Comparing various fantasy fiction stories, this book shows that it is not the tropes and clichés that make a story good or bad but how the author applies them. The book also explores the concept of text versus meta-text—that is, when the story’s world and character actions contradict the reader’s expectations based on the tropes being used. Covering authors from Mercedes Lackey and Brandon Sanderson to Christopher Paolini and Stephenie Meyer, the author finds that it is the nature of tropes and the language used that make a fantasy story, for bad or good.

Gabrielle Lissauer has presented papers at various conferences, including the American Literature Association, WorldCon and San Diego Comic Con, and she has written articles for different online magazines. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Gabrielle Lissauer
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7858-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1836-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments vii

Preface 1

Introduction 5

One. Changing the Story 17

Two. A Matter of Perception 38

Three. The Power of Stories 52

Four. Magic of Fantasy, Fantasy of Magic 64

Five. Not What You Think It Is 75

Six. Heroes and Protagonists, Villains and Antagonists 95

Seven. No Man Is an Island 118

Eight. Fairies and Dragons and Dwarfs, Oh My! 137

Nine. Through the Looking Glass 157

Ten. The Fundamentals 171

Chapter Notes 195

Bibliography 199

Index 203