Essay Club: On Fairy-Stories by J. R. R. Tolkien

"The adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent."

Speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, etc.) is often viewed as less worthy of serious attention than so-called ‘literary’ fiction. Critics will claim that they differ on certain important metrics—quality of writing, artistic experimentation, historical importance, philosophical depth, exploration of the human condition—and in some cases this ma…