This article is by Matthew R. Bishop. In a recent article featured on Mythic Scribes, Christian Madera explored the strengths and limitations of “black and white” fantasy, while defending the rise of “grey” fantasy as something that can overcome the drawbacks of black and white. Let me clarify that I am an author of grey … Read more
This article is by Christian Madera. Early Fantasy literature, with its black-and-white morality, was very comfortable making statements about ethics. I’m using ‘ethics’ in a broad sense here: I don’t just mean questions about what a person should do in a difficult situation (though such questions are definitely a mainstay of Fantasy literature and merit … Read more
This article is by Anne Marie Gazzolo. J. R. R Tolkien had a life-long fascination with dragons. In his essay “On Fairy-Stories,” he spoke of the stories he liked and disliked as a child. “The dragon had the trade-mark Of Faërie written plain upon him. In whatever world he had his being it was an … Read more
This article is by Stefon Mears. Years ago, on The Simpsons, Lucy Lawless uttered the now famous line, “A wizard did it.” In context the line was a broad dismissal of the myriad small errors fans are famous for finding in their favorite shows. Found an inconsistency? Blame it on a wizard. Ironic, really, because … Read more
It’s about us. This is what I tell people every time I proselytize to the unconverted. Consider me a missionary that goes out into the world and speaks the good news about good stories including The Walking Dead. When it comes to this particular conversion, I go to those who are “not into zombies”, “think zombies … Read more
Labelled by TIME as “The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars,” John Granger is a pioneer. When many were dismissing the significance of the Hogwarts Saga, or condemning the books for “promoting witchcraft,” John was the first literary critic to explain how they carry on the tradition of English fantasy literature. His book, How Harry Cast … Read more
This article is by Terri Rochenski. My love affair with the fantasy genre started at an early age when someone bought me and my older brother The Chronicles of Narnia seven book gift set. I read them ‘til they fell apart. Literally. I can’t tell you how many times I checked the backs of every … Read more
So first you may be saying, “Film classic? Conan the Destroyer? Ha!” Hear me out. This isn’t going to be a glowing review of why Conan the Destroyer is the best movie ever made. Nor will it be a review trashing a movie that is maligned by most fans of fantasy cinema. It will be … Read more
Many of us stood in line on a brisk November night, waiting to get our hands on the game that would enslave us to our PC’s and consoles for days to come. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim went on to be named the 2011 Game of the Year, and countless players lost themselves within this fantasy world. … Read more
This article is by Darren Andrews. Generations have been enthralled by Tolkien’s epic fantasy, “The Lord of The Rings”. Its pages have been studied alongside the works of C.S. Lewis in Christian-literature classes, a society exists dedicated to preserving it in the spirit of its author, and back in the 1970s (in England at least) … Read more