Fantasy has been called many things in the course of human
existence.
Very few of them have been compliments.
As a branch of modern literature, Fantasy is best considered a
sub-type of "Speculative Fiction" (which field also includes
Science Fiction and Horror).
NOTE WELL: much of what I say here about Fantasy applies to all
forms of Speculative Fiction, and many times I would rather not
segregate any of the sub-fields. So many people don't / can't
understand that, though, and therefore I will try my hand at some
separations.
One of the most difficult decisions in approaching fantasy involves setting your personal expectations and any potential limitations. For some, fantasy includes works of "adult fiction" sometimes labelled as pornographic. For others, that particular field is completely excluded from consideration along with any work that does not include sentient non-humans in some form, or at least a stray unicorn.
I choose to use a broad-brushed approach to setting my fantasy filter. The movie (and book) Willow is obviously fantasy. So is Barbarella ("science fantasy") or Emanuelle ("sexual fantasy"). The James Bond movies are also a type of fantasy: one more closely rooted in our own reality perhaps, but fantastic none-the-less.
Fantasy does not have to be serious, in my view, although there are many who would have us believe that even fantasy has to have a moral message to be considered "worthwhile". Dragon defecation, no! Still, among my favorite fantasy authors there is a preponderance of work that is serious in tone overall while retaining scattered bits of humor.
For lack of better judgement, I include the vast bulk of "Sword&Sorcery" tales in my fantasy category -- even when the "Sorcery" may be rayguns and forceswords.
In the following lists, the entries are in no particular order at the present time. (I'll revise them into a ranking system later...)
Related Notes:
I've no doubt missed several authors or works on this first pass.
Expect updates to this page from time to time.
Concerning The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, I would
strongly urge that they be read in that order and as if four parts
of a single work (remember that with the exception of a few special
editions The Lord of the Rings is published as three volumes:
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers,
and The Return of the King).
I struggled with deciding which of the "game players get trapped
inside alternate plane where game is real" offerings to list here
but was convinced that there needed to be at least one. I finally
decided upon Norton's Quag Keep because it is a single-book
complete story. Joel Rosenberg's tales of a similar nature may be
stronger overall, but Norton kept more of the "game" atmosphere
through the use of certain jewelry items...
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