Defining Genre: Low Fantasy is for "Regular" Worlds

A bad term for a multi-faceted genre and sub-genre

I am not the only one who has squinted at the term “low fantasy”. It has been a point of contention for years - certainly to its fans - and among the many genre terms, it often seems to be the most vague and ill used, as well as a term that does not really do the genre justice.

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

B. K. Bass, author and editor, puts the general confusion of what low fantasy is into simple terms.

That being said, most sources will agree that high fantasy takes place in a fictional setting independent of our reality. There is little-to-no debate on this. Where things get tricky is with low fantasy, and particularly the question of portal fantasy. Some sources say low fantasy takes place entirely on Earth—hard stop. Others say low fantasy takes place either entirely in our reality or between our reality and a fictional setting, such as with residents of Earth travelling to another realm in portal fantasy. - B. K. Bass

Herein lies the confusion: is low fantasy a story on Earth or not? If your character casually (or not) walks between Earth and, say, Underhill (the fairy world) on a regular basis, is that a story that is still taking place on Earth?

What if you’re jumping dimensions? What if you’re traveling through space and time?

What if you leave Earth at one point, say in the middle of a series? Did the genre then change?

---

As I’ve done in previous posts in this series (here and here), I have my own definitions that I use. I do not intend them to be definitive, and if someone has alternative definitions that make more sense or are more detailed, I would love for you to share them below! But I do like to simplify/clarify things for my own sake.

Kendra’s Definition of Low Fantasy

I hate this term. I don’t use it.

There you have it. When it comes to terms that do nothing (cue someone saying in a saucy tone, “come on, girl, give us nothing”) I tend to not use them. Low fantasy does not define anything.

When you think about it, low fantasy covers far too much. So, these stories are based on Earth, or has connections to Earth. Fine. So, would the genre be urban fantasy, portal fantasy, alternate history fantasy, cyberpunk, noir detective/mystery fantasy, horror fantasy, or any number of other genres that would do more to define a particular story than the overarching term of low fantasy?

---

The Term “High Fantasy” Does Its Job

It is my opinion that with the existence of the term “high fantasy”, connotating a story that takes place on a secondary world not related to Earth - although, pause!

Is there really a story that exists where the setting does not relate to Earth in some way? Middle-Earth is largely inspired by British, Norse, and other cultures of the UK area. Many worlds have obvious inspirations stemming from Japan, India, China, Nigeria, Mongolia or Druidic, Viking, Aztec, Greek, Roman culture, etc., etc., on and on and on. The point of defining the difference is not so much that high fantasy is not on Earth, but that the other genre settings are firmly embedded on Earth (in some way) as we know it.

Back to my point, “high fantasy” defines a setting not on Earth, whereas other genres are firmly established on Earth.

The term low fantasy is too vague. Urban fantasy covers stories set in a city or modern setting on Earth that also has vampires, werewolves, fairies . . . (think the Mercy Thompson series or the Harry Dresden novels, or, an example of a standalone, Neverwhere).

Alternate history fantasy is fantasy that takes place on our world but where history is changed to a large degree by something magical (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel).

Cyberpunk, which can also be a subgenre of science fiction, denotes a setting that relies heavily on technology and has a punk/tech aesthetic in clothing and lifestyle, which heavily influences the plot. What would make cyberpunk a fantasy? Adding something magical or otherworldly like magic itself, or fantasy people/creatures. (Sidenote: I would like some recs for some fantasy cyberpunk if you have them)

---

As A Reader

Defining these genres under the umbrella term of low fantasy does not help me in finding a book I’m looking for. In this situation, the sub-genres are of more help, and I would argue, are genres in and of themselves. While some of them can be interchangeable with science fiction, these genres, when attached with the term fantasy, clearly define for the reader a particular type of story.

Because fantasy cyberpunk and urban fantasy are two different types of genres with two very different types of stories. And if I’m looking for an alternate history fantasy, searching the term low fantasy is going to lead me to lists that contain multiple sub-genres, most of which I would not be looking for.

As A Writer

Knowing your genre helps in marketing. The last thing you want to do is market your book to the wrong audience.

Person A: “Oh, it’s a low fantasy with adventure, tragedy, magic, and high stakes.”

Person B: “Cool! I love fantasy!”

[starts to read the book]

Person B:

“This is portal fantasy with a heavy romance plotline. I don’t really like romance.”

or

“This is cyberpunk with werewolves. Cool, but not my thing”

or

“Why are there wizards fighting in WWII? I hated history.”

Do you see what I mean? But I bet a lot of people read at least one of those specific examples and thought to themselves I would read that.

Which is my point. The ones who want to read wizards fighting in WWII are often going to be a different audience than the ones wanting to read that portal fantasy with romance (Often, not every single time, but remember who your main audience is. Readers who will read anything are not going to be your main audience all the time).

So, as a writer, low fantasy helps to define nothing.

---

To Conclude

Why are we even using this term? I mean, I don’t, but let’s do away with it. In my next few Defining Genre posts, I’ll go over the specific sub-genres I mentioned, including a few more. The fantasy genre is rife with sub-genres (yay!) and each one has its own setting, audience, and narrative direction.

What do you feel about the term “low fantasy”?

Comment below and be sure to follow for more posts!

---