Fantastic Genres

Previously I discussed science fiction sub-genres, so I'll attempt to briefly give equal time to fantasy. What exactly is fantasy, and why is it a separate category from SF? Many people tend to lump them together, including many bookstores.

Fantasy doesn't depend upon science as its foundation, as SF does. Instead of revolving around the visible, physical world with its multitude of hard-and-fast rules, fantasy delves into the world of the invisible, the impossible, the imaginative, ie: spirits, demons, prophecies, fantastic creatures, and unseen forces.

High Fantasy features strange new lands, heroic characters engaged in epic battles between good and evil, and various magical elements such as swords, rings, wands, potions, dragons and giants. The example par excellence is "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Traditional fantasy has fewer laws about what is and is not possible; the reader enters an almost dreamlike world of infinite possibilities: fairies, gnomes, talking trees and animals, magical portals, etc. One good example of traditional fantasy is "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis.

Dark fantasy is another popular category, and it is just that: dark! Dark fantasy abounds with frightening supernatural creatures, such as vampires, werewolves, demons---evil personified! Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" are good examples of dark fantasy.

Lastly, in urban fantasy, a recent innovation, stories tend to be set in modern times, in the real world, usually in a city rather than an idyllic pastoral setting, where magic or magical characters intrude upon reality. Examples would be Tanya Huff's "Blood" books, set in Canadian cities.

Although my ventures into writing fantasy have so far been limited to a few short stories, I'm extremely fond of the genre in general. Some of my favorites are The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Twilight Saga, and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books. Harry Potter, in particular, seems to me to be a clever combination of elements from all the fantasy sub-genres!

Fantasy or SF or whatever, light or dark---keep on reading!

MRTighe