Low fantasy

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Low Fantasy (also Sword & Sorcery , Pulp Fantasy , Sword and Magic, or Heroic Fantasy ) is a sub-category of the fantasy genre that refers to the pulp tradition of early fantasy.

definition

The roots of low fantasy lie in the American novel and pulp magazine scene of the 1930s , 1940s and 1950s , where authors such as Poul Anderson , Robert E. Howard , Edgar Rice Burroughs and HP Lovecraft appeared in magazines such as the legendary Weird Tales published. Fantasy established itself as a further genre alongside horror , SF , espionage stories and detective stories . The form of publication of the Pulphefte required certain literary rules, such as the division of the plot into several episodes and the use of simple narrative structures. Low Fantasy clearly stands out from the epic High Fantasy influenced by JRR Tolkien . However, the terms are not to be understood as judgmental, but rather show differences in the form of publication, the narrative style and the taste of the public. Even today, Low Fantasy is published almost exclusively in cheaper formats such as the paperback , while the epic High Fantasy is sometimes published in high-quality hardcover or brochure binding.

features

The term is primarily used to distinguish it from the more clearly defined high fantasy and can refer, among other things, to humorous fantasy and to mixtures of genres such as dark fantasy . Above all, it is crucial to dispense with the epic structures of fantasy and the clear division into good and bad characters. Instead of a clearly recognizable hero, the focus is often on conflicting characters, such as Fafhrd and the gray mouse in Fritz Leiber's fantasy stories. However, Conan the Barbarian , a creation of the writer Robert E. Howard, is still considered the prototype of a low-fantasy character . Another example is the assassin Vlad Taltos, devised by Steven Brust .

Low Fantasy mostly foregoes a global plot. Not saving the world is in the foreground, but the personal fate of the main characters. In place of higher conflicts, there are direct confrontations with opponents and dangers. There is an emphasis on action, sex, and violence scenes that move the plot forward quickly. The gender drawing often follows the patterns of pulp literature: heroism, courage and physical strength are propagated as male virtues, women often appear as sexual objects or as Amazons , such as the Conan's counterpart Red Sonja . The fantasy world itself is often described as more backward, archaic and disorganized than in high fantasy . This is often combined with a portrayal of civilizational structures and achievements as outdated and degenerate, for example in the case of Jack Vance or Robert E. Howard.

An alternative interpretation of the term refers to the different weighting of magical and mystical elements. Fantasy worlds, in which fantastic beings are rare and exotic and the magical influence is low, are often referred to as low fantasy worlds, especially in pen & paper role-playing games . Examples of such low-fantasy role-playing games include the German FATE role-playing game Malmsturm as well as the role-playing game implementation of the novel Das Lied von Eis und Feuer by the American publisher White Wolf , but also the fan game based on the high-fantasy system Das Schwarze Auge Work by Rakshazar , which tries to bring the typical Conan style into a world full of elves and dwarves.

Well-known representatives