#The Wood Beyond the World

[mendelpalace]

The “Illustrated Fantasy Book Guide” is a magazine-format book (or mook) released in 1989 by the publisher of ファミコン必勝本 “Famicon Winning Book”, an NES gaming magazine. The mook lists 37 works of fantasy originally written in English except for “Ficciones” by Borges. The editors of “Famicon Winning Book” were fond of the Wizardry port to the NES, which is my explanation for their interest in this stuff. In any case, they created the best Appendix N so to speak of fantasy translated into Japanese that I have yet found. The Japanese titles are provided below to aid the online searches of would-be buyers.

Images/Text courtesy of Japanese Tabletop RPG

I wish I could find a complete set of scans for this book!

Full list of books featured under the cut.

The Lord of the Rings 指輪物語 Earthsea Trilogy ゲド戦記 Chronicles of Narnia ナルニア国ものがたり Conan コナン・シリーズ The Worm Ouroboros ウロボロス The Wood Beyond the World 世界のかなたの森 Lilith リリス Nine Princess in Amber アンバーの九王子 The King of Elfland’s Daughter エルフランドの王女 Gormenghast Trilogy ゴーメンガスト Magic Kingdom for Sale-Sold! 魔法の王国売ります! The Chronicles of Castle Brass ブラス城年代記 Night’s Master 闇の公子 A Voyage to Arcturus アルクトゥルスへの旅 The Princess Bride プリンセス・ブライド Witch World ウィッチ・ワールド A Spell for Chameleon カメレオンの呪文 The Last Unicorn 最後のユニコーン At the Mountains of Madness 狂気の山脈にて Swords and Deviltry ファファード＆グレイ・マウザー The White Hart アイルの書 She 洞窟の女王 Charmed Life 魔女集会通り26番地 Darkover Series ダーコーヴァ年代記 The Riddle-Master of Hed イルスの竪琴 The Sorcerer’s Ship 魔法つかいの船 Dragonlance Chronicles ラゴンランス戦記 Pawn of Prophecy ベルガリアード物語 Dragon Flight パーンの竜騎士 The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz ボアズ＝ヤキンのライオン Momo モモ The Magic Goes Away 魔法の国が消えていく Magician リフトウォー・サーガ The Ship of Ishtar イシュタルの船 Tea with the Black Dragon 黒龍とお茶を Ficciones 伝奇集 Dandelion Wine たんぽぽのお酒

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

William Morris - The Wood Beyond The World - Ballantine - 1969

[balu8]

Charles Vess

Source Benno Rothschild (comicartfans)

The Wood Beyond the World , in Benno Rothschild's Charles Vess Gallery Comic Art Gallery Room (comicartfans.com)

[joncronshawauthor]

15 Early Fantasy Reads that Defined the Genre (Before Tolkien)

As a fantasy reader, you understand the allure of otherworldly realms, magical creatures, and grand adventures. The genre has evolved over the years, with contemporary authors captivating us with their unique worlds and unforgettable characters. But it’s also valuable to recognise and explore the roots of fantasy literature to appreciate the genre fully. This blog post will take you on a…

[knightotoc]

I just read the "first" fantasy novel (?) The Wood Beyond the World, mostly bc the title sounds like that silly triangle-void place in Star Wars TV shows. That location was inspired by the multiverse-puddle-forest in the Narnia sequels, and Narnia was inspired by this novel, as was LotR. You can definitely see the inspiration, though both those novel series improved on this one, firstly by being funny and secondly by turning the focus to characters who are lower on the totem pole (kids, hobbits). The main character of tWBtW is just a lucky upper-middle-class misogynist.

One thing I did like was this conflict between himself and his girlfriend, who lived her whole life ensnared in the fairy realm but finally rescued herself (seriously he did nothing to help, he even cheated on her a bit), about what type of world would be better for them to live in. They're lost in some enchanted forest dealing with all this racist whimsy, and she says she's excited to escape to the city where he can finally use his own skills to help them out.

He's like, you've never been to the city like I have, I can assure you the people there are just as wicked as the magical creatures out here. That is a pretty interesting idea, and made me think of the descriptions of Ankh-Morpork in Discworld. In this context though it feels a lot like he just wants to keep relying on her to solve the magic problems, and doesn't want to go somewhere where he would have to man up. It's sort of anti-patriachal, since the magic woods are a woman's world, but she's still subservient to him anyway.

The premise of adventure fantasy is about leaving the real world and going somewhere more interesting, which gets complicated if you meet someone who's sick of magic and wants a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. In the end they improbably resolve this by him stumbling into getting crowned king of some third option place.

