Urban fantasy

Popular 1980s Fantasy Novels

/ Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 45 Comments
First edition of The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, Colin Smythe, 1983. Image from AbeBooks

After the boom of the 60s and 70s the fantasy genre continued to enjoy mainstream popularity, with many 80s authors branching into new sub-genres and styles.  Fantasy tropes were so established that works of comic fantasy, which poked fun at them and were humorous in tone, became increasingly popular. Urban fantasy as we now know it also had its early roots in this decade.

Below I’ve listed what I believe to be the 12 most popular or influential fantasy novels published between 1980 and 1990. I’ve tried to use the original cover from that year where possible. Series titles are included in brackets: Continue reading →

10 Common Mistakes I See in Paranormal Romance and YA Fantasy Writing

/ Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 15 Comments
Photo by Birame (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Last week, I discussed some common “fatal flaws” that might make me give up on an epic high fantasy novel, rate it poorly, or even avoid reading it in the first place. This week I’ve decided to do the same thing for paranormal romance, YA and urban fantasy novels, because I enjoy reading these genres as well, and I’ve found the problems I encounter in them usually differ to those I encounter in traditional epic high fantasy.

So here are 10 key things that will often turn me off a paranormal romance or YA fantasy (genres I normally like!): Continue reading →

17 Common Fantasy Sub-Genres

/ Nicola @ Thoughts on Fantasy / 73 Comments

The fantasy genre is rich with a myriad of sub-genres, and each has its own conventions and trends. With the different terms floating around out there it can be easy to confuse or overlook key sub-genres. Finding a succinct list of the most notable ones – particularly a list with definitions and examples – is not always straightforward. So I thought I’d put my reading and researching to use and assemble one. Continue reading →