Fantasy Defined

What is Fantasy
The Fantasy genre, according to the book Young Adult Literature in the 21^st Century, is any fiction that has magic and a plot that can’t be explained rationally (Cole, 2009, p. 365).  It can include mythical creatures and creation of new worlds.

In the article Core Collections in Genre Studies: Fantasy Fiction 101, Burcher et al (2009) states the appeal of Fantasy includes:

v Escape value

v Action

v Strong characters

v Detailed, atmospheric setting

v Classical themes (honor, love, war, revenge, responsibility, otherness, obsession, and loyalty)

v Subjects (bigotry, greed, religious extremism, politics, abuse and addiction can be examined in fantasy contexts without offending cultural sensitivities.

Cole remarks that the genre Fantasy has been popular in magazines “as early the 1600s.”  Published in 1919, The Thrill Book was the “first magazine devoted to fantasy.”  Fantasy, along with Science Fiction, became even more popular as pulp fiction became popular in the 1930s (Cole, 2009, p. 365).

Types of Fantasy

Burcher et al further reports five major types of Fantasy:

1.  Epic High Fantasy

v Has large casts of characters, quests, magic, elegant prose, and often rooted in Norse and Celtic mythology

v Objects have important roles (swords, chalices, rings, etc.)

v World building and are normally series to develop and explore the world

v Lewis Carroll is considered to be the first author to write young adult high fantasy (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) and J.R.R. Tolkien is considered to be the first to make it accessible to mainstream readers (Cole, 2009, p. 365)

v Epic High Fantasy Books: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series, and Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle trilogy

2.  Paranormal/Urban/Contemporary Fantasy

v Fantasy can be fun, modern, quirky, sexy, and funny

v Paranormal characters (werewolves, vampires, wizards, fairies, etc.) in a contemporary setting

v Popular to have crossover with other genres

v Paranormal/Urban/Contemporary Fantasy Books:  David Almond’s Skellig, Holly Black’s Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, and Ingrid Law’s Savvy, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series

3.  Historical Fantasy

v Overlap of historical fiction and fantasy.

v Researched events and details are enhanced with magic, mythical creatures, and/or otherworld creatures

v Has the tone of the historical period

v Historical Fantasy Books:  Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy, Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka

4.  Realistic Fantasy

v Do not have stereotypical heroes and mixed motives

v Realistic Fantasy Books:  Lois Lowry’s The Messenger, Louis Sachar's Holes, and Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, and 12 Again by Sue Corbett 

5.  Literary Fantasy

v Has fantastic elements with graceful style, symbolic language, complex characters, ethereal settings, alliterative injokes, meta-references, or non-linear timelines

v Literary Fantasy Books:  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, and Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee 

References

Cole, P.  (2009). Young adult literature in the 21^st century.  Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Burcher, C., Hollands, N., Smith, A., Trott, B., & Zellers, J.  (2009).  Core collections in genre studies: Fantasy fiction 101.  Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(3), 226-231.

Alice in Wonderland cover art link from just-write.contentquake.com

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale cover art link from borders.com/au

A Great and Terrible Beauty cover art link from goodreads.com
The Messenger cover art link from amazon.com
Black Unicorn cover art link from amazon.com