Learn About Genres: Part 1

October 18, 2010

I love books. This is sort of an obvious statement considering my chosen career path is in the library. One thing I love the most about books and libraries is learning enough about books to help other people fall in love with them too. This is a constant learning process, and one of the ways to learn is to discover genres, their subgenres and the authors within them.  So, I am going to share my path of discovery through the genres with all of you.

Today, I have been learning about the genre of Fantasy. This is a somewhat confusing category for those who are just starting to learn about them. The first thing to know is that there is, in fact, a difference between Fantasy and Science Fiction. These two do overlap, and can overlap quite a bit. However, the general consensus is that Science Fiction is based on technology, and the future. Fantasy is about a world that never could exist.  It is a world that is ruled by magic and mythical creatures.

The next thing to know is that every genre has different themes within them to cater to peoples’ tastes and desires of reading. Here are the subgenres of fantasy, a small description of each, and a great author with whom to start out.

Historical fantasy: Marion Zimmer Bradley: Avalon series (Mists of Avalon, bk. 1)
Urban fantasy: Sherrilyn Kenyon: Dark Hunger series (Fantasy lover, bk. 1)
Dark fantasy: Stephen King: Dark Tower series (The Gunslinger, bk. 1)
High fantasy: classic: J.R.R. Tolkien: Lord Of the Rings series (The Fellowship of the Ring, bk. 1)
Contemporary: Raymond E. Feist: Demonwar saga (Rides a Dread Legion, bk. 1)
Humorous fantasy: Terry Pratchett: Discworld series (The Color of Magic, bk. 1)
Romantic fantasy: J.R. Ward: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Dark lover, bk. 1)
Inspirational fantasy: contemporary: Ted Dekker: Book Circle trilogy (Black, bk. 1)
Classic: C.S. Lewis : The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe series (Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, bk. 1)

Kathleen A.
North Oak Branch

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