What is the difference between urban fantasy and low fantasy?
Using the Fantasy Fiction Continuum, urban fantasy is closer to "reality" in comparison with low fantasy. But also consider other elements that further distinguish both of these fantasy subgenres.
Urban Fantasy - fantastical characters and concepts are placed in a real-world urban setting, often in the present day; also sometimes called "Modern Fantasy"
Low Fantasy - set in the real world, and includes unexpected magical elements that surprise ordinary characters
Urban Fantasy can also be split into 2 distinct subgenres of its own:
The fantasy elements are out in the open
Or they exist in a kind of a shadow society, with the rest of the world operating normally, generally unaware of its existence.
Elements of Urban Fantasy
If you’re asking yourself “what is urban fantasy?” think of it this way: Imagine a book that combines the dense worldbuilding of fantasy and science fiction with the gritty grounded reality of contemporary novels set in New York City, Chicago, or other iconic urban locales. That’s the urban fantasy genre. Here are some key elements of urban fantasy novels, short stories, and films:
Fantasy tropes: Urban fantasy storylines combine the real-life grit with of modern world with fantastical worldbuilding.
An urban setting: Although small town urban fantasies do exist, most take place in present-day major cities.
Magic: Supernatural elements, sci-fi technologies, fairy tales, and folk mythologies are all found throughout urban fantasy novels.
A noir aesthetic: Urban fantasies lift genre conventions from noir and gritty police procedurals.
Mythical creatures: Urban fantasies are populated with supernatural creatures including (but not limited to) undead zombies, vampires, werewolves, druids, demons, shapeshifters, and perhaps a mage or wizard.
A protagonist with a foot in both worlds: The main character of an urban fantasy is typically savvy to the real-life ways of their urban environment yet can also wield or exploit magical powers.
A young protagonist: Relatively young characters who practice wizardry or witchcraft are common in urban fantasy series.
Low Fantasy is a catchall, and inexact, term for secondary world (i.e., a constructed world; a completely fictional setting, rather than our world) fantasy.
The designation is not a description of the quality of the work, but rather the prevalence of fantastic elements.
Tends towards less “traditional” (simplistic) morality.
Sometimes comedies are also excluded from the genre, but either way the works that remain don't have a natural unity.
However, while there is no complete list of defining features, there are features and tropes common to many Low Fantasy works that can help distinguish them from other fantasy works; each tends to be the opposite of one of the defining features of High Fantasy. Examples:
Magic: While Magic is prominent in High Fantasy, it's generally rare if not non-existent in Low Fantasy. What magic does exist is complicated, ambiguous, reserved for a very select few and/or has specific scientific rules. It's also likely to be dangerous, corruptive, or difficult to control, and magic-users are likely to be distrusted and often genuinely untrustworthy sorts.
Heroes: Usually normal people that have taken up a cause rather than The Chosen Ones of High Fantasy. It's not uncommon for them to be an Anti-Hero of some kind and/or have non-heroic motives (e.g. they take up a cause for personal ambition, for vengeance or just to survive as opposed to doing it for the 'greater good').
Shades of Grey: While High Fantasy usually features Black-and-White Morality with clear-cut heroes and villains, many Low Fantasy works have Grey and Gray or Black and Gray. More importantly, the success of the victor often has no bearing on their motives or honor.
Methods: Victories are usually achieved through physical combat and cunning, not magical battles and certainly not by moral superiority.
Scope: Down to Earth. Tends to focus more on the survival and tribulations of one or a few individuals rather than the whole world.
Examples of Urban Fantasy Works
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (2000)
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch (2011)
The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (2007)
The Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton (2000)
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison (2004)
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs (2006)
The Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter (2009)
The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris (2001)
Moonheart by Charles de Lint (1984)
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (1987)
Examples of Low Fantasy Works
When the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard (1980).
A Song of Ice and Fire is a generally low-magic setting, with a cynically pragmatic worldview and a focus on political maneuvering between rival factions who are all at least morally gray; however, the politics spans two continents and reaches epic levels on its own even without more traditional, stirring High adventure elements. However, because The Magic Comes Back slowly over the course of the story, the fantasy does get progressively Higher as the series goes on, even though the general tone remains Low in nature. The magic and other mysteries are treated as ambiguous, yet highly dangerous, potentially world-changing and complicating factors in an already combustible political and social situation.
Tangled has very little magic — with the only source of it being Rapunzel's hair. Besides the animals being somewhat more intelligent than normal, there's little else. The protagonists are all human, and the story is mainly Rapunzel's journey to the kingdom. The antagonist is said to be a witch, but she has no powers other than knowing how to activate Rapunzel's magic. As far as Grey-and-Gray Morality goes, one of the lead characters is an unrepentant thief and various side characters are implied criminals with Hidden Depths.
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
Do go through the sources for more details and examples. Hope this helps with your writing!
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