Malspire: Fantasy Fiction - From Legend to eBooks

It is said that “Only on the wings of imagination, a mind can explore every realm of life”.

Life’s infinite mysteries offer an endless scope of opportunities to experience thrills, romance, comedy, horror and even adventure. Yet the lure of a tome, the draw of a paperback is irresistible. With e-downloads, e-books and kindles creating a new fashion, books have acquired a whole new meaning.

There can be nothing more powerful or enticing than a dream. A dream can keep us awake while we are asleep or make sleep while we are awake. Such dreams were the foundations on which many great literary works were built, such works were the canvas on which many writers painted their dreams and those canvases gave birth to “Fantasy Literature”. As much as Non-Fictional works have captured our attention with their rich and abundant information, Fantasy has done the same with its vivid and multi-layered approach. Epic, Historical, Mythical, Dark, Contemporary, Humour, or Science, Fantasy has many different and beguiling faces.

The Beginning

Fantasy literature perhaps owes its origin to mythology. Fairy tales and the like were predominantly based on legends and folklore. The line between reality and fiction was in most cases, invisible. Homer’s “Odyssey” – 9th Century BC, is considered by many as the precedent to the entire genre with its fictional protagonist. The works of Shakespeare like “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” and “Tempest” in the 16th Century, “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift in the 18th Century and the works of The Brothers Grimm (though based on folklores narrated by villagers) contributed immensely to this genre. Those were unfortunately the times when creative freedom was not given the importance or the recognition it deserved.

The Conduits

Mythological stories and anecdotes have been in existence for ages but the modern version of this genre came into being only during the 19th century. The modern fantasy literatures were more defined in their approach with a clear indication of the fictional nature of the work and pristine clarity on the age and place of occurrence. Though Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, L.Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” were published and recognised in the mid 19th Century, they were mostly categorised as children’s works. The modern fantasy as a separate genre and entity took shape with the works of George MacDonald - “The Princess and the Goblin” and”Phantastes”. His works were the first to be considered as those aimed at an adult audience. William Morris, the British Poet, with his famous work “Well at the world’s end” paved the way for fantasy novels in an absolute sense, with the entire place of occurrence being created from imagination. With the need for works that spanned the multitude of audiences in terms of gender and age increasing greatly, the dark fantasy works of H.P.Lovecraft (Cthulhu Mythos), The royal fantasies of E.R.Eddison (The Worm Ouroboros) and the more conventional fantasies of Robert.E.Howard(Conan the Barbarian) tasted success.

The Pinnacle

What followed was the works of one of the greatest fantasy authors of all times - J. R. R. Tolkien! What began as a fairytale meant for his children, became one of the most widely read and appreciated books ever written – The Hobbit! With his intelligent and smart handling of a theme that would otherwise have been categorised as children’s, Tolkein was able to garner praise and recognition from young and old alike. With his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, he sealed his place as the most successful author in the history of modern fantasy. The “Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S.Lewis created another path for fiction directed at children and young adults. It can be safely assumed that his book inspired most of the modern tales for children like the all famous “Harry Potter” series by J.K.Rowling.

The Future

Numerous other works like “The Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brook, the extremely engaging “A wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin' and the more recent “Wheel of time” by Robert Jordan & “A Game of Thrones” by George.R.R.Martin have ensured that the future of the genre of Fantasy is something to look forward to.