Fantasy Sub-Genres

Fantasy is quite a complex genre.  Due to it’s popularity, the genre has had many off-shoots over the years, resulting in sub-genres with a genuine popularity of their own.  If you have ever wondered what sort of fantasy is what, this article will give you all the information you need!

Bangsian Fantasy
This sub-genre is named after John Kendrick Bangs.  Bangsian fantasy has a story line that is set either fully or partially in the afterlife.  It generally shows the authors opinion of the afterlife as being different from the mainstream ideas.

Comic Fantasy
As the name suggests, this sub-genre contains a large comic element.  This is normally  a parody of high-fantasy works and contains puns or other farcical elements.

Contemporary Fantasy
Increasingly popular in today’s market, contemporary fantasy consists of stories that take place in our own world, but have magical elements such as people who control magic, magical creatures, demons and so on.  The Harry Potter and Twilight series both fall into this category.

Urban Fantasy
Urban fantasy is a term for contemporary fantasy that takes place in an urban setting.

Dark Fantasy
Dark fantasy is like the love child of fantasy and horror.  Stories in this sub-genre often take place in fantasy worlds, but have horror or supernatural elements.  Dark fantasy is usually violent, gritty and brutal.

Fairly Tale Fantasy
This is a sub-genre of fantasy that draws heavily from folklore.  They take on a similar form to the classic fairy-tales, but are often darker in tone and more in-depth.  This category also contains retellings of the classic fairytales.

Historical Fantasy
Historical fantasy is a sub-genre that involves the reimagining and retelling of events in human history, with magical elements.  These can include ideas such as the Nazi’s having supernatural powers, or  Napoleon fighting his battles with dragons.  This is an increasingly popular genre.

Heroic Fantasy
Also known as Quest Fantasy, this type  of story involves a clear-cut hero, who normally has to complete some kind of quest in order to save the day or the world.  Generally the quest involves finding some sort of magic item.

High Fantasy
The sub-genre of high fantasy consists of epic stories, normally depicting the battle between good and evil in a fantasy world.  There is usually a large cast of characters, big battle scenes and the fate of the world invariably hangs in the balance.

Steam Punk
Steam Punk is a fantasy sub-genre that is set in an industrial era, whether of our world or a fantasy world, that also contains magical elements.  

Wuxia
“The wǔxiá genre is a blend of the philosophy of xia ( honor code, an ethical person, knight-errant), and China's long history in wushu  (kung fu or  martial arts).
A male martial artist who follows the code of xiá is called a swordsman, or xiákè.   Japan;s samurai traditions, Western Europe’s knight chivalry traditions and America’s gunslinger Western traditions all sharesome aspects with China’s swordsman xia traditions.”  -  www.wikipedia.org

Medieval Fantasy
Medieval Fantasy is a type of historical fantasy that takes place in medieval times, with magical elements often borrowed from stories of the time.

Prehistoric Fantasy
Another type of historical fantasy, prehistoric fantasy involves speculating on the lives of prehistoric humans, which includes magical elements.

Juvenile Fantasy
This sub-genre consists of fantasy that is aimed at juveniles instead of adults, although they are often bought and enjoyed by people of all ages.  Books such as the Harry Potter series and the Chronicles of Narnia series fall into this category.

Low Fantasy
Low fantasy is a type of fantasy that does not emphasise the traditional elements of the genre, such as magic or magical creatures.  It could involve work set in fantasy worlds in which there is no magic or supernatural occurrences, and the focus is instead on the characters.  David Gemmell’s Legend falls into this category.

Fantasy of Manners
The fantasy genre’s answer to the comedy of manners.  To fall into this category, a story must have very complex social hierarchies, and characters that interact fully within these.  “The subgenre is marked out by tone and plot, and the centrality of etiquette to the characters' negotiations”.  – www.wikipedia.org

Romantic Fantasy
This is fantasy that focuses on the romantic interactions between two characters, whether set in a fantasy world or our own world.  This sub-genre is generally aimed at women.

Science Fantasy
This is the melding of the science fiction and fantasy genres.  There is normally strong scientific elements such as space travel and high-tech weaponry, but it will also contain magical elements such as spell-casting and dragons.

Sword and Planet Fantasy
This is another sub-genre that melds science fiction and fantasy.  Similar to the swords and sorcery sub-genre, sword and planet fantasy consists of stories of magical adventures on other planets, that also contain a science element.

Dying Earth Fantasy
A third sub-genre that melds science fiction and fantasy.  Dying Earth fantasy comprises stories that are set in the far-distant future, and involve the authors ideas of how the Earth will die out.

Superhero Fantasy
Currently seeing a resurgence in the mainstream film and television industries, superhero fantasy tells the stories of people with super human powers, who fight against evil to save the world and its inhabitants.  Superhero fantasy normally contains science fantasy elements, with extremely advanced technology mixed in with the magical powers ascribed to the heroes and their enemies.

Sword and Sorcery
This sub-genre is similar to high-fantasy, but on a less epic scale.  It will normally not contain a battle between good and evil, where the fate of the world hangs in the balance.  Instead the protagonist will complete tasks or fight fights out of his own self interest.