The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series Is a Fantasy Genre History Lesson
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2023
- Paperback publisher Ballantine Books played a pivotal role in the development and popularization of the fantasy genre. Its Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series of 83 old and new fantasy titles published between 1965 and 1974 introduced many mainstream readers to the genre and set the stage for the genre's rapid growth over the past 50 years.
This video is an overview of the paperback book series and its impact. In future videos, I'll explore in more depth individual authors and books included in the series. Note also that I've defined the book series broadly to include titles that are closely associated with the series even though, officially, they weren't part of it.
0:01 Fantasy's mid-century stigma
2:10 Ballantine's opportunity
5:24 Overview of the books
6:14 Tolkien books
7:53 Authors who influenced Tolkien
9:15 Tolkien's contemporaries
10:38 Early fantasy precursors
12:15 Exotic cultures & adventures
16:11 Weird & uncanny fiction
17:48 New authors and works
19:20 Anthologies
21:05 What happened to BAFS?
22:15 Aftermath
24:24 Ballantine's impact
26:04 Collectability
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if this man isn't recording audio books for the ASMR audience, there is no hope for humanity.
I don't know anything about ASMR, but I am planning to record some audiobook versions of classic stories later this year. I did a couple of spooky stories for Halloween last October and uploaded them here on my channel if you're interested. Thanks!
@@thelibraryladder The audio, as audio, is quite nice and would work quite well as off screen narrative. Otherwise it does not match the visual of a man in a room speaking to a camera. It sounds more like a man in a sound dead studio speaking carefully into a screened condenser microphone with pronounced bass balance. As such it is a jarring contrast.
Otherwise it was a most informative video. thank you.
Thanks for the feedback! Out of curiosity, would you have felt the same way about the audio in my video if it had been a scene from a movie or tv show instead? Is the jarring contrast you experienced caused by your expectations about what UA-cam videos tend to sound like? I ask because my recording setup is comparable to what professional filmmakers use in similar indoor environments. I'm not filming on a phone or with a cheap lavalier mic. Instead, I'm aiming for a higher level of production quality in my videos that approximates that of professional documentary filmmakers. :)
@@thelibraryladder As a simple example I would suggest viewing clips from Dances with Wolves and note the contrast between the audio of Costner's dialogue, which is always ambient in quality and the narrative, which is not. I get what you are aiming for, but you seem a bit off the mark in terms of what you have achieved because the audio does not seem to match the video. It does not sound like a guy in a ordinary room who happens to have some background music playing in that room. It sounds (and looks) more like a well executed overdub. One there is a total lack of reverb and two your tone, while pleasant is unnaturally bass heavy for an ambient setting. To the viewer it should sound like we are sharing the room, this video does not.
@@thelibraryladder we need more content makers with your narration style, not less
Man, these covers are gorgeous. There's something about the 60s and 70s, in terms of evocative fantasy art, that modern fantasy novel covers fail to match.
The Gormenghast books are criminally underrated. I haven't finished the trilogy but the prose is awesome and the atmosphere is so whimsical
I think the stylistic and narrative uniqueness of the Gormenghast books can make them harder to appreciate for many readers accustomed to modern fantasy novels with straightforward narratives and strong propulsive action. The rather bizarre atmosphere in the books can overshadow the story in my experience. I struggled with Titus Groan the first time I attempted to read it decades ago because it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I wanted to take the story at face value, but my rational brain kept rebelling. On reread years later (and with a greater appreciation of different styles of storytelling), I was able to adapt myself to the trilogy and the story it contains much better, and I found a lot to enjoy.
@@thelibraryladder well said. Gormenghast is what the prevelant style of fantasy could have been. I prefer the modern style of fantasy as well and also struggled at first with titan groan due to the bizzare story beats and really stylised writing style but there is much to appreciate here once you progress through the series.
Titus Alone may prove disappointing once you get to it... But the other two are great.
I'll say it outright, Gormenghast is too damn advanced for the average fantasy reader. Mervyn Peake is a writer's writer. Popular tastes will come and go, but those books will always be quietly studied and preserved.
Edit: I should say I came to appreciate fantasy only after a long time. I always thought it a juvenile genre in the unflattering sense, but Terry Pratchett's Colour of Magic changed all that for me because he could poke fun at it and showed us that there was meat there to begin with.
Prose is very outdated and hard to read even in that time gormenghast was written Victorian style of writing was not popular and it was fading
If you want to get thoroughly educated in the Fantasy Genre pre J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the Ballantine adult fantasy series is a must read. It was the greatest service to fandom that Lin Carter ever did. Many of these books are in the public domain, and if you google up the list, most of them can be found free, on-line.
I agree. I was introduced to so must great fantasy writing through this series when I was a kid growing up, and still have a large number of these books on my shelves
Pre-Tolkien? Not much Pre-Tolkien.
@@ericsierra-franco7802 That's simply not true. Here's a list of just some of the rich and hugely varied world of Fantasy before Tolkien
The Blazing World (1666) by Margaret Cavendish
On of the earliest fantasies, The Blazing World is the satirical depiction of a utopian kingdom inhabited by various races of talking animals. Readers of Alan Moore's 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' will be familiar with the place
Vathek (1786) by William Beckford.
Written in the style of the Arabian Nights, an early example of Orientalism
The Shaving of Shagpat (1856) by George Meredith.
Another one written in the style of the Arabian Nights, George Elliot was enthusiastic about this interesting early fantasy
Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women (1858) by George MacDonald
A hugely influential work for later authors such as C S Lewis, the story follows Anodos and his journey through the dreamlike Fairy Land which acts as a spiritual quest. Morris wrote several other highly regarded novels in the genre, including 'Lilith' (1895), the children's books 'The Princess and the Goblin' (1872) and 'The Princess and Curdie' (1883) and a number of short stories, often collected together for example in 'Evenor' in the Ballantine series
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne
Verne wrote many early science fiction novels, but also quite a few fantasies as well, his best and most well known being 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' the first, as far as I know, of many, set inside a hollow Earth, inhabited by a variety of prehistoric creatures and lost civilizations. Other (sort of) fantasies by Verne include 'The Castle in Transylvania', an inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula of 1897.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll
This and its sequel 'Through the Looking-Glass' (1872) a hugely famous, and don't really need describing. But Lewis also wrote 'The Hunting of the Snark' (1876), and 'Sylvie and Bruno' (1889), and its sequel 'Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893) in the genre.
