Elliot Kessler

I’ve read, watched, and played a fair amount of fantasy content. I wouldn’t call myself a massive fantasy nerd. But I’ve read some Tolkien, Narnia, and Ranger’s Apprentice. I’ve seen Princess Mononoke, Willow, and plenty of Disney fairy tales. I’ve read myths from old civilizations. I’ve played Zelda games, Skyrim, and Hollow Knight.

In experiencing all these stories, I’ve realized that there are two kinds of fantasy stories. I call these “grounded” fantasy and “mystical” fantasy. While all fantasy might seem the same to most, there is actually a difference between the two that I find quite significant, and that is the way each type of fantasy instills the feeling of wonder in the audience. That is, after all, the purpose of fantasy. It makes us feel wonder and awe at these strange, fantastical, beautiful stories. It’s that feeling of wonder than pulls me into strange tales, and the same feeling that drove me to write my own. Wonder is the core of fantasy, so how that wonder is given to the audience affects the whole of the story.

But what is the difference between these two kinds of fantasy?

“Grounded” fantasy is more… well, grounded. It’s cemented in realism, creating a world that could realistically function if the fantastical elements invented by the author were to exist. Think of Tolkien’s Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings. There are so many intricate ways the world fits together. There’s a massive history for the world that includes bloody conflicts among the races, gods and demons, and an epic war to reshape the whole world. But everything about the world is realistically conceived, down to the evolution of the elvish language. Many people think Tolkien only created “Elvish,” and that was it. Nope! He also created all kinds of variants of the main elven language, which naturally evolved over time as the elves spread across the world and formed their own different kingdoms. The wood elves speak one language, the high elves speak another, the dark elves, yet another, and so on.

There are many other instances in this grounded look at a fantasy world, and that’s what grounded is. It creates a sense of wonder by pulling you into a world that would make sense if these fantastical ideas like magic and ancient pantheons existed. The realism of these strange worlds are their appeal.

But mystical fantasy is very different. It pulls you in because it doesn’t make any sense. It’s wonder comes from emotion and feeling, not grounded realism. This is when often the creators don’t even know everything about their worlds. They’re strange, dreamlike places filled with wondrous lands and beautiful landscapes. They’re populated by many kinds of civilizations and often don’t have set rules for how everything works, such as magic and politics. For examples of mystical fantasy, think of The Chronicles of Narnia, ancient myths, and any film by Studio Ghibli. The rules for these worlds aren’t set in stone, and the writer’s often make things up as they go along. For instance, the size of the wolf, Fenrir, in Norse mythology, changes depending on the story you’re reading. C. S. Lewis didn’t care much for realism when he created Narnia. He simply enjoyed writing great fairy tales, and they worked.

Realism isn’t everything in fiction, and I think that’s what modern stories have lost. Everyone is trying to make things feel grounded and real to the point where their work isn’t fun anymore. There are many epic fantasy novels that go for 800 pages or more that simply don’t have the same sense of wonder as The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, which is only 208 pages. This is because many authors believe they have to fill every corner of their world with history, lore, rules, and clearly-defined culture like Tolkien to make their story good. The problem is that this doesn’t work for every author. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do that. Frank Herbert and Brandon Sanderson seem to be doing pretty good. But it’s not for everyone. For instance, I much prefer exploring the inconsistent, strange, and, sometimes, nonsensical world of Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda series than I do exploring a lot of modern fantasy worlds. I love reading through ancient myths because of how much wonder the worlds are filled with while also holding truth and wisdom in the stories. Reading an old myth is like walking through someone else’s dream, and I find that fascinating. I love that feeling of wonder, and myths do a very good job of instilling that in me.

So, these are the two kinds of fantasy stories I’ve found. Clearly, I enjoy one more than the other, but that doesn’t mean grounded fantasy doesn’t have it’s place. I still love Tolkien, and I’ve begun reading Brandon Sanderson’s work, and I love that, too. But no matter how good these grounded stories are, they will never be able to give me the same sense of wonder that comes from myths and other mystical fantasy tales.

Which kind of fantasy story do you prefer? If you’re an author, which one do you prefer writing?

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.