The Treasury Of The Fantastic (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Before the fantasy of our current times there were the classics. Possibly little known to readers of the genre or perchance you're familiar with many of the names that make up the collection in The Treasury of the Fantastic. And fantastic is exactly what you will get!Being a long time lover of anything fantasy since the first time I set my eyes on something magical it was such a pleasure to read these stories by some of the masters in classic literature. Some of these stories I had already read before and many more it was my first time experiencing. It was an absolute delight to see so of these authors collected here and finding new treasures I hadn't realized really fell into the realm of fantasy. In the foreward there is even a criteria given of how the editors went about selecting which pieces to include. This might help clear things up for us readers if you perusing the name list and wondering why a particular author or other isn't here.Keeping in mind that these are all works written between the early 1800s to 1923. So you definitely get that old world feel while you're reading. Admittedly, while I do enjoy the occasional classic literature it is not to my preferred reading taste. Mostly because you have to read it slowly to effectively absorb and process the writing. For this reason it took almost 4 months to get through this thick volume when normally I can read an anthology of this size in a month or two. This is not light reading and in my opinion it was best read in between my other novels or occasionally one every few evenings.Normally when I review collections I give each price an individual rating but there were just too many (44) in this one. Suffice to say many I adored, others were good and very few I slogged through. If you're a classic literature can as well as a lover a fantasy then pick this up and experience some of the earlier works in the genre!
The Treasury of the Fantastic is truly that, a comprehensive collection of fantastical literature from throughout the many years covering the romanticism era to the early twentieth century. Bringing classics such as The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, Morte D' Arthur by Alfred Tennyson, The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain and dozens of others all within the bounds of a single book.This collection contains many of the essentials, the well-known stories we've all read or heard reference to growing up, to ones that have fallen into the dark clutches of obscurity. With the great diversity of these tales, readers are sure to feel the stirrings of familiarity, of nostalgia, and of wonder. Readers of both classical and fantasy literature will feel right at home within these pages. I personally loved most of the tales, though there were of course some that I struggled through; with forty-four stories in this collection, there's bound to be something for everyone.This treasury isn't one that you'll be able to read through quickly, many of the stories are not light reads, and require careful reading to fully process and appreciate the writing. While it's an exquisitely curated collection, and most certainly worth the read, it's best read in multiple sittings. As well, I do recommend reading the foreword, I know it's something some people skip over, but it explains why some stories were included, and others not.I received a free copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.Originally posted on The ArchedDoorway
What do You think about The Treasury Of The Fantastic (2013)?
- Jabberwocky – Lewis Carroll (1871) – 3.19.09tDr. Suess on acid. What a trippy story. I read it as a child and now as an adult and it still has the same appeal.- Kubla Khan – Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1816) – 3.19.09tThis is why we need to journal; a forgotten thought (dream) leads to a forgotten destination.- Morte d’ Arthur – Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1842) – 3.19.09tThe death of King Arthur and the end of an era and the beginning of a new. Sir Bedieve loved Excalibur and could not do what the kinf demanded (which was to toss it in a lake). But his fear and love for Sir Arthur overcame his hesitance.“More things are wrought by prayerThan this world dreams of.Wherefore, let thy vigorrise like a fountain for me night and day.For what are men better than sheep or goatsThat nourish a blind life with the brain,If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayerBoth for themselves and those who call them friend?”- The Sword of Welleran – Lord Dunsany (1908) – 4.2.09tI enjoyed this fable about ancient warriors and love the people give them for protection which these ancient warriors protect while they themselves are in the realm of death. Maybe it’s truly about guidance?- Climac for a Ghost Story – I.A. Ireland (1919) – 4.2.09tNot much of a story (Flash Story?) 6 lines or so but the imagination is there.- A Haunted House – Virginia Wolf (1921) – 4.2.09tI was falling asleep when I read it. I’ll have to give it another try. Something about the relationship of the house and it’s inhabitants(?).- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving (1820) – 4.3.09-4.6.-09tWhat can I say? It was a good story.“What was the moral of the story?”“That there is no situation in life but has its advantages and pleasures—provided we will but take a joke as we find it.” -- Irving
—Nicholas Gourlay
