Post Your Syllabus For Modern Fantasy

[j d worthington]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

I really like this thread. I must look at defining a syllabus and posting it here too.

I've been giving this some thought, myself... but I think it might require a while to shuffle, reshuffle, and narrow it down....

One question, though: what is our exact definition of "modern fantasy", if we're going back to Eddison, Dunsany, and Morris? (I realize that McMurphy's definition didn't go that far back but -- as is so often the case with these discussions -- the concept seems to have been stretched a bit since then....)

 

[GOLLUM]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

He actually said anything from 1930 to modern day. If I was running a course on Fantasy I would start from when the Genre term was coined, so I'm thinking George McDonald 1850s to present. However Modern Fantasy is more likely post-war to my way of thinking.

 

[j d worthington]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

He actually said anything from 1930 to modern day. If I was running a course on Fantasy I would start from when the Genre term was coined, so I'm thinking George McDonald 1850s to present. However Modern Fantasy is more likely post-war to my way of thinking.

Well, as I said, I had noticed that, but things seem to have taken it further as the thread went along. I don't know if I'd make it post-war, myself. Possibly (but only possibly) since the advent of the fantasy pulps for modern fantasy; but even there, it's a slippery concept, since the earlier pulps (and other popular magazines) often published tales that are classics of the genre, such as Cutcliffe-Hune's The Lost Continent, or Howden Smith's Grey Maiden....

 

[GOLLUM]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

True which is why I would focus on circa 1850 to present if somebody asked me to do a course on this subject matter.

That should be Cutcliffe Hyne by the way Sir... Got a copy of that myself, good stuff!

I have vaguely heard of Howden Smith's Grey Maiden but never read it. Should I be chasing up a copy of this then?

 

[j d worthington]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

True which is why I would focus on circa 1850 to present if somebody asked me to do a course on this subject matter.

That should be Cutcliffe Hyne by the way Sir... Got a copy of that myself, good stuff!

I have vaguely heard of Howden Smith's Grey Maiden but never read it. Should I be chasing up a copy of this then?

On Cutcliffe Hyne... I stand corrected (though I've seen it both ways, it seems that yours is correct). On Grey Maiden... I think you would appreciate it. It's an odd sort of novel, but quite good in some ways; and more than a little intriguing.... (It also shows how very different fantasy was then -- in technique and manner -- from what is judged to be fantasy now....)

 

[GOLLUM]

Re: Post Your Syllabus For prModern Fantasy

Thanks, sounds like the kind of thing that would appeal.

Over and out...

 

[hodor]

Good idea this thread and apologize if I misinterpretted the timeline. I like the idea of reading different ideas on syllabi (I hope I got that word right) as it gives me reading ideas.

 

[vurtomatic]

Moorcock's Elric, Zelazny's Amber, and Lord of Light?

 

[Doug Graves]

OK, I'll set my definition of "Modern Fantasy" as 1890 - current, i.e. "The Odyssey" doesn't count:

1) H.P. Lovecraft - "Dagon and other Macabre Tales" (selections)
2) Clark Ashton Smith - "Rendezvous In Averoigne" (selections)
3) Robert E. Howard - "Conan the Barbarian"
4) Robert Aickman - "A Cold Hand In Mine" (selections); more "weird" than fantasy, perhaps, but it's on my syllabus.
5) Michael Moorcock - "Elric of Melnibone" and "Sailor on the Seas of Fate"
6) Fritz Leiber - "Ill Met In Lankhmar" (sp?) and "The Bleak Shore"

Most of the giants/elves/dwarves stuff bores me to tears, and I think everyone has at least SEEN LOTR, so NO Tolkien in my class. And none of his legions of hack imitators.

 

[j d worthington]

OK, I'll set my definition of "Modern Fantasy" as 1890 - current, i.e. "The Odyssey" doesn't count:

1) H.P. Lovecraft - "Dagon and other Macabre Tales" (selections)
2) Clark Ashton Smith - "Rendezvous In Averoigne" (selections)
3) Robert E. Howard - "Conan the Barbarian"
4) Robert Aickman - "A Cold Hand In Mine" (selections); more "weird" than fantasy, perhaps, but it's on my syllabus.
5) Michael Moorcock - "Elric of Melnibone" and "Sailor on the Seas of Fate"
6) Fritz Leiber - "Ill Met In Lankhmar" (sp?) and "The Bleak Shore"

Most of the giants/elves/dwarves stuff bores me to tears, and I think everyone has at least SEEN LOTR, so NO Tolkien in my class. And none of his legions of hack imitators.

I think my only objection -- just to put my two cents' worth in -- is that if you're designing a class on "Modern Fantasy", it would of necessity have to include at least selections from those who helped to shape the field; otherwise it's more a "things I like in fantasy" rather than a class or course on the subject....

