Fantastic Journey: The Soul of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Adventure

by Azalea Dabill

The secret of imaginative fiction is vital to our souls.

If we do not dream, if we do not imagine, we begin to die.

This fantasy genres guide quotes 70 authors who whirl the reader on a fantastic journey into the imaginative realm of magic and meaning.

A smart, concise, thoughtful look at how imaginative fiction impacts readers on three levels:

•The spiritual arena
•The wide world of ideas
•And the sphere we breathe in

But the secret lies farther within.

Meaning is the soul of every adventure, its central reality. The reality of every book impacts us on every level. There is spiritual meaning in fiction.

If a book’s dark soul is a false gem brought up from the sea of fantasy we see shades of human evil and shudder, tossing that book back into the waves it came from. If our jewel of fiction glitters unrealistically bright – without a care – we shrug and say, “meh,” and the fate of that soul, pages fluttering in the wind, is to lie forgotten.

But if that story draws light to battle darkness, if its soul mirrors our lives and calls us to the adventure of truth, the joys of mystery, and the beauties of brave action - then we have won a precious jewel drawn from the sea.

The ocean of fantasy is not without its dangers. Wherever there is wealth, there is risk.

We must choose.

•How do you tell if a book of speculative fiction is dark glass cunningly cut to resemble a jewel?
•How do you choose gems of fantasy and not counterfeit riches?
•Where can you discover the best imaginative fiction for yourself, your children and your friends, teens to adults?

Find the answer in Fantastic Journey in worlds near and far - discover the soul of speculative fiction and fantasy adventure.

Dare to unveil the soul of imaginative fiction in the spiritual arena, the wide world of ideas, and the sphere we breathe in. Experience the mystery, the beauty, and the adventure – from great middle grade books and enchanting young adult series to standalone adult novels.

The inspiring adventures we explore are beacons of extraordinary story. Most of them are lights by contrast, guiding us to enchanting lands of danger in the ocean of fantasy.

From ages 10 to 100, reading the best books also nourishes epic imaginative fiction authors and the craft of writing well as much as reading great literature.

We bring up select jewels from the deep and explore mountain troves of speculative fiction for the riches heaped on untold shores.

Are you looking for imaginative fantasy with all the fascination of high intrigue, deep mystery, stellar action, and true romance, without following lovers into the bedroom?

Do you find yourself craving fantasy adventure and speculative fiction without the sappy triteness of some “sweet” fiction, yet with all of the magic? You will find it on this Fantastic Journey.

Add it to your TBR shelf now.

When imaginative fiction adds the spice of high stakes, true peril, and brave loyalty to a sweet story - including the capacity for sacrifice, even to blood - that tale is a jewel of adventure indeed.

Discover the elusive secret of imaginative fiction in Fantastic Journey – The Soul of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Adventure.

Find that which is the wealth of souls.

2 bonus lists: 85 Authors of Imaginative Fiction, in 39 Popular Genres

Editorial Review:

Reader, are you a fantasy fan?

Perhaps if you say no, you haven't sampled the uplifting fantasy that author Azalea Dabill describes, analyzes, and lists in this book.

After all, there is plenty of fantasy writing out there that leaves a bad feeling in the pit of the stomach.

Learning to tell the difference between fantasy that uplifts and fantasy that does the opposite is the purpose of this book, which it executes in lyrical fashion--with excerpts from 70, count them 70 authors, including specific recommendations for even more than that.

This book is clearly a labor of love.

--Phyllis Wheeler, author of The Long Shadow, to be published in 2021

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

366 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2020

About the author

A reader of epic fantasy and new worlds, Azalea Dabill loves grand adventure and Noblebright characters.

A satisfying, happy ending, the fate of the world, and story tension fascinates her. She explores how to shape words so they wield meaning.

Every word holds the force of an arrow, shot either for good or ill. A well-placed bolt can protect, defend, and encourage. Every day is a good day to fight for the kingdom!

Her debut Noblebright fantasy novel was released in 2015. When she isn’t writing her next magic free series you can find her growing things, raiding bookstores, or hiking the wild.

Her website is the hub for all her books, news, and reader resources. https://azaleadabill.com

Or find my books at your favorite retailer pretty much wherever books are sold.

You can find me on:

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/azaleadabill

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/azalea.dabill

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azaleadabil...

BookBub: https://partners.bookbub.com/my_books

Twitter: https://x.com/AzaleaDabill


Happy reading!
Azalea
Crossover ~ Find the Eternal, the Adventure

Reviews

[TamaraT · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where to start with this book?

Are you looking for imaginative fantasy with all the fascination of high intrigue, deep mystery, stellar action, and true romance, without following lovers into the bedroom?

Do you find yourself craving fantasy adventure and speculative fiction without the sappy triteness of some “sweet” fiction, yet with all of the magic? You will find it on this Fantastic Journey.

I was excited to start this book as I read the above. I love fantasy books, it's my favorite genre. I love the new worlds, the magic, the different races, the wars and prophecies and heroes and villains. I get lost in these books so to see this promise I was ready for a good read.

This is not what I got.

Instead I read a found a book that from the beginning limited it's scope to what they call 'clean fantasy' (evil is not glorified, not subtly admired by the story as a whole, is not wallowed in for shock value.) which ok, I could go with that. I like all types of fantasy, but it's a big genre so narrowing the scope could make sense.

And then it became clear that the scope was narrowed even further as the author explores fantasy through her own Christian viewpoint. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Christians and the author can believe and write whatever they want. But when I read things like:

Be cautious. Some names do mean exactly as they say, in any world. Fortune-teller means someone who uses the spirits of the dead in their black trade on human curiosity and grief.

Or when it's pretty much stated that the magic can only be good when it comes from 'our Creator', or in fantasy, from their representatives...it starts to make me angry.

