Fantasy is a very popular form of literature that has been present in human history. We love to create new, fantastic and wonderous worlds where anything and everything can happen. Most of fantasy literature features things like magic, mythical creatures, epic adventures, and journeys. Two major subgenres of fantasy have emerged from all of this: epic fantasy and low fantasy. Epic fantasy, often called high fantasy, and low fantasy contrast in many ways. If you’re looking to start writing your own fantasy book soon, you’ll probably be interested to know what the difference between epic and low fantasy really is.
Epic Fantasy
Epic fantasy is often referred to as high fantasy. This subgenre of fantasy typically deals with all things “epic,” as the name states. Common elements include things like grand quests, ancient prophecies, religious conflicts, and epic battles.
There are a few key features that are identifiable from most epic fantasy works:
- World-building: Epic fantasy authors tend to enjoy crafting meticulous, intricate, fully-realized worlds. These include things like rich histories and lore, diverse cultures and creatures, sprawling and detailed maps, and so much more. The world is a vastly important piece of epic fantasy, and this piece of writing is what truly sets it apart. World-building can get very expansive very quickly, and it’s something that I personally talk about a lot on my website.
- An epic scope: What does this mean, exactly? Well, an epic scope pretty much means that you are spanning time periods and locations with many characters whose destinies will ultimately intertwine. The stakes in epic fantasy are very, well, epic. They involve the fate of an entire civilization, world, universe, etc… and they often have conflicts of good vs evil.
- The hero’s quest: Epic fantasy takes a play from the Greek style of story-telling, which often centers around a hero. This hero will have to undergo some sort of journey that involves things like personal growth, self-discovery, gaining strength, and more. The hero often has a noble reason why they are undertaking this quest. Now, with more modern changes in literature, many writers opt for anti-heroes/morally gray heroes which are heroes who have noble causes but challenge the notion of the all-good golden hero. Some writers completely break the mold and pitch the villain as the center of the story.
- Magic and mythology: Magic is a central point and the magic system is often very in-depth and very detailed. The magic system is often fleshed out and has a strong purpose in the story that affects the world in general. Mythology is also something you see often in epic fantasy, and this often has to do with the stakes at hand. Mythology could be related to ancient artifacts, lore, or more.
- Complex story-lines: Epic fantasy didn’t just get its name for nothing. This subgenre usually has a complex story at its center. There are a lot of elements to this story like politics, war, character relationships, and more. For the most part, epic fantasy ensures that there is a lot happening because it aims to be as grandiose as possible.
Low Fantasy
Low fantasy is pretty much fantasy on a much smaller scope than epic fantasy. Low fantasy takes a more grounded approach and prefers to often hone-in on a single plotline, character, or story. It’s much less fleshed out in terms of its world-building as well.
Here are some identifiable key elements to low fantasy:
- Limited magic: While epic fantasy prefers to give its magic system as much room to be detailed as possible, low fantasy is more restrained in its use and depiction of magic. The magic may exist more in the background and may be limited in its use and nature. Additionally, the magic systems in low fantasy are typically less detailed and less in-depth.
- Character-centric story: Low fantasy prefers its narrative to focus much more on its characters and their personal journeys rather than something that can impact the world. The protagonist of the story is often just a normal person who is pitted into some extraordinary circumstance that requires them to adapt quickly. This subgenre also prefers to deal with inner conflict, consequences, and moral dilemmas.
- Realistic settings: A setting that is more grounded in reality is typically preferred. These settings are more familiar, real-world locations. Fantasy elements are then woven into the reality of the story. A lot of historical fantasy and contemporary fantasy falls into this category.
- Gritty and dark tone: Low fantasy is typically much more embracing of the gritter, darker tones in story-telling. Violence, political conflict, ethical dilemmas, and more make up a pretty good chunk of the narrative focus of low fantasy. Low fantasy is where you’ll find a lot more morally gray heroes and tragic villains–basically, an exploration of humanity’s dark points and flaws.
Which Should You Write?
The answer to this question is a bit tough to give, because in reality, what you want to write is pretty much what you enjoy. But for the most part, you should identify your goal with your story and what you want to see ultimately happen with it. Each subgenre comes with its own set of unique features, and each of these unique features serve to tell their own story.
Both subgenres have contributed a ton to the overall world of fantasy. Some great epic fantasies are things like The Lord of the Rings, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and more. Great low fantasies are things like Stardust and Dishonored. They are all great works of literature, and they al follow along with what makes them part of their respective subgenres.
I tend to write more on the high fantasy side of things. That’s because the magic system means A LOT to my books, the overall conflicts tend to be on a grand scale (think the whole universe in The Fallen Age Saga), and there tends to be a lot of stories that intertwine at some point along the way.
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