Vril, the Power of the Coming Race (1870) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
This story of superior subterranean master races powered the energy form called "Vril", was hugely popular in Victorian England, especially those inclined to Madam Blavatsky's theosophy. Inspired the name of Bovril.
Erewhon (1872) by Samuel Butler
A political satire as much as a fantasy, Erewhon ('Nowhere' backward) is a mirror with which Butler exposes what he sees as the faults of the Victorian society he lived in
The Cuckoo Clock (1877) by Mrs Molesworth
Writing children's fantasy much as the more well know E. Nesbit, the small heroine of the story, Griselda, is befriended by a magical cuckoo from a cuckoo clock, who transports her to a series of fantasy worlds
(con)
Vice Versa (1882) by F. Anstey
A humorous novel set in Victorian times that starts off with businessman Paul Bultitude lecturing his son Dick on how schooldays are the happiest years of a boy's life, and how he wishes he were the one going off to school instead of Dick. Unfortunately for Paul Bultitude, Paul is carrying a magic stone from India that grants wishes, and Paul becomes a boy much to the amusement of Dick, who as he's the one holding the stone, wishes to become a man identical to how Paul previously looked. The boy Paul is then dispatched to a boarding school run by the cane-wielding headmaster, Dr. Grimstone. Bultitude, where he finds out how happy those days are. So sort of an early version of the film 'Freaky Friday', the first of many body-swapping fantasies.
She: A History of Adventure (1887) by H. Rider Haggard
One of his first of many fantasy novels, very much of the 'Lost World' genre. Filmed several times and is very popular
The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales (1888) by Richard Garnett
A collection of humorous short stories set in various parts of the ancient and medieval world. First published in 1888 Garnett kept adding additional tales in subsequent editions.
Ardath (1889) by Marie Corelli
Corelli was hugely popular in her time, and several of her books were turned into films in the early silent era; now she is largely forgotten. Ardath itself is a story of reincarnation and mystical romance between the hero, the poet Theos Alwyn and his 'spiritual affinity', the maiden, Edris on the field of Ardath near Babylon.
Peter Ibbetson (1891) by George du Maurier
Written by the grandfather of Daphne du Maurier, this is an odd fantasy about two lovers who can meet only in dreams, but here they live out their lives together. Very popular in its day, it was turned into a film of the same name in 1935 starring Gary Cooper and Ann Harding. In her book 'A Question of Time: J. R. R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie' Verlyn Flieger discusses this book's possible influences on how Tolkien viewed time in his Middle Earth.
A House-Boat on the Styx (1895) by John Kendrick Bangs
A humorous novel set on the river Styx, where the shades of the dead live after their lives on Earth. Charon wakes up one day to learn someone has put a houseboat on the infernal river, but gets over his annoyance when he finds he will be its janitor. The House Boat makes an appearance in Alan Moore's 'Promethea', the heroine of which is Sophie Bangs, one of the author's supposed descendants.
Etidorhpa (1895) by John Uri Lloyd
An adventure story featuring another underground realm, this time entered from Kentucky. Full of alchemy, secret Masonic rites, the hollow Earth, a truly fantastic novel. 'Etidorhpa' is oh course 'Aphrodite' spelt backward
The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers
A collection of short stories, most of which are fantastical, some veering into horror and based around a mythical book in play form, "The King in Yellow", of which reading the third and final act generally leads to mental decay and madness, and the associated mysterious and malevolent supernatural entity of the same name, and its Yellow Sign. Elements of these stories made their way into H. P. Lovecraft''s Cthulhu mythos stories, and recently on TV into the first season of 'True Detectives'
The Water of the Wondrous Isles (1897) by William Morris
The novel, published the year following Morris's death, follows Birdalone, a young girl who is stolen as a baby by a witch who takes her to serve in the woods of Evilshaw. She travels through an Arthurian-type world, as one of the very first female heroines of the fantasy genre. Morris's vocabulary might be offputting to some moderns, using many archaisms even for a Victorian, but I've always been fond of his writings. As well as this fantasy novel, Morris wrote many more, starting with 'The Hollow Land' (1856), and including 'The Story of the Glittering Plain' (1891), 'The Wood Beyond the World' (1894), 'The Well at the World's End' (1896), 'The Sundering Flood' (1897) as well as a number of short stories eventually collected in 'Golden Wings and Other Stories' in the Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library series.
The Wallet of Kai Lung (1900) by Ernest Bramah
A collection of fantasy stories most of which feature Kai Lung, an itinerant storyteller of ancient China. Bramah went on to complete another three short story collections and a novel, all of great charm, featuring the old storyteller. Brahmah was a highly prolific author, who also wrote the Max Carrados series of detective stories.
Fancy Free (1901) Eden Phillpotts
A collection of short stories set in various eras. Phillpotts wrote several more fantasy short story collections along with a number of novels. Another author who seems largely forgotten
Five Children and It (1902) by E. Nesbit
The first of three children’s novels featuring the five children, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother known as the Lamb, come to discover a rather grumpy and very unfairly-like creature called a sand-fairy or 'Psammead', capable of granting wishes. This leads them into a whole series of adventures in this, and the two sequels ‘The Phoenix and the Carpet’ (1904), where the Psammead is mostly absent and then returning in the final ‘The Story of the Amulet’ (1906)
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1904) by Lafcadio Hearn
Hearn's retelling of a number of Japanese ghost stories and folk tales. The Japanese film director Masaki Kobayashi based his famous film of the same name on Hearn's book
The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame
Adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. this is a classic Edwardian fantasy.
