It’s Fantasy All the Way Down: A Fantasy Sub-genres Primer

What is Fantasy?

Merriam-Webster defines “fantasy” arsenic “imaginative fabrication featuring particularly unusual settings and grotesque characters.” Wow, is that broad. One could reason that each of fabrication is phantasy nether that explanation (that would really cook immoderate critics’ noodles). So let’s instrumentality it a measurement further.

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Fantasy Sub-Genres

High Fantasy

High phantasy is phantasy that does not instrumentality spot successful our world. It takes spot successful a secondary world, and that satellite has its ain rules, limitations, and magic system. High phantasy books are often intricately built, sometimes with their ain seasons, religions, flora and fauna, down to the precise specifics of the world’s instauration and mythologies. Everything you tin deliberation of is accounted for, which is often wherefore a batch of precocious phantasy books are doorway stoppers, implicit with a quality list, glossary, and appendixes. However, if the writer does it well, you’re not reasoning astir each that; you are wholly immersed.

Example: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

While the publication is simply a feminist retelling of St. George and the Dragon, the satellite Shannon creates is each her own. There’s magic, aggregate empires with their ain rules and religions, and tons of awesome dragons. One of my favourite scenes was a elaborate statement of a monarch wedding, acceptable successful a satellite wherever it didn’t substance what sex the monarch was oregon who they married. It was a ceremonial that was based successful contented of this peculiar kingdom, and wholly sex neutral. Masterfully done.

Low Fantasy

Fellow Book Rioter Michelle Anne Shingler wrote a large article successful 2018 connected debased fantasy, with examples. As precocious phantasy is acceptable successful alternate satellite with its ain rules and systems, debased phantasy is acceptable successful our world, successful each its mundanity, prevention for a tiny fantastical detail. Perhaps a quality has a magical gift, oregon a supernatural lawsuit occurs that causes ripples done an different mean world. The enactment betwixt debased phantasy and speculative fabrication is often blurred. There are authors who arguably constitute debased phantasy but would ne'er picture their ain publication arsenic such. Some authors of debased phantasy see Haruki Murakami, David Mitchell, and Helen Oyeyemi.

Epic Fantasy

Akin to precocious phantasy — and immoderate books tin beryllium some epic and precocious phantasy — epic phantasy is usually acceptable successful an alternate world, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s the cardinal here. Epic phantasy is besides often defined by its plot. There is usually a cataclysmic, “epic” lawsuit that occurs that puts everything successful the publication into motion. Likewise, thing arsenic epic and cataclysmic usually occurs to complete/resolve the story. Epic fantasies are often much than 1 book, arsenic it requires a bid for the characters to implicit their quest.

Example: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

This is simply a textbook illustration of epic phantasy due to the fact that the world, rather literally, is divided into chaos. A rift splinters crossed the continent known arsenic the Stillness, spewing ash that whitethorn alteration the entity for centuries. Essun embarks connected a quest aft she finds retired her hubby brutally murdered her lad and kidnapped her daughter, but she indispensable support her ain powerfulness a secret. This epic phantasy spans characters and lands, showing the brutalities committed by antheral and society. There is simply a crushed this publication won each the awards.

Fantasy of Manners

I’m excited to see this sub-genre due to the fact that I’ve seen a resurgence of it lately, namely successful phantasy romance. If you’re searching for Pride and Prejudice but besides privation immoderate magic to boot, this is the sub-genre for you. Fantasy of manners often shakes hands with humanities fantasy, arsenic astir of these stories instrumentality spot successful the past oregon an alternate past. Some, though, instrumentality spot successful their ain satellite but its etiquette is built precise likewise to our own.

Historical Fantasy

This sub-genre unsocial encompasses a LOT of books. Historical phantasy is beauteous explanatory, successful that it is phantasy that takes spot during a definite clip play successful the past. And past determination are adjacent much sub-genres that subdivision retired beneath this sub-genre, specifying the clip period, specified arsenic medieval fantasy, gunpowder fantasy, gaslamp fantasy, and more. For those wanting a deeper dive connected gaslamp fantasy, I wrote a illustration with examples.

Example: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Shelley Parker-Chan precocious won the Astounding Award astatine the 2022 Chicago Worldcon. The Astounding Award goes to the champion caller subject fabrication oregon phantasy writer, and Parker-Chan perfectly deserves the award. She Who Became the Sun follows Zhu, who takes the spot of her member aft his decease to flight her ain destiny of nothingness. This caller takes spot successful 1345 China, which is nether Mongol rule. It is simply a brutal, epic, humanities fantasy.

Grimdark Fantasy

Let’s get gritty! Grimdark phantasy gets heavy nether the nails of the acheronian broadside of fantasy. Grimdark phantasy and acheronian phantasy are precise similar, often overlapping. Dark phantasy is simply a stone’s propulsion distant from being horror, and decidedly leans connected fearfulness elements astatine times. Grimdark phantasy carries a batch of akin elements, but it truly focuses connected a satellite and/or characters that are morally grey. Right and incorrect are blurred. The main characters are astir apt not “good.” Think antiheroes and villain-centered fantasy. Fellow Book Rioter Emily Wenstrom wrote a magnificent heavy dive into grimdark phantasy with the nonfiction “A Brief Guide to Grimdark Fantasy And Where to Start Reading It.” One illustration included is the epic grimdark phantasy publication The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang.

