I have read a wide range of books through out the years. Every single one of them have something interested me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. However, if you ask me which is my favourite type of book, I would say fantasy novels without hesitation.
According to MasterClass (2021), fantasy is a genre of literature which has magical and supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world. Many writers use our real world as a setting for their fantasy world with magical elements. However, the imaginary universes are created entirely by their own imagination, with their own physical laws, logic, imaginary races and creatures. To sum up, fantasy usually has no tied to reality or scientific fact. (MasterClass staff, 2021) (Carmody, n.d)
The majority of people are not aware of it but fantasy literature has a long and ancient history. Myths and folklore have been an essential part of every culture and country on this planet. They have been used to convey lessons or to pass on part of their history. Stories such as One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Journey to the West, The Brothers Grimm collections, Hans Christian Andersen stories, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology are amongst the most popular and recognisable collections that are known internationally. (Pagan, 2020)
Modern fantasy started in nineteenth century. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) becomes one of the most groundbreaking and influential fantasy novels of all time along with George MacDonald’s Phantastes (1858) and William Morris’s The Well at the World’s End (1896) (MasterClass staff, 2021). These series are joined with L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), as well as J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (1904) to create a new sub genre known as “The Lost World”. (Pagan, 2020)
Building upon these fantastic legacies, J. R. R. Tolkien created the first high fantasy, The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), becoming the father of modern fantasy (Shear, 2018). Following in his footsteps are C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series (1950-1956), and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series (1968-2001), Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara (1977) and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels (1997-2007) (Carmody, n.d). Out of all these novels, the one I like the most is Harry Potter series. That doesn’t means I don’t like others though. To me, every novels have their own charms.
Fantasy has evolved and become more diverse and broad, with many different sub genres. Nevertheless, it follows a pattern with several common narrative themes. Some of the most common tropes for fantasy novels are good and evil, the quest for power or knowledge, coming of age, love, betrayal, epic journey, and an unlikely or reluctant hero. In the story, there may be battles between tradition and change, individual and society, man and nature, man and himself, etc (MasterClass staff, 2021).
My favourite stories feature is man and themselves. It is a common trope when the character struggles to fight with their inner self at the face of changing. The process from confusion and scared of changing to accepting and moving forward is beautiful. It shows everyone can become better if they try.
Reference
MasterClass staff. (2021). What Is the Fantasy Genre? History of Fantasy and Subgenres and Types of Fantasy in Literature. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-fantasy-genre-history-of-fantasy-and-subgenres-and-types-of-fantasy-in-literature#what-are-the-common-elements-and-characteristics-of-the-fantasy-genre.
Pagan, A. (2020). Hallmarks of Fantasy: A Brief History of the Genre. New York Public Library. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2020/05/18/hallmarks-fantasy-brief-history-fantasy.
Shear, J. (2018). A Brief History of the Fantasy Genre. Jane Friedman. https://www.janefriedman.com/a-brief-history-of-the-fantasy-genre/.
Carmody, A. (n.d). The Fascinating History Behind the Fantasy Genre. Fantasy Book Fanatic. https://fantasybookfanatic.com/the-fascinating-history-behind-the-fantasy-genre/.
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