Fantasy Genres - A Beginner's Guide
Image Source: Bombay Reads
Fantasy is one of the most popular genres of the moment. Iron Flame the sequel to Rebecca Yarros’ book Fourth Wing is sitting at 29th on Amazon’s best-seller list, and it’s not even out until November. This is not the first time Fantasy has been a fad. In the 70s & 80s readers went crazy for high and epic fantasy. When it became popular again twenty years later, millennials wanted an urban setting. Now books based on tropes fly off the shelves thanks to Tiktok.
The swing of popularity forced fantasy to diversify. This is great for readers, but it’s also made the genre very complicated to navigate if you don’t know how and why the publishers label the books. If you are having trouble finding your next read because of the sheer variety within the genre, then try using this handy guide.
RELATED:
High Fantasy
This is an archetypical fantasy novel. High Fantasy has all the usual trademarks, vast lands with magical creatures, races, etc. Fans of High Fantasy expect detail. What’s the point of reading a book if you can’t have raging arguments about the magic system on Reddit afterward? The story follows one or two characters closely via some form of a hero's journey or quest. They must achieve something to be worthy.
The Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Poppy War by R F Kaung
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
Epic Fantasy
Epic fantasy books are about events, so we have an ensemble of main characters rather than just one or two. It’s written in the third person, and the complex plot features large-scale battles, wars, disasters, and political maneuvering. The author doesn’t really care how any one person changes, it's about reaching that one goal, deposing the king, destroying the ring, or changing the world. The books themselves are THICK, don’t expect to finish them in a day. The world-building in epic fantasy is insane, to the point where the author might have even written additional companion material. If a side character breaks into song randomly and all five verses are written in italics on the page, it’s epic fantasy. If there are several pages worth of appendices, it’s epic fantasy. If you need a YouTube tutorial to pronounce half the place names….you get the picture
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brian Sanderson
The Game of Thrones Series by George R.R Martin
Image Source: CultureSlate
Urban Fantasy
Magic or magical creatures that appear in the contemporary world. The novel will be set in a busy city like New York or London with the magical element trying to stay under the radar of the ‘normal’ people. If the main character is getting a Starbucks while beating down fairies, it's Urban Fantasy. There’s a large proportion of YA that falls under this umbrella, but there are also some very gritty dark detective-style books. It was really big in the 1990s and early 2000s, so there are a lot of good series written in this era.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Historical Fantasy
These are books that incorporate magic into a period in the past. The most common is medieval, but that is by no means the only one. Some novels experiment with the Romans, Colonial Americans, and even Prehistoric Man. Some authors do masses of research getting every small detail from the period correct. But there’s only so much you can do when your main character is battling a dragon, in historically accurate clothes, which are most definitely not fire-resistant. Some readers want accuracy while others are fine with the ambiance.
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susannah Clarke
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
New Adult (Fantasy)
This category isn’t all fantasy, but so many modern books fall into this genre so it’s worth talking about. New Adult focuses on an older coming-of-age story. The protagonist is under thirty at the beginning of the book. The category covers adult themes such as sexuality, depression, etc. It is based on tropes and can be spicy or sweary. There doesn’t have to be a romance storyline….but there usually is. Readers used to High and Epic fantasy will be disappointed with the world-building, but they might forgive the author when the MMC and FMC rock up to an inn and there’s only one bed.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fantasy Romance
Many fantasy novels have a snippet of romance here and there. In Fantasy Romance. the love story is the main plot and everything else is just window dressing. Don’t expect the author to put too much effort into the races or the magic system. There’s probably not going to be a map at the front of the book or an appendix of terminology, but that’s not why you pick up the book. This also might cross into New Adult and could be based on tropes. If the words ‘Good Girl, ‘Mine’, or ‘Who did this to you?’ come out of the male main character's mouth, then it’s probably Fantasy Romance.
Crowns of Nyaxia series (The Serpent and the Wings of Night) by Clarissa Broadbent
Blood and Ash Series (A Soul of Ash and Blood) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Science Fantasy
A mixture of science and magic, blurring the line between fantasy and science fiction. Like sweet potato fries and ice cream, it sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does. Many writers have managed to pair together this unlikely duo.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Illum by Dan Simmons
Comic Fantasy/Fantasy Satire
Simply, a funny fantasy novel. It traditionally has all the core elements of High Fantasy, although there are some Urban Fantasy versions out there, post-Twilight. These books don’t take themselves seriously, they mock themselves and the genre. Fantasy writers usually have a self-deprecating, oddball sense of humor, especially if you are Terry Pratchett who is the master of this genre.
Discworld (all of them) by Terry Pratchett
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Image Source: YouTube
Dark Fantasy
Dark fantasy either has a horror element or an anti-hero protagonist. For it to be classified as dark fantasy, the main character must be more than ‘just a bit naughty’. If there is a romance element to the book the scenes may be a bit rough for the average reader, but if you spend your nights reading ‘dead dove’ or ‘grapefruit’ fics on AO3 then chances are you have some Dark Fantasy titles in your To Be Read list already. Check the trigger warnings with this category, they mean business.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Fairy Tale Retellings
These novels are reimaginings of myths, legends, or classic fairytales. Hades/Persephone, and Beauty & the Beast variations seem to be 2023’s latest craze and are cropping up on Kindle Unlimited at a rapid rate. But there are some beautiful and imaginative versions and it’s amazing to see how authors have adapted the work for modern audiences.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
A Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Hopefully, this will help you find your next read. Within each category, there are millions of subgenres, so if you still can’t find what you are looking for, check out Amazon/Kindle Unlimited or Goodreads to narrow it down. Don’t be afraid to try out some new authors, Indie writers are producing some great work!
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