(con)
The House of Souls (1906) by Arthur Machen
Collection of short stories combining horror and fantasy, containing what I think is his best work, 'The White People'. This takes the form of a diary kept by a young girl who, starting with the influence of her nurse, is drawn into a supernatural world. In his 1986 'Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural', T.E.D. Klein declared it ‘...the purest and most powerful expression of what Jack Sullivan has called the “transcendental” or “visionary” supernatural tradition. Most other tales in that tradition ... merely describe encounters with the dark primeval forces that reign beyond the edge of civilization; The White People seems an actual product of such an encounter, an authentic pagan artifact...’. The collection also includes his other great masterpiece, 'The Great God Pan', as well as 'The Inmost Light' and 'A Fragment of Life'.
Tarzan of the Apes (1912) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Burroughs wrote a lot of early science fiction, but this first of a whole series of Tarzan books is pure fantasy. Burroughs also wrote a series set in that popular destination the hollow Earth, starting with ‘At the Earth's Core’ (1914) where adventures use an excavating mining “mole” to find the interior world of Pellucidar. ‘The Land That Time Forgot’ (1918) has its 'Lost World' location on an island in the Antarctic ocean, warmed by volcanoes and teeming with dinosaurs and tribes of semi-human creatures
The Book of Wonder (1912) by Lord Dunsany
Some have already mentioned his novel 'The King of Elfland's Daughter', but I think mention should also be made of his short stories, as these were much more of an influence on a whole host of later writers, particularly the early H. P. Lovecraft of 'The Doom that Came to Sarnath', 'The Cats of Ulthar', 'Celephais' and 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'. The Book of Wonder was written as a collaboration with the artist Sidney Sime; Sime provided a fantastic illustration which Dunsany then wrote the story of. Dunsany also wrote a few humorous fantasy novels such as 'The Blessing of Pan' (1927) where a stuffy 19th century English village is transformed by the god Pan, and 'My Talks with Dean Spanley' (1936) where the Dean of the title is able, under the influence of a rare Imperial Tokay wine, to recall his life and adventures as a dog sometime in the Victorian period. Some people mistakenly think the movie based on this book is better, rather in the same way Peter Jackson “improved” on Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’.
Incredible Adventures (1914) by Algernon Blackwood
A collection of short stories of weird fantasy stories. A highly recommended author in the genre, though little known now. other story collections include John Silence (1908) a series of short stories about a Carnaki-like paranormal investigator, The Lost Valley and Other Stories (1910), Pan's Garden: a Volume of Nature Stories (1912) as well as novels such as The Human Chord (1910), The Centaur (1911) and Julius LeVallon (1916). Many of his stories fall into the category of nature fantasies and stories involving the fourth dimension.
The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed (1914) by Kenneth Morris
A fantasy novel written by Welsh author and theosophist Kenneth Morris, this is a retelling of the medieval Welsh Mabinogion. Ursula K. Le Guin praised his writing
The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin (1915) by P. D. Ouspensky.
Based on Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence the hero realizes he can remember past iterations of his life, and tries to alter it from its recurring nature
Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice (1919) by James Branch Cabell
Part of a series of vaguely interconnected novels Cabell wrote, collectively called Biography of the Life of Manuel' Count of Poictesme (a fictional province of France). A comic fantasy novel, influencing Terry Pratchett amongst others, this is the story of Jurgen, a "monstrous clever fellow" who sets out on a quest through a dreamscape of various medieval realms, Heaven and Hell, in search of "justice"
The Moon Pool (1919) by A. Merritt
Another 'Lost World' novel, of a race within the hollow earth, ruled by a powerful evil entity called the Shining One, which periodically visits the earth's surface, capturing men and women to somehow feed off of. This was the first of a series of similar fantasy novels written, some of which were adapted to film, including 'The Devil-Doll' (1936) based on Merritt's 'Burn Witch Burn!' (1932)
Mary Rose (1920) by J. M. Barrie
Better known for his play Peter Pan (1904), his other plays shouldn't be overlooked, particularly the odd, disturbing Mary Rose. Here Mary Rose is a child who vanishes whilst visiting a remote Scottish island, but three weeks later she just as mysteriously returns with no memory of what happened to her. Many years later she returns to the island, and again vanishes, and again mysteriously returns. This time though it is decades later she hasn't aged at all in the interim, but her family has aged beyond recognition, and her son, Harry, who was nearly three when she disappeared, is gone. Alfred Hitchcock wanted to create a film version but his studio believed that the project was "too troubling".
The Haunted Woman (1922) by David Lindsay
Better known for his odd science fiction book 'A Voyage to Arcturus' (1920), 'The Haunted Woman' is a work of dark, metaphysical fantasy. The heroine Isabel Loment visiting an ancient country home discovers a mysterious staircase leading to a series of rooms that exist outside of our reality. Whilst there Isabel and the owner of the house, Henry Judge undergo an expansion in their consciousness and start a romance, but they are unable to recall this state when they leave the room.
Topper (1926) by Thorne Smith
First of a series of humorous fantasy novels, set in 1920s America, in this one respectable banker Cosmo Topper has a series of adventures with a couple of ghosts. Very popular at the time, it was turned into a film starring Cary Grant, as was 'The Passionate Witch' filmed as I Married a Witch, starring Veronica Lake. Turnabout (1931) is a body-swapping fantasy, in this case, the married couple Sally and Tim Willows; also turned into a 1940 film starring Carole Landis and John Hubbard. Also from 1931 is his ' The Night Life of the Gods' where inventor Hunter Hawk having met a nine-hundred-year-old lady leprechaun named Megaera who helps him master the art of transforming statues into people, runs amok with Metropolitan Museum of Arts statues of Bacchus, Mercury, Neptune, Diana, Hebe, Apollo, and Perseus, unleashing them on prohibition-era New York.
I cannot wait for the Dunsany overview! Discovering The King of Elfland's Daughter was one of the most serendipitous moments of my reading career.
Mervin Peake, too!
I was working in MIT's college bookstore. The book was ordered for a class that was canceled but was still on the shelf. The cover and title intrigued me and encouraged me to travel "beyond the fields we know." It led me to GRRM. I am one of those poor suckers who have been holding their collective breath since around '97.
I discovered Dunsany lived in Shoreham, Kent as well as Samuel Palmer the painter. It is on my list to visit and draw the landscape.
