The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans - Book Review

Title: The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction
Author: Philip Athans
Pages: 244
Publisher: Adams Media (Avon, Mass.) 2010

Review:

Every once an a while, I buy a book on writing and read it to see if it has any good advice on bringing me out of the realm of writer obscurity into published bliss. Being both a fantasy and science fiction fan, I thought this one would be good read seeing it was written by an editor and writer of both genres. The book also promises an introduction and original story by R.A Salvatore a fantasy writer known for his work with the Forgotten Realms books connected with Dungeons and Dragons. The book promises six steps to writing and publishing your bestseller.

The book is laid out according to those six steps: Storytelling, Characters, The World, Details, Nuts and Bolts and Finishing Touches. There is also a section on the business side of writing as well as an original short story by Salavore that has never been published before to illustrate what the author is talking about as an example. Each part has several chapters and covers both fantasy literature and science fiction.

Stylistically, the chapters are short and focus the writer on asking questions and Athans tries to get the writer to think of everything and goes through much of the process of writing: from idea generation to final touches for each genre. He also give an insider's view from an editors point of view of what he is looking for when a book crosses his eyes.

From an information standpoint, this was a great insiders viewpoint that allows a writer to see what editors are looking for in a book and makes note that in the two genres involved people are looking for different and unique ways of doing things and writing a story. If there is a failure in it it is that the chapters do not go into super depth but the hit the intermediate and basic levels.

The bonus story is one for which Salavore had a rejection and both he and Athans look at it to see how things work and don't work.

Rating: 4 stars. This is a solid book on writing science fiction and fantasy books with an eye toward publication. The chapters are short and the read is engaging. If your looking for an insider's view on how to get published in the genres of science fiction and/or fantasy this is it. The bonus story is OK as well.