Epic Fantasy and High Fantasy, the same or different?

[Four_Elements]

Epic Fantasy - Set in medieval times, these books focus on a good-versus-evil story. Tolkien is the founder of this sub-genre.

High Fantasy - Extremely character-driven fantasy that often focuses on a greater good rather than the well-being of the characters.

Differences between the two
Some would classify Epic Fantasy and High Fantasy together. Others would say that they are separate sub-genres sharing both similarities and differences with each other. I would agree with the latter. After doing some research on books called Epic Fantasy and others called High Fantasy, I have found a few things that distinguish the two.


Epic Fantasy:
takes place in medieval times

often uses good-versus-evil as the central story

usually involves a large cast of characters

relies on sub-plots to advance the story

Average Length: 120,000-160,000 words


High Fantasy:
takes place in medieval or modern times

involves magic

focuses on fewer characters and often relies heavily on character growth

sometimes presents situations in shades of gray, and lets the characters decide what is right

Average Length: 70,000-100,000 words


Am I right about this? It would explain a lot of things, such as why we see 500+ page epic fantasy books when the typical length of fantasy is supposed to be about 70,000 words.

[fedorable1]

Originally Posted by Four_Elements

Am I right about this? It would explain a lot of things, such as why we see 500+ page epic fantasy books when the typical length of fantasy is supposed to be about 70,000 words.

Pretty much. The way I see it, High Fantasy is more of a setting. It's the time period. It's the situation. It's the way the world works, and the way the characters deal with that world. The situations tend to be much more personal, and the heart and change within a character is what matters most.

Epic Fantasy, however, is more of the scale. The entire world is affected. The fate of good and light hangs in the balance versus a dark force. The Lord of the Rings was a perfect example. All of Middle Earth depended on the success of the fellowship and the forces of good - or else all would be lost in eternal darkness. There is no middle ground here.

There are many elements that both subgenres share, but that is the basic difference.

[Vomaxx]

The term "High Fantasy" has always troubled me slightly, as it leads to the question, What is low fantasy?

[Saanen]

Originally Posted by Vomaxx

The term "High Fantasy" has always troubled me slightly, as it leads to the question, What is low fantasy?

The Xanth books? :p

[preyer]

i loved the xanth books... when i was fourteen.

i've always considered high fantasy to be more fantastical with more cliched characters. epic suggests to me an ending, not only of the great evil, but oftentimes the cast themselves whereas high fantasy would have them ride off into the sunset. maybe that's just me.

low fantasy is, well.

Lawrence Watt-Evan's With A Single Spell pretty much. The key difference is sometimes a grungier feel than, say, High Fantasy, and the magic is generally more mundane. At least, that's my take on it.

[Four_Elements]

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/fsubgenre.html gives a brief description of each sub-genre.

[Pthom]

Because of the deceptions of the originator of this thread, we are closing it. We could have just deleted it, but there are responses here that may be valuable to others. However, to continue any of the topics discussed here, please choose another thread or begin a new one.

Thank you for understanding.