Comments on: The Many Faces of Fantasy Fiction

By: Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:58:51 +0000

Hi Katie,

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By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:43:44 +0000

Thanks for the info, is there an RSS Feed?

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:15:05 +0000

I think you have one genre (though to be fair, it is a blending of two on your list) that, though recent in its prominence is worth considering as on unto itself: dark humorous. The idea of the noir comedy, something say JIm Butcher does beautifully, is well worth its own category.
There are some folks who understand that not everything is a fantastic fairy tale, and that real life is harsh. Hence dark fantasy. Others want to continually poke fun (think comedians). But true life blends the two into something endurable. A valuable genre for fantasy indeed.

By: Sara R.

Sara R. — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:24:46 +0000

I find it moderately gratifying that the boundaries between the subgenres are so fluid. In fact, I have seen multiple other ways of dividing fantasy into different groupings. Because there are so many ways to divide the genre, and each category tends to overlap the others to some extent, it makes movement between each natural. When I was a kid and all throughout high school, I would have firmly placed myself in the camp that supported high/sword and sorcery/heroic fantasy (especially Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce as someone already mentioned). This predilection somehow morphed to the point where today I generally read urban and dark fantasy simply because I started to read other things by my favorite authors (Mercedes Lackey among others) and found that I enjoyed those types as well. I think the appeal of fantasy is reading about something that isn’t possible in real life, and, frankly, this appeal is present in all of the subgenres.

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:37:39 +0000

Fantasy comes in many flavors, technical and nontech. We travel to distant realms and alein planets or sometimes a step into another dimension. Some authors blend the groups, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series. It blends sci/fi and swords and sorcery or should it be swords and science? As long as we pass along the names of the authors and the books there will be windows of the mind opened and dreams of other worlds. Ohh lets not forget The Talisman –Peter Straub and Steven King Or Mercedes Lackey,I’ve gone to music stores to pick up the music she talks about in her books. LOL now that’s a good author

By: June K. Williams

June K. Williams — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:20:04 +0000

Rachel-

Thank you for adding some more of my favorites. I was just using a few examples for the feel of a sub-genre but in no way did I mean that these were even a tiny fraction of the wonderful books that are out there to be discovered and devoured

By: June K. Williams

June K. Williams — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:17:25 +0000

Theroda-

I understand that these categories are subjective. It is as hard to pin down as a mirage on the horizon in the Gobi on your 3rd day of trekking on foot. By the way even YA is subjective..at least to me. There were and are so many books published in that category that can be enjoyed by a not-so-very-Y-adult:) Many moons ago I was swept away by James Blish’s Cities in Flight series and the central character in the first book at least is a really young guy. If you can find them at all in a library ( out of print now ) they would be listed as YA but this is one adult who still loves them.

Why did the next Mercy book have to come before the next Hurog/Ward one? Guess it has something to do with the publisher’s request which in turn is fueled by the number of people buying the books.
The good news id that the more successful the Mercy books become the more likely people will want to see what other things Patricia Briggs has written and then WHAMO. She is a terrific writer and I’m so happy that more people are discovering that every day.

By: Debra Guyette

Debra Guyette — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:10:22 +0000

I did not know fantasty was dvided up into so many categories. Your breakdown was very informative. I have read many of hte different typoes nad now I hve found a few more to explore. thanks so much

By: Tracey c

Tracey c — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:52:19 +0000

very informative. Thank you. Its so funny some of the looks I get when I say I read fantasy. It really is misunderstood. Lots of different types to choose from and you have listed them. Its all I read. If more people gave it a chance they would see how great it is.

By: Rachael M. Sevigny

Rachael M. Sevigny — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:17:26 +0000

It’s nice seeing that other people enjoy the same books that I do, or at least find them worth mentioning. My favorite author at the moment is Jim Butcher and I’m anxiously waiting for his next book “Turncoat” to come out I’m not even going to wait for it to come out in paperback (and yes I know hardcover last longer but paperback are sooo much easier to carry around)

Another two fantasy authors I didn’t see mentioned here that I personally really enjoy are Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce. Mercedes Lackey and her tales of the Heralds of Valdemar would fit right into several of these categories, and her tales of elves, magic, and fast cars would seem to be the very definition of the section of Urban/Modern/Paranormal Fantasy section. Her urban fantasy have a slightly different style of writing than her other books but in my opinion are just as good. Tamora Pierce’s books are somewhat similar to the Harry Potter series, but instead of one Protagonist it has four and each of the Four books she writes per “series” (One series is the “sequel” to the other on occasion) is written from a different characters point of view. Each character also differs quite of bit from their counterparts (one was a thief and part of a gang, another was a foreigner, the next an orphan none of the family wanted to care for, and last but not least a noble).