Humorous fantasy
Humorous Fantasy or Funny Fantasy ( Funtasy ) or Light Fantasy is a branch of fantastic literature that makes fun of well-known elements of fantasy or uses these elements for the purpose of satire .
history
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), Charles Dickens (1812–1870), Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) and Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) were among the first fantastic authors to incorporate humor into their works . The short story Das Gespenst von Canterville by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the works of the authors F. Anstey (pseudonym of Thomas Anstey Guthrie , 1856-1934) and Thorne Smith (1892-1934) are further early examples of humorous fantasy. Saki (1870–1916), John Collier (1901–1980) and Roald Dahl (1916–1990) wrote macabre and humorous horror stories , which, however, are only partially fantastic.
With the increasing popularity of science fiction and fantasy , these genres were also increasingly approached with humor. Douglas Adams (1952–2001) is the best-known representative in science fiction . In fantasy, Piers Anthony (* 1934), Robert Asprin (1946–2008), Tom Holt (* 1961) and Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) can be considered exemplary. Pratchett was so successful that he found numerous imitators and a real sub-genre emerged that was given names such as Funny Fantasy, Funtasy or Light Fantasy.
Well-known representatives of humorous fantasy
- Piers Anthony (The Magical Land of Xanth )
- Robert Asprin ( Demons series about Skeeve , the sorcerer's apprentice; Chaos series)
- Stefano Benni ( Italian political satirist )
- Nelson Slade Bond (funny fantasy and SF short stories )
- Terry Brooks ( Landover Cycle)
- Lyon Sprague de Camp ( Krishna Cycle)
- Glen Cook ( Karenta series with private investigator Garrett )
- John DeChancie ( Castle series, so far only English)
- Gordon R. Dickson ( Dragon Slayer Cycle)
- Lord Dunsany ( Jorkens )
- Jasper Fforde ( Thursday Next series )
- Esther Friesner (Stories about the magical hangover Scandal )
- Neil Gaiman ( Never Land ; Sandman Cycle; with Terry Pratchett A Good Omen )
- Craig Shaw Gardner (Far Eastern fairy tale persifs and the series about Wuntvor , the naive sorcerer's apprentice)
- William Goldman ( The Bride Princess )
- Andrew Harman (dark humor series of medieval fantasy scenarios)
- Tom Holt (numerous satirises of legends and myths)
- Barry Hughart ( Master Li Trilogy)
- Walter Moers ( Zamonia series)
- Christopher Moore (numerous absurd or pseudo-historical novels)
- Larry Niven / David Gerrold ( The Flying Wizards )
- Mervyn Peake (numerous absurdly funny short stories)
- Terry Pratchett ( Discworld )
- Gerd Scherm ( The nomad god )
- Martin Scott or Martin Millar ( The secrets of Turai about the adventurer Thraxas )
- Mark Twain ( A Yankee at the court of King Arthur )
- Lawrence Watt-Evans ( Ethshar series, so far only English)
Well-known representatives of humorous science fiction
- Douglas Adams ( The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ; Dirk Gently novels)
- Poul Anderson ( Hoka novels with Gordon R. Dickson)
- Fredric Brown (quirky SF and horror short stories)
- Philip K. Dick (many absurdly funny short stories)
- Alan Dean Foster ( Homanx universe , but also otherwise isolated humorous SF)
- Harry Harrison ( Steel Rat Cycle and the Series Bill, the Galactic Hero )
- René Hemmerling (German author of humorous SF)
- Olaf van der Heydt (German author of humorous SF)
- Anette Kannenberg (German author of humorous SF - Das Mondmalheur )
- Stanisław Lem ( Ijon Tichy Stories and Novels; Star Diaries ; The Futurological Congress ; Robot Tales )
- Andreas Melzer (German author of satirical SF short stories)
- Grant Naylor ( Red Dwarf series by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor)
- Robert Rankin ( Cornelius Murphy series, Brentford novels, Armageddon trilogy and more)
- Rudy Rucker (crazy physical SF with rough humor and higher math)
- Robert Sheckley (many comical SF short stories, often co-authored with Roger Zelazny )
- William Tenn (SF satirical short stories)
Well-known representatives of humorous fantasy
- John Kendrick Bangs ( Das Wassergespenst von Harowby Hall ; A Houseboat on the Styx , so far only English)
- James Branch Cabell ( Jürgen )
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton ( The man who was Thursday , plus many fantastic and funny short stories)
- John Collier (macabre humorous horror stories)
- Roald Dahl (macabre and humorous horror stories)
- Thomas Anstey Guthrie ( Vice Versa , filmed under the title I am you )
- Kurt Kusenberg (German author of humorous fantasy)
- Saki (macabre and humorous horror stories)
- Thorne Smith (cheerful, lewd, absurd novels from the American prohibition era )
- Oscar Wilde ( The Canterville Ghost )
Short story anthologies of humorous fantasy
- Dangerous antics - ISBN 3-453-13343-9 ( The Wizards of Odd - ISBN 1-85723-635-1 )
- Ritter des Wahnsinns - ISBN 3-453-16220-X (English Knights of Madness - ISBN 1-85723-958-X )
- Scheibenwahn - ISBN 3-453-15602-1 (engl. The Flying Sorcerers - ISBN 1-85723-725-0 )
- Savior of Eternity - ISBN 3-453-19923-5
- Beautiful presents - ISBN 3-453-18272-3 (also: Frohes Fest , ISBN 3-453-03900-9 , O You cruel Christmas season , ISBN 3-426-71173-7 )
- Hocus, Pokus, Lumbago - ISBN 3-404-20451-4 ( The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy - ISBN 1-84119-080-2 )
- The sea and small fish - ISBN 3-453-17197-7 (English Legends - ISBN 0-8125-6663-7 )
- engl. The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy - ISBN 1-85487-530-2
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b David Pringle (Ed.), The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy . Carlton, London 2006. ISBN 978-1-84442-110-7
- ↑ a b Rein A. Zondergeld / Holger E. Wiedenstried (ed.), Lexicon of fantastic literature . Weitbrecht, Stuttgart 1998. ISBN 978-3-522-72175-2
Web links
- Gomeck's Funny-Fantasy / SF List
- english funny fantasy page
- Gumbys "Humouros SF / Fantasy" Page (list with 9 authors)