Fantasy: A Deeper Look into the Genre

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A couple weeks ago, I posted a review of Owlflight by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. I mentioned that it fulfilled the fantasy category for my 2019 reading challenge, but never fully explained what fantasy is as a genre. Many people characterize fantasy as a childish or naïve genre because it deals with themes of magic and wonderment, something reserved for the childhood imagination. I believed this too, conforming to the idea that only a child’s imagination could understand and appreciate the fantastic. I was wrong. The older a reader is, the more they can engage the genre in conversation.They are not only able to appreciate the fantastic elements that children do, but also pull back the layers and deal with the human issues that are being explored.

Ursula K. Le Guin, a recently deceased American novelist who specialized in fantasy and science fiction, claimed that fantasy is the mother of all fiction. The fantastic genre was one of the first genres to ever be recorded, dating back to medieval and mythological times as a type of genre used to create tales of fantastical nature. All fiction steams from fantasy in that all stories reflect and explore complexities of humanity.

The fantasy genre reflects different aspects of humanity in the light of possible futures or other realities and is used to push past the veil of reality, using mystical and fantastic ideas to comprehend and resolve issues or reshape the corrupted reality. By using these seemingly “childish” themes to create a story that challenges real life situations, the fantasy genre is actually much more complex than many think.

Most fantasy books use magic or other supernatural elements as the main setting, plot point, or theme, inspired by real-world folklore and mythology. However, this does not always need to be the case for a book to fall into the fantasy genre. For instance, if a narrative takes place in a fictional world, with a fictional history and elements, than it is fantasy, with or without supernatural elements.

As a category of speculative fiction, fantasy is often confused with science fiction or horror. The easiest way to distinguish these genres is to ask; is this scientifically possible, even if the science behind it is fictional? If it is, then it is sci-fi, if not, fantasy. As for horror, the genre primarily seeks to provoke fear into the reader, often through a central menace. Though there may be some scary elements within a fantasy story, the goal is not intentionally to cause distress.

Many fantasy books focus on a battle between good and evil. However, authors tend to represent good and evil and the struggles between them in different ways. Some define good and evil as opposing forces that have been in battle with each other since the beginning of time. Others describe good as the dominating force that has always existed and evil is the perversion of that good by actively seeking it out. This battle is found in every fantasy novel, some of which I’ve listed below. Here are some of my favorite fantasy books; give them a try and let me know what you think.

For children and middle school readers:

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, is a series of seven books chronicling the fictional world of Narnia and its inhabitants from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its destruction in The Last Battle. This story of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals follows various children’s adventures who, for all except one, are magically transported to Narnia and help protect and restore the kingdom.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan, is one of my personal favorites. This five book series follows Percy Jackson and his demigod friends as they try to maintain order among the Greek gods of Olympus and prevent the rise of the evil Titan race. This was Riordan’s first book series and he went on to write two sequel series, The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo.

For more advanced readers:

Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling, the famous book-turned-movie series about a young wizard, Harry, and his adventures at Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. While struggling to make friends and go through puberty, he also has to learn to control his magic and fight the powers of evil.

Vampire Academy, a paranormal romance novel by Richelle Mead, tells the story of Rose Hathaway, a teenage girl training to be a guardian to her Vampire best friend Lissa. Little does she know the true danger in learning to defeat the Strigoi, evil undead vampires, and the forbidden feelings she will catch for her instructor. This series is the first time I truly became obsessed with books and realized my natural affinity for the supernatural.

The Red Queen Series is a young adult fantasy series by Victoria Aveyard. In this world Aveyard has created, people are divided by the color of their blood. Those with silver blood possess god-like superpowers and rule the kingdom, whereas the majority of the population has red blood and lives in poverty. Mare, a teenage red girl, finds out that despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power.

These are just a few of my favorite fantasy reads, which all tailor to my own personal interests, and you may have a different palate. There are hundreds of different choices out there, many of which differ significantly from the ones I’ve mentioned, but this genre has something for almost everyone.

Happy reading,

~M