Contemporary fantasy, also known as modern fantasy, is a

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, set in the present day or, more accurately, the time period of the maker. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenre, urban fantasy. Strictly,

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that exploits or is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest definition, super ...

can be said to be part of contemporary fantasy since it has fantasy elements and is set in a contemporary setting. In practice, however, supernatural fiction is a well-established genre in its own right, with its own distinctive conventions.

Definition and overview

The Mealtime Prayer - Fritz von Uhde - Google Cultural Institute

These terms are used to describe stories set in the putative real world (often referred to as ''

consensus reality Consensus reality is that which is generally agreed to be reality, based on a consensus view. The appeal to consensus arises from the idea that humans do not fully understand or agree upon the nature of knowledge or ontology, often making it unce ...

'') in contemporary times, in which magic and magical creatures exist but are not commonly seen or understood as such, either living in the interstices of our world or leaking over from

alternate world A parallel universe, also known as a parallel dimension, alternate universe, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reali ...

s. It thus has much in common with, and sometimes overlaps with

secret history A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to desc ...

; a work of fantasy in which the magic could not remain secret, or does not have any known relationship to known

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, would not fit into this subgenre. Novels in which modern characters travel into alternative worlds, and all the magical action takes place there (except for the portal required to transport them), are not considered contemporary fantasy. Thus, C.S. Lewis's ''

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...

'', where all fantasy events take place in the land of Narnia which is reached via a magic wardrobe, would not count as contemporary fantasy; on the other hand, the part of ''

The Magician's Nephew ''The Magician's Nephew'' is a fantasy children's novel by C. S. Lewis, published in 1955 by The Bodley Head. It is the sixth published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). In recent editions, which sequence the books ...

'', where the Empress Jadis gets to London, tries to take over the Earth and clashes with police and a crowd of cockneys, would qualify as such. Contemporary fantasy is generally distinguished from

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...

– which also often has contemporary settings and fantastic elements – by the overall tone, emphasizing joy or wonder rather than fear or dread. In his preface to '' That Hideous Strength'', one of the earlier works falling within this subgenre, C.S. Lewis explained why, when writing a tale about "''magicians, devils, pantomime animals and planetary angels''", he chose to start it with a detailed depiction of narrow-minded academic politics at a provincial English university and the schemes of crooked real estate developers: "''I am following the traditional fairy-tale. We do not always notice its method, because the cottages, castles, woodcutters and petty kings with which a fairy tale opens have become for us as remote as the witches and ogres to which it proceeds. But they were not remote at all to the men who first made and enjoyed the tales''". The same is true for many of the later works in the genre, which often begin with a seemingly normal scene of modern daily life to then disclose supernatural and magical beings and events hidden behind the scenes.

Subgenres

Contemporary fantasies often concern places dear to their authors, are full of local color and atmosphere, and attempt to lend a sense of magic to those places, particularly when the subgenre overlaps with ''

mythic fiction Mythic fiction is literature that is rooted in, inspired by, or that in some way draws from the tropes, themes, and symbolism of myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales. The term is widely credited to Charles de Lint and Terri Windling. Mythi ...

''. When the story takes place in a city, the work is often called '' urban fantasy''. The contemporary fantasy and low fantasy genres can overlap as both are defined as being set in the real world. There are differences, however. Low fantasies are set in the real world but not necessarily in the modern age, in which case they would not be contemporary fantasy. Contemporary fantasies are set in the real world but may also include distinct fantasy settings within it, such as the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

series, in which case they would be

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

rather than low fantasy. Related to Contemporary fantasy are fantasies set in fictional worlds, with their own distinct history and culture, but in which magic coexists with modern technology - rather than being set in a quasi-medieval setting, as were most earlier Fantasy works. For example, at the climax of L.E. Modesitt's '' The Death of Chaos'', powerful magicians engage in a titanic battle and destroy a vast fleet of WWI-type Dreadnaughts, foiling the expansionist plans of a militarist Emperor loosely modeled on Kaiser Wilhelm of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

Examples

19th and early 20th centuries

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He receive ...

