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Fantasy List I
Le Morte D'Arthur: v. 1 (English Library)Le Morte D'Arthur: v. 1 (English Library) by Sir Thomas Malory
Buy new: £4.10 / Used from: £0.01
Forget the silly movie & go with this classic two-volume set of key myths...
Harry Potter Adult Edition Box Set: Four Volumes in PaperbackHarry Potter Adult Edition Box Set: Four Volumes in Paperback by J.K. Rowling
I'm currently within The Goblet of Fire & think J.K. Rowling, apart from doing more for child literacy than any politician has since the dawn of time, has created a wonderful new realm of fantasy...
Rubicon BeachRubicon Beach by Steve Erickson
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £1.68
Make sense read alongside 'Leap Year' - then best go directly to 'The Sea Came in at Midnight'...
Donnie Darko - Director's Cut (Two Disc Set) [2002]Donnie Darko - Director's Cut (Two Disc Set) [2002]
Buy new: £4.52 / Used from: £3.97
Taps into familiar SF & fantasy motifs (time travel, Vonnegut, Philip K Dick etc), but still the most interesting American film since Buckaroo Banzai....
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Penguin Psychology)The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Penguin Psychology) by Bruno Bettelheim
Buy new: £7.09 / Used from: £4.50
This and Campbell's Hero with a 1000 Faces were the books that Lucas studied before making:
Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) [1977]Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) [1977]
Buy new: £24.98 / Used from: £17.99
Was raised on these- Return of the Jedi is quite poor however! Still, worse was to come: The Phantom Menace & Attack of the Clones!!!!!
SummerlandSummerland by Michael Chabon
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £1.68
Chabon is one of my fave American writers, his other books (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Werewolves in their Youth, Wonder Boys & The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) are great too...
The Invisibles: Say you Want a Revolution: You Say You Want a RevolutionThe Invisibles: Say you Want a Revolution: You Say You Want a Revolution by Grant Morrison
Buy new: £10.49 / Used from: £9.77
Forget The Matrix before it was even made!!!!
The Drowned World (S.F. Masterworks)The Drowned World (S.F. Masterworks) by J.G. Ballard
Buy used from: £24.94
Ballard's earlier works were more enviromental meets the fantastic (with a hint of Conrad), e..g this, The Drought, The Crystal World & disowned debut The Wind from Nowhere....
Monkey (Penguin Classics)Monkey (Penguin Classics) by Wu Ch'eng-En
Buy new: £6.49 / Used from: £3.14
The classic tales the amusing TV series was based on & yes, the latest Penguin edition has a Monkey-TV cover on it!!!!
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [2001]Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [2001]
Buy new: £1.49 / Used from: £0.40
Crouching Tiger...taps into that mystical kung-fu thang established with classic Touch of Zen- though it looks like Yimou's Hero blows this out of the water....
The Master and Margarita (Vintage Classics)The Master and Margarita (Vintage Classics) by Mikhail Bulgakov
Buy new: £5.94 / Used from: £3.00
Poets, Pilate, gun-toting cats, the devil, madness, Christ...has to be one of my favourite books of all time....
DuneDune by Frank Herbert
Buy new: £3.07 / Used from: £0.01
I only got up to the fourth book, then tuned out- but remember enjoying this at the time. Probably a book you should read when you don't have access to girls?
What Dreams May ComeWhat Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson
Buy new: £3.97 / Used from: £3.39
Matheson has written some great books- The Shrinking Man, Stir of Echoes, I am Legend- this is great, though the Robin Williams film would not give you that impression.
The Lord of the Rings: AND The Hobbit (Collins Modern Classics)The Lord of the Rings: AND The Hobbit (Collins Modern Classics) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Buy used from: £12.99
You can't escape these- the third film was really boring, I must say...
Books of Blood Omnibus: v. 1Books of Blood Omnibus: v. 1 by Clive Barker
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £1.74
Barker would veer off towards fantasy with great books like Weaveworld- I think these are more horror-fantasy & brightened up my 80s...
Dark Crystal [1982]Dark Crystal [1982]
Buy new: £5.16 / Used from: £2.89
This & Labyrinth have a definite charm- Willow sucked though...
The Stand (The Complete and Uncut Edition)The Stand (The Complete and Uncut Edition) by Stephen King
Buy used from: £0.40
One of King's most satisfying works and one that lead towards the Eyes of the Dragon & the celebrated Dark Tower series...
The Wizard Of Oz [1939]The Wizard Of Oz [1939]
Buy new: £4.48 / Used from: £3.99
Come on, how many times has David Lynch nodded to this chestnut? Er: Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart & The Straight Story. So that's three times...
Burning Your Boats: Collected Short StoriesBurning Your Boats: Collected Short Stories by Angela Carter
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £2.27
Contains The Company of Wolves...
Stone JunctionStone Junction by Jim Dodge
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £1.69
Jim Dodge's cult classic veers off towards alchemy & other magic related concerns. Strange & probably the best book of it's kind since Gravity's Rainbow...
The Indiana Jones Trilogy (4 DVD Box Set)The Indiana Jones Trilogy (4 DVD Box Set) by George Lucas
Buy new: £38.48 / Used from: £14.58
The first is a classic, the 2nd is kiddy-drivel, & the 3rd nicely ties it up. Denholm Elliot is the glue to it all...
Girlfriend in a ComaGirlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland
Buy new: £3.01 / Used from: £0.01
It's always the end of the world
Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics)Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics) by Jonathan Swift
Buy new: £4.19 / Used from: £1.50
Swift uses fantasy as satire - one of the undeniably great works of literature- though Irish rather than English!
Collected Fictions (Penguin Modern Classics Translated Texts)Collected Fictions (Penguin Modern Classics Translated Texts) by Jorge Luis Borges
Buy used from: £19.85
This handy volume should be reissued!!!!!