Guide to the Different Fantasy Genres
Fantasy is as complex as it is broad. You might think of fantasy as a genre populated with elves, dwarves, magic, and dark lords, but this is only one small aspect of fantasy. There are many types of fantasy fiction, each a unique piece of the fantasy puzzle. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of all the major fantasy subgenres. Each section contains a link to the dedicated page about that specific subgenre, which also includes an exhaustive recommendation list of the best books in that subgenre.
Note: you can also look on the left side menu under the Subgenre Fantasy Books list.
Epic Fantasy
The most popular type of fantasy today. Usually associated with High Fantasy. Epic fantasy usually includes a life or death struggle between good and evil, a large cast of characters, and multiple books. Most modern fantasy books are considered epic fantasy.
Epic Fantasy Examples...
Some of the more recent popular epic fantasy books include Jordan's The Wheel of Time , Martin's A Game of Thrones , and Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn . Epic fantasy has been around for decades in the form of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings .
...Read our detailed Guide to Epic High Fantasy Books
Coming-of-Age Fantasy
Fantasy with a lot of focus on the journey from youth to man. A VERY common aspect of the epic fantasy subgenre.
...Read our full Guide to Coming-of-Age Fantasy Books
Heroic Fantasy
Always focuses on the development of a hero and usually involves a quest of some sort. Strong elements of good and evil often present in Heroic Fantasy.
...Read our full Guide to Heroic Fantasy Books
High Fantasy
A broad classification for fantasy. High fantasy usually refers to epic fantasy, but it can include different elements. High fantasy usually includes a well drawn world where magic follows a specific set of rules.
High Fantasy Examples...
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is a good example.
...Read our full Guide to High Fantasy Books
Low Fantasy
Fantasy where traditional elements are not present (or emphasized). The fantasy world might not have magic (or if magic exists, it's not important in the context of the story) and the focus tends to be on the characters and/or plot rather than the fantastical elements. Low fantasy is fairly active fantasy genre these days.
Sword and Sorcery Fantasy
A genre that includes plenty of hand to hand action. The sorcery aspect usually centers around the antagonist or villain character. Robert Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry are classic example of sword and sorcery. This genre is in a state of flux as new modern takes on the classic sword and sorcery are being penned. This modern version includes heavy uses of magic and sword play but with a gritty, dark undertone. A good example is the sword of J.V. Jones' Sword of Shadows saga, for example.
See our Best Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Books list
Dark Fantasy
A fantasy subgenre that combines elements of fantasy with horror. Dark fantasy is often used to refer to horror fantasy and include stories about demonic creatures, mummies, vampires, and the like.
Dark Fantasy Examples...
If you like vampire fantasy, you may want to read Anne Rice's (Vampire Chronicles ). One of the best dark fantasy series is C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy. You may also want to check out Clive Barker.
...Read our full Guide to Dark Fantasy Books
Celtic Fantasy
Often features Celtic elements such as forests, druids, and ancient magic.
Examples of Celtic Fantasy...
Juliet Marillier's Seven Waters Trilogy is a popular Celtic fantasy. Mythago Woods is a urban Celtic fantasy tale that you will want to check out.
Mythic Fantasy
A fantasy where traditional mythological elements are woven into the story. Neil Gaiman (as in American Gods) is an author who includes elements of Myth in his fiction. Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood fits this as well.
Read our full Guide to Mythic Fantasy Books
Fables / Fairy Tales
A broad subgenre (arguably even a genre to itself) of fantasy. Unlike Mythic Exploration Fantasy, Fables tend to focus on imparting some sort of moral wisdom to the protagonist the end of the tale. A Fable is often approached from the perspective of a child or youth. Currently, some writers are modernizing fables for the modern adult reader.
...Read our full Guide to Fables
Romantic Fantasy
A blend between the romance and fantasy genres. The focus of romantic fantasy is the romantic interactions between characters. Elizabeth Haydon (Rhapsody) is one of the more popular romantic fantasy authors.
...Read our full Guide to Romantic Fantasy Books
*Also see our Best Romantic Fantasy Books List
Fantastic Romance
Similar to Romantic Fantasy, but the plot exists to funnel the romance and not usually as the focus of the novel. Fantastical Romances tend to be lighter reading and often incorporate Paranormal Fantasy elements.
...Read our full Guide to Fantastic Romance Books
Erotic Fantasy
Fantasy with explicit sexuality. The setting of erotic fantasy take place in a fantastical landscape.
Gritty/Realistic Fantasy
Fantasy that downplay the magical/fantastic elements and instead aims to follow the rules of this world as closely as possible. May also be quite atmospheric with a penchant for brutality and violence. Characters are often shades of gray instead of merely black or white.
...Read our full Guide to Gritty Fantasy Books
Urban Fantasy
A broad subgenre of fantasy. Urban Fantasy is often called Contemporary Fantasy. The setting is contemporary, often taking place in urban settings. Often the magical world hides behind the normal world -- i.e. there is a hidden fantasy world that most people don't know about. May include creatures like vampires, fairies, witches, and werewolves. Urban Fantasy can be divided into even more specific subgenres (or at least include heavy doses) such as Paranormal Fantasy, Fantastic Romance, Mythic Fantasy, and Fable fantasy.
