DoOon Mode(2001), introducing an evil wizard to
stir things up. The series has interesting moments,
particularly in the opening volume, but as a whole
feels like a pale imitation of the Apprentice Adept
novels.
Anthony has written several fantasies in collab-
oration with other writers, including Mercedes
LACKEYand Philip José Farmer, but the only ones
that measure up to his solo work are those written
with Robert E. Margroff. Dragon’s Gold(1987) intro-
duced Kelvin of Rud, whom prophecy says will unite
the scattered communities of his world. The series is
atypical in that it is much more traditional than An-
thony’s other fantasy. Kelvin overcomes various ene-
mies and ignores a superfluity of advice, unites the
land, and defeats his enemies over the course of five
volumes, ending with Mouvar’s Magic(1992).
Two of Anthony’s novels have employed con-
temporary settings with supernatural elements.
Shade of the Tree(1987) is a haunted house story,
but the horror element is very restrained. Firefly
(1990) was considerably stronger. The supernatural
menace in this case exudes psychic sexual hor-
mones that influence everyone in the vicinity. The
strong sexual content is unusual but not unknown
in Anthony’s work, particularly his early science
fiction and the minor fantasy novel Pornucopia
(1989). Clearly, his reputation lies with his fantasy,
particularly the Xanth novels. Although critics
have lamented the lightness of most of Anthony’s
fiction, his recurring status as a best-seller over the
course of three decades suggests that he has more
staying power than their criticism might suggest.
Applegate, K. A.(1956– )
K. A. Applegate’s books are written exclusively for
young adults. She first became prominent with the
Animorphs series, which was ostensibly science fic-
tion because there was an attempt made to rational-
ize the powers of the recurring teenaged characters.
However, their ability to change their bodies into
the forms of other animals violated the laws of con-
servation of mass and energy, and they could just as
easily be read as fantasy. There were three dozen
novels in the series between 1996 and 1999, after
which Applegate turned to outright fantasy for her
next series.
The EverWorld sequence consists of 12 novels,
starting with Search for Senna(1999). When one of
their friends disappears into a magical world, a
group of teenagers from our reality decide to rescue
her. Unfortunately, they find themselves not in one
discrete world but in a fractured reality where vari-
ous mythical creatures live separately but with fre-
quent interaction. In the opening volume they get
caught up in the battle between the ancient Norse
gods and those of pre-Columbian Mexico. They
have various adventures there and encounter Mer-
lin the Wizard, but without finding the elusive
Senna, whom they pursue into an analogue of the
Christian hell in the fourth title, Realm of the Reaper
(1999). The Greek gods appear in volume six, Fear
the Fantastic(2000), and help Zeus battle a race of
aliens in Gateway to the Gods(2000).
The next few volumes establish the ambiguous
nature of the aliens, and the protagonists begin to
understand more of the rules of the game in which
they have become trapped. Unfortunately, Neptune
sends them on a sidetrip to Atlantis in Understand-
ing the Unknown(2000), and they must make their
way through an ancient, magical version of Ireland
in Mystify the Magician(2001) before finally resolv-
ing their various questions, repairing the damage
they have inadvertently caused, meeting Merlin for
the final time, and returning home with Senna in
the concluding volume, Entertain the End(2001).
Although the series is lightweight entertain-
ment, Applegate handles the interface between the
various groups of characters well, although the aliens
are not as plausible or interesting as they might have
been. Her latest series, Remnants, is science fiction.“The Ash-Tree”M. R. James(1904)
The publication of Ghost Stories of an Antiquaryby
M. R. JAMESin 1904 was a major event whose im-
portance has been obscured by the passage of time.
It is one the most frequently reprinted collections of
short horror fiction in England, and to a great ex-
tent it established the standards of the form for gen-
erations that followed. The term ghost storywas used
at the time to encompass almost all supernatural fic-
tion, and, in fact, “The Ash-Tree,” which appeared
in that collection, only marginally involves a ghost.
It is more properly the story of a witch’s curse.10 Applegate, K. A.