Plus all the fabulous short stories. And no disrespect to the King of Elfland's Daughter but my favorite is The Charwomans' Shadow.
@@coltaine503 I enjoyed that one but not as much.
My personal library was full of Ballantine and Del Rey books. I am deeply grateful for this genre.
My dad and I speak often about fantasy works he read and liked, and one of them was David Eddings Belgariad and Malloreon. It’s right now one of my favorite stories, and even though it’s very Tolkienesque, I appreciate what he wrote!
I too enjoyed the Belgariad, although I'm less fond of the Malloreon because of how much it follows the same formula as the Belgariad.
Love some of the psychedelic artwork. And the fact that these classic books were not too massive like all the lengthy series you get these days. Love the old style, very evocative writing too of Mervyn Peake, Clarke Ashton Smith. Etc
I'm a big fan of concisely told stories, and many of these older ones are great in that respect. My enjoyment of them varies, but even the ones I'm less fond of don't require a substantial time commitment to read.
The covers Bob Pepper did for Peake's 'Gormenghast' books are classics in themselves.
I owned a lot of these books as a kid in the early 1970s. Still have them. Really opened up new worlds.
I just finished a master's dissertation on how to translate Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros into Portuguese, and I was amazed by a couple of things: how little was written about him, how important Ballantine was in quite literally inventing the "fantasy brand", and how little is talked about that. Quality historical digging there, congratulations, and keep up the good work. You just got a new subscriber.
diga quando tiver a versão revisada da dissertação, cacei sem sucesso :'(
@@fcouperin A biblioteca demora para disponibilizar online, as engrenagens internas giram devagar rs. Vou ver se consigo colocar o pdf aqui.
@@fcouperin Não parece ser possível enviar o pdf por esta thread ou pelo youtube. Há algum email ou profile para o qual eu poderia enviar o arquivo? (Pelo que me disseram, a disponibilização no banco de teses/dissertações pode demorar meses depois de enviada a versão corrigida)
That old fantasy artwork is all so beautiful.
Edit: I can't wait for the rest of this series. New sub.
Two of the first major books/series, I read right after I first read LOTR were Thomas Covenant (Donaldson) and Shannara (Brooks), both of which were heavily derived from LOTR, but both of which also had their own unique visions and themes, and were excellent books in their own rights. I recently re-read Sword of Shannara after *many* years, and it's still really a great read. And it doesn't read like a Tolkien ripoff at all, even tho there are surface similarities. I also read Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne Chronicles recently, which is excellent in its own weird way, but was apparently not handled by Ballantine.
I agree with you that The Sword of Shannara often gets unfairly maligned. It's a fun read.
Lin Carter intended Smith's Averoigne Chronicles to be part of the Ballantine series, but Random House shut down the series before it could be published.
I upvoted this before I even watched it and wish I could upvote again. Thank you for giving a face to early fantasy. This series of books was instrumental to my development as a fantasy reader. I was lucky enough to live near a library that thought it was important to have these books on their shelves. Not all of them made it there, but by the time I was leaving for college I'd read probably half. It's also a great place to point people to for a reference if they think fantasy only existed as epic fantasy before the current decade or so, or that there was no fantasy before Tolkien!
Thanks! Like you, I gained a greater appreciation of the roots of the fantasy genre after encountering the Ballantine series. Many classic authors and works I'd never heard of until I found these paperback editions. I can't say that I've fully enjoyed all of them, but they've given me a greater appreciation of the genre and its history.
I grew up reading pulp fantasy including these in the 80s and 90s. I admit I enjoyed fantasy a lot more when it was obscure and for a niche audience. It felt more intimate. The internet, video games, Hollywood etc. have all but made it ubiquitous. Haha I guess I miss being a nerd.
@bastiat4855 you have no idea who l am so keep your silly assumptions to yourself.
I grew up on the old tsr books, I loved the old well written fantasy books . They were obscure too but exciting and I still remember them today
The department store my father managed had a book rack and a lot of these books appeared on it. Lin Carter was a far, far better editor and curator than writer. I devoured the books I found and it upsets me to this day that not all of the series was available to me. That said, Worm Ouroboros despite its great writing and some outstanding scenes doesn't hold up as well anymore. That ending wtf.
Had the series continued, I suspect Terry Brooks would have been included over Lin Carter's dead body! I will never forget Carter's review of The Sword of Shannara, which began with the line, "This war crime of a novel..."
I'm looking forward to all the promised videos, especially the Lord Dunsany overview
😂
Never let this amazing story be forgotten!
Wow! So many books I’ve never heard about!
My fantasy book list has definitely increased after watching this video.
It's a shame that Ballantine Books overlooked H. Rider Haggard's novel Eric Brighteyes, which I believe to be a criminally underrated book. Eric Brighteyes tells a majestic story that starts off as a loving pastiche of Icelandic family sagas before becoming a grueling tragedy that would make William Shakespeare proud. Thankfully, Newcastle Publishing Company came along to re-issue the book as part of their Forgotten Fantasy Library, which incidentally is believed to have been inspired by the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series.
Lin Carter got it published by Zebra, the successor to Lancer Books.
I agree that Eric Brighteyes is a great read. I plan to make a video about Haggard's works at some point, but probably not in the next year (too many other video topics ahead of him in the queue). I thought about mentioning Newcastle's Forgotten Fantasy Library in this video about Ballantine (I have several of the Newcastle books, and they complement the Ballantine series nicely by filling in gaps), but I didn't want the video to be too long, so I decided to incorporate them into a future video. Thanks for watching and commenting!
No one is reading She or King Solomon's Mines. Ayesha is long forgotten. Why on Earth publish a Haggard B-Side from the same era?
@William Lexner I read 2 of those books within the past 3 years.
Lin Carter did talk about eric brighteyes in one of the volumes. Funny I had never heard of Newcastls publishings forgotten fantasy library. Have to look into that.
the esthetic of this video is wonderful! Yes, I love the content of it, and I had no idea about how the Tolkien works influenced the fantasy boom in the 60s... but what I wanted to talk about was the excellent editing and camera work in this video! Outstanding, The narrative moves forward, but constantly gives us reference for what we're learning about. The eerie music is perfect fantasy. An enjoyable experience overall!
