Tough Guide to Fantasyland : The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel

Once you've read enough standard mainstream fantasy novels, you start to see some pretty funny patterns—like, why does every child with a speaking part turn out to be a missing heir? Why are red heads always magical and blonde people always so stinking good? And why does nobody wear socks, even on a months-long walking journey? Diana Wynne Jones, a beloved fantasy novelist herself, clearly had a blast cataloguing these stereotypes, tropes, and missing pieces in this book that purports to be a travel guidebook for the 3-part vacation package you're planning to take through the generic (but oh so familiar) country of Fantasyland, with all its glorious leaps of logic, predictable class, race, and gender biases, and of course hilarious holes in entire ecosystems and economies. Dark Lord Approved! A humorous read for adults and a great way to teach critical thinking skills to a teen fantasy reader.