It baffles me that so many people don’t seem to understand that Fantasy and Science Fiction are not the same thing. The Fantasy Genre involves magic and is never within the realm of possibility. The Science Fiction Genre involves science and is, at least theoretically, within the realm of possibility. I am not an expert in Science Fiction, but I can at least clear a few things up regarding Fantasy and its sub-genres. There are a few gray areas where the sub-genres straddle the line between plausible and implausible, Fantasy and Science Fiction, but for the most part, they are two different beasts. Dogs and cats may be common house hold pets and you may even find both under the same roof, but you’d never say they were both the same thing, would you? Of course not. The same goes for Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Epic Fantasy
Epic Fantasy is grand in scope, consequences and length. It usually takes place in an alternate, made up world and involves a battle of Good vs. Evil with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. This is your most likely source for stories of altruism, heroism, nobility and sacrifice. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien is Epic Fantasy.
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Heroic/High Fantasy
Some people differentiate between High and Low fantasy, saying that High Fantasy is any of the sub-genres that acknowledge they are in a secondary world where magic is a basic and integral part of the system, whereas Low Fantasy is any of the sub-genres in which magic is a hidden, secretive element known only to a few.
But that seems like over complicating things to me. I just use High Fantasy as a sub-genre to denote a story that falls somewhere between “Epic” and “Sword and Sorcery”. It’s not quite about saving the world but it’s not as simple as a hack and slash dungeon raid either.
While the story is usually still Epic in scope, it focuses a little more on the hero (and his quest) and a little less on the massive Good vs. Evil conflict, though the conflict is still important as it is the backdrop and setting for the story. This type of story may concentrate on a smaller cast of characters and focus a bit more on motive and character development than you would otherwise see in an Epic.
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Sword and Sorcery
Rather than focusing on a global conflict of Good vs. Evil, Sword and Sorcery usually concentrates on the protagonist’s needs and he’s not required to be a squeaky clean hero. His morals may be shady, his motivation may be self-centered and the story will usually focus on action, adventure and excitement.
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Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales have existed in many forms from the dawn of storytelling time. They’re usually short succinct stories that serve as object lessons … illustrating a point or moral. Pinocchio’s would be about what happens to little boys who lie. Sleeping Beauty (the real, ugly version) is about not letting rape define you or steal your destiny. (And not letting the perpetrator get off scott-free.) More modern Fairy Tales may take inspiration from an old one and expound upon them to get a full narrative out of the original compact tale.
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Anthropomorphic Fantasy
This type of fantasy can be any of the other sub-genres with one key difference: animals take the place of humans as characters. The Redwall Saga by Brian Jacques is a great example of this.
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Contemporary (Urban) Fantasy
Contemporary and Urban Fantasy take place in the real world. Our world. Except there’s magic in it, and that magic is usually hidden from ordinary humans. (Mostly to accommodate the fact that most rational people in the real world believe magic does not exist. The best way to mirror our world and keep that belief intact is to build on the premise that magic does exist, it just can’t be seen.)
- Harry Dresden by Jim Butcher – Urban Fantasy – Usually fairly grim, with complicated moral issues and heroes with flawed personalities and backgrounds. The “Antiheroes are us” of Fantasy.
- Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling – Contemporary Fantasy – Not quite as dark or grungy as Urban. Characters aren’t as flawed/broken. Motives can be a little purer.
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Paranormal Fantasy
This sub-genre focuses on occult elements and more modern “urban legends” and folklore like vampires, werewolves etc. It’s usually a bit dark in tone and can incorporate mystery/detective elements.
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Historical Fantasy
Historical Fantasy is fiction set in real world history (of any era) retold with a magical spin to it.
- Alternative Historical Fantasy: Real world history re-imagined and altered by magic elements (like the Napoleonic Era retold in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series).
- Arthurian: Dealing with, revolving around, or inspired by the Arthurian Legends and characters.
- Victorian Era Fantasy: taking place in Victorian England, similar to steampunk, but the gadgets are confined to the scientific standards of that time period.
- Wuxia: Asian Fantasy with an emphasis on martial arts.
- Celtic Fantasy: Stories centered around Celtic mythology and origins.
