Overview

While all fiction uses words to construct models of the world for readers, nowhere is this more obvious than in fantasy fiction. Epic fantasy novels create elaborate secondary worlds entirely out of language, yet the writing style used to construct those worlds has rarely been studied in depth. This book builds the foundations for a study of style in epic fantasy. Close readings of selected novels by such writers as Steven Erikson, Ursula Le Guin, N. K. Jemisin and Brandon Sanderson offer insights into the significant implications of fantasy's use of syntax, perspective, paratexts, frame narratives and more. Re-examining critical assumptions about the reading experience of epic fantasy, this work explores the genre's reputation for flowery, archaic language and its ability to create a sense of wonder. Ultimately, it argues that epic fantasy shapes the way people think, examining how literary representation and style influence perception.

Full Product Details

Author:   Matthew Oliver ,  Donald E. Palumbo ,  C.W. Sullivan III
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.367kg
ISBN:  

9781476687131

ISBN 10:   1476687137
Pages:   284
Publication Date:   24 June 2022
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: Building Worlds with Words in Epic Fantasy Section I: Syntactic Complexity Chapter 1. “The Riotous Conflagration of Beauteous Language”: Flowery Style, Defamiliarization, and Empathic Imagination Chapter 2. “A Necessary Subtraction”: Simplicity, the Violent Emotion of Editing, and the Editing of Violence Section II: Narrative Perspective Chapter 3. Third-Person Heroism: Authority, Omnipotent Narration, and the Distribution of Visibility Chapter 4. First-Person Epic Novels: Metafantasy and Fluid Perspective Section III: Wonder Chapter 5. Spoiler Alert: Twists, the Sense of Wonder, and Narrative Transcendence Chapter 6. The Mundane Fantastic: Stylistic Magic and Genre Collisions Section IV: Narrative Frames Chapter 7. Narrative Frames: Paratexts, Blurred Boundaries, and the Deconstruction of Essentialist Narrative Chapter 8. Frame Narratives: Historical Truth, Literal Metaphors, and Epic Irony Chapter Notes Works Cited Index

Reviews

[A] strong, well-written, and thoroughly researched book, and it addresses a topic of scholarly concern (i.e., epic fantasy) that has been woefully neglected in the secondary literature. --Dennis Wilson Wise, University of Arizona Matthew Oliver's Magic Words, Magic Worlds moves off the paved paths of fantasy scholarship based on rhetorics and definitions. Finally we have a rich and detailed consideration of style itself, which leads Oliver into perhaps the most overlooked yet engaging feature of the genre: affect. Scholars, just as much as lovers of the genre, will discover a 'gramarye' of fantasy here, with all the abundance that term affords. --James Gifford, professor of English, Fairleigh Dickinson University

"""Matthew Oliver's Magic Words, Magic Worlds moves off the paved paths of fantasy scholarship based on rhetorics and definitions. Finally we have a rich and detailed consideration of style itself, which leads Oliver into perhaps the most overlooked yet engaging feature of the genre: affect. Scholars, just as much as lovers of the genre, will discover a 'gramarye' of fantasy here, with all the abundance that term affords.""--James Gifford, professor of English, Fairleigh Dickinson University"

[A] strong, well-written, and thoroughly researched book, and it addresses a topic of scholarly concern (i.e., epic fantasy) that has been woefully neglected in the secondary literature. --Dennis Wilson Wise, University of Arizona

Author Information

Matthew Oliver is a professor of English at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

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