Welcome to the blog post no one asked for! The other day, Rob Hayes, an author of several independently published books asked, “How do you differentiate high fantasy vs low fantasy?” And quite surprisingly, it seems almost as elusive to most people, and how they distinguish low fantasy vs high fantasy. While an imperfect comparison for a starting point, it might be helpful to think of them as two parents, each one with their own individual characteristics, which most people generally agree upon. Some believe that low fantasy must be set in our world, whereas others will take the course of low fantasy has everything to do with the amount of magic involved in the fantasy world. I’ll discuss in greater detail Arthurian Legends, Dark Crystal, the First Law, Harry Potter, and Dresden Files.
To save you a little bit of leg work, Low Fantasy, I’ve done some research and pulled from numerous blog posts on the subject, and all the ones I found can agree that Low fantasy consists of a modern world, magic in a modern setting, characters in a modern setting, characters with supernatural elements living in a modern setting, or characters in a modern setting who may or may not be aware that magic is real. In short, it is when the modern world is intruded by magical elements. Modern is something that changes, so from my reading, “A modern World” is best translated into “Our World” that is Earth with real elements. The most common form of Low fantasy is Urban fantasy, but historical fantasy also exists. Please note: that in any of these characteristics, it is not limited to the amount of fantastical elements, or in what form.
Consider Harry Potter for a moment. It is a world of wizards, witches, magical creatures set in the UK, and The Wizarding World” which more or less is an underground, but note, the setting is mostly this college, which is a characteristic of High fantasy as it exists by itself, but the beginning lends it to a very real setting, which draws a stronger case to low fantasy. Humans with magical powers, magical creatures, spell craft, and humans who may or may not be aware that magic is real in a modern world, or Our world. Admittedly, I have not come across an Urban Fantasy series that does not take place in our world, which almost makes Urban Fantasy low fantasy by default. Note the key word, being, almost.
Now consider Arthurian fantasy for a minute. We’re changing the “modern” to the past. Now, generally speaking, it is still elusive whether or not King Arthur was real, but the story is based off of real world history, and a real place, Britain. England, which we all know is a real place. Arthurian lore does have some, not a lot, but some magic in it, from an enchanted sword, and fae. So, while we wouldn’t consider the setting, modern, we would consider the setting a real place, and categorize it as historical fantasy, set in real times, and real places that, at least one point in time existed as presented.
Now if we consider the Dresden files as well, to use as a method of contrasting purposes with the amount of magic and mystery behind it, I’d like to point out the initial book references “Chicago,” which we all recognize is a very real place. Admittedly, I have not caught up to “Battleground” yet, and I may get to it. Lots of magic, people who are aware that magic is real, magical creatures, and magical people. All of which, paired with a real world setting, “Chicago” is real so it is “modern”, which makes Dresden Files a Low Fantasy by default of those characteristics.
Now, let’s take a look at a High Fantasy story, which many would consider Low fantasy: Dark Crystal. Dark Crystal has very little magic, but it does have individuals who have some magic characteristics. The Dark Crystal also has absolutely NO HUMANS. You do have races and creatures that are humanoid in shape, but do have strong animalistic features. This is a world where there is almost no magic. However, the world that is built is completely unrecognizable. We cannot say that the world was built on pre-existing human history, which, despite it’s lack of magic, pulls Dark Crystal in High Fantasy.
Now, taking a look at The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, it is very different than most of what we’ve discussed. It is completely character focused, and as a result, there is little emphasis on magic. It almost doesn’t appear, in fact, whole books can exist without reference of magic in some way shape or form, especially when you get to the “Age of Madness” another trilogy in the same world. But does the world Abercrombie built exist in modern day setting? Not exactly, though many will note many similarities between real world history within its plot, which can also be said the same for R.F.Kuang’s Poppy War Trilogy as it it’s set in a world that is not our own, but draws from real world history to ground us in it. Does that make it “Our world”? The answer is a resounding no because history often repeats itself. So, with these books, it still fits the characteristics of High fantasy more closely than Low fantasy.
As you consider whether or not a book or a story is high or low, consider that High or low doesn’t refer to the quality of the book itself, or the film, but instead speaks volumes to the idea that the world exists in our real world, or not. It has nothing to do with the amount of magic that is involved, and if you were to google it yourself, you are going to find more bloggers who will suggest what I’ve laid out before you. When I did my research more recently, I’ve not found anything to suggest that Low or high fantasy refers to the amount of magic involved. I hope you found this helpful.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? Discuss in the comments below, respectfully of course.
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What is Low vs High Fantasy?
