Books come in all shapes, sizes, and genres, but one genre in particular has been culturally significant since it arose: Fantasy. But why? What is about the strange new worlds that we are transported into that makes fantasy so amazing? Why do people seem to never grow tired of fantasy? And why is fantasy such a popular and enduring genre to this very day?
Look at some of the most popular TV shows, movies, video games, and books — many are within the genre of fantasy. Heck, even my books are fantasy too!
I thought of this question while I was reading Brandon Sanderson’s Words of Radiance the other day. I was sitting in a lecture not listening and doing some reading and I found myself immersed fully in the story. It got me thinking pretty hard about why fantasy is so popular. And I think I’ve come up with a few good reasons:
1. It Takes Us to New Places
One of the best parts about reading a new book is being transported to the world of that book. With fantasy, it’s hard to not be transported because fantasy often takes place in a world that’s unfamiliar to us.
Stories like The Lord of the Rings and even my series The Fallen Age Saga all work to curate this new and interesting world that we’ve never seen before. It makes it so much more interesting when we can see the vision of the author in the world.
Fantasy worlds also often include things that don’t exist on Earth like dragons and strange creatures. The world-building is also typically quite powerful, making fantasy worlds much more descriptive and immersive.
And if you’d like some help or you want me to world-build for you, you can book my services through Fiverr!
2. Fantasy Often Follows the Hero’s Quest
Epic Fantasy or high fantasy as it’s also referred to as often takes the hero’s journey or the hero’s quest approach. This is a term that basically means that a story revolves around someone that is the “chosen one.” This “chosen one” has to basically go on an epic quest to save the world. Maybe not the whole world, but they’ve got a bad guy to stop typically and they must discover themselves too.
People really love the story of a hero who goes from nothing to something over the course of a story. It’s why this format has been so popular since the earlier days of storytelling. We love to see someone ordinary like us become someone super powerful. It’s unrealistic for the most part, but the dynamism and character growth displayed is awe-inspiring.
The hero’s quest often involves peril, trials, and tribulations that help to make the hero more relatable to us readers. We love to see someone overcoming challenges, and I think that’s what helps the structure of fantasy stories appeal to so many people.
3. Magic! Lots of it Too!
Who doesn’t love to read about the crazy magic systems fantasy authors create? I personally love designing them because you can do something different and unique every time.
Stories like Harry Potter prove that people love a good magic system. Magic is something that is portrayed as a powerful tool for the hero to use. The opposing forces often have magic too, and it’s usually super powerful and much harder to contend with. It makes the hero’s quest that much more compelling.
We as readers love to see what magic does for the story and for the characters. It’s also something that can hinder or help the hero, making it complex. Plus, it’s not realistic but it’s interesting nonetheless. It makes reading a fantasy story full of more wonder.
Magic is also a big defining piece of what made fantasy such a popular genre in the first place. Magic helps to create a bridge with the reader to show them why they should be invested in a world outside of their own!
4. Fantasy Showcases Variety
Fantasy stories that take place in epic worlds often include tons of different creatures, cultures, religions, languages, magic systems, and more. Simply put, their capacity to show variety in a world is powerful.
We live in a world that’s full of different things and we all are aware of so many of these differences. However, fantasy diversifies the world in ways that we may not see on Earth. That ties right back into the idea of it being really unique world-building. But seriously, who wouldn’t want to travel to a whole different world and see all these differences at play?
Plus, fantasy stories have lots of room to make a story more appealing to wider audiences with their capacity to showcase so many different groups of people.
5. Fantasy is Longer to Read
I think sometimes the appeal of longer books is overlooked. A lot of people seem to think that if a book is just too long then it’s not entertaining to read. I’d like to counter that and say that the benefit of having a longer story is having more time to grow with the characters and the world.
One of the biggest pluses about fantasy is the fact that it can span across so many books. If you yearn for more of the universe you’re reading about, you’ll be able to get more.
Plus, fantasy is typically full of action and adventure, which helps to make a longer read feel much faster than you think.
But what are your thoughts on this subject? Why do you think fantasy is such a popular genre? Let me know in the comments below.
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