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Mythical fantasy
This is a broad category and you wouldn’t be stretching it to say many of the other sub-genres of Fantasy could fit under this umbrella. In these stories real-world mythology is used as the core of the story. This includes stories based on fairy tales and Arthurian Fantasy, often overlapping with Historical Fantasy.
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Humorous Fantasy
Humorous or Comedic Fantasy exists to make you laugh in outrageous and quirky ways that only magic can provide. It can include elements of nearly any other fantasy subgenre. Piers Anthony’s Xanth novels come to mind.
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Non Western Tradition
Fantasy focusing on Eastern Civilization’s mythology, rather than the more common Western/Arthurian variety.
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Science (Future) Fantasy
Think of this one as space ships AND elves. It assumes that the technology and culture of a world of magical beings would evolve in a similar manner to ours and thus would eventually develop space travel, and all the gadgets that go with it. It’s Future Fantasy, as opposed to Contemporary Fantasy and Historical Fantasy.
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Dark (Horror) Fantasy
Some people like to complicate this sub-genre with unnecessary rules about what sort of race the protagonist has to be or what sort of creatures have to appear in it. I keep it simple. Dark Fantasy is Horror … set in a Fantasy world. It’s Horror Fantasy. It’s meant to terrify.
In some cases, “Dark Fantasy” can also refer to a Fantasy who’s premise and characters are so warped and twisted that it’s just plain dark … too dark and grungy to be Urban Fantasy.
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Romantic Fantasy /Paranormal Romance
Romantic Fantasy and Paranormal Fantasy are essentially romance novels set in specific Fantasy settings. The story and magic in Romantic Fantasy will usually focus more on the character interactions and romance as the arc of the story rather than a global matter of life and death, though some very talented authors like Elizabeth Haydon manage to make the story about the romance, characters AND larger world plot all at the same time.
Paranormal Romance usually takes place in a Paranormal Fantasy setting and revolves around vampires, werewolves and other dark, forbidden Bad Boys (and girls) of the fantasy world as love interests.
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Christian/Allegorical Fantasy
Stories that use a fantasy setting to retell a Biblical story or moral lesson. C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia are a wonderful example.
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Steampunk
Steampunk is a versatile new sub-genre and can be a little hard to pin down. It often straddles the line between Fantasy and Science Fiction. Like a Historical Fantasy, steampunk is set in or heavily influenced by the Victorian England Era with all the culture and scientific limitations of that time period, but the similarity ends there. Steampunk twists the expectations, adds events and characters who never existed, and invents new and stunning mechanisms (usually steam powered) that might have worked even in that time frame and then runs with the “what if” scenario. What if the inventors of that era had been cleverer than they were? What if the people had been more enlightened? In what way would this alter the world, the present, and the future? This plausibility is what causes it to step over the line into Science Fiction.
But Steampunk can also be handled as a Fantasy by adding one more “what if”. What if everything had been powered by a mysterious magical force (sometimes called Ether) instead of steam? Incorporating magic into the world like that makes it a Fantasy sub-genre. So, it can swing either way.
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Superheroes
Superheroes also straddle the line between science fiction and fantasy because the origins of their powers can be either magical or scientific. Personally, I think they belong in a category all their own: comic book/graphic novel. But, they were worth an honorary mention on this list.
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Magical Realism
Another honorary mention, because I don’t consider this fantasy. It’s more properly a type of literary fiction, concerned with political critique and flowery prose. Magic or magical elements are used, usually to make a point, but never explained.
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YA Fantasy
A term often used to describe any story set in a Fantasy world with young protagonists, focusing on obstacles common to teenagers.
I’d like to respectfully submit that there is no such thing as a YA Fantasy sub-genre. If you pick any “YA Fantasy” book you’ll find it fits within a different fantasy sub-genre. While a story may be aimed at a younger audience, that does not change the elements within the story or which sub-genre the story identifies with. An Epic is still Epic whether the protagonist is an ancient wizard or a young apprentice.
“YA” is just an age category publishers use to label a target audience. Fantasy is a type of story. Apples and Oranges. Therefore, “YA Fantasy” does not actually exist as a sub-genre. It is useful as a bookshelf label, though.
And that’s the end folks! My book, Changeling Eyes, falls somewhere between Epic and Heroic/High Fantasy. I hope you’ve found this list helpful and informative. Let me know if I skipped something!
by
L.A Catron
Author of Changeling Eyes
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