Less Popular Fantasy Subgenres

There are many fantasy subgenres out there, of which the most popular subgenre for fantasy books is romance fantasy/romantic fantasy/romantasy. However romantasy is often blended with one or more other subgenres, such as historical fantasy/romantasy.

And yet... Hollywood still hasn't caught onto this and decided to cash in on what is a huge market out there for romantasy.

Still, there are many other subgenres worth exploring too, including quite a few of the less popular subgenres. Here's a list of some of the many different types of fantasy:

1. Mythic Fantasy

  • Incorporates real-world mythology into fantasy settings, focusing on ancient myths and folklore.

2. Weird Fantasy

  • Blends elements of the bizarre, grotesque, and unsettling, often crossing into the surreal.

3. Gaslamp Fantasy

  • A fantasy subgenre set in a Victorian or Edwardian-like era with magic as a core element.

4. Portal Fantasy

  • Involves characters who travel from the real world into a fantasy realm through portals or gateways.

5. Arcanepunk

  • Combines magic with technology in a world where the magical energy is used to power machines, often with a gritty or urban setting.

6. Mannerpunk

  • Set in a world where court politics and social etiquette dominate, often combining fantasy with intricate plots involving power, class, and subtle magic.

7. Silkpunk

  • A blend of Asian-inspired cultures and settings with technology based on organic materials, often emphasizing airships, kites, and fantastical beasts.

8. Grimdark Fantasy

  • A very dark, gritty form of fantasy where moral ambiguity, violence, and bleakness are key themes.

9. Heroic Fantasy

  • Focuses on larger-than-life heroes, often inspired by sword-and-sorcery tales but with a more optimistic tone.

10. Gothic Fantasy

  • Incorporates dark, atmospheric settings typical of Gothic literature but in a fantastical world, often blending horror and fantasy elements.

11. Celtic Fantasy

  • Inspired by Celtic mythology, folklore, and settings, often involving druids, fae, and ancient rituals.

12. Fairytale Retelling

  • Reimagines classic fairytales with new twists, often subverting or modernizing the original stories.

13. Dieselpunk Fantasy

  • A fantasy world based on early 20th-century technology (1920s-1950s), with a focus on machines and industrial aesthetics powered by magic.

14. Noblebright Fantasy

  • A more hopeful counterpart to grimdark, where characters fight for good, and while evil may exist, the world isn't entirely hopeless.

15. Afrofuturist Fantasy

  • Blends African mythology, cultures, and traditions with futuristic or fantastical settings.

16. Arabesque Fantasy

  • Draws inspiration from Middle Eastern mythology, culture, and aesthetics, often featuring desert landscapes, djinn, and bazaars.

17. Alchemical Fantasy

  • Focuses on themes of alchemy, blending science and magic, often set in a world where alchemical processes are key to power.

18. Eco-Fantasy

  • Explores environmental themes in a fantasy world, often with a focus on nature magic, druidic traditions, or the consequences of industrialization on magical ecosystems.

19. Historical Fantasy

  • A mix of real-world historical settings with fantastical elements, often set in a recognizable historical period with added magic or mythical creatures.

20. Prehistoric Fantasy

  • Set in a world inspired by or resembling prehistoric Earth, with fantastical elements such as primitive magic or mythological creatures.

21. Wuxia Fantasy

  • Draws from Chinese martial arts traditions and often involves heroes with supernatural fighting abilities in a fantastical setting.

22. Southern Gothic Fantasy

  • Combines the eerie, decaying atmosphere of Southern Gothic with fantasy elements like curses, spirits, and old magic.

23. Cozy Fantasy

  • Focuses on low-stakes, slice-of-life narratives in a fantastical setting, where the primary focus is on character relationships rather than epic conflicts.

24. Cottagecore Fantasy

  • A subgenre that romanticizes rural life, featuring small-scale magic, idyllic settings, and often a focus on nature, craftsmanship, and homesteading.

25. LitRPG Fantasy

  • A genre where the world follows game-like mechanics, and characters can level up, gain skills, or follow specific "classes" typical of RPGs (Role-Playing Games).

26. Splatterpunk Fantasy

  • A hyper-violent and gory form of fantasy that doesn’t shy away from blood, guts, and horror, often pushing the limits of explicit content.

27. Spiritual Fantasy

  • Focuses on religious or spiritual themes, where divine beings or cosmic forces play a central role in the narrative.

28. Lovecraftian Fantasy

  • A subgenre that blends the horror elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos with fantasy, emphasizing cosmic dread, ancient gods, and madness.

29. Cyberfantasy

  • Combines cyberpunk aesthetics with magic, where digital spaces are influenced by mystical forces, and hackers can be spellcasters.

30. Ghibli-Esque Fantasy

  • Inspired by the whimsical and imaginative style of Studio Ghibli films, focusing on childlike wonder, magical realism, and environmental or spiritual themes.

31. Steampunk Fantasy

  • A blend of 19th-century steam-powered technology with fantastical elements, often featuring airships, clockwork devices, and Victorian aesthetics.

32. Artpunk Fantasy

  • An experimental, avant-garde form of fantasy that challenges conventional storytelling structures and norms, often with strange and innovative world-building.

33. Supernatural Noir

  • A mix of noir detective stories with supernatural or fantastical elements, often set in a gritty, urban environment where magic is hidden or criminalized.

34. Urban Arcanum

  • A subgenre where modern cities exist alongside hidden magical societies, often featuring street-level magic, crime, and underground fantasy worlds.

35. Sword and Planet Fantasy

  • Combines planetary romance with swords-and-sorcery fantasy, usually set on alien worlds where swordplay and adventure are common.

36. Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy

  • Set in a world after a cataclysmic event, where magic or mythological creatures have emerged from the ruins of civilization.

37. Court Intrigue Fantasy

  • Focuses on palace politics, where characters maneuver through royal courts full of secret alliances, betrayals, and often subtle magic.

38. Utopian Fantasy

  • Depicts a fantastical world that is inherently peaceful, harmonious, or perfect, in contrast to dystopian narratives.

39. Insect Fantasy

  • A unique subgenre where insect-like beings are the main characters, or where magic and culture are closely tied to insect-like creatures or biology.

40. Science Fantasy

  • Blends futuristic science fiction elements with traditional fantasy, where technology and magic coexist in the same world.

See Also

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Arcane Tomes: Online Fantasy Bookstore for Indie Authors

So...

How should I put this?

I have opened an online fantasy bookstore for indie authors. That pretty much sums it up. ArcaneTomes.org showcases indie authors who write fantasy books, but it doesn't directly sell the books itself. It links to other websites where readers can choose to purchase the books in question.

So is it a bookshop, or just a website/blog? Well. Kinda both. It is in the business of selling books, but doesn't make a profit. I have downplayed the blog aspect of the website, focusing instead on the Bookshelf in which all of the books are listed alphabetically.

I also have plans for a separate bookshelf which list by author last name.

I am using the blog section as a way to post updates to the website and to organize the different subgenres of fantasy, including:

For the readers, this is potentially an easier way to find indie authors that they might enjoy because they can choose to browse specific subgenres.

And for the authors, this means that readers can more easily find their work, and that they hopefully aren't wasting time trying to promote their book via Facebook/etc and other spammy websites. (Seriously, I rarely go on Facebook any more because it is so full of spam.)

Arcane Tomes also affords me another venue for promoting Peasant Magazine, my fantasy/historical fiction magazine.

And my YouTube channel that I use for unboxing videos and book reviews (mostly of fantasy books), this means another place where I can post the videos that concern indie fantasy books. I haven't done so yet, but I will be doing it sometime in the near future.

My focus currently is on attracting indie fantasy authors so that I can expand the number of authors and books listed on the bookshelf.

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BETA Reading: Chapter One of "The Forgotten Swordsman"

Hello Everyone!


Thank you for taking part by being BETA readers for my book "The Forgotten Swordsman".

I have never had BETA or ARC readers before, and I admit I am new to the concept. I started publishing my work in 1992, and this particular project was originally written in 1997 and then revised in 2020-2021. I am currently revising it again, readying for publication and I crave feedback so that I can make improvements.

I am not familiar with how to organize BETA reading, so I apologize if my methods are unusual or unorthodox. This is my first time doing this.

I am going to start by asking: What do you think of the title "The Forgotten Swordsman"? What does it make you think of? Would you give the title a thumbs up or thumbs down? Why do you like it or dislike the title?

Next I have the first chapter, which you can read by visiting Google Docs at the following URL:

LINK FOR CHAPTER ONE OF "The Forgotten Swordsman"
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rZ6LAK4-kxBDn7dLXm1NgmZZrndmp0VBPXx_N0krlO4/edit?usp=sharing

You can post comments and reactions via the Suggestion Mode on the Google Document, but I also have a number of questions that you can respond to via email. These questions are OPTIONAL. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to or don't have the time.

What do you think of the first chapter?

What do you like or dislike about it?

Do you want more descriptive details, less or do you feel it is the goldilocks amount already?

Having read it, would you want to keep reading or have you changed your mind?

I appreciate everyone's honest responses and both positive and negative feedback is useful to me in order to make improvements.

If you wish to discontinue / "unvolunteer" just let me know and there's no hard feelings. I have 3 jobs, 2 kids, a wife and leukemia, so I am fully aware of what it is like to be too busy and when life decides to get in the way.

If you wish to continue I can give you access to a larger section of the novel so that you can read and provide feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you available for a manuscript swap?

No, sorry. I don't have a lot of time available, but I do really appreciate everyone who volunteers to help out by being BETA readers and providing feedback so that I can make improvements to my work.

Are you willing to pay for BETA reading services?

No, sorry. Not interested. Thanks for your time however.

Is there a way that we BETA readers can discuss your work?

Sure, I recommend using Twitter/Threads/Instagam and the hashtags #ForgottenSwordsman and/or #CharlesMoffat to communicate with other readers.

Do you speak any Russian or Ukrainian?

Yes, actually I am currently learning both Russian and Ukrainian (and Romanian). I do a lot of research when writing my books, and learning the languages, the culture, the food, etc is part of how I immerse myself in the writing process.

Are you aware that there is currently a war going on in Ukraine?

Yes, I am very much aware of this. I am not writing my books in a vacuum. My writing is heavily influenced by historical events.

I saw you are also looking for ARC readers?

Yes, this is correct. I am also looking for ARC readers who can read the finished product when the book is finished and ready to publish. If you wish to be an ARC reader please let me know.

What is Peasant Magazine?

Peasant Magazine is a fantasy / historical fiction magazine that I run in my spare time that publishes short stories. It is published infrequently whenever I find the time. I use the email address peasantmagazine@gmail.com for the magazine correspondence and also for my writing career.

Do you have other books or short stories we can check out?

Yes, of course. You can download the free PDF versions of Peasant Magazine, which contain samples of my work and the work of other writers. You can find my other books at amazon.com/author/moffat. Some of my ebook short stories are also periodically free too.

If you have additional questions or comments feel free to do so.

Thank you everyone for your time and I look forward to reading your responses to my work!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
fiction.charlesmoffat.com

:)
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