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I try to incorporate many of those elements into all my videos (some more successfully than others).
Memories! I was in that group trying to find fantasy fiction, and I read a lot of those. Evangeline Walton, Joy Chant, H Warner Munn, RE Howard, David Lindsey, ER Eddison, Katherine Kurtz, and more.
TLL, viewing your posts is like attending a university literature lecture. I always learn something new. Great content, quality, production and especially presentation! Cheers.
So many awesome classic gems. Gormenghast is definitely criminally underrated.
I love Gormenghast! Hope Bridger does a video on those books.
@@thewatchfemme4051 I love how gothic, bizarre and whimsical they are. They remind me of Neil Gaiman, Tim Burton and Charles Dickens (:
It's in my queue of planned videos, although I'm unlikely to get to it before next year.
The set of Ballantine books of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings with white covers featuring Tolkien’s watercolors (and pastels?) in 1978 was the first four books I ever bought from a real bookstore - as a twelve-year-old. Previously all of my book purchases had been through the Scholastic Book Club offered through my elementary school… such titles as Clifford the Big Red Dog, Runaway Ralph, and the Adventures of Pippi Longstocking. I owe the shape of my adulthood to Ballantine Books.
I received the same set of Tolkien paperbacks as a present when I was around 11, and I read them cover to cover many times over the next ten years. I might have been more enthralled by the Appendices at the end of The Return of the King than I was with the main story (and I loved the main story). I still have those books, although they're showing their age.
You were lucky. What my mom would do is get me interested in books and then when the time came to buying the books through Scholastic or books ads, she would say, "We'll check 'em out at the library." I credit my mom for making me a library rat. It was a sneaking trick though.
@@thelibraryladder - the quick sequel to my anecdote is that a couple years later I bought the nearly matching paperback of The Silmarillion while my family visited Mark Twain’s house in Hannibal, Missouri… there was a gift shop that had a rotating wire rack of some popular titles at the time, and this “new” book by Tolkien naturally caught my eye. It would be several years later, on my third attempt, before I finally made it through (and fell in love with) The Silmarillion.
The latter half of The Silmarillion is amazing. My 12-year-old self struggled with the first half, but I made it through. On subsequent rereads, though, I tended to skip over the first few chapters.
As an adult I encountered the early fiction of Lord Dunsany, who is often cited as a major influence on Tolkien's fantasy writing. I was shocked to discover just how much of an influence. Dunsany's short fiction collection 'The Gods of Pegana' reads almost like a cross between the first two sections of The Silmarillion and the King James Bible. Tolkien clearly patterned those parts of The Silmarillion after Dunsany's fantasy debut.
Wow! I too purchased all three volumes of the Ballantine edition of the LOTR with white covers featuring Tolkien's watercolors at my local suburban Philadelphia mall in November 1978 when I was twelve years old! They were the first "real books" I ever read: I remember taking the "Fellowship" home that night, turning the page to "Concerning Hobbits" and was immediately entranced. Although I now have a study lined with books, those original Ballantine volumes of Tolkien still take pride of place on my shelves and are probably the most prized items in my collection!
I love this channel! So nice to see Katherine Kurtz get a mention on here. That first Deryni trilogy will always hold a special place on my book shelf.
Thanks! Kurtz established a template with that first trilogy that influenced many later authors. I quite enjoyed the series when I first encountered it around 1980 or so.
Ballantine was huge for me when I was young - really changed my reading and life. A lot of very fine work I still read.
I discovered many of these paperback editions at my local library when I was young, and I'm glad I did.
Everything about this series is amazing, it's like a course in neglected literature, and the cover art is beautiful. Carter's introductions are infectious, through him I've found many great and forgotten works.
The Night Land is one of the best books I've ever read. Vathek, Phantastes, The Lost Continent, The Broken Sword, The Wood Beyond the World, all are great. I discovered the series six months ago and now I'm four volumes away from completing the collection.
I'm not surprised you don't have a copy of Zothique, it's one of the hardest to find, but Clark Ashton Smith is a joy to read. And the last third of Imaginary Worlds deals mostly with how to name things properly in fantasy, important I'm sure but not as basis for all your craft!
I'm looking forward to your video about Lord Dunsany. Here in Ireland he seems to be completely forgotten, which is a great pity.
When paired with the introductions Carter wrote for most of the books, as well as his essays in Imaginary Worlds, the BAF series really is like a course in neglected literature.
That truly is a pity about Dunsany's legacy in Ireland. Was he perceived as being not Irish enough, given his English heritage, or is it simply a matter of later generations paying more attention to newer, more modern authors?
Carter's notes and introductions really make the series feel like it has been curated with love, and his choices in the anthology books lay a good foundation. I've gone on to read many of the classic authors he included.
I'm not sure why Dunsany has been forgotten. It may be because he was “on the wrong side” in the Easter Rising, or came from the upper classes, but then Yates and Wilde are well remembered all the same. It could simply be due to changing tastes, fantasy, his plays, and the Jorkins club books may have gone out of fashion soon after his death.
There is a poster of writers that appears in every Irish classroom and Dunsany is not on it. It might be as simple as that, he hasn't been propagandised!
I'm really enjoying your series. It's great to see editions of books I hope to one day read and to get information about the history of them. I have several Elkin Matthews editions of Dunsany, one signed by the man himself, so looking forward to your thoughts.
Brilliant, I really love these in depth tales about old publishers!
This is such an interesting video, I clicked on it because I recognized that Worm Ouroboros copy. I picked it up completely blind from a game/book store near where I live (I judged a book by its cover and it worked out great). And the contributions of Carter's fantasy anthologies can't be overstated. It was wild to see George RR Martin get introduced as an "promising up and comer" in the 3rd installment. Again, incredible video, keep up the good work.
Thank Carter Ballantine for sticking to a strategy to have forgotten works gain new readership though it wasn't good buisness practice!!! Using very successful titles to prop up many that didn't sell good might sound crazy to a corporation but it is an amazing strategy that makes a genre better.
