From Atlantis to Xanadu and beyond, this Baedeker of make-believe takes readers on a tour of more than 1,200 realms invented by storytellers from H...
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reviews
Sep 04, 2007
Megalo
rated it: 
This is an absolutely fabulous book for anyone of any age. If you're capable of letting your mind wander to far off and completely fictional places, you'll be entranced immediately. Its the kind of thing you read a few pages of before bed to ensure charming and enchanting dreams.
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Sep 08, 2008
Terence
rated it: 
An interesting, if quirky, volume. While many mainstays of fantasy are represented -- Tolkien, Baum, etc. -- many entries are of obscure 18th and 19th century European authors who very few have heard of.
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Nov 01, 2009
Marvin
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One of my favorite books for browsing. An inexhaustible index of imaginary lands in literature from The Grand Duchy of Fenwick to Burrough's Pellucidar to Carroll's Wonderland. Many entries are illustrated with maps and all come with detailed descriptions of the lands. The fact that the writers treat these entries like they are real places that you may travel to, simply lends a delightful air in the enjoyment of this book. I've had this book since its first publication in 1987 and I never fail t
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Oct 18, 2009
Amelia, the pragmatic idealist
rated it:
This book is absolutely amazing, it is insightful, and it is a must-have for anyone attempting to write fantasy. included are:
- mythical places like Valhalla and Hades
- classical locations like Thomas More's Utopia, the places in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels...
- EVERYWHERE in the Middle Earth universe! (that alone deserves 5 stars)
- and recent locations, like J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts!!!
Ohhh and the pictures are wonderful, too!
- mythical places like Valhalla and Hades
- classical locations like Thomas More's Utopia, the places in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels...
- EVERYWHERE in the Middle Earth universe! (that alone deserves 5 stars)
- and recent locations, like J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts!!!
Ohhh and the pictures are wonderful, too!
Sep 25, 2010
Rob
rated it:
More of a novelty than anything else, the Dictionary of Imaginary Places is just that... a big fat alphabetized compendium of places that exist only in legends and myths and novels and other stories. It's the kind of book that aspiring novelists put on their coffee tables to impress other aspiring hipster novelists.
"What's with all those sticky notes and penciled in remarks?"
"Oh, you know. Research. Annotations."
"And this whole shee More...
"What's with all those sticky notes and penciled in remarks?"
"Oh, you know. Research. Annotations."
"And this whole shee More...
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Nov 20, 2008
Denis
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The perfect dictionary for anyone who's a dreamer. You don't need to be a fantasy or sci-fi fan (I'm not) to appreciate this astonishing book, which opens the doors to a myriad of imaginary places you wish you could go right now. The depth of the author's knowledge is breathtaking, and he writes about those places in the most delightful way.
Oct 09, 2008
Branduno
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I first got the 1987 edition of this book as a gift from my uncle in the mid-nineties, and it has since been one of my favorite volumes to idly peruse. Though it contains lengthy entries on the most frequently visited of imaginary places, such as Middle-earth, Earthsea, and Oz, its entries on less familiar regions such as Sylvia Townsend Warner's Kingdoms of Elfin are welcome, and this updated edition includes such recently-explored places as Hogwarts and Neverwhere.
This work was my fi More...
This work was my fi More...
Oct 14, 2009
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it: 
It's a good read. The only negative I had was my surprise at a few places not in the book...but there are so many imaginary places it's slightly unfair to expect them all to be here (that's humor if you didn't get it).
So...head for you favorite places like maybe...Hogworts and look around.
So...head for you favorite places like maybe...Hogworts and look around.
Apr 10, 2011
Michael
rated it:
A pretty interesting (and international!) compendium of imagined worlds. Not exactly complete by any means, even for the most recent update (1999), but still fun to poke through. Definitely worth the $9.99 I originally paid for it off the Waldenbooks bargain pile.
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Mar 17, 2009
Steve
rated it:
Any book of this sort that includes the Marx Brothers' Fredonia, Edgar Rice Burroughs's Pellucidar, and Borges' Circular Ruins is, well, my kind of book.
Jan 04, 2009
Rachel
rated it:
Unprecedented, witty, and utterly delightful, this encyclopedia of magical worlds uses a tongue-in-cheek, tour guide sensibility combined with a genunine love for its source material, which together are incredibly effective. It remains equally engaging whether flipped through at one's leisure or read straight through, and also serves as a enlightening survey of the worlds we create, over centuries. Much can be said about humans by looking at their Utopias and Dystopias, and the proliferation of
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Oct 09, 2009
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel (2000)
May 27, 2009
Sammy
rated it:
This is a brilliant survey of the geographical locations of fictional settings. It's easy to spend hours in this book.
May 12, 2009
Omg this book is amazing who would have thought someone would write down all of the imaginary places
Jan 25, 2009
Bonnie Jeanne
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Just a book to pick up, open to any page, and get lost in an imaginary landscape. I adore setting.
Jan 09, 2009
Wow. A very, very large book. Could kill a man, or at least an overly adventurous cat.
Jul 24, 2009
Emily
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Fantastic book - it's not really a book to sit down and read cover to cover (but I may do that yet) but one that I like to flip through for fantastical images when I have just a few minutes to read.
Dec 16, 2009
Peter
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This is just a fun reference guide to a nearly endless list of imagined places. It sticks pretty strictly to literature and mythology (because, seriously, the editors would be researching it forever otherwise), so no Fortress of Solitude or Galaxy Far, Far Away. You can't have everything. I spent hours flipping through it when I first got it and still do on occasion. There aren't many places where you can easily flip back and forth between compendiums of knowledge on the Land of Oz and Middl
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Oct 15, 2010
I used to have a copy, but it got released into the world during a book purge. What was I thinking?!?
May 10, 2010
Natalie
rated it:
Well, I haven't read it all. It's giant. But, I have it and it's awesome. It really is a dictionary full of all imaginary places. Hogwarts, Neverland, Middle Earth, Xanadou....it's got everything with full descriptions. Really awesome library collection.
Feb 05, 2012
Tyler
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Manguel once again makes me say "Holy Hell." And you know what? He maps that realm out, too. A creative work pulled off very well.
Feb 19, 2009
Mike
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I certainly haven't read all of this voluminous book. It’s somewhat akin to reading and reviewing an encyclopedia, which is precisely what this book is. I was pleased to find the entries on places I’ve already read of in books, but I’m most excited about the prospect of discovering new books to read by referencing them in this book.
Feb 04, 2008
Malcolm
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I got this many years ago as a gift from my father. It's lovely to browse through. Contains entries for many well known and many not so well known fictional settings, ranging from Middle Earth to Gormenghast and much more.
Sep 28, 2011
Lori
rated it:
What's not to love about reading about those places you've already imagined?
Organized as a traditional dictionary, learn more about your favorite setting created by your favorite authors.
Organized as a traditional dictionary, learn more about your favorite setting created by your favorite authors.
Aug 16, 2008
Tone
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This is a big omnibus of 19th Century fantasies. The kind where the hero washes up on an island where everyone wears their hats upside down for some reason.
Aug 15, 2007
Jacob
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This is basically a D&D player's dream come true packaged to appeal to a more general audience. Would make for an excellent bathroom book if it weren't so heavy.
Apr 08, 2008
Amy
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A must-have for fans of fiction and make believe. Learn the history and geography of some of your favorite imaginary places.
Oct 10, 2010
flannery
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This is such a mindblowing expansive, well organized, entertaining collection.