The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas ''The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas'' (''Der 35. Mai oder Konrad reitet in die Südsee'' in German, its original language) is a novel by Erich Kästner, first published in 1931. Unlike most of Kästner's other works - set in a ...

'' *

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

: ''

The Bottle Imp "The Bottle Imp" is an 1891 short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson usually found in the short story collection '' Island Nights' Entertainments''. It was first published in the '' New York Herald'' (February–March 1891) an ...

'' *

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term ''genet ...

: ''

Darker Than You Think ''Darker Than You Think'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Jack Williamson. Originally a novelette, it was expanded into novel length and published by Fantasy Press in 1948. The short version was published in ''Unknown'' in 1940. It ...

'' * William T. Cox, ''

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods ''Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts'' is a 1910 fantasy field guide by William Thomas Cox (1878–1961), Minnesota’s first State Forester and Commissioner of Conservation, with illustrations by Coe ...

'' *

Denis Wheatley Dennis Yeats Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was a British writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series w ...

's ''Gregory Sallust'' series, pitting the protagonist against supernatural forces on the background of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. * Stella Benson: ''Living Alone'

* Edith Nesbit: '' The Magic City'', Psammead series, House of Arden series, '' The Enchanted Castle'', ''

The Magic World ''The Magic World'' is a collection of twelve short stories by E. Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse. The stories, previously printed in ...

'' and other works *

Stefan Grabiński Stefan Grabiński (26 February 1887 – 12 November 1936) was a Polish writer of fantastic literature and horror stories. He is sometimes referred to as the "Polish Poe" or "Polish Lovecraft", although his works are often surrealistic or expl ...

: ''Salamandra'' (''Salamander'') *

Edward Eager Edward McMaken Eager (June 20, 1911 – October 23, 1964) was an American lyricist, dramatist, and writer of children's fiction. His children's novels feature the appearance of magic in the lives of ordinary children. Most of the ''Magic'' serie ...

: ''The Magic Series'' *

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending m ...

, ''

Kaytek the Wizard ''Kaytek the Wizard'' ( pl, Kajtuś Czarodziej) (alternatively Kaytek the Sorcerer or Kaytek the Magician, with some title renderings retaining the original name Kaytus instead of Kaytek) is a 1933 Contemporary fantasy children's novel by Polish a ...

'' ( pl, Kajtuś Czarodziej) * P. L. Travers: ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

'' *

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

: '' The Master and Margarita'' *

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)'' The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, ''

Puck of Pook's Hill ''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...

'' *

C.S.Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

: '' That Hideous Strength'' *

Hendrik Willem van Loon Hendrik Willem van Loon (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children's book author. Life He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. ...

: '' Van Loon's Lives'' *

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, '' Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she wa ...

: ''

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' ( sv, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally ''Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden'') is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive t ...

'' (orig. ''Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige'') * H. G. Wells: ''

The Wonderful Visit ''The Wonderful Visit'' is an 1895 novel by H. G. Wells. With an angel—a creature of fantasy unlike a religious angel—as protagonist and taking place in contemporary England, the book could be classified as contemporary fantasy, although th ...

'', ''

The Sea Lady ''The Sea Lady'' is a fantasy novel by British writer H. G. Wells, including some of the aspects of a fable. It was serialized from July to December 1901 in '' Pearson's Magazine'' before being published as a volume by Methuen. The inspi ...

'' and '' The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' * Charles Williams: An early innovator of theology-oriented contemporary fantasy.

Later 20th and early 21st centuries

Freda Warrington Freda Warrington is a British author, known for her epic fantasy, vampire and supernatural novels. Four of her novels (''Dark Cathedral'', ''Pagan Moon'', '' Dracula the Undead'', and ''The Amber Citadel'') have been nominated for the British Fa ...

's ''Aetherial Tales'' series *

Benedict Jacka Benedict Jacka (born 25 September 1980) is a British author, best known for his ''Alex Verus'' series. Biography Jacka was born in England and attended the City of London School. He later attended Cambridge University, where he graduated with a ...

's ''Alex Verus'' series *

Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. In September 2008, Colf ...