As a kid in the 70's I remember being swept away by Barbara Remington's art on so many covers of these books, notably the Tolkien books and the Wyrm Oroborus. That art was incredible, simple and primal. It really came across as the end of pulp art and the beginning of modern fantasy art. Pulp art had a slightly longer life in the early RPG era, but that would not live past the 80's.
This was a great essay on the books that I read while young, and was a wonderful trip down memory lane. Time to fill in the blanks in my reading list.
And you are right, Lin Carter, while not the great author had an impeccable eye for the genre and was the right man at the right time to be Ballantine's editor.
Thanks for sharing! So many of the BAF covers are really stunning, reflecting aspects of the counter-culture movement of that era.
I read so many of these as they were coming out and I still have a number of them. This video is like seeing old friends. Thank you for all the background.
I was SLAPPED in the face by the softness of this man’s voice, good lord
Beautiful video.
What a coincidence - I just finished and loved The Mabinogion tetralogy by Evangeline Walton published by Ballantine Books.
I tried the Worm Ouroboros and the Zimiamvia trilogy too but the writing just wasn't for me.
LOTR and Gormenghast are the GOATs for me. With Tolkien, we still had Christopher Tolkien to give us The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and other books like Children of Hurin after he passed. But Peake's untimely demise means we live with a glimpse of what could have been. I am so thankful for the novels we got but wonder what the next installments would have been like. Sui generis indeed, as Mieville said.
I really tried to get into Clark Ashton Smith with the Penguin collection by ST Joshi but I couldn't concentrate and gave up. I like HP Lovecraft okay but someone I really respect mentioned CAS is the greater writer. What do you think?
I knew the Del Rey part of the story and its so awesome. Shannara and Thomas Covenant - two disparate works heralding the beginning of a new era.
Thank you for this informative video. 🙏🏽
Thanks! To read Eddison, I have to take myself out my modern sensibilities and instead try to perceive the novels as readers did a hundred years ago. Narratively and stylistically they're a little excessive by modern standards, but I can imagine what an impact the books might have had on literary readers back then who had rarely if ever encountered storytelling like that. I find it easy to see how Tolkien was so enamored with Eddison's books and how much they influenced his own writing. Fortunately, Tolkien largely resisted the urge to imitate Eddison's excesses.
I appreciate nearly all of the early weird fiction writers, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to read and stay immersed in their works. I prefer Smith over Lovecraft, but my leanings are even more toward earlier (and less overtly weird) authors such as M.R. James, Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood to name a few.
@@thelibraryladder Algernon Blackwood yes - a friend recommended me The Willows and it was so good! I want to read more by him.
Edgar Rice Burroughs certainly wrote fantasy fiction that stayed in print throughout this period. John Carter, mystically transported to Mars, made his living with his wits and his sword, and faced "science" threats that were basically magic by another name.
You're right. Burroughs was one of the few exceptions who remained in print, due to the popularity of the Tarzan character and the helpful fact that Burroughs owned his own publishing company.
Thank you. I love learning the history of SFF.
Dude, you've got the best voice in the business...
Thank you for this wonderful summary. The Ballantine books introduced me to Walton, Eddison, Bramah, Mirlees, and the short fiction of Dunsany. Phantastes, Don Rodriguez, At the Edge of the World, and The Young Magicians remain on my shelves today.
Excellent video! I always love these history topics you do
Stunning presentation. You bring the whole Ballantine series alive in such a vivid, informative and fascinating way.
Thanks!
Ahhhh what a rich and delightful overview of this influential series! I began collecting these books about 20 years ago as I explored the possibility of becoming a writer of young adult urban fantasy. I ended up taking a different path, but this series was a big part of my self-guided education back in the day. And those covers!
It was never surprising to me that the series ended the way that it did. I've always felt that it did what it set out to do, which is to establish fantasty as a legit genre outside of the pulp magazines and to bring in the new readers that would become fantasy's first most devoted fans. And.... those covers. 😍
Thank you for this fantatic overview and trip down memory lane! These books were a huge part of a certain time in my life.
Thank you! I too think of the BAFS paperbacks as a kind of curriculum on the history of the fantasy genre. I'm glad they were as popular as they were at the time Ballantine published them, because it means there are many used copies still around for readers to enjoy.
Great video. I look forward to the future deep-dives into particular authors.
You just expanded my list of books. Thank you 😊
So happy that youtube is finally recommending me smaller creators like yourself. Not something I ever would have searched out on my own, but such a fun watch. Thanks!
I'm so happy to have been recommended! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks!
this was a great era retrospective. thanks. I've picked up more than a few Ballantine books in my day.
I could listen to this man's velvet smooth voice all day.
This video is a great overview of the series and a wonderful walk down memory lane (and makes me want to dig these books out again and give some of them a new read).
I really appreciated this episode. I'd heard references to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series over the years, but nothing in any depth. It had stopped publishing before I started reading fantasy in the late 70's. I wanted to know more about it and now my curiosity has been satisfied.
Excellent video. I've wanted to read my way through the whole list covered in this video and now I'm definitely going to start picking up these books when I can
Thanks! The Ballantine series contains a very eclectic mix of books, which can be a nice change of pace from the relative sameness of a lot of modern fantasy. Some of the older works can be a bit of an acquired taste, but they're still an interesting reading experience (if not always one you'll want to repeat).
Love all the cover art for these Ballantine books. I'll keep an eye out for these, though I don't come across many of them on my hunts. Those LotR Ace paperback editions are very tough to find, but I do have a nice copy of Return of the King in my own collection (and paid only $1.00 for it).
I've seen a few in the wild. Not in the best of shape...but decent.
Excited to see more of this. I have several of these books myself.
Thank you again on a wonderful video, these are always fascinating for a life-long fantasy genre fan.
This is a wonderful overview of the fantasy genre. His voice is marvelous.
Another great vid - i love your output - its very well researched and delivered 👍
Great video and an important subject. Ballantine was enormously important in shaping the field of fantasy by bringing these books to a wide audience, especially in America. Fantasy is the oldest genre of all. We're taking the genre from which the fables and mythology itself spout from.
