The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Writer's Digest Books
Publisher:	Writer's Digest Books
Release date:	01 November, 2000
List price:	~~$15.99~~
Our price:	$10.87 that is 32% off!

The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic

Average rating: Stars

Much better than other complete references

My inital review of this was 4 stars, but upon further analysis I belive it deserves 5.

This covers a variety of topics, similar to other "complete" fantasy writing books (The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy). This is far more detailed than the others and is an excellent reference. The sections on clothing, arms, armor, and castles ave instructional pictures. There are long lists of common jobs for the rich and poor, as well as a surprisingly thorough (for the amount of space) run down on creatures of myth. The magic section is fascinating, and covers topics such as what animals symbolize, the Freemasons, and astrology. There's a nice chapter on world cultures that looks at their government, military, religion, economy, arts and science.

Without a doubt, this is the best book of its kind.

The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic - Writer's Digest Books

An amazing resource

This book is quite an amazing resource. Written by a collection of fiction authors, this book sets out to give the fantasy writer information on what he or she will need to build a fantastic world and culture. Everything is covered in here from politics to commerce to warfare, and it looks in depth at magic and witchcraft and fantasy creatures.

Now, as you might expect with a book that tries to be all things to all people, since it cannot have an infinite amount of information on all subjects, this book functions as an introduction, giving the reader (and writer) enough information to understand the concepts presented. In fact, I must say that the sections on magic and witchcraft were quite excellent and highly informative.

Therefore let me just say this, if you are a fantasy writer, either actual or aspiring, then this is a book you *must* read. I have found this to be a great source of information and ideas, and I know that you will as well. Get this book!

Writer's Digest Books - The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic

You'd think writers would know what words mean...

com·pen·di·um ( P ) Pronunciation Key (km-pnd-m)
n. pl. com·pen·di·ums or com·pen·di·a (-d-)
A short, complete summary; an abstract.
A list or collection of various items.

This book is a complete COMPENDIUM. And in that, it does its job extremely well. I would definitely recommend this to any writer who has a vocabulary big enough to understand that.

Useful information, almost invaluable once you start using it. Whether you use it to be inspired, or for a general idea of what you're talking about before you start writing, this book really is indispensable.

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