Greg Seaton

As someone who reads a lot of fiction books, and enjoys a good fantasy novel every now and again, I feel there is a great deal to be said about J.R.R Tolkien. Lord of the Rings has had a lasting effect on the genre. Best known, of course are the fantasy races other authors have used again and again.

However, one of the other effects has been the ubiquitous use of reference material. Fantasy, especially epic fantasy, loves its reference material the way a research paper loves its citations (of reference material).

J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has had a lasting effect on the fantasy genre. Best known are the fantasy races other authors have used again and again. One of the other effects has been the ubiquitous use of reference material (maps, glossaries, etc). Fantasy, especially epic fantasy, loves its reference material the way a research paper loves its citations (of reference material). I won’t say it’s difficult to find a fantasy novel that doesn’t have reference material, but it does seem to be something that many authors do, given the chance.