Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place on fictional planes or planets where magic is common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three (which are subgenres of speculative fiction).

Magic Realism:

Stories where magic is an accepted part of the system and of the culture, and characters are able to perform magic. There must always be consequences to the use of magic, or involve some form of 'prop' to get the magic working, like an amulet, potion, talisman or incantation.

• Anderson, Poul
• Armstrong, Kelley
• Cherryh, C.J.
• Le Guin Ursula
• Norton, Andre
• Pratchett, Terry
• Rowling, J.K.
• Stackpole, Michael
• Stroud, Jonathan

Epic or High Fantasy:

Includes lords and ladies, medieval styles and settings, kingdoms and castles, and dragons and knights. While generally rooted in mythology and medieval European legend, focuses its themes on Good versus Evil. Often, they are tales of a young nobody, learningto uncover his own latent heroism to save the day. Often includes a 'grail-finding' quest - regardless of whether the 'grail' is an icon, a person or a magical talisman.

• Brooks, Terry
• Butcher, Jim
• Eddings, David
• Feist, Raymond E.
• Goodkind, Terry
• Hobb, Robin
• Jordan, Robert
• Keyes, Greg
• Martin, George R.R.
• Modesitt, L.E., Jr.
• Tolkin, J.R.R.
• Weis, Margaret
• Williams, Tad

Heroic:

Fantastical worlds with an almost 'middle-ages' or medieval feel, peopled with wizards and sorcerers, communing with dragons and riding pet unicorns to tame a battalion of wild orcs and goblins. Heroes are generally muscle-bound sword-wielding types, determined to rescue a true damsel in distress or defeat the evil enemy. Magic is an accepted part of life, although the workings of such are usually left unexplained with this sub-genre.

• Carey, Jacqueline
• Burroughs, Edgar R.
• Delany, Samuel R.
• Gemmel, David
• Howard, Robert E.
• Jordan, Robert
• Leiber, Fritz
• McKillip, Patricia
• Moorcock, Michael
• Wolfe, Gene

Urban:

Stories in an urban setting, usually contemporary, combined with fantastic elements or mythological creatures, often from the world of faerie.

• Cunningham, Elaine
• De Lint, Charles
• Gaiman, Neil
• Hamilton, Laurell K.
• Harris, Charlaine
• Harrison, Kim
• Lackey, Mercedes

Mythic:

Draws on themes of known mythology, or o fairy tales we know and love. Mythic fantasies cn take place in a secondary world or in our contemporary world, and involve interaction with gods or traditions found in the mythology of world religions, or cultural legends, like the legend of King Arthur.

• Anderson, Poul
• Attansaio, A.A.
• Bradley, Marion Zimmer
• Gaiman, Neil
• Holdstock, Robert
• Kay, Guy Gavriel
• Lackey, Mercedes
• Lawhead, Stephen
• Llywelyn, Morgan
• Maguire, Gergory
• Stewart, Mary
• White, T.H.
• Whyte, Jack
• Wolfe, Gene

Comic:

Tales designed specifically as spoofs of other serious fantasies, or containing humorous elements to a light-hearted tale. Usually set in imaginary worlds, comic fantasy often includes puns and parodies of other works of fantasy.

• Anthony, Piers
• de Camp, L. Sprague
• Moore, Christopher
• Pratchett, Terry
• White, T.H.
• Yolen, Jane
• Zelazny, Roger

Alternative History/Parallel Worlds:

Alternative history fantasies are stories that are set in worlds in which history as diverged from the actual history of the world, where the author has made the conscious choice to change something in our past. Parallel reality is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own, entirely separate in space and time from our, though characters may sometimes travel back and forth between the two.

• Card, Orson Scott
• Dick, Philip K.
• Flint, Eric
• Jones, Diana Wynn
• Jordan, robert
• Lewis, C.S.
• Moorcock, Michael
• Pratchett, Terry
• Stirling, S.M
• Turtledove, Harry