Thanks, and I agree!
Thank you for this! Over the decades I've found several of these books, but hadn't heard of all you mentioned!
Finally a video on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. I've got about 50 or so of these, including some of the precursor titles before the series was named. My favorites so far have been Figures of Earth, Phantastes, The Charwomans Shadow, Titus Groan (Im about done with Gormenghast and it's even better I think!) The Broken Sword, and the Worm Ouroboros. It's really cool as a relatively younger reader to dive deep into what made the fantasy/S&S genre what it is today. Also, learning about the importance Lin Carter had on resurrecting the genre. I've still got a lot to read and collect with this series (Especially the mythical Zothique, the last gap in my C.A.S run), but I am looking forward to every book!
And of course, fantastic job giving an informative overview of the series!
I Just stumbled upon a youtube channel I never knew I needed. I am just getting back into reading fantasy starting with the chronicles of Narnia. Just started the second book in the series "Prince Caspian". Only watched two of your videos and have added dozens of book to read! I have become fascinated with hearing about these old classic in the fantasy genre!
Thanks and welcome aboard! I have many more videos planned that I hope you enjoy.
Fascinating! Thanks for this overview.
Incredibly informative and entertaining as always
THIS VIDEO IS/WAS AMAZING!!!!! Thank you for creating it!!! I haven't heard of almost every book and author on/in this video!!!
Thanks! I'm so glad you found it entertaining and informative.
@@thelibraryladder I read a descent amount of fantasy, including the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and Tolkien (the hobbit and the trilogy) when i was a pre-teen/teen (before the films) and as an adult I read several of Tolkien's other works. I always wondered who came before Tolkien and it was cool to finally get the information in such a well put together presentation.
This is a fantastic list of books I will be checking out! Vathek and Zothique especially seem interesting. I read Hrolf Kraki's Saga a few months back, and it was a real suprise read for me. Great video!
The audio quality is excellent, keep up the great videos!
What a great video. Thank you so much for doing the research and sharing the knowledge of the underrated pre-mid 1960s fantasy genre. I am looking forward to more videos like this one.
Thank you for the very kind words! I have many more videos like this one planned. They're some of my favorite ones to make, along with comprehensive author retrospectives.
Amazing work put into this video!
I moved recently and have been feeling a little homesick and when i found your channel it's what I needed. They're cozy and informative and I thank you for the excellent content. I can't wait to see this channel blow up.
Thank you for your very kind comment! I hope you settle into your new environment soon.
@the library ladder appreciate it, so far I'm settlin in good so far
Yay I'm super early for once. Thanx in advance Bridger, you da man!
Thank you for showing some love for the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. I started discovering these in used bookstores in the 1980's, and realized what a treasure trove they were. I might never have read Eddison, David Lindsay, Lord Dunsany, or Clark Ashton Smith without them. I even found a copy of Land of Unreason that was autographed by de Camp. I hope to collect them all.
Thanks for sharing! I discovered the series in my school and public libraries around the same time you did. Good luck in your quest to find them all. A few are pretty scarce, which can drive up their prices to levels that seem absurd for books that were produced to be essentially disposable.
Terrific list.I have now may ore books added to my list, mostly from over 100 years ago. Nice to hear your pronunciations as well, interesting to hear how others say things.
I was an avid buyer and reader of the Ballantine book series as this covered my high school and college years. Great memories. I have been using Kindle to re-read non-PC authors like Sax Rohmer, Earl Derr Biggers, and John Marquand but was please to find anthologies of a lot of these authors as well. I remember staring at the closed gate of Dunsany Castle was I was young and wishing I could visit the place.
I've never read any of the Mr. Moto stories, despite reading about them. Is there a title you would recommend?
It's nice to see people still reading Rohmer, Biggers and Marquand. Have you tried any Talbot Mundy or P.C. Wren? I'm a fan of all of them, and at some point I plan to make videos about their works in an effort to encourage modern readers to embrace their place in literary history despite the insensitive elements they can contain.
I suggest starting with the third novel in the series: Think Fast, Mr. Moto.
Note, though, that Mr. Moto isn't the central character in the books bearing his name. The stories tend to focus on other characters who find themselves in difficult situations full of political intrigue, while Mr. Moto appears only occasionally throughout the stories to play instrumental roles. I mention this in order to help you set expectations.
Terrific video. It added quite a few books to my to-read list.
Thanks, Jared! There are some books in the series I want to find time to read as well.
Loved the bucket list! Thank you! Greetings from Portugal.
These gorgeous books are wonderful reads! Also, great overview on the history and how they pushed fantasy into the public eye!
I cannot wait for your coverage of Lord Dunsany's works! 😊
Thanks! I hope to film my Dunsany video later today. I'll be recording audiobook versions of some of his stories as well to accompany the video.
In high school (early-mid 70s), a teacher saw that I was always carrying/reading one of the LoTR paperbacks. She gave me a copy of Lin Carter's Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings. I read that, my head exploded, and I started searching for the books mentioned and in the index. Each time I found and purchased one, I put a red dot in the book. I didn't collect them all - due to lack of time and funds - but I did get many of them. Ans still have them.
Maybe your best video! Outstanding!
Wonderful video!
And thank you for showing the cover of Six of Swords. I’ve been trying to remember that book for years now. All I had to go on were vague recollections of the cover and the little map of the land.
It was one of those things itching the back of my brain!
Thanks again!
Thanks! I'm so glad to have been of service in helping you remember a book. You're the third person in three days to tell me that!
What a great overview! Twenty-odd years ago I put together a set of these (ah, the thrill of finding a new volume in a used book store!) and it's still one of the most prized things in my library.
Thanks! You’re very fortunate. It’s getting difficult to piece together a complete set of the BAFs. They’re both readable and collectible.
Found you through this video and binged your entire catalogue 😅 fantastic stuff!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on more fantasy! Especially Brooks and Feist, I grew up with a lot of their stories.
Every video you make I end up buying at least one of the books mentioned. This time it was the Mabinogion tetralogy by Evangeline Walton. Keep up the good work!