[whoopseydaisy]

The words of Grandmother Wren “It is not witch’s job to make perfect choices. Just right ones”

I’m not good

I’m not nice

I’m just right

I’m the Witch

You’re the world

[audoneout]

Brennan Lee Mulligan really describes like The Bear of all time and I’m supposed to be normal about it?? You’re telling me that this bear says his purpose is to live deeply and live well in the forest??? Like yeah, dude, that sure fucking is a Great Bear. Maybe even the best

[philamotrising]

lore checkpoint

a series of loosely connected groups of dragons in and around dragonhome

tenebris grove - an unnatural grove of gloomy pine trees north of the border with the tangled wood. filled with crumbling ruins and overgrown underbrush, a new town has sprung up in response to greater trade throughout dragonhome (tag)

the hallowbluffs - at the top of a high pillar off the eastern coast of dragonhome sits refuge. not all clans reacted well to sornieth's recent elemental upheaval, and some drakes have needed a place to escape and rest (tag)

the faded canyon - a ravine at the eastern edge of dragonhome, where the elemental magics of the labyrinth clash with the earth. the result is the forgotten woods - a magically potent location that plays host to all manner of folk, both strange and mundane (tag)

wanderers - the rhythms of dragonhome lend themselves to meandering, and many find themselves drawn to a path, rather than a place. of course, not all are respectable travellers, and others still are outright criminals. nevertheless, they wander the cracks and crevices of the earthshaker’s realm, and as such are his children.

the cliffhang outpost - tucked in the walls of a crack in the shattered plain, the remnants of a mercenary company live amongst the ancient canyonhomes. their numbers aren’t great, so they’ve turned from more traditional mercenary practices to training other drakes instead. perhaps it doesn’t lend itself to the glory and tales of the old times, but the stories they tell now are less gory, and their coffers are fuller. (aka my lored fodder trainers)

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this is a side blog - my main blog is @humofnight

[liketwoswansinbalance]

When your love language is war...

[romancanine]

mistynat was the best fucking dynamic in the WORLD!!!!!!! AND THEY FOUCKING TORCHED IT!!!!!  

[vesuviusdotcom]

personally i love both rick riordan and soman chainani's books but it's so easy to tell the characters are written by men. like i'm sorry but it's so so painfully obvious. i literally can't breath

[bowenoke]

Happy pink day!!!! Minecraft cherry blossoms,

MINECRAFT CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!! PINK WOOD

love AND peace on planet earth!!

[strangenessandcharrn]

something so personal about the parallel that is travis saying "quit acting like such a saint" to natalie (someone who is constantly being thought guilty of sin- though they never had sex) and shauna loving the saints because 'they were all so tragic' and then eulogizing jackie as a saint (someone who travis had sex with before her death)

they're so who is the lamb and who is the knife coded

[batemanofficial]

hello upper middle class northern usamerican tumblr user. i want to play a game. you will notice that you are in a super america convenience store in rural kentucky - you have three minutes to purchase a snack and drink of your choice and make normal small talk with the cashier. however, if you use the word "cryptid" or generally make reference to appalachia and its inhabitants as "wild", uncivilized, or lacking restraint around alcoholic beverages during your time here, i will personally tie you to the chassis of a four wheeler and tip it into the river. live or die. make your choice

[wanderingsquirrelgirl]

eursulon's playlist

lou wilson keeps getting me in my feelings. listening to the playlist he made for eursulon reminds me of why i relate to that big beautiful seabear paladin so hard. and his playlist liner notes just makes it even worse/better.

being of one world, seemingly perfect, only to find something more that exists elsewhere. and in that pursuit of ambition and glory, getting locked out of the fantasyland they came from.

feeling the shame of leaving home and that perfect life. learning not to live with the shame, but to embrace this new life that is truly yours. learning to love yourself, not despite, but because of your choices to leave.

the balancing act of appreciating where you are, while still heading towards your dreams, even if slowly. the realization that you can never turn back, even if you wanted to.

"something in the distance. it's yours. it always belonged to you. it's been waiting for you to grasp it. possess it. that's all it ever wanted."

i'm up in the woods... i'm down on my line... i'm building a sill... to slow down the time.

i'm shattered. neither tears nor words are enough to express how this feels. this music, though. it hits me exactly where i've been.

thanks, lou.

[whoopseydaisy]

re-listening to www #9: the king of cups (for the ✨ inter party conflict ✨) and now knowing that orima has sworn fealty to the king of night i feel so vindicated in hollering about how ame was right (to want to go to the shrine) when i first listened to it, alone, walking in the woods. like. i’m not good i’m not nice i’m just right. i’m the witch. you’re the world.