[PW] Re: reader's advisory for fantasy

[Douglas Eric Anderson]

Of course, let's not forget the classic "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie.

A few more, mostly novels:

Alan Garner's "Elidor" is an excellent example of this subgenre.  In a
less cut-and-dried fashion, you might also include his "The Weirdstone of
Brisingamen" (also released as simply "The Weirdstone") and its sequel,
"The Moon of Gomrath".

Gene Wolfe's "Knight" and "Wizard" are told from the point of view of a
man of our world transplanted to a medieval fantasy world.

"The Beginning Place" by Ursula Le Guin takes a couple of human teenagers
and sends them on an otherworldly quest.

The title character of the "Warlord" comic book by Mike Grell was a man of
our world who rose to power in the magical subterranean world of
Skartaris.

Chris Van Allsburg's "Polar Express" might qualify, if you consider Santa
Claus's North Pole workshop to be imaginary.

In "Red Moon and Black Mountain" by Joy Chant, several children are
transported to a fantastic world specifically to save it.

Diana Wynne Jones' "Chrestomanci" quartet might qualify marginally, in
that Cat and Gwendolen -- though not exactly normal inhabitants of our
world -- travel to a sort of parallel world.

Roger Zelazny's "Amber" books start with a character who believes himself
to be of our world, and gradually awakens to the memory of having come
from (and being a central player in) the true world of Amber, of which our
world is just a shadow.

Ted Dekker's recent "Circle" trilogy ("Black", "Red", and "White")
involves a man who, when he sleeps in our world, finds himself in another
reality -- and vice versa.

While it isn't the main thrust of Patricia McKillip's "Something Rich and
Strange" includes sequences in which a human brother and sister separately
visit the undersea world of mermaids and mermen.

The crosshatched fantasy world that interweaves with our own in Susan
Cooper's "Dark Is Rising" sequence isn't exactly a separate world, but
it's seen through the eyes of children of our world.  In a similar vein,
many of Charles de Lint's novels postulate a fantasy world that
interweaves in a not-quite-separate way with our own, seen almost entirely
through the eyes of earthly protagonists.

E.R. Eddison's "The Worm Ouroboros" begins with a person of this world
travelling spiritually to another world to observe the adventures there,
but this device is quickly forgotten and never mentioned again; the same
character, and a similar device, similarly forgotten, frames the beginning
of his "Zimiamvia" trilogy.

The first two books of C.S. Lewis' space trilogy ("Out of the Silent
Planet" and "Perelandra"), while more science fiction than fantasy in
form, could qualify; they involve an Earthling transported to Mars and
Venus, respectively, and adventures as much fantastic as
science-fictional.  David Lindsey's "A Voyage to Arcturus" in many ways
has a similar structure, bordering between fantasy and science fiction,
and involving humans of our world transported to a distant planet.  So do
the John Carter books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and quite a few of the
"sword-and-planet" novels.

"Glory Road" by Robert Heinlein, while it seems to start as a fantasy with
a  human man crossing into a fantasy dimension, resolves itself more as
science fiction, but you may still find it of interest.

There is a whole subgenre of fantasy involving the return of Faerie,
usually intruding and interacting rather explosively with contemporary
urban society.  Most of these are written with a human protagonist.  One
excellent example of this subgenre would be Emma Bull's "Finder", but
there are many, many others; some involve brief or extended sequences in
which the hero/heroine from our world travels through the
newly-rediscovered Faerie.

I hope this helps.

-- Doug A.



On Mon, August 21, 2006 12:18 pm, Kump, Cindy wrote:
> This is for me so there's no rush.
>
> I'm interested in finding fantasy novels or short story collections
where the imaginary world is seen through the eyes of someone from our
world.  For example, the Pevensie children in The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe or Harry in the Harry Potter books. Some of Peter S.
Beagle's works would fit this description also.
>
> These can be written for adults, YA or children.  Thank you in advance
for any suggestions! :-)
>
> Cindy
> _______________________________________________
> Project Wombat
> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
>


-- 
Douglas E. Anderson
Reference Coordinator
Ashtabula County District Library
335 W. 44th St.
Ashtabula, OH 44004 USA
440/997-9341 ext. 1
http://www.acdl.info/