readings of works by Steven Brust, Garth Nix, Robert Holdstock, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, China Mieville, Patricia McKillip, Tim Powers, Lisa Goldstein, Steven R. Donaldson, Robert Jordan, and Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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August 15, 2022Ova studija o mapama i, šire, geografiji fantastičnih zemalja je sjajna na svakom nivou, i po pedantnosti i po ljubavi prema temi i po (uprkos tome) objektivnosti i po zaokruženom pristupu a možda najviše po tome koliko je inspirativna za čitaoce. 10/10, ako mi je zbog nečeg žao to je što je nema duplo više.
December 8, 2013
I read this book as an academic text whilst writing my dissertation this year. For that reason, it was an absolutely perfect book that I got my hands on at the best possible time. The subject matter is extremely closely linked to the essay part of my dissertation - I basically could have said "for further information, read Here Be Dragons: Exploring Fantasy Maps and Settings".
In terms of recreational reading, Here Be Dragons might be a bit too academic for most people. However, there are some really interesting facts and figures throughout the book. I think that it would be interesting to anyone who is an avid reader and/or a writer of fantasy texts.
In terms of recreational reading, Here Be Dragons might be a bit too academic for most people. However, there are some really interesting facts and figures throughout the book. I think that it would be interesting to anyone who is an avid reader and/or a writer of fantasy texts.
March 30, 2022
This is a solidly academic investigation of the topic, and I am about twenty years out of practice at reading academically! Nevertheless, I enjoyed exploring a range of topics close to my fantasying-reading (and -writing) heart, in looking at maps, borders, cities and realm-linked rulers in fantasy more broadly. (Honestly, I expected this to be more about maps, but given that the broader setting-exploration chapters were full of chewy and fascinating things, I was not at all disappointed!)
As always with nonfic, I didn't speed through the last quarter; there are 70-odd pages of methodology appendices, notes, and index at the back!
As always with nonfic, I didn't speed through the last quarter; there are 70-odd pages of methodology appendices, notes, and index at the back!
August 13, 2019
For a book about maps I was expecting more than just one full fantasy map. I did learn some terminology that I didn't know before though and it had a lot to say about Tolkien's works that I enjoyed as well.
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October 11, 2021Dnf
So boring
So boring
February 24, 2023
Topofocal approaches to fantasy fiction are an untapped resource for researchers, and Ekman shows us the way with this incredibly detailed look into the possibilities this opens up.
December 6, 2018
Easily one of the best academic studies of fantasy fiction that I've read so far - and about an entirely new subject that (as the author observes) has barely been studied. I especially enjoyed the study of specifically fantasy maps, and the (brief) discussion of fantasy maps as paratext and/or doceme.
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December 4, 2018Thoroughly interesting discussion of common traits in fantasy settings.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews