The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

We conclude our historical tour in the 1970s and 1980s with two wildly different masterpieces that perfectly embody the idea that the prose itself, the actual architecture of the sentences, is the true magic of a fantasy world.

First up, Patricia A. McKillip's 1974 novel, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld."

To give you a sense of its impact, this book won the first ever World Fantasy Award in 1975.

McKillip spent her entire career writing books that reviewers consistently, universally called beautiful, but that publishers never quite figured out how to market or turn into a predictable serialized brand.

"The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is an absolute masterclass in lyrical fantasy.

Our protagonist is Sybel.

She's a young wizard living in chosen, fiercely guarded solitude on Eld Mountain, and she's inherited this incredible mythic collection of legendary animals.