Subgenres

Although various reference sources define the subgenres of fantasy fiction differently, Herald’s Fluent in Fantasy is broken into 18 well-defined categories within the genre. I have chosen the most broad and popular subgenres to define below.

Sword and Sorcery
This popular subgenre features battles against evil, usually starring a protagonist with humble beginnings who learns he possesses magical powers. Magicians are often key players in sword and sorcery novels, as well the elements of quest and adventure. Stories are usually written in a series rather than one volume.

Suggested Authors/Titles: J.R.R. Tolkien/Lord of the Rings trilogy; Diane Duane/Tale of Five series; Mercedes Lackey/Bardic Voices series; Ursula Le Guin/Earthsea tetrology.

Contemporary Fantasy
Rather than finding our protagonist in distant pastoral lands, contemporary fantasy is set in places familiar to the reader, usually cities. This subgenre often features combined elements of magic and technology. While the conflict is still usually good versus evil, modern language and themes such as drugs and gangs are also present.

Suggested Authors/Titles: Neil Gaiman/Neverwhere; Charles de Lint/Moonheart; Mercedes Lackey/The Serrated Edge series; Terri Windling/The Wood Wife.

Dark Fantasy
Dark fantasies once again feature the conflict between good and evil; the difference is, dark fantasies focus more on the evil elements and are more terrifying than other subgenres. The atmosphere is gloomy, themes are heavy, and the outlook for the protagonist is bleak.

Suggested Authors/Titles: Tim Powers/Expiration Date; Joyce Graham/Requiem; Frtiz Leiber/Our Lady of Darkness; Peter Beagle/The Innkeeper’s Song.

Alternate and Parallel Worlds
In this subgenre, characters either travel between their own world and an alternate world, although not by scientific means, as is the case in science fiction. In this other world, magic and mythical creatures are often discovered. In similar stories, the world is altered by a change in history. These stories often take our own world’s history, and change it using magical elements.

Suggested Authors/Titles: Piers Anthony/Geodyssey series; Orson Scott Card/Chronicles of Alvin Maker; Terry Brooks/Magic Kingdom of Landlover series; Philip Pullman/His Dark Materials.

Saga, Myth and Legend
Readers may be familiar with the stories of saga, myth and legend before ever reading novels from this subgenre. Arthurian legend, Robin Hood, and Celtic myth are all found in this subgenre. The well-known stories and characters are told from a new point of view, the author taking liberties to add new elements to the story.

Suggested Authors/Titles: Marion Zimmer Bradley/The Mists of Avalon; Mary Stewart/ Merlin trilogy; Michel Cadnum/The Wild Wood; Joy Chant/Vandarei series.

Fairy Tales
Fairy tales and folk tales that we are often told as children are reinvented in this subgenre. Like saga, myth and legend, authors of fairy tale fantasies develop the classic characters further and elaborate on the plot. Sometimes, these books are only loosely based on a known fairy tale, the author taking the story to a whole new level.

Suggested Authors/Titles: Sherri Tepper/Beauty; Jane Yolen/Briar Rose; Patricia Wrede/Snow White and Rose Red; Monica Furlong/Wise Child.

Other subgenres include humor, bestiary, faerie, time travel, paranormal powers, graphic novels, and romantic fantasy.

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Sources:
Herald, Diana Tixier. (1999). Fluent in Fantasy: A Guide to Reading Interests. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Saricks, Joyce. (2001). Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago: ALA.