This makes me think of those wonderful anthologes Lin Carter did along these lines (I have severe problems with Carter as a writer; but as an editor he did some very good things), such as Kingdoms of Sorcery and Realms of Wizardry:

Kingdoms of Sorcery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Realms of Wizardry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Incidentally, I quite like the things on your list, though I might substitute "Adept's Gambit" for "The Bleak Shore"... maybe; and I think I'd go for At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels rather than Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, simply because it has more of his best work as well as having examples of the different types of tales he wrote. By the way... which Conan? As REH never wrote a story with that title, and he did write quite a lot about the Cimmerian... which of these would you pick? (I think I'd be very tempted to do either "Black Colossus" or "A Witch Shall Be Born", definitely "People of the Black Circle" and "Beyond the Black River"....) And I'm very glad to see someone include The Sailor on the Seas of Fate....

 

[Kissmequick]

Most of the giants/elves/dwarves stuff bores me to tears, and I think everyone has at least SEEN LOTR, so NO Tolkien in my class. And none of his legions of hack imitators.

Ah yes, but just because it bores you doesn't mean it shouldn't be included if it is an important work / example of a sub genre.

If you're going for 1930's onwards, I would think it important to have at least one of the bestselling( or most important however that is decided!) from say each decade, so your students can see how the genre has developed over time, the fashions within it, how readers tastes change over time. I'd say it was also important to include as many different styles as possible. And I don't actually like all of these.

30's Conan, though I'd be hard pressed to pick only one.
40's To be honest I'd have to do a bit more reading in this era - all my books from then are Sci Fi. I might possibly squeak in Narnia here.
50's - Lord of the Rings
60's - Moorcock, Elric series, Stormbringer perhaps. The brevity of his work would make a nice counterpoint to Tolkien
70's -Chronicles of Morgaine. A very distinctive and effective style.
80's - Magician. Hugely popular style at the time, or possibly Lord Valentine's Castle. Or Snow Queen. Argg I can't decide!
90's - Pratchett. The phenomenon. I'm not sure which I'd go for, but probably Men at Arms, possibly Good Omens.
00's A Game of Thrones. And into the modern intrictate political intrigue, point of view from a dozen characters, and George's style.

Add in a couple that produced over long periods ( Zelazny, and who else, ooh decisions decisions). That would be mine.

 

[Woodfoot]

I can think of one writer that would be good to stimulate a discussion.

Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Its a really good read in my opinion that Will make people rethink the "Hero" main character tradition!

David Gemmell - Legend
Raymond E Feist - Magician
Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time (if they have a few years to read the series)
Terry Brooks - Shannara series
David Eddings - The Belgariad or Redemption of Althulus (some good dry wit in there)
Terry Pratchett - Guards, Small Gods or Moving Pictures just for the Humour or is that cynicism?

EDIT: Nearly forgot Clive Barkers Weaveworld as with Donaldson it brings the modern world into a "medieval" world rather than being based in a solely Fantasy landscape.

 

[power to the J]

I'm going to go into the broader definition of modern fantasy like the first poster did, andjust stick to fantasy in the fantasy section.

Here's my syllabus:

First, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Like it or not, it sure would teach everybody how to write epic, and the value of cutting needless details out.

Second, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. After reading WoT, which was probably what they expected for modern fantasy, this will mix it up and show everyone that it doesn't all have to be about Dark Lords and Prophecies.

Third, Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Shows that one character can make a fantasy worthwhile, and that 1st person isn't bad. Also, Hobb has a fantastic world and great writing ability, so that wouldn't hurt either.

Fourth, Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi. I just think that this series is too good and too underrated not to be read.

Fifth, The Belgariad by David Eddings. Yes, I like this series better than LotR, and since the books are easier reads, it would be an easier thing to accomplish.

Sixth, The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Just this book in the Dark Tower series. This is the best one, and is one of my favorite books of all time. I think that it's extraordinary, and once again would demonstrate a different setting and idea to think about.

Seventh, The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes. Plain old great stuff, and would help everybody out a lot.

Eight, Shadow and Claw by Gene Wolfe. A classic in and of itself, and a book that cant be ignored. I think this shows a lot about writing fantasy as a whole, and is such a good read that it should be read everywhere just because of that.

Ninth, Discworld by Terry Pratchett. Any book from this would work, and also demonstrate that fantasy can be funny and different.

Last, any Neil Gaiman book would work, and I think that his work would really finish off the list and make it whole.

Eh, that's what I came up with. Thanks for reading!

 

[shadow9d9]

Imagine that you are about to teach a Modern Fantasy college course, and you had to put together a well balanced syllabus of reading material (10 books) for your class to read. What would be your choices? Remember, the point of the syllabus is to provide a well rounded introduction of modern fantasy, not necessarily a list of your top ten favorite novels of all time. Below is my fictional version:

"Modern Fantasy" is a slippery concept. If someone asks twelve different people what is the defination of modern fantasy, the odds are twelve different answers will be given. While some might believe modern fantasy can only fall into the "sword and sorcery" stereotype, others might come to the conclusion that works such as The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick are the true children of fantasy. That is why a clear defination of modern fantasy is necessary. For the purposes of this syllabus, the defination will be that modern fantasy is any fiction published between the 1930's to present that offers an alternate existence through fictional entities such as real or fictional animals/races, fictional magic/powers of the mind, alternate realities, Alter-Earths, or new mythologies. All of the ten books listed below will represent this defination of modern fantasy in different ways.

