Fantasy

Critics' Picks Critics' Picks: Magic for grown-ups

"The Magicians" is a ravishing adult novel that shines a new light on the fantasy tales we read as kids
By Laura Miller Aug 12, 2009

  • Stephen King's God trip

    On the 30th anniversary of "The Stand," the novelist confesses what haunts him about religion and today's politics.
    By John Marks October 23, 2008

  • Philosophy! Theology! Global catastrophe! Adventure!

    Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" pulls off what most writers would never dare attempt -- it is simultaneously a philosophical argument and a ripping good yarn.
    By Andrew Leonard September 11, 2008

  • Remembering Thomas M. Disch

    In his many dark, satirical, heretical books, the pioneering science fiction author contemplated death with elegant despair.
    By Elizabeth Hand July 11, 2008

  • Rushdie the romantic

    In Salman Rushdie's satisfying fairy tale "The Enchantress of Florence," magic and history entwine -- and so do a middle-aged emperor and a sexy princess.
    By Laura Miller June 13, 2008

  • Ursula K. Le Guin celebrates early Rome

    The unlikely heroine of "Lavinia" leaps out of the Aeneid and brings an ancient culture -- deeply bound by "duty, order and justice" -- to life.
    By Laura Miller May 1, 2008

  • Salon Book Awards 2007

    From an imaginary history of Alaskan Jews to a compelling glimpse of the CIA, we pick the 10 most pleasurable reading experiences of the year.
    By Laura Miller December 12, 2007

  • The accidental heretic

    I'm a devoted Catholic and a huge Philip Pullman fan. Can a church that condemns him still embrace someone like me?
    By Donna Freitas December 7, 2007

  • I'm addicted to Harry Potter fan fiction!

    Every moment I'm alone, I'm secretly reading the stories, the forums, the recommendations. I can't stop!
    By Cary Tennis November 2, 2007

  • Dumbledore? Gay. J.K. Rowling? Chatty.

    What happens when authors like J.K. Rowling can't stop telling their own stories?
    By Rebecca Traister October 23, 2007

  • "Dragon Wars": Made in South Korea

    A globalization goodie: Either the best, or worst, Korean fantasy epic set in modern Los Angeles, ever.
    By Andrew Leonard September 17, 2007

  • L'Engle's last wrinkle

    Madeleine L'Engle wrote children's books that were too complicated for grown-ups. I'll miss her.
    By Laurel Snyder September 10, 2007

  • Potterpalooza

    For the Quidditch players, wizard rockers and would-be witches who gathered at a New Orleans Harry Potter convention, this is the dawning of their summer of love -- and loss.
    By Rebecca Traister June 1, 2007

  • Back to the future

    Science fiction promised us a tomorrowland of jetpacks, Smell-O-Vision and male mammary implants. So what happened?
    By Simon Reynolds May 12, 2007

  • Killer smog invades children's fantasy

    Pollution is evil in China Mieville's newest novel. The kids will understand.
    By Andrew Leonard March 20, 2007

  • "Un Lun Dun"

    The imaginative world of an alternative London created by China Mieville just may take adults back to their slack-jawed, book-drunk days of youth.
    By Laura Miller March 5, 2007

  • Let's get it on

    Does marriage smother sex? Author Esther Perel talks about how to unleash erotic desire inside long-term relationships.
    By Helaine Olen September 26, 2006

  • Fantastic friends

    Bestselling writers Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke talk with Salon about fairies, folk tales and fighting the tyranny of realism.
    By Laura Miller October 8, 2005

  • "Strange Itineraries" by Tim Powers

    The combination of Powers' noir-existentialist worldview with elements of SF, fantasy and literary fiction makes these nine stories truly unique.
    By Andrew O'Hehir October 1, 2005

  • "The Hidden Family" by Charles Stross

    In this second novel in "The Merchant Princes" fantasy series, past, present and future collide as investigative journalist Miriam Beckstein navigates parallel universes -- and alters the course of history.
    By Andrew Leonard June 6, 2005

  • When Harry Potter met Jane Austen

    Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" combines the dark, wild spirit of English fantasy with the grand wit and high style of the 19th century social novel. It's a grand performance -- and the most sparkling literary debut of the year.
    By Laura Miller September 4, 2004
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