Magical Realism

Many notation to magical realism successful a akin vein to speculative fiction; it’s often utilized arsenic an all-encompassing word for literate penning with phantasy elements. However, it is important to enactment that magical realism originated and belongs to Latine authors, and we beryllium them that favoritism and respect. Authors successful Latin America utilized magical realism successful lit and creation to bespeak and represent the governmental turmoil that occurred astir and betwixt 1940s to 1970s, and it is inactive utilized contiguous by Latine authors to research different issues.

Example: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Two authors travel to caput erstwhile I deliberation of magical realism, and they are Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez. The House of the Spirits follows 3 generations of the Trueba family. It’s a saga household play afloat of otherworldly acquisition and revolution. The House of the Spirits is 1 of the astir beloved novels of the twentieth century, for Latin America and the world.

Paranormal Fantasy

Paranormal phantasy often shares a furniture with municipality fantasy, likewise with paranormal romance. The main creatures from our imaginativeness usually instrumentality beforehand and center: vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches, etc. The mode to differentiate paranormal phantasy from municipality phantasy is based connected setting: Urban phantasy indispensable instrumentality spot successful an municipality environment, whereas paranormal tin instrumentality spot anywhere. Paranormal romance has each the trappings of paranormal fantasy, but the emotion communicative is cardinal and takes precedence implicit the different elements.

Portal Fantasy

This is 1 of my favourite types of phantasy successful that it tin interruption and reshape truthful galore rules. Portal phantasy often intersects with subject fiction, successful that determination are parallel universes, worlds, and selves. Merriam-Webster defines “portal” arsenic a “door oregon entrance, especially a expansive oregon imposing one.” Fellow Book Riot writer Annika Barranti Klein defined portal phantasy arsenic “[when] a idiosyncratic is transported from 1 satellite to different by immoderate benignant of magic, usually (but not always!) done a circumstantial spot oregon entity specified arsenic a wardrobe, rabbit hole, oregon mirror” successful her fantastic in-depth database “50+ Must-Read Portal Fantasy Books.”

Example: The Stonekeeper (Amulet #1) Kazu Kibuishi

I got this publication for my nephews for the holidays past year. This graphic caller has a beauteous classical portal phantasy factor: a doorway successful a basement. Can’t get overmuch portal than that! The communicative follows siblings Emily and Navin arsenic they determination with their parent to the location of their great-grandfather aft their father’s tragic death. Things get weird erstwhile their Mom is lured to a doorway successful the basement by a unsafe creature.

Urban Fantasy

As described nether paranormal fantasy, municipality phantasy indispensable instrumentality spot successful an municipality environment. The metropolis needs to beryllium cardinal to the crippled and characters. Jim Butcher’s longstanding bid The Dresden Files comes to mind, arsenic it follows a wizard P.I. successful Chicago. Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson bid different example, which takes spot successful the Tri-Cities and follows coyote shifter Mercy Thompson navigating a satellite of paranormal creatures and solving murders. If it takes spot successful and among a metropolis, it’s municipality fantasy.

FANTASY ROMANCE

Fantasy romance is antithetic from paranormal romance successful that, portion paranormal romance is grounded successful the existent satellite (or astatine slightest a existent alternate world) and often acceptable successful modernized times, phantasy romance tin instrumentality spot anyplace and astatine anytime.

Example: Phoenix Unbound (The Fallen Empire #1) by Grace Draven

For me, Grace Draven is the golden modular for phantasy romance. Draven creates her ain worlds, hierarchies, religions and mythologies from the crushed up. There are dragons, occurrence witches, and creatures from each corners of our imagination. Then she adds heart-wrenching, beauteous romance. Radiance is what started my emotion of Draven’s work, but Phoenix Unbound branded maine with its conflicts, characters, and fiery emotion story. The ending made maine privation to melt to the floor.

Science Fiction Fantasy

Yeah, baby, I went there. Books tin be, person been, and volition be, both. I’ll accidental it again: the limits bash not exist! A batch of examples of this sub-genre see a post-apocalyptic satellite that present has paranormal elements, similar magic and monsters. Or possibly determination is simply a exertion based successful magic. Many authors contiguous are raising the barroom and breaking retired of the constraints of sub-genre labels, and examples of subject fabrication phantasy (or phantasy subject fiction) are a large spot to commencement if you truly privation to get your caput blown.

Example: Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

Roanhorse’s Sixth World bid is acceptable successful a satellite ravaged and drowned by clime alteration (science) and present aged gods and monsters roam the world (fantasy). This publication tin besides beryllium defined arsenic acheronian fantasy, arsenic the opening scenes travel  Dinétah monster huntsman Maggie Hoskie portion she hunts a monster that kidnaps and feasts connected a child.

Fantasy All the Way Down: The Future of Fantasy Sub-genres

There are truthful galore much sub-genres that could beryllium listed, and I genuinely privation I could log each one. I highly urge you hunt Book Riot’s archives if you’re funny successful a peculiar one; chances are determination is simply a fantastic illustration oregon database to scratch your itch.