Sub-Genres
“Fantasy . . . can offer dreams, the fulfillment of wishes, and escape.”– James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock
There are many, many sub-genres of Fantasy. Depending on who you ask, you will find many variations in the definition and classification of Fantasy’s subgenres. The below list attempts to be as comprehensive as possible.
[Please note: All annotations provided by the Library of Congress Catalog in Publication (CIP)]
EPIC/HIGH (QUESTS)
Epic or high Fantasy is often set in an alternate world that features a complex and extensive plot. These often multi-series narratives involve detailed world building, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and a much larger cast of characters than traditional fantasy. Quests often play a major role in these stories, where a group of characters embark on a journey together to combat evil. A few examples of high/epic fantasies are:
Tolkien, J.R.R.- The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy)
On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest– to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
Martin, George R.R.- A Game of Thrones (series)
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to.
Jordan, Robert- The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time series)
The Wheel of Times turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, and Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
HEROIC
Closely related to Epic/High Fantasy, Heroic Fantasy is full of adventure and usually features reluctant characters (primarily teens) that are thrust into courageous roles. The difference, however, is that the focus of Heroic fantasies are on the heroic adventures of the protagonist rather than on the journey or quest of a larger group. An example of Heroic fantasies is:
Pierce, Tamora- Trickster’s choice (Daughter of the Lioness series)
Alianne must call forth her mother’s courage and her father’s wit in order to survive on the Copper Isles in a royal court rife with political intrigue and murderous conspiracy.
SAGA, MYTH, AND LEGEND
Fantasy fans are no doubt familiar with these tales of sagas, myths, and legends. Included in this sub-genre are Arthurian legend (discussed in more length below), Robin Hood, and Celtic myths. This sub-genre takes well-known stories and characters and reexamines them from new points of view. Authors often take liberties and add interpretations and variations to the old story. Suggested titles of this sub-genre are:
Farmer, Nancy- The Sea of Trolls (series)
After Jack becomes apprenticed to a Druid bard, he and his little sister Lucy are captured by Viking Berserkers and taken to the home of King Ivar the Boneless and his half-troll queen, leading Jack to undertake a vital quest to Jotunheim, home of the trolls.
Riordan, Rick- The Lightning Thief (The Percy Jackson series)
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
Scott, Michael- The Alchemyst
While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.
ARTHURIAN LEGEND
Arthurian Legend fantasies feature the King Arthur myths and can be set in historical or modern settings. Some good examples of Arthurian Legend fantasies are:
Bradley, Marion Zimmer- The Mists of Avalon
As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur’s kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon slips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds’ and old and new religions’ claims its most famous victim.
Reeve, Philip- Here Lies Arthur
When her village is attacked and burned, Gwyna seeks protection from the bard Myrddin, who uses Gwyna in his plan to transform young Arthur into the heroic King Arthur.
Cabot, Meg- Avalon High
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.
HISTORICAL
Historical Fantasy is set in a familiar time and place, usually prior to the 20th century. Examples of well-known Historical Fantasy titles include:
Clarke, Susanna- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
At Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England’s magical past and regained some of the powers of England’s magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French. All goes well until a rival magician appears.
Kurtz, Katherine- Deryni Rising (The Chronicles of the Deryni series)
For more than 30 years, the Deryni Chronicles have transported readers to a world of secret sorcery and courtly intrigue. Deryni Rising, the first book in the series, launched Katherine Kurtz’s phenomenal, bestselling career. Now, with this special edition, including a new introduction by the author, fans of the series can revel anew in the dawning of an epic…
MAGIC, MAGES, WITCHES AND WIZARDS
This extremely popular sub-genre includes the familiar troupe of a quest and good vs. evil but with the use of swords and sorcery. Novels also include the culture, structure, and rules of magic and the magic world. These are usually series-oriented rather than one volume, but exceptions exist. A few examples of Magic fantasies are:
Rowling, J.K.- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (series)
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Le Guin, Ursula- A Wizard of Earthsea
A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.
Larbalestier, Justine- Magic or Madness
From the Sydney, Australia home of a grandmother she believes is a witch, fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino is magically transported to New York City, where she discovers that friends and foes can be hard to distinguish.
Duane, Diane- So You Want to Be a Wizard (series)
Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won’t fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension.
WORLD OF FAERIE
This subgenre of Fantasy deals with faerie and the fey world, not to be confused with Fairy Tales. The world of faerie is dark, eerie, a scary and cruel place. Fey are beautiful but dangerous and often hold disdain for human, though they interact with them. These stories are dark and suspenseful and incorporate both the human and fey world, highlighting the difference of time between the two. Some great examples of Fantasy novels that feature fey are:
Marr, Melissa- Wicked Lovely (series)
Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance.
Stiefvater, Maggie- Lament
On the day of an important music competition, talented but painfully introverted and nervous Deirdre Monaghan is helped to perform by the compelling and enigmatic Luke Dillon and finds herself inexorably drawn into the mysteries and dangers of the faerie world.
