“High fantasy” and “low fantasy” are the oldest labels on the fantasy shelf, and the most misunderstood. They are not about quality, and they are not quite about how much magic a book has. They are about where the story happens.
This guide explains the distinction with examples, then walks through fourteen other subgenres readers meet on bookshop shelves and in recommendations, with a book to start each one.
The short answer
- High fantasy is set entirely in an invented world, a “secondary world” with its own geography, history and rules. The Lord of the Rings, Earthsea and The Wheel of Time are high fantasy.
- Low fantasy is set in our world, or a world very like it, with magic intruding. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Book of Lost Things (which starts in wartime England) lean low.
The terms come from criticism of the 1970s, and the split between a “secondary world” and the “primary world” goes back to Tolkien’s 1939 lecture On Fairy-Stories, where he argued that a good fantasy writer is a “sub-creator” who makes a secondary world the reader’s mind can enter.
A second, looser meaning
Readers also use “high” and “low” to describe scale and tone, and this is where confusion starts.
| “High” in this sense | “Low” in this sense | |
|---|---|---|
| Stakes | The fate of the world | A person, a family, a town |
| Heroes | Kings, chosen ones, wizards | Thieves, soldiers, ordinary people |
| Magic | Common and grand | Rare, costly, often feared |
| Tone | Noble, mythic | Earthy, gritty, ironic |
By this measure, Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law (an invented world, but mud, cynicism and little magic) is sometimes called low fantasy, even though by the original definition it is high fantasy. Neither usage is wrong, but it helps to know which one a reviewer means. When in doubt, ask “where is it set?” for the first meaning, and “how big and how noble?” for the second.
Examples side by side
| Book | Setting | Scale | Usually called |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien | Invented world | World-ending | High |
| A Wizard of Earthsea, Le Guin | Invented world | Personal, then mythic | High |
| The Name of the Wind, Rothfuss | Invented world | Personal | High (personal scale) |
| A Game of Thrones, Martin | Invented world | Political, gritty | High by setting, “low” by tone |
| Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Clarke | Regency England | National | Low (historical) |
| The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman | Sussex, 1960s | Personal | Low |
| Piranesi, Clarke | Another world reached from ours | Personal | Portal / low |
| Harry Potter, Rowling | Hidden world inside Britain | Grows to epic | Low (urban/hidden-world), epic in scale |
The subgenres of fantasy
Subgenres overlap, and most books sit in two or three. Use these as directions, not boxes.
1. Epic fantasy
Long, multi-volume stories with large casts, wars and world-changing stakes. Almost always high fantasy. Start with: The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien), The Eye of the World (Robert Jordan), The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson). More: books like The Lord of the Rings.
2. Sword and sorcery
Fast, violent, episodic adventures of a lone warrior or a pair of rogues, with dark magic and no grand destiny. Robert E. Howard invented the form with Conan in the 1930s; Fritz Leiber named it in 1961. Start with: Fritz Leiber’s Swords and Deviltry, Howard’s Conan stories, or Howard Andrew Jones’s The Desert of Souls.
3. Grimdark
Morally grey or black characters, violence without glory, and worlds where good does not reliably win. The name comes from the tagline of the game Warhammer 40,000: “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” Start with: The Blade Itself (Joe Abercrombie). More: grimdark fantasy books.
4. Cozy fantasy
Low stakes, warmth, found family and small pleasures: tea shops, inns, bakeries. The opposite pole to grimdark, and one of the fastest-growing shelves of the 2020s. Start with: Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree). More: cozy fantasy books.
5. Romantasy
Fantasy in which the romance is a main plot, not a subplot. Start with: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas) or Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros). More: romantasy books.
6. Urban fantasy
Magic in a modern city, often with a detective or mercenary hero. Overlaps with paranormal romance. Start with: Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch), Storm Front (Jim Butcher).
7. Portal fantasy
A character from our world passes through a door, wardrobe, rabbit hole or wall into another. The oldest shape of the modern genre. Start with: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis), Every Heart a Doorway (Seanan McGuire). More: our essay on impossible doors.
8. Historical fantasy
Real history with magic woven in. Start with: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke), The Bear and the Nightingale (Katherine Arden).
9. Mythic fantasy and retellings
Old myths, epics and fairy tales retold or reimagined. Start with: Circe (Madeline Miller), Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik).
10. Dark fantasy
Fantasy shaded into horror: dread, monstrous things, and fear as the main effect. Different from grimdark, which is about moral darkness rather than supernatural horror. Start with: The Book of Lost Things (John Connolly). See our reader’s guide.
11. Fairy-tale and fae fantasy
Stories built from the rules of faerie: bargains, names, iron and courts. Start with: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell again, or The Cruel Prince (Holly Black).
12. Gaslamp and flintlock fantasy
Fantasy with the technology of the 18th and 19th centuries: muskets, gas lights, steam. Flintlock leans military, gaslamp leans Victorian society. Start with: Promise of Blood (Brian McClellan), A Natural History of Dragons (Marie Brennan).
13. Science fantasy
Magic and technology side by side, or magic that may really be science. Start with: Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir), The Book of the New Sun (Gene Wolfe).
14. Progression fantasy and LitRPG
Heroes who grow in power by visible steps, often with game-like systems and stats. Huge in self-publishing and web serials. Start with: Cradle: Unsouled (Will Wight).
Which should you read?
- Want to lose yourself in another world? High or epic fantasy.
- Want magic close to home? Low, urban or historical fantasy.
- Want short and sharp? Sword and sorcery, or a standalone.
- Want comfort? Cozy fantasy.
- Want to be disturbed? Dark fantasy or grimdark.
Frequently asked questions
Is Harry Potter high or low fantasy? By the setting definition, low fantasy: the magical world is hidden inside modern Britain. By scale, it grows into epic fantasy by the last books.
Is Game of Thrones high fantasy? Yes, by setting: Westeros is an invented world. Some readers call it low fantasy because magic is rare and the tone is gritty. Both labels are used.
What is the difference between high fantasy and epic fantasy? High fantasy describes the setting (an invented world). Epic fantasy describes the scale (vast stakes, long series). Most epic fantasy is high fantasy, but a short, personal story in an invented world, like A Wizard of Earthsea, is high without being epic.
What is the difference between dark fantasy and grimdark? Dark fantasy is about horror and dread, often supernatural. Grimdark is about moral bleakness: violent, compromised people in a cruel world. A book can be both.