Hard fantasy is a term used to describe different types offantasy literature, especially those which present stories set in (and often centered on) a rational and knowable world. In this sense, the term is analogous tohard science fiction, from which its name is drawn, in that both build their respective worlds in a rigorous and logical manner.[1][2] However, the term has other uses, and the scholar Misha Grifka-Wander has argued that it is both unpopular and inaccurate.[3]
InThe Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997),Gary Westfahl defined hard fantasy as a term for stories in which "magic is regarded as an almost scientific force of nature and subject to the same sort of rules and principles", and which "might refer to fantasy stories equivalent to the form of hard sf known as the 'scientific problem' story, where the hero must logically solve a problematic magical situation". He noted thatJohn W. Campbell promoted this kind of fantasy when he was editor ofUnknown.[2] InThe A to Z of Fantasy Literature,Brian Stableford described this as "probably the most useful application" of the term.[1]
Another example of this type of hard fantasy isBrandon Sanderson's spectrum ofhard and soft magic systems. Sanderson describes magic which does not follow strict rules but preserves a sense of wonder as "soft", whereas "hard magic" has rules which the authorexplicitly describes.[4] Emily Strand has described this as influenced byOrson Scott Card andArthur C. Clarke'sThird Law.[5]
Examples of works described as hard fantasy in this sense include:
Stableford stated that the term "is used in several different ways", and was originally used byhistorical fantasy writers in the late 1980s to describe works that were "scrupulously faithful to historical and anthropological data" outside having some magical or mythic plot elements. He namesChristian Jacq as an example.[1]
Michael Swanwick's essay "In the Tradition", subtitled "A Cruise through the Hard Fantasy Archipelago..." uses the term to discuss the possibility of major fantasy works providing a structure for the genre, as hard science fiction does for science fiction in general, and concludes that it is impossible.[1]
Fernando Savater has contrasted "hard" fantasy with "soft" fantasy. He describes "soft fantasy" as "unstructured" and "amorphous", such asAlice in Wonderland andThe Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Hard fantasy, on the other hand, obeys and extrapolates from rules; Savater cites the works ofJules Verne,H. G. Wells,Olaf Stapledon, andRendezvous with Rama as examples.[7]
In the introduction to the anthologyModern Masters of Fantasy, editorGardner Dozois mentioned a subgenre called "Hard Fantasy" as a "vaguely defined hybrid betweenTolkienesque fantasy, technologically oriented"hard" science fiction, andsteampunk". Dozois' examples includedThe Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick,Metropolitan byWalter John Williams, and "The Giving Mouth" byIan R. MacLeod.[8]
The term has also been used to describe fantasy writing with accurate research.[9]