's '' Artemis Fowl'' series * Ryohgo Narita's '' Baccano!'' (in part) and ''

Durarara!! , often shortened to ''DRRR!!'', is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda. ''Durarara!!'' tells the story of a dullahan working as an underworld courier in Ikebukuro, an intern ...

'' *

Tite Kubo , known professionally as , is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is best known for his manga series '' Bleach'' (2001–2016), which had over 130 million copies in circulation as of 2022. Biography Kubo was born on June 26, 197 ...

's ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

'' * Mary Norton's '' The Borrowers'' *

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

Buffyverse The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' are set. This term, originally coined by fans o ...

* Kazuma Kamachi's '' A Certain Magical Index'' * Virtually the entire oeuvre of Charles de Lint * ''Dangerous Angels'' and other works by

Francesca Lia Block Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the '' Weetzie Bat'' series, which she began while a student at UC Berkeley. Early life Block was born in Los Angeles to a ...

* Constance M. Burge's ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

'' * ''Dark Cities Underground'' by Lisa Goldstein * Susan Cooper's '' The Dark Is Rising Sequence'' *

Tom Deitz Thomas Franklin Deitz (January 17, 1952 – April 27, 2009) was an American fantasy novelist, professor, and artist from Georgia. He was best known for authoring the ''David Sullivan'' contemporary fantasy series, though he also authored three o ...

's ''The David Sullivan series'' * Hazel Butler's ''Deathly Insanity'' series. * Jenna Black's '' The Devil Inside'', set in the United States with demons. * ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wr ...

'' series by

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and '' Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971. H ...

* Raymond E. Feist's '' Faerie Tale'' * Type-Moon's '' The Garden of Sinners'', ''

Tsukihime is a Japanese adult visual novel created by the dōjin circle Type-Moon, who first released it at the Winter Comiket in December 2000. In 2003, it was adapted into both an anime television series, ''Lunar Legend Tsukihime'', animate ...

'', and '' Fate'' series which takes place in a world where magic has all but vanished as technology has overtaken it and all the gods and magical creatures have either disappeared or simply left. *

Peter S. Beagle Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of fantasy fiction. His best-known work is ''The Last Unicorn'' (1968), a fantasy novel he wrote in his twenties, which '' Locus'' subscribers voted the ...

's ''

A Fine and Private Place ''A Fine and Private Place'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Peter S. Beagle, the first of his major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Press on May 23, 1960, followed by a trade paperback from Delta the same year. ...

'' and other works by him. * Richelle Mead's '' Georgina Kincaid'' series * Midori Snyder's ''Hannah's Garden'' * J.K. Rowling's ''

'' series - set in the United Kingdom during the 1990s, with flashbacks to the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1970s, and 1980s, and flash-forwards to the 2010s.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it p ...

is set during the 2020s, with flashbacks to the 1980s, 1990s, and 2010s. Alternately, J.K. Rowling's '' Fantastic Beasts'' series of screenplays, takes place in a number of global locations, throughout the 1920s, '30s, and ending in 1945. * Kouta Hirano's ''

Hellsing ''Hellsing'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Young King OURs'' from May 1997 to September 2008, with its c ...

'' *

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy '' His Dark Materials'' and '' The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''T ...

's ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' trilogy - The trilogy takes place across several universes including "ours". *

Hirohiko Araki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his long-running series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', which began publication in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' in 1987 and has over 120 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling ...

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

( Stardust Crusaders, Diamond Is Unbreakable, Golden Wind,

Stone Ocean In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

, and JoJolion) - '' Phantom Blood'' and '' Steel Ball Run'' take place in the late 19th century, while ''

Battle Tendency is the second story arc of the manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized for around years in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from November 2, 1987, to March 27, 1989, for 69 c ...

'' takes place in the late 1930s; and with the exception of ''Stardust Crusaders'' and ''JoJolion'', each series takes place in a near future relative to its original publishing date. *

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and literary critic. He often describes his work as '' weird fiction'' and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called '' New Weird''. M ...

's '' King Rat'' * ''

Little, Big ''Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament'' is a contemporary fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982. Plot Turn-of-the-century American architect John Drinkwater begins to suspect that within ...

