Why Fantasy?
What is it that makes fantasy such an appealing genre?
Fantasy and sci-fi are the fourth most profitable book genres combined, generating 590 million dollars a year. With its many subgenres, including epic fantasy, low fantasy, fairy tales and fables, superhero fiction, steampunk, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and — my personal favorite — sword and sorcery, the possibilities are endless, confined only by the limitations of the human imagination.
Those of us who read fantasy don’t simply dabble in it, rather, we bask in it, completely immersing ourselves into these fantastical worlds, with their heroic storylines and admirable characters.
But why?
Why does fantasy create such a pleasant response in so many of us that we find ourselves dedicating years — or a lifetime — to a fandom? What is so compelling about it that we find ourselves returning to the same tropes and storylines over and over again? What feelings, thoughts, and ideas are we chasing after, which we cannot find in the physical world?
After looking into what some avid fantasy fans had to say, I’ve discovered these to be the top five reasons which make this genre so appealing to readers:
