The Tough Guide to Fantasyland: The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel

This is an older printing of the Tough Guide to Fantasyland but I love it and after having read The Dark Lord of Darkholm and The Year of the Griffin, I wanted more. And it turns out this book is actually suggested as a prop in the other books. In essence this book features a bit in the Dark Lord of Darkholm as it's the guide the tourists are given as they make their way though the manufactured fantasy setting.Written much like any other Tough Guide this book is really nice as a collectable of Jones' work. But as a tour guide style book, it's not really meant to be read as a typical book. It's more like world-building material, but with the snark and sass that I have come to love from Jones. Really, it would make a great functioning prop in any fantasy tabletop RPG, but with a slightly playful/comical aspect.I really wouldn't suggest this book for kids. Not because of the material. The material is suitable for young adults. But it's the format in which it's written. It has more appeal for people who are familiar with travel and are fans of fantasy; more or less adults.

You will never read fantasy fiction the same way after studying this very thorough guide. Every trope is referenced, cross-referenced and discussed, with insightful, baffled speculations on how fantasy reality operates.As an example (a random selection): "Scurvy. Despite a diet consisting entirely of STEW and WAYBREAD, supplemented by only the occasional FISH, you will not suffer from this or any other deficiency disease. It is possible that, while on your tour, you absorb vitamin C through the pores of your skin."

I bought this book because a friend of mine suggested it due to the fact I am working on a Fantasy novel/series. I read a few reviews; both bad and good ones and even took the time to read the testimonials. I picked it up (when it arrived in the mail) and began reading the introduction (How To Use This Book). Immediately I felt a sense of the writer trying to be funny, but instead coming off very sarcastic instead.However I ignored this feeling and skimmed through the book and read a few sections; in this glossary styled book. Only to find that this published author forgot to add a middle and end to her book. Now yes you can argue this is not a story so it doesn't need a beginning, middle, or end, but this is one of the first rules I learned when I decided I wanted to be a writer and that was every book has a beginning, middle, and end.Jones gives you a single word; case in point, Dragons. She then gives a description of this creature in contemporary fantasy as it relates to cliché:DRAGONS-- are very large scale beings with wings and long spiky tails, capable of breathing fire through their mouths. They can be almost any colour or combination of colours, though green, red, and black are preferred...~Diana Jones, Tough Guide to Fantasyland - page 53, section D; beginning descriptionDRAGONS-- ...Even then, the relationship is likely to be a bit edgy. This is because dragons can, if they want, eat people.~Diana Jones, Tough Guide to Fantasyland - page 53, section D; ending descriptionIf you own the book you can easily read the full two paragraphs and see it has a beginning, but it lacks a middle and end. She has introduced an idea, Dragons are Cliché. Now this may be suitable for some people who read it, but I bought it cause I was told every fantasy writer should own it (cliché in itself). So I expected a published author to have a beginning, middle, and end, but Jones didn't. She introduced an idea and left it at that. Using the DRAGONS as an example this is how I would have done it:========================DRAGONS -- these beasts in Fantasyland come in many styles, forms, and behaviors. Favorable to being green, red, and black (can come in many colors if needed) these beats of Fantasyland will be hard to find or as easy as women in brothels (see BROTHELS). These beats will usually attack farmers or villagers and always win, but fall to the victim of a knight (see KNIGHT) or our hero (see HERO and HEROINE). At some point these beats will attack a large city (see CITY) and a King (see KING) will send our hero on a journey to kill the beast. When our said hero finds the lair (see LAIR and CAVE) of these beats he may run into smaller versions (babies or child like) to finally find the behemoth waiting in the far depths of it's lair. Perhaps our hero will also take a wrong turn to find a giant spider (see Giant Spiders) in which case if the hero brought any companion one or all will die leaving our hero to face the dragon (perhaps even another Giant Spider; that may speak human tongue, again) alone. Some of these beats may be able to speak to special people (see Gifted People) through their minds or even in a glass ball or some special liquid. Magic (see MAGIC) may also be preeminent to Dragons so killing them off will remove Magic from Fantasyland (sometimes). Our trusty Hero may require a special weapon; magical, enchanted, or made of a specific material before he can slay the dragon (see SLAY).However no matter how cliché these beats seem a few contemporary authors of Fantasyland have found that not all dragons need to be born by means of an egg. Lawrence Watt Evan in his trilogy, `The Obsidian Chronicles' (see OBSIDIAN and CHRONICLES) uses the concept of humans as a host for these beats to burst out of humans all Alien like. The remains of dragons will also seem to be non existent or burn up like a vampire never leaving a trace of the beast. However there are a few Fantasylands where the author decided to go against the norm. Case in point, George R. R. Martin, `A Song of Ice and Fire' where the only known dragons are skulls in the Kings castle (see CASTLE). It is a small insignificant thing, but it is a touch to dragons to help them not seem to cliché to the reader===================Now in my example I am missing an end, but I am just proving a point, not writing a book here. So please bare with me. From my example we have a beginning and middle. In the beginning I introduce an idea, Dragons are cliché. In the second paragraph I take that idea (the middle) show examples of contemporary authors who have added their own ideas to help make dragons seem not so cliché. Now if I had written an end I would introduce ideas or options that have not been used a lot or at all (say like dragons give live births instead of eggs).In the end `The Tough Guide to Fantasyland' is not even complete. Looking through it, it also is missing a lot of events, names, places, or words common to Fantasy, but are not mentioned (like CHRONICLES for example). Jones had the right idea, but this book needs to be rewritten as it lacks needful information for aspiring writers and is missing many Fantasy terms.