'' and other works by John Crowley *

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), ''The Magician King'' (2011), and ''The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology ...

's '' The Magicians'' series * Various works by

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...

. * ''Minions of the Moon'' by Richard Bowes *

Boris and Arkady Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...

's "

Monday Begins on Saturday ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' (russian: Понедельник начинается в субботу) is a 1965 science fantasy novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional to ...

", where magic and characters from Russian myth exist in the Soviet Union of the time of writing. *

Nisio Isin , stylized as NISIOISIN to emphasize the palindrome, is a pseudonymous Japanese novelist, manga author, and screenplay writer. Nisio debuted in 2002 with the novel ''The Beheading Cycle'' (the first in his '' Zaregoto'' series), which earned hi ...

's Monogatari series. * A number of works by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...

, among them ''

American Gods ''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 modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. The book was pu ...

'' and ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was de ...

'', set in a

secondary world A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

below London with links to the real world. * Sergei Lukyanenko's ''

Night Watch Night Watch or Nightwatch may refer to: Books * ''The Night Watch'', a 1977 memoir by Central Intelligence Agency officer David Atlee Phillips Novels * ''Night Watch'', a 1972 novel by American screenwriter Lucille Fletcher * ''Night Watch'', a 1 ...

'', set in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. It has three sequels that form a

tetralogy A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies f ...

; '' Day Watch'', '' Twilight Watch'' and '' Final Watch''. * Natasha Mostert's ''The Other Side of Silence'' and ''Season of the Witch'' *

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...

Percy Jackson & the Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st cent ...

Heroes of Olympus ''The Heroes of Olympus'' is a pentalogy of fantasy- adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaia (Roman name Terra). In the fourth book of the series, ...

, The Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and ''

The Trials of Apollo ''The Trials of Apollo'' is a pentalogy of fantasy adventure and mythological fiction novels written by American author Rick Riordan that collectively form a sequel to the '' Heroes of Olympus'' series. It is set in the same world as the Rio ...

'' series. *

Richard Kadrey Richard Kadrey (born August 27, 1957) is a San Francisco-based novelist, freelance writer, and photographer. Kadrey was born in New York City, New York. Fiction Kadrey has written fifteen novels, including ''The New York Times'' Best Seller ...

's ''Sandman Slim'' series * Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant (series) * Josepha Sherman's ''Son of Darkness'' * Charlaine Harris'

The Southern Vampire Mysteries ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', also known as ''The True Blood Novels'' and ''The Sookie Stackhouse Novels'', is a series of books written by bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The first installment, '' Dead Until Dark'' (2001), won the A ...

and its television adaption,

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The ser ...

Eric Kripke Eric Kripke (born 1974) is an American writer and television producer. He came to prominence as the creator of the fantasy drama series ''Supernatural'' (2005–2020) which aired on The CW. He served as the showrunner during the first five seasons ...

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

* Various works by

Tanya Huff Tanya Sue Huff (born 1957) is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her '' Blood Books'' series, featuring detective Vicki Ne ...

. * Most of the novels of

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels '' Last Call'' and ''Declare''. His 1987 novel ''On Stranger Tide ...

* Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale and a number of other works by Holly Black *

Sui Ishida is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his dark fantasy manga series ''Tokyo Ghoul'' and '' Choujin X''. Career history Sui Ishida is best known for his dark fantasy series ''Tokyo Ghoul'', a story about a young man named Ken Kaneki w ...

's ''

Tokyo Ghoul is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Young Jump'' between September 2011 and September 2014, and was collected in fou ...

'' *

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire romance series ''Twilight'', which has sold over 100 million copies, with translations into 37 differ ...

's Twilight Saga *

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's "The Two-Centimeter Demon" and other stories involving the tiny demon

Azazel In the Bible, the name Azazel (; he, עֲזָאזֵל ''ʿAzāʾzēl''; ar, عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during ...

. * L. J. Smith's

The Vampire Diaries (novel series) ''The Vampire Diaries'' is a young adult vampire fiction series of novels created by American author L. J. Smith. The story centers on Elena Gilbert, a young high school girl who finds her heart eventually torn between two vampire brothers, S ...

and its television adaption * P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files series following Jack Fleming a vampire P.I. *

Emma Bull Emma Bull (born December 13, 1954) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated '' Bone Dance'' and the urban fantasy '' War for the Oaks''. She is also known for a series of anthologies ...