Excellent choice! Evangeline Walton's books are great reads. I bought all of them when they came out, and still have three of them - I lent 'Prince of Annwn' to someone and never got it back
It is SO FANTASTIC that you did this video. I wondered years ago if anyone would take the time to research the Ballantine Adult Fantasy titles, and here you are. I found a few of them in a beloved bookstore (Gormenghast, King of Elfland's Daughter) but A Voyage to Arcturus blew this fantasy-lover's cortex into wackyland! I understand that popular tastes tend to go to books which offer ideas for cosplay, but I tend to like books that are challenging, or, to use your (accurate) term, impenetrable. This is an amazing list, and it's great that you're using the internet to revivify interest in so many neglected authors! 😁😀😆😉
Thanks! My hope is to encourage more people to explore these books and others that deserve more attention these days.
This series was so great. I wish I had more of these. Great video!
Thanks, Michael! Some of them are getting a little hard to find, but most are still available at prices that aren't ridiculous. I'm sure you've read many of the titles in the series, and books like Cutcliffe Hyne's The Lost Continent, F. Marion Crawford's Khaled, and Ernest Bramah's Kai Lung stories seem like they'd be right up your alley if haven't read them.
Nice! I collected these in the 1970s. Great series! I honor Lin Carter's memory.
My new favorite UA-cam channel!
Thanks and welcome aboard!
I own a lot of these, packed away in boxes for 50 years. I don't read much fantasy anymore, but these hold a special place. Personal favorites include 'A Voyage to Arcturus', 'The Night Land', and any of the various collections by Clark Ashton Smith, whose use of language was phenomenal. Ballantine also printed a quite a bit of Lovecraft under its own imprint.
If this guy isn’t a professional voice over guy, he should be.
Also, great video. As if my TBR isn’t big enough as it is. 😂
Fantastic video! I have read quite a few of them and I'm happy I found your channel!
Thanks, and welcome aboard!
Fascinating info. Also, very pleasant listen. Glad I found this.
Thanks! I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
Picking these up in second-hand shops in the UK, with nothing to go on but the wonderful covers, was a huge education for me in my early teens back in the 70s. Most of my copies have long gone but I still get a buzz when I occasionally stumble across these editions. I'd love an art book of the collected covers.
Thank-you so much for share your expertise and research! This was so informative and exciting. I took notes on the video and wrote down the authors and the novels. I'm so looking forward to delving into the earlier generations of fantasy. I love this genre so much. I'm working on a novel to add to its wonderful ranks. As I write I hope to become more and more well read in fantasy and science fiction. Thank-you again for all the help in this endeavor!
Hayley ^_^
Wonderful! I'm so glad you found the video helpful. I wish you all the best in your writing pursuits!
Excellent episode which brings back fond memories of discovering Tolkien, etc., at my local Mom and Pop store, perhaps 1968? 95cents was a lot of money for a kid back then. The store also had the Gormenghast trilogy, which I bought on the strength of the cover art. This store also carried the Lancer paperback editions of Conan(a bargain at 75cents!), Michael Moorcock's Jewel in the skull as well as science fiction and fantasy magazines such as Worlds of Tomorrow.
I was discovering them a little more than ten years later in my school and public libraries. I loved exploring the paperback racks. Thanks for sharing!
Another great video, and it's remarkable the condition of most of those paperback you found! I often find used paperbacks to be in such bad condition - creased spines, bent covers - that I often pass them by at used book shops.
Thanks, Josh! I'm pretty picky about book condition. Creased spines are significant sticking point for me, but for some of the scarcer titles, I'm more willing to accept some of those flaws (e.g., my copy of Clark Ashton Smith's Xiccarph has a terribly creased and rolled spine, but it's hard to find any copies of it for less than $30-40 in reasonable condition, so I was happy to find that one for about $5 as part of a bulk lot of five Ballantine paperbacks). When buying books in bulk lots (as I often do) to get the best price, the quality tends to be more varied. I've been known to buy multiple bulk lots just to accumulate duplicate copies of a set of books, and then sort through them to select the best ones to keep and sell off the rest.
@@thelibraryladder that's a good strategy with book lots. I find the spines the most important part for me as well, as that's what you see when it's sitting on the shelf!
Great video, on the whole. And I really look forward to your Dunsany overview; he is one of the most unjustly overlooked masters of fantasy, though he greatly influenced such iconic authors as Lovecraft and leguin.
your collection is simply so impressive.
Thanks! Piecing it together has been a labor of love for more than 40 years.
Talking about collectible and readable paper is awesome!
I completely agree!
Tanith Lee is one of the finest writers to ever grace the field of speculative fiction. The author of around 100 novels and several hundred short stories, she wrote two episodes of the iconic TV series Blake’s 7, was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award - which she followed with two World Fantasy Awards, shortlistings for all manner of accolades including Nebula and BSFA Awards - and in 2013 she received a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the organisers of World Fantasycon.
Thanks for sharing! Lee had a very distinctive voice as a writer. Her Tales from the Flat Earth reminds me of a mashup of Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock and Angela Carter.
Once upon a time I owned them all and read most of them. Great video!
Oh wow I was in college when this series appeared and I searched in every bookstore for these books for many years afterwards. (I have some Kindle versions now.) My favorite authors were Evangeline Walton and William Morris. Thank you for this video!
Walton's adaptation is remarkably good. So much more engaging than the two direct translations of The Mabinogion that I've read. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I own all 4 of the Clark Ashton Smith volumes! These are the best Smith publishings you can get! Those and the Eddings are what got me collecting Ballantine Adult Fantasy books.
Fortunate you! Those are hard to find at reasonable prices these days.
@@thelibraryladderIt took YEARS of patiently watching ebay. Xiccarph was actually the hardest for some reason.
What a voice, oh my god 😯... Your voice sounds so good!! I feel like I need to just curl up next to a fire with a good book and some hot coacoa. It feels so soothing!
Thanks! That fire/cocoa/book combination sounds great!
I was lucky enough to have all of these. I bought some of them new but many of them came from the Recycled Bookstore in San Jose Ca. The hardest one for me to find was "The Man Who was Thursday". It was an exciting time to be a fantasy fan.