The Fantasy Masterworks Mission

If you read my reviews you might note a wild disparity in how much thought has gone into the write-ups of some, and how much less in others. Most notably:  if you compare regular reviews with the Fantasy Masterworks posts you might ask; 'Why in the hell so much effort, Levi?'.

Well, it's because someone, somewhere decreed that these works deserved to be kept in the spotlight and taken out of the lamentable obscurity that the constraints of publishing sometimes lets them slide into. Things go out of print and they go forgotten, it happens. Even great works can slide through the cracks.
Gollancz' Fantasy Masterworks range is comprised of a great number of these, alongside works that haven't been forgotten and are still voraciously read today.

The Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks mission statement:

Fantasy Masterworks is a series of British paperbacks intended to comprise "some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written", and claimed by its publisher Millennium (an imprint of Victor Gollancz) to be "the books which, along with Tolkien, Peake and others, shaped modern fantasy.

Once upon a time I made it my mission to read all of them. I still very much intend to.
Why? I don't know, really. I've always had a collector's mentality and I love Fantasy and if something presents itself to me that calls itself 'Fantasy Masterworks Collection'... Then, well... You do the math.

Though I'm aware that a lot of it is unreasonable compulsion, it's not a problem though and there's very little resentment.
Because so far they've all been very good reads.
Although, some very few of them I read and never got what the fuss was about: Aegypt, Book of the New Sun 1 and 2. Likely because these weren't complete stories and should maybe have been read together with sequel novels.
Others left me plain cold; The Broken Sword, The Anubis Gates. And here it's likely a case of over-hype rather than this being an indictment against the quality of the novels themselves.

The read ones so far, barring Lud in the Mist *grumbles*

Because of the blog I feel it's somehow my duty to understand and pin point why they belong in the Fantasy Masterworks range. It is also likely inspired by the now defunct Sff Masterworks Reading Project.  I always proceed with every one of these works from the assumption that if I don't get it I am missing something and that every one of these has something that makes them worth of being in here. I admit to doing a lot of research on the novels that necessitate it, for general background and to sift facts from the avalanche of meaningless clutter. I try to remain objective and unbiased. The blurb at the top is always completely mine and I try to add a completely original view/analysis or point of appreciation for every single one. My impressions and analyses are completely my own, laboured on until I feel completely satisfied with what I've put out.
This has as a result that the works that I might've otherwise moved past without a second glance and a with a mild feeling of disappointment, or irritation, have generally been revealed to be deeper, smarter and more meaningful than initially assumed. Some few have become lofty mountaintops looked back on with appreciation and endearment.

This also means that they take a massive amount of time to do.
Reading is one thing, but the Masterworks need to be consumed and then turned over and over until they settle, until fixed observations and sentiments form.
For some of them this is a lot harder than for others.
The Circus of Doctor Lao took me a few hours on a single day. Ombria in Shadow took me literal months while I tried to come up with an acceptable Explanation.

It's an insane venture. The blog slows reading them down to a trickle because of the time they require, but it is nonetheless worth it. To me, at least, and for now.

There's a bunch of them still to go and I have a lot of other stuff I want to read too.

So I better get cracking.