Paranormal Fantasy
Fantasy that often includes elements of the occult, vampires, werewolves, and other mythical beasties from modern folklore. Usually (but not always) takes place in an urban setting. May also include Fantastical Romance elements or incorporate the detective genre.
...Read our full Guide to Paranormal Fantasy Books
Literary Fantasy
Fantasy with strong stylistic elements (In format or language) and more meaning behind the story than is first apparent. Can also include the New Weird elements.
...Read our full Guide to Literary Fantasy Books
*Read the Best Literary Fantasy Books list
New Weird / Slipstream
Fantasy that's completely different than what one considers normal fantasy. Landscapes and peoples present in the novel often bizarre; language often highly stylized or poetic.
...Read our full Guide to the New Weird Genre
Magic Realism
A type of fantasy where magic is accepted as part of the system. Magic itself has consequences (you can't just throw fireballs with impunity) and may involves the use of some prop or tool to utilize (spell, amulet, potion, incantation). The main quality of Magic Realism is that magic must follow a set of established rules (i.e. no Dues Ex Machina via magic is allowed). There are often negative effects resulting from the use of magic, overuse of magic, or negative use of magic. Gritty Fantasy /Realistic Fantasy often incorporates Magic Realism as do some High Fantasy tales.
Science Fantasy
Fantasy that's combined with Science Fiction elements. Often, Science Fantasies take place far into the future where advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The landscapes may be completely unidentifiable from our own. Quite often, Science Fantasy is combined with the New Weird to create bizarre landscapes and settings.
...Read our full Guide to Science Fantasy Books
Arthurian Fantasy
Fantasy that incorporates the tale of King Arthur in some way.
Comic Fantasy
Fantasy that's meant to amuse the reader. To achieve this, he books may employ puns, parodies (sometimes the novel itself is a parody of a popular fiction or literary convention), comedic characters, a ridiculous plot or characters, or sarcastic humour.
...Read our full Guide to Comic Fantasy Books
Alternate History
Fiction set in a world where the world's history has been altered from our own. What sets this apart from merely fantasy is that the history/locations/characters may resemble those present in the real world, though changed.
...Read our full Guide to Alternate History Books
Historical Fantasy
Involves the retelling of actual events in human history, with a healthy does of the fantastical or magical thrown in to boot. For example, one could be fighting naval battles with talking dragons instead of ships (as in His Majesty's Dragon) or a great historical leader from the past might be capable of using magic.
Steampunk Fantasy
Fantasy that incorporates both fantasy elements and technology. Technology is often steam-powered and may capable of fantastic feats (almost magic like). The setting present in Steampunk Fantasy tends to be industrial.
Superhero Fantasy
Fantasy that contains science fantasy elements (usually highly advanced technology). The story is usually one with people who have super human powers fighting against evil in a world-saving struggle. The setting tends to be modern.
Sword and Planet Fantasy
Another subgenre of fantasy that melds science fiction and fantasy. The setting takes place on other planets than earth and science/technology plays a part in some way.
Young Adult Fantasy (YA Fantasy)
Fantasy that targets young adults /teenagers. The characters present in the story are often pre-teen or younger teenagers. YA Fantasy incorporates Coming of Age Fantasy elements.
Cross Over Fantasy
A very specific fantasy subgenre where characters "cross over" from one realm to another realm, via some sort of magical portal. Typically, the characters are normal people from earth who cross into a new realm; the realm is usually medieval in nature and magic, in this realm, may exist. The characters crossing into the new realm may gain magical powers or bring with them modern knowledge which is used to challenge some sort of evil which is seeking to dominate that land.
Share your comments below!
... Was Katherine Kerr's Deverry series.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is a good example for heroic fantasy.
Part of the definition of High/Epic fantasy usually includes how influencial the protagonists are on the world stage. Without Frodo would Middler Earth have been saved? So with high fantasy...the main characters save the world...In low fantasy, they help throw a drunk out of a tavern and get free beer for the rest of the night. The influence is small and local. I grant you that there is very little low fantasy out there. What I see of it, would have to be labeled Horror Fantasy or Urban Fantasy. These are fairly new sub-genres that have gained in popularity recently.
Happy Reading!
I would suggest several sub-genres for inclusion on you list. The first is Comedic Fantasy (ex. A Malady of Magic et al., the Discworld series, the Xanth series, etc.). The second would be some from of Techno-Fantasy (ex. the Warlock of Gramarye series, The Windrose Chronicles, etc.). The third would be something like Cross-Over Fantasy (i.e. a person from the real world crosses over into a fantasy world, with this being used as more than a simple devise to introduce a fantasy setting, that is, where it continues to have material impact on plot and character). Fourth, I would proffer Animalistic and/or Anthropomorphic Fantasy (ex. the Spellsinger series).
Finally, a Lite or General Fantasy heading may also be useful to round out the listing, for those works that are certainly fantasy, but defy more particular classification. (For instance, to me, something like the Harry Potter series seems like it would fall here. I suppose it might work as Heroic Fantasy as well; however, its persistent focus on general day-to-day life at Hogwarts would seem to make this a somewhat tenuous classification.)
I offer these only as suggestions, of course, but some of them do seem like they have as much distinction and merit as the likes of Celtic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and other members of their categorical kin.
Good way to generalize the fantasy genres.