Connections in Medieval Romance, Modern Fantasy
201215: read this years ago but just came up in memory when talking books, so decided to up the rating. i remember the arguments well. i have read a lot of sff, and recognise this as 'literature of hope'. i do not necessarily remember details but the trend towards 'modernism' is clear in the last century, resisted by work that are essentially stories, romances, fantasies, that appeal to general readers. language changes through this evolution from epic to intimate, but it is question this is somehow more 'real', for what some people want in books are fantastic/magical/science fiction reality...