's ''

War for the Oaks ''War for the Oaks'' (1987) is a fantasy novel by American writer Emma Bull. The book tells the story of Eddi McCandry, a rock musician who finds herself unwillingly pulled into the supernatural faerie conflict between good and evil. ''War fo ...

'' *

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

's '' Weaveworld'' and ''

Imajica ''Imajica'' is a fantasy novel by British author Clive Barker. Barker, in 1997, named it as his favourite of all his writings up to that point. The work, 824 pages at its first printing in 1991, chronicles the events surrounding the reconciliati ...

'' *

Tony Vilgotsky Anton "Tony" Vilgotsky (Russian: Антон Вильгоцкий) is a Russian musician, composer, horror and fantasy writer, playwright, and musical columnist. He is mostly known for his fantasy and horror novels (''Chosen by the Pentacle'', ' ...

's ''Chronicles of Skharn'' and ''Shepherd of the Dead'' *

W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the class ...

a comic series by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. *

Kelley Armstrong Kelley Armstrong (born 14 December 1968)Bio for school projects Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram ...

's ''

The Wood Wife ''The Wood Wife'' is a novel by American writer Terri Windling, published by Tor Books in 1996. It won the Mythopoeic Award for Novel of the Year. It is Windling's first novel; she is better known as a longtime editor of fantasy and speculative f ...

'' *

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and ha ...

' Word/Void novels *

Diane Duane Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the ''Young Wizards'' young adult fantasy series and the '' Rihannsu'' Star Trek novels. Biography Born in New York ...

Young Wizards ''Young Wizards'' is a series of novels by Diane Duane. The Young Wizards series presently consists of eleven books, focusing on the adventures of two young wizards named Nita and Kit. Each novel pits Nita and Kit against the "Lone Power", an ...

- the protagonists live in Manhattan, New York, but each book in the series has a different setting; settings include various planets within and outside of the Solar System and various alternative universes. *

Ysabel ''Ysabel'' is a fantasy novel by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. It was first published in January 2007 by Viking Canada. It is Kay's first urban fantasy and his first book set outside his fantasied Europe milieux since the publication of his ...

by Guy Gavriel Kay mostly set in 21st-century Aix-en-Provence *

Yoshihiro Togashi is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age, before being recognized for his talent by publishing company Shueisha while attending college. Togashi has authored several manga series in different genres during the past th ...

's Yu Yu Hakusho * P. B. Kerr' Children of the Lamp *

Oh Seong-dae Oh Seong-dae ( Hangul: 오성대, Hanja: 吳城垈; born November 18, 1982) is a South Korean webtoon artist. He is best known for creating a horror thriller anthology webtoon ''Tales of the Unusual'', which has become popular and received m ...

's Tales of the Unusual

Overlap with other genres

Contemporary fantasy can also be found marketed as mainstream or

literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...

and frequently marketed as

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

, itself arguably a fantasy genre. Examples include ''

Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American fantasy romantic drama film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aid ...

'' by Alice Hoffman, '' The Antelope Wife'' by

Louise Erdrich Louise Erdrich ( ; born Karen Louise Erdrich, June 7, 1954) is an American author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American characters and settings. She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indian ...

, and ''

Mistress of Spices ''The Mistress of Spices'', (1997), set in contemporary Oakland, California, is a novel by Indian American writer and University of Houston Creative Writing Program professor Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Plot Tilo, the titular character, is a sho ...

'' by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni.

References

* Martin Horstkotte, ''The postmodern fantastic in contemporary British fiction''. WVT, Trier 2004, * Lance Olsen, ''Ellipse of uncertainty : an introduction to postmodern fantasy''. Greenwood Press, Westport 1987,

External links

* {{Film genres Fantasy genres

Definition and overview

Subgenres

Examples

19th and early 20th centuries

Later 20th and early 21st centuries

Overlap with other genres

See also

References

External links