Are you looking to get away from it all? Do you long for stories of epic journeys, fairies, elves, magic, and monsters? Then step through the portal and delve into the world of fantasy!
What is Fantasy?
Fantasy stories take place in a world that is not our own. Sometimes, it can mirror ours, other times it feels like something out of the past. Either way, these are speculative fiction stories that do not take place “in the real world”. These stories involve fantastical creatures and inhuman beings. Elves, dwarves, orcs, and dragons abound in fantasy adventures. Of course, you can still find your regular garden-variety humans, but they’re not your average office worker. They’re thieves, soldiers, adventurers, tavern-keepers, and more. And despite the setting and characters, the issues our heroes face will still seem very familiar. Racism, oppression, good-versus-evil, and other struggles are still a reality, whether you’re a human or a goblin.
Why Do Readers Love Fantasy?
Fantasy series provide an escape. Leave the humdrum world you inhabit and go on an adventure! The world-building in fantasy novels is second to none, so readers who enjoy setting will love to learn about the complex cultures, beautiful locations, and the fascinating characters who inhabit them. Fantasy books are often long and detailed (and many of them are part of long, ongoing series) so readers who really want to be immersed in a story will have plenty to keep them occupied for weeks (or even years) on end. And of course, fantasy novels often feature magic (always cool!) and adventures (my favorite!) allowing readers to live vicariously through characters who are able to do all the cool things we would secretly love to experience.
Fantasy vs. Magical Realism
Sometimes, I’ll see these two terms thrown about interchangeably. But, what really is the difference between these two genres? I’ll keep my answer short and simple: Fantasy takes place in a magical world that is not our own, while magical realism takes place in world that is grounded in reality, but with some odd little aspects of the fantastical blended into it. So, fantasy might involve a group of travelers going on an adventure to stop an evil wizard, while magical realism might involve an ordinary woman dealing with the fact that that she can taste people’s emotions in the food that they prepare.
Fantastic Subgenres:
- Urban Fantasy: Fantasy stories in a modern, urban setting
- Portal Fantasy: A regular person from our world ends up in a fantasy realm
- Dark Fantasy: A blending of horror and fantasy, fantastical elements and a dark, frightening tone
- Wuxia: Heavily inspired by Chinese mythology, strongly features martial arts
Related Genres
If you enjoy fantasy, here are some other genres you might enjoy–
- Science Fiction: This is also set in a world that is not our own, but the focus is more on technology than on magic
- Magical Realism: While grounded in the “real world”, there are still elements of magic to be found
- Romantasy: It’s fantasy, but romantic (or its romance, but in a fantasy setting!)
- Alternate History: What would have happened if something had been different
Reading Recommendations
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
City of Brass (S.A. Chakraborty) Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by–palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing–are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.
Howl’s Moving Castle (Diana Wynn Jones) Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl–and herself–than first meets the eye. In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl’s castle?
The Water Dragon’s Bride (Rei Toma) After falling into a pond, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where the villagers who find her, unnerved by her grey eyes and red hair sacrifice her as a bride to the local deity, a water dragon god. Despite allowing all of his previous “brides” to drown, the dragon is intrigued by Asahi, and spares her life, but takes her voice. Will she be able to survive in the new world she finds herself trapped in? Or will she somehow manage to return to the world she came from?
The Magicians (Lev Grossman) Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A high school math genius, he’s secretly fascinated with a series of children’s fantasy novels set in a magical land called Fillory, and real life is disappointing by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to an elite, secret college of magic, it looks like his wildest dreams have come true. But his newfound powers lead him down a rabbit hole of hedonism and disillusionment, and ultimately to the dark secret behind the story of Fillory. The land of his childhood fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. . . .
