The Lily CafeFantasy with Friends: Fantasy Subgenres
Briana and Krysta at Pages Unbound are hosting a fantasy discussion meme this year called Fantasy with Friends. Since fantasy is my favorite genre, I thought it would be fun to take part. This week, their question is:
Do you have any favorite subgenres of fantasy such as urban fantasy, historical fantasy, etc.?
Technically, I enjoy most fantasy. I’ve probably sampled most of the different subgenres, to varying degrees of enjoyment. I enjoy a good urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy, historical fantasy, dark fantasy, etc. novel once in a while. But I wouldn’t say I would actually consider any of them a favorite despite vastly enjoying a novel or two in each. I’d say only epic fantasy and, to a lesser degree, magical realism have my heart.
I accidentally found myself falling in love with fantasy way back when I was 14. There’s a bit of a story associated with why I love epic fantasy here. I was probably somewhere around 3rd or 4th grade when I just turned into a voracious reader. My parents could barely keep up with my love of books, and I could hardly keep up with what was already being published. I finished every book that called to me in the Children’s section by the time I was 10, and was exceedingly disappointed by the boring fiction that filled the very tiny Teen section. When I was 13, I was bored with what I had access to according to my grade level and, out of desperation, asked my mom if she had any books with dragons. Well, she managed to dig one out. All I remember is a green dragon with a green eye on the front. She also tried to give me Outlander, but I found that boring and, even today, Clare and her husband (present-day) are forever rolling down a hill in my head. So I wandered into the adult section, found my way into Science Fiction & Fantasy. I have to say, those books had better covers. I was riveted. But I really, really, really needed a series to read. Preferably a really long series so I didn’t have to think too hard on what to pick up next. And that’s how I found the very long Wheel of Time books and forever fell in love with epic fantasy.
For a very long time, if a series had less that three books, I wouldn’t read it. There were a few I did enjoy, but I was looking for four or more books. I’m sad that’s getting to be harder to find these days. I just want to spend more time with my favorite characters, but that seems to be too much to ask for. Nevertheless, the damage was done. I fell in love with sword and sorcery, insane characters insanely plotting, good vs. evil, world shattering stakes, and the epic relationships that form between characters. Being pulled into a world where things could be dire at every turn holds my attention like little else can. When I picked up those first epic fantasies in high school, it made high school and adolescence so much more…doable. I wasn’t going out and saving the world, just trying to keep a high GPA to get into a good college with, hopefully, a decent scholarship. Compared to the whole entire world being at stake, that was nothing. Even today that feels more appealing that what we’re living through.
So I would definitely say epic fantasy is my favorite fantasy subgenre.
But I also love magical realism. This really feeds into my hope that I’ll come into my powers one day even though I’ve seen zero evidence of actual magic in real life. But I’d love to stumble on a little town where magic is just woven into the fabric of daily life. It definitely all started with Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. After that, after falling in love with how normal magic was in that little town, I went hunting for more. It wasn’t as easy to find back then, so I’m thrilled to see so many being published today. I especially love the magical realism in books translated from Japanese and Korean, partly because they just tug at my heartstrings and partly because I’m Asian and it’s nice to see cultures I’m familiar with reflected back to me. I just really love the idea of magic being threaded into daily life.
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Chidozie Nwobilor (he/him)
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Hannah Steenbock