Friday, October 5, 2012

Examples of Epic/High Fantasy


*Disclaimer: I have not read all these novels or watched all these movies. Nor do I recommend all of them. Rather, I have tried to pick recognizable or pop-culture stories that best exemplify the genre of high fantasy.
 
Classic Novels:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Contemporary Secular Novels:
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Contemporary Christian Novels:
Starlighter by Bryan Davis
The Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock
By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson
DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul

Films:
The Princess Bride
Eragon
Lord of the Rings trilogy

2 comments:

Jonathan Lovelace said...

As I understand it, DragonFlight isn't "high fantasy," because it isn't fantasy at all---rather, it's science fiction. It was first published in the emphatically science-fiction-only Analog (admittedly at a time when the editor was enamored of the somewhat fantastical idea of 'psi' abilities), and the plot turns on a gimmick (protagonist discovers or invents something at the critical moment) that was once fairly common in science fiction but is in my experience somewhat rare in fantasy. It's certainly as much science fiction as Lewis's Space Trilogy is!

Chawna Schroeder said...

You are correct, Jonathan. DragonFlight is classified as science-fiction. I included it on the list based on descriptions I'd heard from others who had read it and made the major mistake of not researching further into it.

Thank you for letting me know about this; I've corrected the post accordingly.