Today, the fantasy genre is very popular. Some condescendingly call such literature entertaining and base. But only a person who is completely unfamiliar with the best examples of this genre can say so.
What is fantasy?
Fantasy genre - a type of science fiction based on fabulous and mythological motifs. In the form in which it is presented now, took shape at the beginning of the XX century. Nowadays, this genre is used in painting, cinema, board and computer games.
The works of this genre are similar to adventure novels, the events of which occur in fantastic worlds close to the real Middle Ages. Their heroes are faced with fantastic supernatural beings and phenomena.
Fantasy and science fiction
The two genres are really similar, but science fiction seeks to scientifically explain the world in which the story of the book unfolds. Fantasy takes everything for granted, the very existence of the world of these works does not speak out relatively real in any way - you can consider them parallel or located on other planets. The physical laws of fantasy spaces also do not correspond to those that exist in our world. There may exist mythical races (gnomes, elves, trolls), gods, ghosts, sorcerers, magical animals (unicorns and griffins).
Fantasy differs from a fairy tale in that miracles and magical phenomena are considered to be something natural, ordinary and even everyday.
Fantasy genre
Gradually, fantasy as a genre began to grow, and he had his own branches and subgenres:
- Epic Fantasy.
- Heroic Fantasy.
- Slavic fantasy.
- Historical fantasy.
- City fantasy.
- Humorous fantasy.
- Children's fantasy.
How did it all start?
It is no secret that any of the emerging genres necessarily has predecessors. These are works in which, one way or another, guess the motives, plot moves and tricks of the new genre. Fantasy was no exception, and he found predecessors. So who are they, the first fantasy authors?
Jonathan Swift, who wrote the amazing Gulliver's Travels novel. The work is based on a fabulous, even archetypal, travel motive. The hero finds himself in different countries, whose laws do not correspond to ours at all, he gets acquainted with wonderful creatures and fantastic animals - Lilliputians, giants, and guingnms. Of course, this work is not just an ancient example of science fiction literature - it is a masterpiece of classical literature.
Mary Shelley - a woman who wrote a Gothic novel, which became for many future generations an inexhaustible source of ideas and interpretations - "Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus." Although this is a work, more can be attributed to science fiction, but it also has fantasy motifs.
Lewis Carroll is a mathematician who created an amazing children's story - āAlice in Wonderlandā. His world, full of paradoxes and illogical phenomena, had a huge impact on science fiction in general.
How not to remember Bram Stoker, the creator of the famous "Dracula". This vampire novel has generated many imitations in both literature and cinema. Especially now vampire fantasy has gained immense popularity. And it all began with the most ordinary and not standing out in anything, except for its cruelty, historical personality.
What is happening in the fantasy world today?
The rating of fantasy books to date was not only lazy. This is, of course, connected with the incredible popularity of the genre. There are more and more writers appearing, it is becoming more and more difficult to find really high-quality, talentedly written literature in this huge variety of options.
But the best fantasy is known even to those who have never been interested in this genre. The names of these works by ear, their film adaptations turn into significant events for the cinema. So, what works are included in a small number, which can be called classics of the genre?
John Ronald Roel Tolkien
Who, if not the creator of āThe Hobbitā and āThe Lord of the Ringsā, should head the rating of fantasy books?
An epic novel in three parts - āThe Lord of the Ringsā - the most famous fantasy work. This book was the most popular in the twentieth century and continues to be published to this day. No other work has had such an impact on literature and world culture.
The trilogy was a continuation of the great fantasy tale "The Hobbit". Tolkien, being an Oxford professor of philology and specializing in medieval myths of Northern Europe, believed that England lacked its own epic, and therefore it was necessary to create it. With these thoughts, the writer took up the continuation of The Hobbit.
The novel was published in 1954ā1955. They took the "Lord of the Rings" ambiguously. Tolkienās colleagues were delighted, many readers also appreciated the book, but newspaper critics found a number of shortcomings in it: the lack of character characterization, conservatism. However, if you recall that the author originally conceived the epic, such claims are eliminated by themselves. The epos itself is a conservative genre that does not provide for the special psychologism of its heroes.
Today, The Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy.
Ursula Le Guin
The cycle of the wizard Gede, starting with the novel āThe Wizard of the Seaside,ā often led the list of fantasy books. The creation of an American writer, a doctor of philosophical sciences and a laureate of many literary awards, can really be called a model of excellent fantasy literature that captivates both adults and children.
The novels are united by the scene - the wonderful and striking world of the Earth Sea, and the main characters - the Great Magician Ged and the priestess Tenar. This is one of the best examples of fantasy, adventure lies in wait at every turn, and the world is full of unexpected encounters and unprecedented stories.
Clive Staples Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series that combines fantasy tales, beautiful and amazing stories about a magical land. Goodness and love rule there, birds and animals can talk, and forests are inhabited by magical creatures.
The cycle consists of seven books, which are translated into more than 40 languages āāof the world.
Andrzej Sapkowski
Stories about the witcher Geralt have long become popular and have a huge number of fans and admirers. But the world and events of The Witcher are very different from ordinary fantasy adventures. Gradually, the semi- fairy-tale world, whose heroes are well-disguised fairy-tale characters (Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, knights, kings, jesters, gnomes, elves, etc.), turns into a cruel, bloody space where magicians weave intrigues and wage wars ; beautiful elves are ready to cut the throat of any person they meet; and in every forest or abandoned basement you can meet a bloodthirsty monster. Such is the unfriendly, dangerous, but terribly attractive world of the witcher Geralt.
Based on the saga, the series was shot, computer games that were very successful were released, a rock opera was staged, and comics were also published in Poland, the writerās homeland.
George Martin, āA Song of Ice and Fireā
Today, few have heard of this cycle. And all thanks to the HBO television series, but even before its release, the books of the series took first place on the New York Times bestseller lists. The rating of fantasy books in this series is constantly growing.
D. Martin created an epic saga about the world of the Seven Kingdoms. A world where eternal summer and eternal winter coexist. About the world of heroes and traitors, kings and bastards, knights and murderers. And fate brought them all together to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
Joan C. Rowling
How many of us have not heard of an orphan boy with a scar in the form of a lightning? The Harry Potter series rightfully led the list of fantasy bestsellers. But initially the publishers refused to print the first book of the series - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, assuring that it would not be popular.
The series about the wizard boy today has received several literary awards, has become the best-selling in history and formed the basis of films, which, by the way, also became the highest grossing series of films in the history of cinema.
Terry Pratchett
A series of books about the Flat World by Terry Pratchett is an excellent example of subtle English humor, incredible adventures and charming heroes. Even Death is not an old woman with a scythe, but a seeker of the meaning of life, an eternally rushing character who drives around on a white horse and has a weakness for cats.
In 2009, Pratchett was promoted to knight-bachelor by Elizabeth II herself. Based on his works, several films were shot and animated series were created.
The rating of fantasy books can be infinitely long, since today many beautiful works have already been written, listing which will take a lot of time, and how many more worthy creations will be released?