I agree with you on the trope v genre classification of coming-of-age, etc. A grimdark fantasy can contain court intrigue, but it doesn't work the other way around!

Yes--the shift to indie publishing has really changed the way books are marketed and thus written. We're seeing more cross-genre stories than ever. And sub-genres are constantly shifting. And, people can't even agree on what the most popular ones are... they're pointers more than real categories.

Honestly as a writer this cubbyholing drives me nutty. I gave up on trying to get an agent the day I read a message from one that said I love your stuff I just don't know how to sell you. I discovered publishing on Amazon a few years later and never looked back. I've been writing a long time but recently learned that most of what I write fits under the umbrella of Urban Fantasy. Frankly I just tell stories.

@OnefortheBooks

22 күн бұрын

Yes, exactly! It's pretty irrelevant to authors when they're writing, but if they want to be traditionally published they have to know all these marketing terms. It's pretty silly, in my opinion. Glad you've been publishing anyway! Hope it's been successful for you.

@RealityInk

22 күн бұрын

@@OnefortheBooks I also write female super heroes which publishers tend to stare at and pretend dont exist

The Honor Series is a good military science fiction series.

Maybe in historical fantasy, the fantastic elements are things that have been forgotten, or unproveable and thought to be imaginary by the present time, but history since the time in which the story is set has moved along indistinguishable from real life. A good example of an alternate history fantasy would be Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker Series. That would has alot of similarities too, but is way too different from, the real world of the early 19th century to reasonably expect history to move on to something similar to today.

I think CyberFantasy (or Cyberpunk Fantasy) could slot is as a separate subgenre, just about. I really enjoyed this video.

loved this!

Great screen saver. Newark?😆 kidding. Have a great day.☕️😎

@OnefortheBooks

23 күн бұрын

😁

Question about historical fantasy/alternate history fantasy. When I hear "history" I think of a retelling of a historical figure like Lincoln or Albert Einstein. Could a historical/alternate history be considered such if you told a fictional story in a prehistoric setting like the Ice Age with cavemen and such? I think of the movie Quest for Fire as an example.

@OnefortheBooks

5 сағат бұрын

Yeah totally! I think that counts

For LitRPG Fantasy the He Who Fights with Monsters series would be a prime example. For Progression Fantasy I think the Arcane Ascension series is a good example. Isekai (Another/New World) Fantasy is really popular in anime right now. It's similar to Portal Fantasy except the protagonist(s) are either summoned to the fantasy world or are reborn there (with memories of their life on Earth). There is usually no way back to our world.

@OnefortheBooks

22 күн бұрын

Ooh that sounds interesting! Thanks for the recommendations.

@stephennootens916

13 күн бұрын

I just watched Mushoku Tensei which is an Isekai based on a series of light novels which have been translated in English.

_Fantastique_ is also worth mentioning, although it is not very common anymore, at least in the anglophone world. George MacDonald's books might fit into that genre.

@OnefortheBooks

22 күн бұрын

I've never heard of that! When I googled it I just kept getting a definition for a french word. What is the Fantastique subgenre?

@Alkemisti

21 күн бұрын

@@OnefortheBooks According to Wikipedia, it 'is characterized by the intrusion of supernatural elements into the realistic framework of a story, accompanied by uncertainty about their existence.' 'It evokes phenomena which are not only left unexplained but which are inexplicable from the reader's point of view.' 'Instead, characters in a work of fantastique are, just like the readers, unwilling to accept the supernatural events that occur. This refusal may be mixed with doubt, disbelief, fear, or some combination of those reactions. The fantastique is often linked to a particular ambiance, a sort of tension in the face of the impossible.' (I would put here a link to that article, but KZread usually blocks my comments if there are links.)

LotR is set on Earth, a fictional past version, but Earth nonetheless - that rules it out of High Fantasy by your definition :D I'd define it by the magic being used - Potter & Pratchett are High Fantasy - silly magic nonsense. LotR is Epic Fantasy - a world spanning quest

I think you right low magic and low fantasy shouldn’t be the same thing. Also, good job. Trust yourself. I think you could cut down the start of this video, you are our expert! Where that expertise came from isn’t as important as the great information you have to share.

Isn't "Epic" a description of the scope of the book rather than the scope of the plot? Or maybe the level of details that make it into the book? As opposed to the Novel which is reduced to the necessary bits. On everything else I agree. How would you categorize books that blur the line between real and not? Such as "American Gods" by Neil Gaimen or "The Buried Giant" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Do they even count as fantasy?

@yensid4294

19 күн бұрын

Yeah, American Gods could fit into a few subgenres depending on your focus --it's set in modern day America but the characters are mythological & the magical elements are subtle & the story is often pretty dark..idk...it's just Gaiman to me tbh :D Maybe he is his own subgenre? 😮

Personally I have found the lines between Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror to be pretty blurry anymore since there is so much cross-over 😮 I don't think it's a bad thing but sometimes the 50 hashtags that seem to go along with any marketing or review of the title seems excessive 😏

The discussion of epic fantasy here would leave out works like Beowulf, The Song of Roland, The Poem of El Cid, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Those are all primary epics. They include fantastic elements and use elevated, poetic language. Some of them deal with magic, monsters, and gods and goddesses. They all take place here on Earth and might contain elements such as historic people and events but have been heavily mythologized. The Odyssey deals with a series of events that took place over years as does El Cid but Beowulf, Roland, and The Iliad cover relatively short periods. Heck, The Song of Roland only deals with a single battle. Secondary epics such as The Aeneid and The Faire Queen contain many fantasy elements but they also occurred here on Earth. These works weren’t even composed orally. They were composed in writing and the authors knew that their works were heavily fictionalized. Why should these works be left out of epic fantasy? I get that this is just one content creator’s views and is intended to spark discussion but I think she missed the mark on this one.

639th!

@OnefortheBooks

22 күн бұрын

😁 Welcome!!