Contemporary fantasy

Contemporary fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenre, urban fantasy. Several authors note that in contemporary fantasy, magical or fantastic elements are separate or secret from the mundane world.

Definition and overview

The term are used to describe stories set in the putative real world (often referred to as

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.^[9]

The same is true for many 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.^{[citation needed]}

In an analysis of religion in modern fantasy, Sylvia Kelso notes a "market shift" from high fantasy toward contemporary fantasy, also explaining that "paranormal" subgenres have branched from contemporary fantasy, especially ones centered on vampires and werewolves. Kelso notes that contemporary fantasy is more willing to draw on religious themes than high fantasy. This has been influenced by its openness to vampires and other traditionally evil supernatural beings, which encourages writers to use Christianity to create villains such as demons. However, other books and series draw on other religions and traditions.^[10]

Relationship with other subgenres

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Novels in which modern characters travel into other worlds, and all the magical action takes place there (except for the portal required to transport them), are not considered contemporary fantasy. Also, contemporary fantasy is generally distinguished from horror fiction that mixes contemporary settings and fantastic elements by the overall tone, emphasizing joy or wonder rather than fear or dread.

The contemporary fantasy and low fantasy genres can overlap as both are 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.

There is a considerable overlap between contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy.^[3]

Examples

Examples are grouped by author, ordered by initial publication year in the genre.

• The occult thrillers of
  Charles Williams, 1930–1945^[3]
• That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, 1945
• Lila the Werewolf by Peter S. Beagle, 1969^[3]
• The novels of Tom Robbins, 1971–2009^[2]
• Little, Big by John Crowley, 1981^[2]
• Living in Ether by Patricia Geary, 1982^[2]
• Moonheart, 1984, and The Onion Girl, 2001, and the rest of the Newford series by Charles de Lint, 1990–2009^[11]
• Talking Man by Terry Bisson, 1986^[2]
• War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, 1987^[3]
• The short fiction of Lucius Shepard^[3]
• Neverwhere, 1996, and the graphic novels of Neil Gaiman^[11][3]
• The Hex Witch of Seldom by Nancy Springer, 1988^[12]
• Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block, 1989^[11]
• The Thread That Binds the Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, 1993^[2]
• Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand, 1994^[3]
• The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, 1996^[11]
• The Seventh Heart by Marina Fitch, 1997^[2]
• The
  J.K. Rowling, 1997–2007^[2]
• King Rat by China Miéville, 1998^[11]
• Dark Cities Underground by Lisa Goldstein, 1999^[11]
• The Dragons of the Cuyahoga by S. Andrew Swann, 2001^[2]
• Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black, 2002^[11]
• Summerland by Michael Chabon, 2002^[2]
• The Summer Country by James A. Hetley, 2002^[2]
• Hannah's Garden by Midori Snyder, 2004^[11]
• The Magicians and its sequels by Lev Grossman, 2009–2014^[13]
• The Book of Heroes by Miyuki Miyabe, 2009^[6]