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Welcome to the blog post no one asked for! The other day, Rob Hayes, an author of several independently published books asked, “How do you differentiate high fantasy vs low fantasy?” And quite surprisingly, it seems almost as elusive to most people, and how they distinguish low fantasy vs high fantasy. While an imperfect comparison for a starting point, it might be helpful to think of them as two parents, each one with their own individual characteristics, which most people generally agree upon. Some believe that low fantasy must be set in our world, whereas others will take the course of low fantasy has everything to do with the amount of magic involved in the fantasy world. I’ll discuss in greater detail Arthurian Legends, Dark Crystal, the First Law, Harry Potter, and Dresden Files.
To save you a little bit of leg work, Low Fantasy, I’ve done some research and pulled from numerous blog posts on the subject, and all the ones I found can agree that Low fantasy consists of a modern world, magic in a modern setting, characters in a modern setting, characters with supernatural elements living in a modern setting, or characters in a modern setting who may or may not be aware that magic is real. In short, it is when the modern world is intruded by magical elements. Modern is something that changes, so from my reading, “A modern World” is best translated into “Our World” that is Earth with real elements. The most common form of Low fantasy is Urban fantasy, but historical fantasy also exists. Please note: that in any of these characteristics, it is not limited to the amount of fantastical elements, or in what form.
Consider Harry Potter for a moment. It is a world of wizards, witches, magical creatures set in the UK, and The Wizarding World” which more or less is an underground, but note, the setting is mostly this college, which is a characteristic of High fantasy as it exists by itself, but the beginning lends it to a very real setting, which draws a stronger case to low fantasy. Humans with magical powers, magical creatures, spell craft, and humans who may or may not be aware that magic is real in a modern world, or Our world. Admittedly, I have not come across an Urban Fantasy series that does not take place in our world, which almost makes Urban Fantasy low fantasy by default. Note the key word, being, almost.
Now consider Arthurian fantasy for a minute. We’re changing the “modern” to the past. Now, generally speaking, it is still elusive whether or not King Arthur was real, but the story is based off of real world history, and a real place, Britain. England, which we all know is a real place. Arthurian lore does have some, not a lot, but some magic in it, from an enchanted sword, and fae. So, while we wouldn’t consider the setting, modern, we would consider the setting a real place, and categorize it as historical fantasy, set in real times, and real places that, at least one point in time existed as presented.
Now if we consider the Dresden files as well, to use as a method of contrasting purposes with the amount of magic and mystery behind it, I’d like to point out the initial book references “Chicago,” which we all recognize is a very real place. Admittedly, I have not caught up to “Battleground” yet, and I may get to it. Lots of magic, people who are aware that magic is real, magical creatures, and magical people. All of which, paired with a real world setting, “Chicago” is real so it is “modern”, which makes Dresden Files a Low Fantasy by default of those characteristics.
Now, let’s take a look at a High Fantasy story, which many would consider Low fantasy: Dark Crystal. Dark Crystal has very little magic, but it does have individuals who have some magic characteristics. The Dark Crystal also has absolutely NO HUMANS. You do have races and creatures that are humanoid in shape, but do have strong animalistic features. This is a world where there is almost no magic. However, the world that is built is completely unrecognizable. We cannot say that the world was built on pre-existing human history, which, despite it’s lack of magic, pulls Dark Crystal in High Fantasy.
Now, taking a look at The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, it is very different than most of what we’ve discussed. It is completely character focused, and as a result, there is little emphasis on magic. It almost doesn’t appear, in fact, whole books can exist without reference of magic in some way shape or form, especially when you get to the “Age of Madness” another trilogy in the same world. But does the world Abercrombie built exist in modern day setting? Not exactly, though many will note many similarities between real world history within its plot, which can also be said the same for R.F.Kuang’s Poppy War Trilogy as it it’s set in a world that is not our own, but draws from real world history to ground us in it. Does that make it “Our world”? The answer is a resounding no because history often repeats itself. So, with these books, it still fits the characteristics of High fantasy more closely than Low fantasy.
As you consider whether or not a book or a story is high or low, consider that High or low doesn’t refer to the quality of the book itself, or the film, but instead speaks volumes to the idea that the world exists in our real world, or not. It has nothing to do with the amount of magic that is involved, and if you were to google it yourself, you are going to find more bloggers who will suggest what I’ve laid out before you. When I did my research more recently, I’ve not found anything to suggest that Low or high fantasy refers to the amount of magic involved. I hope you found this helpful.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? Discuss in the comments below, respectfully of course.
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