what is the difference between low fantasy and urban fantasy?

[Joe]

I am unclear on the difference between these genres and the pages on them are not helpful
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/low-...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/urba...
they both say their fantasy set in the "real world" but don't say how they are different from each other

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

High fantasy is technically second world fantasy (think Roshar) while low fantasy is actually on Earth (Harry Potter). That's really all high and low mean, though other definitions are lots of magic / sword and sorcery and very little magic.

If you use the first definition, almost all urban fantasy is low fantasy, but it's a subgenre that often includes supernatural creatures and as a must primarily takes place in an urban setting as opposed to a pastoral one.

[[deleted user]]

So, a story about vampires or werewolves would be urban fantasy. What about a story about demons and angels, like the TV series LUCIFER?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

is it primarily on our world in a city?

[CBRetriever]

Lucifer is Urban Fantasy

[M.L.]

Urban fantasy doesn't have to have sex, but there should be some underlying sexual tension or steaminess. Looking at the list Joe provided there was one, by virtue of its cover, that did not look like UF but was more kid lit.

[Eva]

No, that's Paranormal Romance. People tend to market PNR as UF, and the genres can have overlap, but they're still different. Of course, characters can have sex lives just like in any other genre, but if romance is a major part of the plot then it's PNR. Urban Fantasy can have romantic elements (just like regular fantasy or any other genre) but it doesn't have to. Nor does it have to be low fantasy: e.g. the popular Kate Daniels series takes place after a cataclysm has changed Earth in very fundamental ways, and it has tons of magic and magical creatures. The defining characteristic is the modern tech and urban (not bucolic) setting, not the sex/romance/sexual tension.

Examples: The Onion Girl, Fated, Battle Ground, Rivers of London, Every Heart a Doorway, War for the Oaks, Wings of Ebony, Nightlife, The Mask Falling, City of the Plague God, The Lightning Thief, Neverwhere, The City & the City, American Gods, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, The Graveyard Book, Anansi Boys, Rosemary and Rue, Night Watch, The Master and Margarita, and so on.

[M.L.]

Eva wrote: "No, that's Paranormal Romance. People tend to market PNR as UF, and the genres can have overlap, but they're still different. Of course, characters can have sex lives just like in any other genre, ..."

That's right. Not romance, something as slight as nuance. :)

[〰️Beth〰️]

Eva wrote: "No, that's Paranormal Romance. People tend to market PNR as UF, and the genres can have overlap, but they're still different. Of course, characters can have sex lives just like in any other genre, ..."

Thanks Eva.I was trying to think of a coherent way to explain that.

[Joon]

I've actually never heard "low fantasy" as a serious thing before, nor had I ever heard that the sole qualification for something to be "high" fantasy was that it take place in a completely made-up place.

But I guess it makes sense.


In any case, I think the reason people seem to confuse PNR and UF is because it just seems like most PNR's are UF, even if the reverse is not even a little true.

[Hans]

Joon wrote: "In any case, I think the reason people seem to confuse PNR and UF is because it just seems like most PNR's are UF, even if the reverse is not even a little true."

Yeah, that's a sad fact and gives me no end of grief every time I'm looking for a cool new UF series that isn't PNR. Because I absolutely hate PNR.