FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #630: THE ASTOUNDING ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FANTASY & HORROR

It’s not often that I buy a $35 book for 25 cents. But I did a week ago at a pop-up Book Sale at my local Library. All the books on one of book carts were 25 cents. Most of the books were hardcover best sellers, but stuck on the bottom row was The Astounding Illustrated History of Fantasy & Horror. This coffee-table book features movies, TV & Streaming programming, Art, comics, pulp magazines, and fiction.

Plenty of people worked on this book: Roger Luckhurst, Mike Ashley, Michael Kerrigan, Matt Cardin, Dave Golder, Russ Thorne, and Rosie Fletcher. The Consultant Editor was S. T. Joshi.

The Astounding Illustrated History of Fantasy & Horror is a browser’s delight! Plenty of great cover artwork. Plenty of movie stills. Informative and insightful commentary, too! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword by Ramsey Campbell — 6

Introduction — 8

1: The Advent of Modern Fantasy: pre-1595-1922 — 18

2: With the Immortals: 1923-1945 — 42

3: Inklings of Other Worlds: 1956-1948 — 68

4: On the Brink of Evolution: 1960-1979 — 90

5: The Battle Between Light & Dark: 1980-1989 — 114

6: A Flourishing of the Genres: 1990-2000 — 132

7: The Many Paths to Tread: 2001-2010 — 150

8: Embracing the Future: 2011-2020 — 170

Key People — 188

Further Reading & Websites — 189

Index — 190

12 thoughts on “FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #630: THE ASTOUNDING ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FANTASY & HORROR

    1. george Post author

      Steve, but that first browse through THE ASTOUNDING ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FANTASY & HORROR would be a lot of fun! You would enjoy the eye-popping graphics!

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I’m amazed by the quality of books (and CDs) that people donate to the Library and thrift stores. There are treasures to be discovered!

      Reply
  1. Michael Padgett

    George, your library must have a much better class of donations than mine, which seems to specialize in romance novels and old Tom Clancy books. I would have grabbed this in a heartbeat.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Michael, there were dozens of romance novels and Tom Clancy books on that Library book cart, too. But, sometimes I get lucky and find a gem like THE ASTOUNDING ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FANTASY AND HORROR.

      Reply
  2. Todd Mason

    Thanks again for the CD set! Was this a library-sale pop-up or a remainder clearance pop-iup?

    Joshi not my favorite editor, but the contributors will help…and as a festschrift, I imagine it’s not at all the worst deal you’ve ever encountered…fun.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Todd, our local Library is now accepting donations–books, CDs, DVDs, etc.–and last week they piled books on book carts and set them out in the Lobby with a sign: all books 25 cents. Most of the books were best sellers and romance novels. But, I found THE ASTOUNDING ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FANTASY & HORROR amid the dreck.

      Reply

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