Taylor, Laini- Lips Touch: Three Times
Three short stories about kissing, featuring elements of the supernatural.
MYTHIC REALITY
These stories are set in non-magical worlds but elements of myth are seeped into the world or characters. That’s not to say that magical things don’t occur, but if they do, they deal more with resolving problems than with creating awe or wonderment. A few examples of Mythic Reality fantasies are:
Gaiman, Neil- Anansi Boys
Fat Charlie Nancy’s normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn’t know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.
Werlin, Nancy- Impossible
When seventeen-year-old Lucy discovers her family is under an ancient curse by an evil Elfin Knight, she realizes to break the curse she must perform three impossible tasks before her daughter is born in order to save them both.
FAIRY TALES
Similarly to the saga, myth, and legend sub-genre, fairy and folk tales are often reinvented and retold through this sub-genre. These stories present familiar tales with new twists and are often popular with teens and younger readers. Some suggested titles are:
Bunce, Elizabeth- A Curse Dark as Gold
Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family’s woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price.
George, Jessica Day- Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.
Hale, Shannon- Princess Academy
While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.
ALTERNATE AND PARALLEL WORLDS
In this sub-genre, characters straddle the line between their world and another, alternate world. These parallel worlds often contain magical and mythical creatures. Setting is obviously paramount in these stories. Redargless of whether the “other” world is similar or vastly different to our worlds, these narratives provide escapist appeal. This sub-genre also consists of stories that reimagine our world through a change in history and the element of magic. A few examples are:
Collins, Suzanne- Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicle series)
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy
Funke, Cornelia- Inkheart
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father Mo, a bookbinder, can “read” fictional characters to life when an evil ruler named Capricorn, freed from the novel “Inkheart” years earlier, tries to force Mo to release an immortal monster from the story.
Bray, Libba- A Great and Terrible Beauty
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.
PARANORMAL (Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, oh my!)
Paranormal Fantasy is extremely popular now. Most of these tales include werewolves, vampires, and other demons who have integrated into human society. These stories often include a mystery plot as well. A few examples of Paranormal Fantasy include:
Harris, Charlaine- Dead Until Dark (The Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series)
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life. When one of her coworkers checks out, she decides that maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea.
Billingsley, Franny- Chime
In the early twentieth century in Swampsea, seventeen-year-old Briony, who can see the spirits that haunt the marshes around their town, feels responsible for her twin sister’s horrible injury until a young man enters their lives and exposes secrets that even Briony does not know about.
URBAN FANTASY
Urban Fantasy blends contemporary fantasy with elements of crime fiction or noir. Often dark, this sub-genre sometimes features drugs, music, runaways, and organized crime. It tends to be grittier than other contemporary fantasy and is usually set in a city or urban environment. Some people classify Urban Fantasy under the umbrella of World of Faerie sub-genre as it might involve the clash between the human and fey world. The magic of these stories is mostly kept quite from the general population. Some classic examples of Urban Fantasy are:
Hamilton, Laurell K.- Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series)
Introduces the character of Anita Blake, a young necromancer and vampire hunter, who is assigned by the master vampire of the city of St. Louis to find out who is killing the city’s vampires and why they are doing it.
Black, Holly- Tithe (series)
After returning home from a tour with her mother’s rock band, sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.
HUMOROUS
Humor is very prominent in Fantasy, often manifested through wordplay and puns. Humor authors range in tone from dark to classic Fantasy humor. These are often satirical novels. Also, keep in mind that what you might find funny will not resonate with every reader. Some well-known comic fantasy titles include:
Anthony, Piers- A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth series)
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled–where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn’t find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn’t find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave….
Pratchett, Terry- The Colour Of Magic (series)
On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There’s an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet….
DARK FANTASY
Like most Fantasy, dark fantasy sub-genre deals with the conflict between good and evil. The core difference is that dark fantasies give more attention and detail to the evilness than other fantasies do. Dark fantasy stories are often the most scary and terrifying of all the sub-genres. The tone and mood work to create a gloomy atmosphere and the themes tend to be deep and heavy. A good example of this sub-genre is:
Card, Orson Scott- Lost Boys
For Step Fletcher, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children, the move to tiny Steuben, North Carolina, offers new hope and a new beginning. But from the first, eight-year-old Stevie’s life there is an unending parade of misery and disaster.
SHORT STORIES
Short stories and their collections are fantastic ways for both librarians and readers to introduce themselves to Fantasy. Many authors post short stories on their websites, which is a free and convenient way to become familiar with Fantasy tales and troupes. A great short stores collections of Fantasy is:
Silverberg, Robert (Editor)- Legends: Stories By The Masters of Modern Fantasy
An immense anthology collecting 11 short novels — each of which takes place in the author’s respective well-known series — from bestselling authors, Legends is a diverse mix of warriors, sorcerers, dragons, castles, and enigmatic towers full of secrets, doom, and consummate love.
The Librarian's Guide to Fantasy Fiction 
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