Such a book might ignite a campaign for real fantasy, rekindling a desire for moving, vital fantasy that transcends the trilogies of magic elves and dwarves and identikit pastorals that pass for fantasy in today's mass market.

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Set a billion years into the future, the Numenera mythology is not your typical fantasy or science fiction setting, though Cook says the blend of magic and machinery should be familiar to readers of far-future fantasy such as one might encounter reading Gene Wolfe.

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Believe it or not, fantasy novels (with magic and zombies) can also display a highly sophisticated understanding of real-world politics.

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Perhaps it is the fault of bookstores for pulling Fantasy and Sci-Fi into one category: I like both, but elves and magic swords don't exist, while the solar system and the stars do.

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