Fantasy Genres

[Watcher]

What is the difference between Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Heroic Fantasy and Dark Fantasy?

 

[Trick]

In my opinion, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy and Heroic Fantasy can all be the same thing but they don't have to be. Dark Fantasy incorporates some horror in most cases but it may also be applied to works that focus on an Anti-Hero or other "Dark" elements. A Dark Fantasy can also be a Heroic Fantasy and possibly even an Epic Fantasy if there is enough depth to the Fantasy World it takes place in. High Fantasy on the other hand stands out to me as something untouchable; it may have dark moments but it is not compatible with Dark Fantasy. LoTR is a good example of High Fantasy, IMHO.

I've heard people say that Epic Fantasy has to be the classic, European-esque, Medieval stuff that is so common but I don't agree. Look up the definition of the word Epic... it denotes certain familiar concepts present in high fantasy but not necessarily the more common things I mentioned before.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mythopoet]

High Fantasy is a bit of an obsolete term. It was more useful back when the main subgenres in fantasy were High Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery.

High Fantasy indicates stories that take place in an imaginary world built by the author. The Lord of the Rings is the quintessential example.

Epic Fantasy and Heroic Fantasy are both kinds of High Fantasy with a slightly different emphasis.

With Epic Fantasy you can expect a conflict endangering and involving a large portion of the world. You can also expect the story to span the course of several books creating long series. It is also a genre more accepting of "larger than life" characters. Wheel of Time is the go to Huge Epic Series people think of.

Heroic Fantasy is high fantasy that is generally focused in on one or more "heroes" more so than than an epic conflict. I think Game of Thrones, while also sharing certain epic fantasy characteristics, falls best here.

Dark Fantasy is easier to define. It's just fantasy with elements of horror.

 

[Feo Takahari]

I've heard people say that Epic Fantasy has to be the classic, European-esque, Medieval stuff that is so common but I don't agree. Look up the definition of the word Epic... it denotes certain familiar concepts present in high fantasy but not necessarily the more common things I mentioned before.

I've heard it argued that wuxia should be viewed as a form of epic fantasy. Make of that what you will.

The precise borders of high and heroic fantasy don't really matter unless you're a nitpicker, but the general distinction seems to be that heroic fantasy is smaller in scale--its heroes fight for fame or fortune, not to save the world.

Dark fantasy is really two things in one. The one that makes more sense as a genre is that it's what happened when fantasy writers looked at horror tropes and thought "Hey, we can use these too!" The one that makes less sense as a genre is that it's fantasy with sex and swearing. Sadly, the latter seems to be how the term is usually used. (Unless you're Richard K. Morgan, in which case you claim your sex and swearing has created the entirely new genre of "f**k fantasy," but that's another rant . . .)

 

[Jabrosky]

I've heard it argued that wuxia should be viewed as a form of epic fantasy. Make of that what you will.

Why not? Most of it is basically fantasy set in ancient China.

 

[Watcher]

Thank you so much for replying my question. You have been a great help. You have clarified these distinctions which troubled me for some time and now I know that my novel has the elements of Epic Fantasy (or even High Fantasy). Thank you once again!

 

[Watcher]

I wanted to base my novel on an imaginay (secondary) world, and I had hard time trying to coin-up a suitable name. I decided to call my world Distant Earth (as Tolkien used the name Middle Earth). My fantasy world has five imaginary continents : Aryana, Mu-Mu, Lemuria, Atlantis, Polaria and Arctica. It has a Sun and three moons, Selene (Moon), Nephele and Nemesis. My fantasy world is influenced by various mythologies but mostly Sumerian and it draws influences from three major religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) and of course it is heavily based on the occult lore since my magic system relies on Goetia. It has many elements of terror (ie vampires, mummies) I use angels and demons as agents of good and evil in my story (divine intervention). So I wonder if my fantasy world is a secondary world (which I intended this world to be )? Thank you for providing me with your valuable insight and information.