FANTASY GLOSSARY

Here are some terms and examples if you're just starting to put your toe in the water of the Fantasy genre.  These are just my opinions and I consider the categories to overlap a lot. Many examples could fit in multiple categories such as Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, which could be Alternate History, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Urban Fantasy. Please feel free to check back at Obsidianbookshelf.com for updates as this list continues to evolve.  See also Fantasy by Topic for more fantasy fiction suggestions.

Alternate History. This reworks elements of actual history in a "what-if" mode. What if the South won the Civil War? What if vampires existed all along and we've always made room for them in contemporary society?  What if human history had developed along a certain timeline? If the story gets technical and futuristic, it can turn into science-fiction.  If it concerns the past or introduces magic, it is a sub-genre of fantasy.  A key feature of alternative history is its wide focus, which goes beyond individual characters to show how human society has been shaped by that particular "what-if" scenario. See Historical Fiction.

Examples of Alternate History Fantasy:
Card, Orson Scott - The Alvin Maker series.  Start with  Seventh Son.
Dick, Philip K. –  The Man in the High Castle.
Irvine, Alexander C. - The Narrows
Novik, Naomi – The Temeraire series.  Start with  His Majesty's Dragon.
 
Dark Fantasy. This stuff sits on the borderline between Fantasy and Horror.  Typically its fantasy-world setting or its emphasis on magic keeps it from being completely Horror, yet its bleak tone and violent themes set it apart from Fantasy. Vampire fiction typically falls into Dark Fantasy. 

Examples of Dark Fantasy:
Barker, Clive –  Imajica
Beecroft, Alex – The Witch's Boy

High Fantasy. This is serious, epic stuff set in a medieval fantasy world. Typical elements include huge confrontations between absolute good and absolute evil, quests, coming-of-age stories, gargantuan battlefield scenes, sorcery, mythical races of people such as elves and dwarves, and court politics. Sometimes you hear the term Low Fantasy. Low Fantasy is a catch-all term for everything that's not High Fantasy: stuff like Sword-and-Sorcery Fantasy and Urban Fantasy that is less epic in scope and morally ambiguous.

Examples of High Fantasy: 
Le Guin, Ursula - Earthsea series.  Start with  A Wizard of Earthsea
Tolkien, J.R.R.  - Lord of the Rings series.  Start with The Fellowship of the Ring

Historical Fantasy. In my opinion, the setting in Historical Fantasy has parallels to our historic past, but is not as easily recognizable as the setting in Alternate History Fantasy. The author may have started with the bare bones of a certain time period and then made up a lot of the window-dressing. Or the story could be set in the recognizable past and contain supernatural elements, but have such a small focus on the main character that you don't get that sense of overall society-shaping that you do in Alternate History Fantasy. 

Examples of Historical Fantasy:
Carey, Jacqueline - Kushiel series.  Start with  Kushiel's Dart
Martin, George R. R. - A Song of Ice and Fire series.  Start with  A Game of Thrones
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda -  Tomoe Gozen.
Cherryh, C. J. - Rusalka  

Parallel World Fantasy.  This type of story has the main character traveling back and forth from our mundane world to a made-up fantasy world. From there, the story can develop along High Fantasy or Low Fantasy lines. One problem with this type of fantasy: how to handle the main character's reaction at ending up in the parallel world.  It can be a time-waster to process the shock and denial that an adult character would realistically feel. Parallel World Fantasy is a time-honored tradition in children's literature, and children tend to accept magical events with no questions asked. Another problem: it's extremely hard to make the parallel world vivid and believable when you've got our own world right there for contrast. I never found Narnia to be all that convincing.

Examples of Parallel World Fantasy:
Anthony, Mark – Last Rune series.  Start with  Beyond the Pale.
Lewis, C. S. – Narnia series.  Start with  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Paranormal Romance. See Urban Fantasy.

Steampunk.

Examples of Steampunk Fantasy:
Bishop, K. J. -  The Etched City
Hale, Ginn - Wicked Gentlemen
Mieville, China -  Perdido Street Station
Swanwick, Michael -  The Iron Dragon's Daughter

Sword and Sorcery. This is fantasy-adventure and usually involves personal quests rather than epic stuff. It's set in a fantasy world, usually medieval, and sometimes (in the less ambitious stories) in a crappy, generic Dungeons-&-Dragons type world. The old-style Sword-and-Sorcery (e.g., Robert E. Howard's Conan) has been waning in popularity since the 1980s to be replaced with more sophisticated stories like Transformation by Carol Berg, which explore character flaws and motives.

Examples of Sword & Sorcery Fantasy:
Abbey, Lynn  Daughter of the Bright Moon
Berg, Carol -  Transformation
Moore, C. L. - Jirel of Joiry

Techno-Fantasy. I'll admit it: this is my big interest. The term "techno-fantasy" is used in different contexts on the web. In The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant, techno-fantasy is broadly defined as any fantasy that contains scientific and technological trappings (p.935).

What I mean by it is fantasy that (1) is set in a completely made-up world, and (2) contains a "modern" level of technology.  It differs from Urban Fantasy and Alternate-History Fantasy in that the setting is not closely based on a recognizable historical time-period.  It differs from Steampunk in that the level of technology is advanced beyond the Victorian age.  It differs from Science Fiction in that magic or supernatural elements are present.  Sometimes you'll hear it referred to as "Science Fantasy" – but, to me, Science-Fantasy implies concept-driven fiction that devalues character and story. When I write techno-fantasy, I include modern technology only as a background element for atmosphere, and my main interest is characters and story.

Examples of Techno-Fantasy: 
Most of what I've seen overlaps into Steampunk, and is not as technologically advanced as I would prefer.  Stay tuned for more examples as I find them.
My own first fantasy novel!
Hajicek, Jesse – The God Eaters
Mieville, China –  Iron Council
Rydill, Jessica  Children of the Shaman
Rydill, Jessica  The Glass Mountain

Urban Fantasy. This puts magical elements and sometimes mythical races such as elves and dwarves into urban cityscapes in our modern world. It's not the same as the Parallel World Fantasy such as the Narnia series where characters pass from our world to a fantasy world. See Paranormal Romance.

Examples of Urban Fantasy:
Bull, Emma - War for the Oaks
Butcher, Jim – Dresden Files series.  Start with  Storm Front
Caine, Rachel – Weather Wardens series.  Start with  Ill Wind
Hamilton, Laurell K. – Anita Blake series. Start with Guilty Pleasures
Harrison, Kim – Rachel Morgan series.  Start with  Dead Witch Walking
Sedia, Ekaterina - The Secret History of Moscow See my review of The Secret History of Moscow

Links:
Choosing Names for Characters in Fantasy Fiction
Clichés to Avoid - What Beginners Do in Fantasy Fiction
How to Finish Writing Your Novel
Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Fantasy Title
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