A Reader's Guide to Fantasy

Published in 1982, this reference guide from Avon covers approximately 200 fantasy authors in alphabetical bio-bibliographical entries, offering career overviews, key works, and reading recommendations alongside a brief genre history, subgenre coverage, and award lists. For fantasy readers of that era it was an invaluable roadmap, and the Washington Post reviewed it positively on publication. The genuine strength is the quality of the capsule essays — the authors clearly love the genre and write about it with knowledge and enthusiasm. The honest caveat is that four decades of fantasy have passed since its publication, and this is now essentially a historical document of the genre circa 1982 rather than a current guide. Notable authors were even omitted at the time. For readers interested in genre history or tracing the roots of modern fantasy, it has real value; for anyone wanting a current reading list, it will fall short.