Subgenre of fantasy fiction defined by a "mundane" setting
Fantasy
Media
Anime
Art
Artists
Authors
Comics
Films
Podcasts
Literature
Magazines
Manga
Publishers
Light novels
Television
Webcomics
Genre studies
Creatures
History
Early history
Magic
Magic item
Magic system
Magician
Mythopoeia
Tropes
Fantasy worlds
Campaign settings
Subgenres
Bangsian
Children's
Comedic
Contemporary
Dark
Fairy tale
Parody
Fantastique
Of manners
Folklore
Gaslamp
Ghost story
Grimdark
Hard
High
Historical
Isekai
LitRPG
Lovecraftian horror
Low
Magical girl
Mythpunk
Occult detective fiction
Romantic
Science
Shenmo fiction
Splatterpunk
Superhero fiction
Supernatural fiction
Sword-and-sandal
Sword and sorcery
Tokusatsu
Urban
Weird
Western
Wuxia
Fandom
Harry Potter fandom
Lovecraft fandom
Tolkien fandom
Categories
Fantasy
Awards
Subgenres
Television
Tropes
Portal
v
t
e
Low fantasy, or intrusion fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction in which magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world.[1][2] The term thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in fictional worlds that have their own sets of rules and physical laws.
Intrusion fantasy places less emphasis on elements typically associated with fantasy and sets a narrative in realistic environments with elements of the fantastical. Sometimes, there are just enough fantastical elements to make ambiguous the boundary between what is real and what is purely psychological or supernatural. The word "low" refers to the prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work and is not a remark on the work's overall quality.
An alternative definition, common in role-playing games, rests on the story and characters being more realistic and less mythic in scope. Thus, some works like Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series can be high fantasy according to the first definition but low fantasy according to the second.[3] With other works, such as the TV series Supernatural, the opposite is true.
^A commonly-quoted definition is that low fantasy involves "nonrational happenings that are without causality or rationality because they occur in the rational world where such things are not supposed to occur" (Boyer, Robert; Zahorski, Kenneth J. (1984). Fantasists on Fantasy: A Collection of Critical Reflections. New York: Avon. Quoted in Stableford, Brian (2009). The A to Z of Fantasy Literature. Scarecrow Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-8108-6829-8.)
^"Narratives in which the fantastic element intrudes on the 'real world', as opposed to fantasies set all or partially in a Secondary World" (Wolfe, Gary K. (1982). Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Glossary and Guide to Scholarship. NY: Greenwood Press. p. 67. ISBN 0313229813.).
^Herron, Don, ed. (1984). The Dark Barbarian: The Writings of Robert E. Howard: A Critical Anthology. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 128. ISBN 9780313232817.
Lowfantasy, or intrusion fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction in which magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world. The term thus contrasts...
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fantasy world and usually inspired by mythology or folklore. The...
of fantasy. It is sometimes known as lowfantasy in contrast to high fantasy, which is primarily serious in intent and tone. The term "lowfantasy" is...
contemporary fantasy and lowfantasy genres can overlap as both are set in the real world. There are differences, however. Lowfantasies are set in the...
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic"...
itself. Urban fantasy is most often a sub-genre of lowfantasy (where magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world) and/or hard fantasy (treating magic...
fiction Fantasy By setting Epic / high fantasy Hard fantasy Historical fantasy Prehistoric fantasy Medieval fantasy Wuxia Lowfantasy Urban fantasy Paranormal...
2023. Players manage a mercenary band as it attempts to survive in a lowfantasy world that is trying to recover from a plague. After being hit by a magical...
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy...
Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console and the seventh main installment in the Final Fantasy series...
fiction – Genre of fiction Fantasy – Genre of speculative fiction Isekai – Speculative fiction genre Lowfantasy – Subgenre of fantasy fiction defined by a...
written and self-published by Shawn Tomkin. Its Ironlands setting is lowfantasy, set in a rugged frontier. The game received the 2019 ENNIE Gold Winner...
fictional world has a variety of inspirations from general high fantasy and lowfantasy, to corporate culture and corporate personality, to more specific...
Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes. It often combines fantasy...
American Gods (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and...
Tropical Fantasy is an inexpensive soft-drink, originally from Brooklyn, New York. Its low price of 49¢ per 21-ounce bottle led to its success in the...
of fantasy. It is sometimes known as lowfantasy in contrast to high fantasy, which is primarily serious in intent and tone. The term "lowfantasy" is...
Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy...
Final Fantasy VI, also known as Final Fantasy III from its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by...
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic...
In fantasy fiction, a lich (/ˈlɪtʃ/; from the Old English līċ, meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as...
2023. Davis, Mike; Denkmann, Libby (September 14, 2023). "'Fantasy A Gets a Mattress': Local low-budget movie gains momentum in Seattle". KUOW. Seattle,...
The Changeover: a Supernatural Romance is a lowfantasy novel for young adults by Margaret Mahy, published in 1984 by J. M. Dent in the U.K. It is set...
Global Information