Patricia A. McKillip and the Art of Fantasy World-Building

From wondrous fairy-lands to nightmarish hellscapes, the elements that make fantasy worlds come alive also invite their exploration. This first book-length study of critically acclaimed novelist Patricia A. McKillip’s lyrical other-worlds analyzes her characters, environments and legends and their interplay with genre expectations. The author gives long overdue critical attention to McKillip’s work and demonstrates how a broader understanding of world-building enables a deeper appreciation of her fantasies.

Audrey Isabel Taylor earned a Ph.D. from Anglia Ruskin University and teaches at Midway University in Kentucky.

Audrey Isabel Taylor

Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 192
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6516-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3145-5
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
One: Worlds and ­World-Building 7
Two: Fantasy Conventions 33
Three: Characters 61
Four: Legends 87
Five: Pastoral Landscapes 114
Six: Cities 138
Reflections 164
Chapter Notes 169
Works Cited 170
Index 177

“The first book-length examination of McKillip’s fantasy works…Taylor’s writing displays her admiration for McKillip…accessible, illustrative, and instructive”—Fafnir-Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research