Fantasy : NPR

Fantasy grifter 'Kalyna the Soothsayer' will charm her way into your heart

Erewhon

Review

Book Reviews

Fantasy grifter 'Kalyna the Soothsayer' will charm her way into your heart

October 5, 2022 • Elijah Kinch Spector's con artist caught up in court intrigues turns fantasy fortuneteller tropes inside out. Kalyna is not only the novel's unlikely hero, but she's also a shameless fake.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Thumy Phan for NPR

Code Switch

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

September 28, 2022 • Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop roleplaying games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. We take a deep dive into that game, and what we find about racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy is illuminating.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

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Henry Holt and Co.

Code Switch

YA Fantasy Where The Oppression Is Real

January 28, 2020 • Tomi Adeyemi's new book, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, is fantasy for young adults. But the issues it's dealing with — racism, oppression and war — are very real. And they're not sugarcoated.

Book News & Features

Christopher Tolkien, 'Middle-earth's First Scholar,' Dies At 95

January 16, 2020 • J.R.R. Tolkien's son was instrumental in cultivating his father's legacy, shepherding unpublished works to readers and helping extend the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Guillermo Del Toro Says 'Shape Of Water' Is An Antidote For Today's Cynicism

Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer play cleaning ladies Elisa and Zelda in The Shape of Water. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight/Twentieth Century Fox

Movie Interviews

Guillermo Del Toro Says 'Shape Of Water' Is An Antidote For Today's Cynicism

December 1, 2017 • In the Mexican director's latest film, a mute cleaning lady befriends a sea creature who is able to communicate without words. "The movie is about connecting with 'the other,' " del Toro says.

Guillermo Del Toro Says 'Shape Of Water' Is An Antidote For Today's Cynicism

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Children Want Factual Stories, Versus Fantasy, More Often Than Adults

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Children Want Factual Stories, Versus Fantasy, More Often Than Adults

October 19, 2015 • Childhood is a time of pretend play, fantasy lands and make-believe. But Tania Lombrozo explores a study showing when factual stories are pitted against fictional tales, kids lean toward the real.

Horror Of Horrors: Is H.P. Lovecraft's Legacy Tainted?

Author H.P. Lovecraft, famous for his works of horror writing, was also known for his highly racist opinions. AP Photo/Brown University Library hide caption

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AP Photo/Brown University Library

Culture

Horror Of Horrors: Is H.P. Lovecraft's Legacy Tainted?

October 4, 2014 • Lovecraft, the author who famously invented Cthulhu, was also known for his highly racist opinions. This has created some controversy around the World Fantasy Award statue that bears his likeness.

Horror Of Horrors: Is H.P. Lovecraft's Legacy Tainted?

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

How Real Is The Candy Witch?

October 28, 2013 • Halloween blurs the boundaries between what is real and what is not. Can children keep things straight? Researcher Tania Lombrozo tells the story of the Candy Witch and explains what it says about how children understand the fantastical beings that populate their lives.