High Fantasy and its Major Subgenres

Great news! The total remodel of bkbass.com is steaming along, and I’m going through my old essays, articles, and musings to completely revise their contents and presentation.

Previously, I had a series of three essays on fantasy literature. They’re getting such an overhaul, though, that there will now be five!

The third of these, High fantasy and its Major Subgenres, is now live on the website. Here’s a quick preview:

If the first things to come to mind when you think of fantasy are treks across unknown realms, sword-swinging heroes, and soaring dragons, you’re probably a fan of this side of the fantasy coin (the other side being low fantasy). Encompassing some of the oldest and most famous examples of fantasy literature, high fantasy takes us on a journey to realms wholly of the imagination, which act as a playground for almost limitless storytelling possibilities. While heroic quests are the mainstay of the genre, everything from teenage romances to murder mysteries to global wars involving the gods themselves can be found under this broad umbrella of fantasy fiction.

Check out the full essay for more!

The Fantasy Divide: Low vs High Fantasy

Great news! The total remodel of bkbass.com is steaming along, and I’m going through my old essays, articles, and musings to completely revise their contents and presentation.

Previously, I had a series of three essays on fantasy literature. They’re getting such an overhaul, though, that there will now be five!

The second of these, The Fantasy Divide: Low vs High Fantasy, is now live on the website. Here’s a quick preview:

When exploring fantasy literature, there is a clear line that can be drawn down the middle of the genre. On one hand, some fantasy stories take us on journeys contained within fantastic worlds. On the other, fantastic elements encroach on our reality or we travel from the real world to a fictional one.

I feel that at the very top of the hierarchy of fantasy subgenres lie high fantasy and low fantasy. Unlike other subgenres, which authors routinely mix and match to brew up their own unique magical potions, these categories exist as two sides of a coin, and that coin encompasses all of fantasy literature.

Check out the full essay for more!

The Fantasy Genre: Part 2

The second part of our series exploring the fantasy genre is now available!

In this second section of a three-part journey, I’ll be examining each of the major sub-genres of fantasy more closely. In the first part, we looked at the history and evolution of the fantasy genre as a whole. This time, we will be focusing more on the content and differences of the four major sub-genres of fantasy literature. In the third part, we will explore the more niche sub-genres and sub-sub-genres that tackle very specific themes.

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Join me next for part three of The Fantasy Genre, where we will continue to explore the sub-genres of fantasy literature. This next installment will look at the more specifically defined subgenres such as urban fantasy, flintlock fantasy, and dark fantasy. See you again soon!

Future Epic Fantasy Project

I have hinted in the past about some epic fantasy brewing in the background. I’m still in the planning phases, but have a general idea for a concept and have put together an aesthetic that hints at the feel of it.

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The immortals of the faewilde have been waging a war for millenia, and the fallout from this conflict is starting to affect reality as we know it. One man has the power to end the war. Can a mortal put an end to a conflict older than memory itself, or is the world doomed to destruction as it is torn asunder by the magic of the fae?