Every aspiring fantasy author needs to read this book.If you've ever yelled at the stupidity of characters, groaned at deus ex machina situations or scowled at a cliche, this is the book for you.Arranged as a "Travel Guide", this book takes you from A-Z, listing almost everything you could encounter in fantasy novels dating as far back as Robert E. Howard or Tolkien and as recent as the works of George RR Martin (ok, not so recent from him) or Robert Jordan/Sanderson.As such, this is not so much a book that you read from cover to cover, as it is one that you are supposed to reference at random.Ordinarily I'd find a book such as this rather pointless, except that A) There is some humor to be found and B) The author is very perceptive about quite a few things.As for the humor aspect of this book, I only came across one part that had me laughing out loud. Want to hear it? Sure you do. It was the fake "Tough Guide" listed at the beginning of the book as "Gandalf's Tough Guide (includes instructions on how to lead Tourists into Dark Places and then leave them stranded."Too true.But the author really showed perception by explaining things like the following:With so little mention of cows, where does all the leather come from?Why are the only spiders in fantasy novels the size of houses?Where do all these fancy silk clothes come from?What is so special about tents and secrets?Why are some fantasy structures bigger on the inside than on the outside and vice versa?Why is stew the primary meal?Where did the building materials for all these giant stone castles and towers come from?If you're not one of those fantasy purists and can tolerate your favorite genre being put under the microscope (or magic crystal), I think there's a certain amount of enjoyment ahead.

Unlike her other books this is more like a parody encylcopedia, for dipping into rather than reading straight through. That said it is a hilarious take on both the good and bad fantasy writings/rpg's out there. If you like fantasy writing you will love this, and even if you don't borrow a friends copy and give this a look over, you will laugh.

This book is a tongue-in-cheek encyclopaedia of terms used in fantasy books, which pokes fun gently at the tropes of the genre. It's absolutely hilarious for anyone who reads too many fantasy novels. I laughed out loud a lot. People who don't read (or watch) fantasy probably won't get it.

A generic summary of fantasy novel’s plot, perhaps it needs a spoiler warning 😜

This little guide satirises all of the main fantasy tropes with gentle humour and self-deprecation, well worth a look for any fantasy fan.

DWJ is sorely missed. This is a companion to her own fictional send-ups of pulp fantasy, 'The Dark Lord of Derkholm' and 'Year of the Griffin', written with the same sense of humour and extensive knowledge of the genre. If you have ever read anything involving dragons, swords and fur loin-cloths you will find something to recognise and laugh at!