Digital Learning Commons: Literary Genres: Fantasy

Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy Fiction uses magic as a plot device.

Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end.

George R.R. Martin,

fantasy author

Characteristics

Setting: Fantasy Fiction can take place in a variety of settings including the present or past and real or imagined places.

Plot: Fantasy uses magic as a plot device.

Characters: Characters may include ordinary humans, animals, or mythical creatures such as fairies, elves,

Themes: Good versus evil is a common theme in fantasy fiction. The Hero's Journey is also often seen in fantasy stories.

Subgenres

Contemporary Fantasy: Set in the contemporary real world, but with magic or other supernatural elements.

Epic Fantasy: Epic fantasy usually includes a large-scale life or death struggle between good and evil, a large cast of characters, and multiple books.

Fairy Tale Fantasy: Draws heavily upon motifs found in traditional folklore or well-known fairy tales.

Magical Realism: Integrates minor supernatural or magical elements into an otherwise realistic story.

Mythic Fiction: Stories inspired by or modeled upon traditional mythology or legends.

Portal Fantasy: Portal Fantasy stories include a magical doorway or portal from the real world to a secret, magical world.

Sword & Sorcery (or Heroic Fantasy): These types of stories usually include sword-play, magic, and medieval-brand adventure (shares many qualities with Epic Fantasy).

Authors

T. A. Barron
Nancy Farmer
John Flanagan
Cornelia Fünke
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Shannon Hale
Iva Ibbotson
Brian Jacques
Gail Carson Levine
Malinda Lo
Marie Lu
Garth Nix
Tamora Pierce
Terry Pratchet
Rick Riordan
Maggie Stiefvater
Laini Taylor
Lawrence Yep

Fantasy Poll

What is your favorite kind of Fantasy?

Contemporary Fantasy: 0 votes (0%)

Epic Fantasy: 0 votes (0%)

Fairy Tale Fantasy: 0 votes (0%)

Magical Realism: 0 votes (0%)

Mythic Fiction: 0 votes (0%)

Portal Fantasy: 0 votes (0%)

Sword & Sorcery: 0 votes (0%)

All!: 0 votes (0%)

Something else: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Notable Fantasy Novels

Contemporary Fantasy

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on--then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
In 13-year-old Aster's family, girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.
Witch and Wizard by James Patterson
A sister and brother, along with thousands of young people, have been kidnapped and either thrown in prison or turned up missing after accusations of witchcraft were made against them, and the ruling regime will do anything in order to suppress life and liberty, music and books.

Fairy Tales

Ash by Malinda Lo
A variation on the Cinderella story in which a girl named Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress, whom she loves.
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
Trading his mom's car for a box of magic beans is best mistake Jack has ever made. The little garden behind his house is about to become home to tiny onion babies running amok, dangerous biting cabbages, and, in a fiery cliff-hanger at the end of this first volume: a dragon.
The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book, twins Alex and Conner leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic, where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

Magical Realism

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
When fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his individualistic grandmother on an expedition to find a humanoid Beast in the Amazon, he experiences ancient wonders and a supernatural world as he tries to avert disaster for the Indians.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Ava Lavender tells the story of her young life starting with her birth in 1944 Seattle, Washington, where she was born with wings.
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, hiding a terrible legacy, until mysterious Fel arrives and Estrella helps him explore his dangerous past.

Mythic Fiction

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F. C. Yee
Genie Lo is one among droves of Ivy-hopeful overachievers in her sleepy Bay Area suburb. But when her hometown comes under siege from Hellspawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are dramatically rearranged. Enter Quentin Sun, a mysterious new kid in class who becomes Genie's self-appointed guide to battling demons.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.
Fury by Elizabeth Miles
When high school junior Emily hooks up with her best friend's boyfriend and football quarterback Chase's life spirals out of control, three mysterious Furies--paranormal creatures that often assume the form of beautiful women--come to town to make sure that Emily and Chase get what they deserve.
Ichiro by Ryan Inzana
Ichiro's mother decides they should move from New York City to his grandfather's home in Japan after Ichiro's American father is killed in Iraq. As his grandfather shows him significant places in Japan and he experiences a supernatural encounter with gods and creatures of Japanese mythology, Ichiro reflects on nature, humanity, the divine, and war.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.
The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war.

Portal Fantasy

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
After moving to their ancestral home, Emily and Navin's mother is kidnapped by a tentacled creature in the basement that leads the children on a deadly chase into the magical world below their home.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father Mo, a bookbinder, can "read" fictional characters to life when an evil ruler named Capricorn, freed from the novel "Inkheart" years earlier, tries to force Mo to release an immortal monster from the story.
Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones
Foster child Annie Nobody discovers a new world of magic, power, and scary creatures in a hidden, magical town, Aurora, where she and her new best friend Jamie Hephastion Alexander learn it is up to them to protect their new home from those who want to misuse the great power, even if it means diving headfirst into magical danger.

Sword & Sorcery

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Huntress by Malinda Lo
Seventeen-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Resources

Best Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018
A list of the best YA sci-fi and fantasy books of the year.

Nebula Award Winners and Nominees

Savvy by Ingrid Law
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.
Ash by Malinda Lo
A variation on the Cinderella story in which a girl named Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress, whom she loves.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a Swamp Monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her.
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on--then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Lord Ballister Blackheart seeks to bring down the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics with the aid of his new shapeshifting sidekick Nimona.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Ava Lavender tells the story of her young life starting with her birth in 1944 Seattle, Washington, where she was born with wings.
Every Day by David Levithan
Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.

Classic Fantasy Books and Series

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The adventures of the well-to-do hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who lived happily in his comfortable home until a wandering wizard granted his wish.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great wizard in order to return to Kansas.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A little girl falls down a rabbit hole and discovers a world of nonsensical and amusing characters.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Companions of the Ring are chosen to aid Frodo in the destruction of the Ring, taken from the horrible Gollum, to keep it from falling into evil hands.