Instead of a true analysis of the fantasy genre we get a very skewed view, the author's view on what fantasy is/should be. In order to prove their point of view the author often (almost 50% of the book!) uses quotes from fantasy books to prove her point. Some of it I could go with, I can at least see where she was coming from and what she meant. Then I realised that the book most often quoted...was the author's own book! Was this to promote her own book?

Now the writing style. It didn't flow. It felt like the author was talking and wrote down what she was saying. There were sentences that read like Yoda was speaking. Often a chapter ended with a question which would be the title of the next chapter.

Chapters were short and often 50% of it was bookquotes. The subjects of the chapters were all over the place and it was not easy to go through. Also this book felt more like a book recommendation than an analyses of the genre. Good thing...I have a few titles I now want to check out.

I get what the author was going for. Fantasy and religion often clash and she wanted to show that the two can go together. At least that's what I think she was going for. I respect that and her opinion. But at least be honest about this in the synopsis of the book. Don't promise me 'fantasy adventure and speculative fiction without the sappy triteness of some “sweet” fiction, yet with all of the magic', when that's not what you can deliver.

[Oksana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unusual book. Reading it felt like I was picking the author's brain about fiction and fantasy adventure and writing. A bit academic at times, and a bit like a story, it was a peculiar and interesting read.

[Azalea Dabill]

Are you looking for imaginative fantasy with all the fascination of high intrigue, deep mystery, stellar action, and true romance, without following lovers into the bedroom?

Do you find yourself craving fantasy adventure and speculative fiction without the sappy triteness of some “sweet” fiction, yet with all of the magic?

You will find it on this Fantastic Journey.

Discover the elusive secret of imaginative fiction in Fantastic Journey – The Soul of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Adventure.

Will we find that which is the wealth of souls?

I love that line and yes, fantasy has enriched my soul in so many ways, as this book demonstrates. I hope it encourages, entertains, and uplifts you even as it does me, long after I finished it.

Enjoy the journey!

(Author review. I left it un-starred. Add Fantastic Journey to your TBR shelf, read it then tell me what YOU think.) Thank you!

You can also pick up the Fantastic Journey Preorder at the Kindle Store $0.99 tab here:

Fantastic Journey The Soul of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Adventure

Or Enter to win the 27 Authors SIGNED Massive Imaginative Fiction Giveaway (Dec 1 - 29) here:

27 Authors December SIGNED Book Giveaway

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Reader, are you a fantasy fan?

Perhaps if you say no, you haven't sampled the uplifting fantasy that author Azalea Dabill describes, analyzes, and lists in this book. After all, there is plenty of fantasy writing out there that leaves a bad feeling in the pit of the stomach.

Learning to tell the difference between fantasy that uplifts and fantasy that does the opposite is the purpose of this book, which it executes in lyrical fashion - with excerpts from 70, count them - 70 authors, including specific recommendations for even more than that.

This book is clearly a labor of love. - Phyllis Wheeler, author of The Long Shadow, to be published in 2021

If you want to get in on key updates you can join my NL or Fantasy Adventure Team here:
Azalea's Fantasy Adventure Circle

[Hannah-rose Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - 63%

Set sail on a Fantastic Journey through the waters of speculative fiction and fantasy

Have you ever wondered how authors create our favorite books? Where do these incredible fictional worlds originate? What journey must our heroines go on to succeed? And, how do we find the hidden gems in a sea of narratives that continue to conform to the world’s standards and teachings?

Azalea Dabill dives headfirst into these deep, vast genres, breaking down each category — from character building to the writer’s imaginations — and taking readers on a voyage into the wide-open sea. With each discovery, we will also get a taste for clean fantasy/speculative fiction novels that could be your next favorite read.

While this book is a great tool for writers looking to produce a fantasy or speculative fiction novel or for those who love these genres and wish to know how their beloved books are constructed, Fantastic Journey is not a pleasure read. Don’t get me wrong, this is an elegantly written book, but it isn’t one you can read in a few sittings (at least I couldn’t); it is a reference book that requires a highlighter for notes and enough time to savor every moment. While I enjoyed each chapter’s breakdown, the quick start and stops tended to make me feel seasick, and the excerpts of the books oftentimes left me confused since I didn’t know the novel’s premise beforehand.

While this is not a book I would normally choose to read, Fantastic Journey is just what I needed to read before writing my first speculative fiction novel. I commend Azalea Dabill for plunging into this topic and publishing this work. I hope that people will read it and find inspiration within the pages of this treasure trove. With so much to glean, no one will be left unsatisfied with the journey you are taken on. Writers, get ready to build your prose. Readers, get out your notebooks to write down the amazing titles to be found within the pages of Fantastic Journey! Bon Voyage!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advanced students in high school are introduced to calculus and differential equations. They learn mechanical techniques to solve problems framed with an ʃ and ‘dx’. And there is satisfaction gained from finding the answer to such problems. And so it is with fantasy literature. Adventure for adventure’s sake provides distraction from daily life and is satisfying. However, it is not until one’s comprehension goes beyond the mechanical manipulation of numbers that one can really appreciate the beauty and power of calculus. Dabill’s brilliant exposé on fantasy fiction provides just the framework needed to move beyond superficial appreciation of this genre of literature. It is not an easy read as it borders on being an academic treatise complete with multiple extracts from representative literature. However, if one invests the intellectual energy to comprehend the deep dive into the content that she so articulately provides, your appreciation of fantasy fiction will be changed forever. This is a gem for lovers of fantasy fiction.

[Rebecca van den Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of useful thoughts on the reading of fantasy: what it is and what it should or could be.
Great list of clean books to try, along with cautions about which authors may have other books with more objectionable material.
A great resource!