High fantasy
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Template:Fantasy High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. Built upon the platform of a diverse body of works in the already very popular fantasy genre, high fantasy came into fruition through the work of authors such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s. While it is far from being the oldest fantasy subgenre, high fantasy, along with sword and sorcery, has become one of the two genres most commonly associated with the general term fantasy.
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Genre overview
These stories are reputedly serious in tone and often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural, evil forces. It is one of the most popular subgenres of fantasy fiction. Some typical characteristics of high fantasy include fantastical races such as elves and dwarves, magic, wizards, invented languages, coming-of-age themes, and multi-volume narratives.
The term can also distinguish between high fantasy and low fantasy. In this case, "high" and "low" simply describe the relative amount of supernatural forces in the world. In some fiction, a contemporary, "real-world" character is placed in the invented world, sometimes through devices such as portals to other worlds or even subconscious travels. Purists might not consider this to be "true" high fantasy, although such stories are often categorized as high fantasy due to the fact that they've yet to be classified as their own distinct subgenre, and often resemble this subgenre more closely than any other.
High fantasy worlds may be more or less closely based on real world milieus, or on legends such as Arthurian. When the resemblence is strong, particularly when real-world history is used, high fantasy shades into alternate history.
When the scope is less than epic, dealing with the hero's personal fight for personal stakes against evil forces, the epic fantasy may shade into sword and sorcery.
High fantasy is the most popular and successful subgenre of the fantasy fiction. Its fandom ranges from Tolkien to contemporary. Recent screen versions of The Lord of the Rings have contributed to the subgenre's continuing popularity. Moreover some novels are in preproduction status for movie adaptations like David Farland's Runelords and Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover.
Concepts
One of the main concepts of the high fantasy storylines is the main hero's storyline. Most of the main characteristics revolve around his heritage. In many novels he is mostly an unusual orphan or an unusual and strange sibling with some (or more) incredible abilities and skills in a particular area (most of the time - magic) - e.g. Terry Goodkind's Richard Rahl, Robert Jordan's Rand al'Thor of The Wheel of Time, Raymond Feist's Pug of Riftwar Saga, Christopher Paolini's Eragon of The Inheritance Trilogy, David Eddings' Belgarion of Belgariad, Tad Williams' Simon of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. In other works he is a completely developed individual with his own character and spirit - David Eddings' Sparhawk of The Elenium and The Tamuli.
In most stories, the hero, considering his dark and vague heritage, slowly gains knowledge of his past, through legend, prophecy, lost-and-found-again family members, or from more mysterious encounters. With that knowledge comes power and self-confidence. In many books there is a love interest surrounding the main character. Usually, she is as selfless and good as the main character.
In the beginning of the storyline, there is one important twist or event in the life of the character. He is threatened by the unknown force. Many times, the character is destined to destroy the evil force, or to be a threat himself of some importance. In many books there is one mystical persona who provides the main character with advice and help. Mostly he is a formidable wizard or warrior. Examples would be: the wizard Kulgan of Riftwar Saga, Tolkien's Gandalf, and Allanon of Terry Brooks.
These concepts have become so well-known amongst fantasists over the years that Danny Birt jokingly wrote them up in the form of a math equation in the author's note of his epic fantasy book Ending an Ending. The author's note went on to say that the book was written in direct opposition of expected fantasy concepts. Whether the rest of his pentology will continue in this vein remains to be seen.
Plagiarism of ideas sometimes makes novels dull or repetitive. Many of the novels are strongly influenced by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, which is considered the groundwork of the genre.
Saga or series
Role-playing campaign settings like Forgotten Realms by Ed Greenwood and Dragonlance<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis' are a common basis for many fantasy books and many other authors continue to contribute to the settings.
From Tolkien to the modern day, authors in this genre tend to create their own worlds where they set multi-tiered narratives such as the Riftwar saga, Belgariad, Malloreon and Memory, Sorrow and Thorne. Other authors such as George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., and Terry Goodkind write extended stories over several volumes relating with the same character threads.
Publishers
There are several publishing companies that are devoted entirely to publishing fantasy literature. DAW Books was one of the first established, and others include Avari Press and Del Rey Books.
References
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See also
- Eric Rucker Eddison (The Worm Ouroboros and The Zimiamvian Trilogy) was a pre-Tolkien high fantasy writer.
- List of high fantasy fictionde:High Fantasy