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as Middle Earth. The story of Titus is tragic and mythic, in turns poetic and base. The villain, Steerpike, is menacing in a very real world way, motivated by unfettered ambition. But all the characters are twisted humans, like seeing real people through a funhouse mirror.

The Charwoman's Shadow. Lord Dunsany. Although this novel is very difficult to find, it is well worth seeking out. Dunsany devises his fantasy in the real world, and his characterization becomes more Romantic and Baroque because of it. The character's growth and maturing, his internal life, becomes the focus of the novel, instead of a fairy tale environment filled with dragons, dwarves and evil lords.

The Colour of Magic. Terry Pratchet. Terry Pratchet turns the high fantasy genre on its head and makes it spin a few arabesques in that undignified position. His parody of Tolkein's Middle Earth is better than a simple pastiche because it is highly original and very relevant. His gags get stale after a while, but lets face it, the guy has written enough Discworld novels to sink the galactic turtle upon whose back the discworld rides.

A Wizard of Earthsea. Ursula K. LeGuin. This is a coming of age story that should be required reading for anyone who thinks Hogwarts is cool. It is much more literary than the Harry Potter novels while discussing the same themes. LeGuin's main character is alive, mythic and profound. His story of growth, grief and high magic is an exploration of real depth.

I wish to end this annotated list with unannotated list of works by literary giants that would fall into the realm of fantasy except that the literary world eschews genre fiction.

Labyrinths, Jorge Luis Borges.
Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel.
The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov.
100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Collected Stories, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende.
The Satanic Versus, Salman Rushdie.

As I end this list I find that I want to recommend more and more books. But this should be a fine start.

Learn more about this author, John Devera.
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