Fantasy of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History

by Randy Broecker

Our most death-defying adventures and wildest flights of imagination—the stuff such as dreams are made of—this is the realm of fantasy. And ever since ancestral storytellers created myths of monsters, lost worlds, dragons, and heroes, fantastical tales have transported us to these magical places beyond. William Morris, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Robert E. Howard are just a few examples of writers who sailed off the edge of their known worlds into those of their own creation. In these beautifully illustrated pages, you will read of voyages launched by these celebrated commanders of the genre and more. Randy Broecker reveals how the fantasy story evolved over the centuries into the entertainment found in today’s books, comics, and films. Collectors, aficionados, and readers of the genre will be amazed by the breadth of Broecker’s history, and eager to make it part of their library.

Genres: Fantasy, Art, Reference, Books About Books

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. There should have been a chapter beyond England and America, though. I liked that it was 20th Century only and so older works of fantasy only get mentioned when they are reprinted by Ballantine in the post-LOTR 60s and 70s fantasy boom. Tons of great cover art. The pulp era Conan art is hilariously wrong; looks like Clark Kent goes barbarian.

Weird Tales and other pulps loom large in here. I think fans of fantasy writing are lucky to be out of the 20th Century now. Really most of it was reprints from the pulps, Tolkien and Conan clones... I mean I know that with any genre most of it is garbage but there are gems among the trash... but it seems to me that the stories are more diverse now... it might be the same tropes but at least the fantasy settings (and isn't that why we read them... the 'world building') are getting new ingeredients and flavors.

[Emmalyn Renato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read one of the companion volumes to this one: Science Fiction in the 20th Century compiled by Frank M. Robinson. This micro-review is going to be very similar.

Published in October 2001, the majority of this book consists of three parts:

- A history of fantasy magazines over the last century. It also includes some of the earliest single fantasy examples that appeared in general magazines.

- A sampling of fantasy in book form (hardcovers and paperbacks). It also gives a lot of the progenitors in the fantasy field.

- A brief history of fantasy on the large and small screen.

For the magazines and books it's all about the cover artwork, and for the movies and TV shows, it's the artwork from posters. Some of the book selections seemed a little off, but like any such book, the author is likely to have their set of favorites that are going to be different than yours.

Because of the year of release. there's no mention of digital books, the disruptive potential of AI and only a slight mention of some of the new authors just arriving on the scene. If the book was written now, a lot of it would have to be revised.

I've added more stories, novels (and a couple more movies) to my TB(R/W) lists.

[Matthew Schacht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun and informative read. Great history of the genre, and a mountain of recommendations of books to check out (from 2001 and before at least, which is honestly what I mostly read).

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok first off what ever happened to this books details it does not have 1200 pages.
This is the sister book the Science Fiction of the 20th Century book i read earlier. This book is very much on the same sort of layout and as such is equally fascinating - only now there are sections on styles and subjects as much as eras and publications of significance.
The book (as you would expect) is beautifully printed and laid out - and is addictive to read - not only for ideas of titles to seek out and read but also to understand the subject - I will admit Fantasy is not my strongest genre but reading this I feel guilty and a little ashamed that I have over looked and missed so much and not fully appreciated such a rich and fascinating field.

[Thomas R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable look at the history of fantasy in the last century. This is not an academic exercise but a stroll through the stories and their illustrations. It is as much and perhaps more about the artists who graced the stories with images to entice the reader to enter the world of the author's fantasy story.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super crazy cool.