-J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (first published in 1937) is the starting point of modern fantasy because the book represents an elaborate fictional world (Middle Earth) so successfully that The Hobbit is almost treated like a rulebook for fantasy writers. The story wields a great landscape, highly imaginative characters, and it is an altogether new mythology. The book is also a great example of Joseph Campbell's archetypical hero-tale.

-Fritz Leiber's Ill Met in Lankmar (originally written as seperate short stories as early as the 1930's) fulfills the sword and sorcery aspect of modern fantasy. The two nomads, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, begin their adventures together at Lankmar and travel throughout Leiber's fictional world. Leiber is credited for being the founder of the sword and sorcery genre.

-George Orwell's Animal Farm (first published in 1945) is a good example of modern fantasy. Orwell uses a children's tale approach to cleverly masquerade a political and social satire. The book is important because it delivers a warning against blind faith and totalitarianism. Most importantly, Animal Farm presents one of the best examples of a dysutopian world.

-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (first published in 1950) by C. S. Lewis is a classic example of a young-adult, modern fantasy story. Lewis not only created the land of Narnia, but in the process, he created one of the few fantasy epics for children. The book has a great depth of Christian symbolism.

-The Man in the High Castle written by Philip K. Dick (originally published in 1962) is the most diverse example of modern fantasy. That is why it is one of the most important books of this syllabus. Although it does fall into the definition of modern fantasy, it has often been considered science fiction. It is modern fantasy because, in this book, Dick has created an Alter-Earth where the United States has lost WWII. Even though the book has a neat premise, that alone is not what makes this story so important. Dick also shows the reader how reality is built from illusions because "reality" is nothing more than perception. That is a subject rarely touched in modern fantasy.

-Watership Down, written by Richard Adams (first published in 1972), is a fine example of an utopian story. It acts as a good counter-weight to Animal Farm. Adams uses the lives of run-away rabbits to illustrate the important points on how to live a meaningful life within an meaningful society structure.

-Carrie written by Stephen King in 1974 is included in this syllabus because horror novels are such a vital part of fantasy. Carrie is a teenage girl with telekinetic powers and a religious fanatic as a mother. There is a huge social underlining about religion, peer pressure, high school, and the cruel destructive nature of the human race in this novel.

-Necroscope (originally published in 1986) by Brian Lumley also provides the horror element in modern fantasy. It is the fact that Necroscope tackles the subject of vampires and communicating with the dead that makes it an important addition. Vampires have been around in folklore and fiction for centuries and Lumley makes a professional contribution.

-Small Gods by Terry Pratchett has a more upbeat role in modern fantasy: humor. In Small Gods, a great and powerful god is reduced down to a tortoise because he has only one true believer. It is not that other people don't believe in this god; the problem is the worshipers have centered their beliefs around the shrines of him instead. Unfortunately, his sole believer is a simple-minded garden keeper that gets caught up in something dangerous. It all takes place on a planet called Discworld. It is full of modern day ideas that are misplaced in a sword and sorcery fantasy setting.

-The graphic novel, Sandman: Season of the Mists by the novelist Neil Gaiman (first published as a graphic novel in 1995) makes an unique addition to modern fantasy. Sandman has great depth in writing that is all too uncommon in the comic book medium. The premise of the Sandman series is that there is another level of reality that is often identified as dreamland. Sandman is the name of the Lord of Dreams, and his family is known as the Endless. The series if full of abstract ideas and complex storylines. Sandman: Season of the Mists is a perfect introduction to new readers because there is a prologue that fully describes the premise of Gaiman's reality. Sandman was the first and only comic book series to win the World Fantasy Award.

That class should be renamed "how to discourage people from ever reading fantasy again", except for Watership Down.

Good modern fantasy-
Prince of Nothing Trilogy, Malazan series, Asofai, Tigana+ Guy Kay, city watch/death from Pratchett(small gods is my absolute least favorite book of his, even surpassing the terrible Equal Rites), Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, etc.

The Hobbit and Narnia are about as modern as 60s movies... Animal Farm is taught in Middle Schools... bad bad choices... unless of course, you want to turn off the average reader to all fantasy by showing the most average, cliched, and least intelligent books that fantasy has to offer.

I understand wanting to show how the genre has progressed from average quest stories to layered brilliance, but you have no layered brilliance of modern day fantasy in your list. At least you could say that it started with the Hobbit and ended with Asofai! Sandman is your example of the 90s? A terribly boring comic book from an overrated writer!? This is your progression of fantasy? We've evolved from the Hobbit to Sandman? We might as well stayed at the level of the Hobbit! At least we wouldn't have lost ground... I read the first half of Sandman just to see what the hype was about and it was pure poison.. talk about nothing... It is like Seinfeld devoid of humor.. a comic about nothing that tries to sound profound!