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I first found this book in my middle school library, just about the time I was getting a little oversaturated with medieval fantasy, and then after I checked it in, couldn’t find it anywhere else. I hadn’t really discovered google magic yet. When I saw it in Borders the other day, I got this little nostalgic smile on my face and snatched it up. I sprint to the cashiers’ counter a lot in that store.
CASHIER: Next.
FISH: Meeeeeee!
BOOK: Prrrrrrrrr
FISH: That’s my sweet baby.
CASHIER: Do you mind her, um, petting you like that, poor baby?
BOOK: We’re old friends
FISH: You tell ‘em, baby.
BOOK: Very old friends.
CASHIER: Ooookaaaaay.
I can’t really give an accurate summary of The Tough Guide to Fantasyland above the cut the way I do for most books. It doesn’t have a plot. It’s a series of entries dictionary or encyclopedia style about the workings of a place called Fantasyland, designed for tourists. It’s also one of the funniest, most accurate things I’ve read in a long time.
( COATS do not exist in Fantasyland-CLOAKS being universally preferred- But TURNCOATS do. )
I’m completely convinced this should be required reading for anyone writing fantasy, and recommended reading for anyone reading it. Buy a copy! Sleep with it under your pillow! Try not to drool on it! Really, dear reader, I have no idea how to express the sheer awesome that is Diana Wynne Jones’ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. All I can say is it's short, it's fun, and it's magnificent. Spend a couple hours with it. You won't be sorry. Really, it's just a good idea every so often to take a good hard look at the warts and flaws of our genre, and then be able to laugh at them and go back and love the genre anyway.
CASHIER: Next.
FISH: Meeeeeee!
BOOK: Prrrrrrrrr
FISH: That’s my sweet baby.
CASHIER: Do you mind her, um, petting you like that, poor baby?
BOOK: We’re old friends
FISH: You tell ‘em, baby.
BOOK: Very old friends.
CASHIER: Ooookaaaaay.
I can’t really give an accurate summary of The Tough Guide to Fantasyland above the cut the way I do for most books. It doesn’t have a plot. It’s a series of entries dictionary or encyclopedia style about the workings of a place called Fantasyland, designed for tourists. It’s also one of the funniest, most accurate things I’ve read in a long time.
( COATS do not exist in Fantasyland-CLOAKS being universally preferred- But TURNCOATS do. )
I’m completely convinced this should be required reading for anyone writing fantasy, and recommended reading for anyone reading it. Buy a copy! Sleep with it under your pillow! Try not to drool on it! Really, dear reader, I have no idea how to express the sheer awesome that is Diana Wynne Jones’ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. All I can say is it's short, it's fun, and it's magnificent. Spend a couple hours with it. You won't be sorry. Really, it's just a good idea every so often to take a good hard look at the warts and flaws of our genre, and then be able to laugh at them and go back and love the genre anyway.
