One of the most visible literary genres of contemporary popular culture, Fantasy is often condemned as escapist, unsophisticated and superficial. This collection of new essays puts such easy dismissals to the test by examining the ways in which Fantasy narratives present diverse, politically relevant discourses - gender, race, religion or consumerism - and thereby serve as indicators of their real-world contexts. In spite or rather because of their depiction of other worlds allegedly disconnected from our own, these texts are able to actualize political attitudes. Instead of categorizing...