High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. These stories are serious in tone, often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural evil forces. A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... Parallel worlds started as a plot device in science fiction. ... Evil is a term describing that which is regarded morally bad, corrupt, wantonly destructive, inhumane, selfish, and wicked. ...

Other typical characteristics of high fantasy include fantastical races (such as elves and dwarves), magic, wizards, invented languages, coming-of-age themes, and multi-volume narratives. An artists rendition of an elf, as a peaceful woodland humanoid. ... In Norse mythology, fairy tales, and sword and sorcery fiction and role-playing games, a dwarf is a sprite, a member of a humanoid race, much like humans, but generally living underground or in mountainous areas. ... The ancient symbol of the pentagram is often used as a symbol for magic. ... Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series, is a traditional wizard. ...

The term can also have another meaning. This definiton of the term separates between high fantasy and low fantasy. In this case, high fantasy and low fantasy simply describes the amount of supernatural forces in the world, and does not describe anything else. Comic fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. ... Comic fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. ... The supernatural (Latin:super- exceeding+nature) refers to a conceptualizaion of forces and phenomenon that cannot be perceived by natural or empirical senses, and whos understanding may be said to lie with religious, magical, or otherwise mysterious explanation —yet remains firmly outside of the realm of science. ...

In some high fantasy, a contemporary, "real-world" character is placed in the invented world. Purists might not consider this to be "true" high fantasy.

Some of the most famous examples include:

• J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (set in Middle-earth)
• Terry Brooks's The Sword of Shannara and its sequels
• Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter
• E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros
• Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga and others
• David Eddings' Belgariad and The Malloreon
• P. C. Hodgell's God Stalk and its sequels
• Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series
• Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels
• George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series
• Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series
• Margaret Weis's and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance series
• Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, beginning with The Dragonbone Chair
• Roger Zelazny's Amber series
• Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series
• Robin Hobb's The Farseer Trilogy
• Katharine Kerr's Deverry

High fantasy is also an especially pleasing hallucenogenic experience. For more information, see stoned. J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916, wearing his British Army uniform in a photograph from the middle years of WW1. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The one ring of power The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... A map of the Northwestern part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ... Terry Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is a writer of fantasy fiction. ... The Sword of Shannara is a fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. ... Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (July 24, 1878–October 25, 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist. ... Eric Rucker Eddison (November 24, 1882 - August 18, 1945) was an English civil servant and author. ... The Worm Ouroboros (1922) is a heroic high fantasy novel by Eric Rucker Eddison. ... Raymond E. Feist (born 1945) is an American author, mostly specialising in fantasy fiction. ... David Eddings (born July 7, 1931) is the author of several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. ... The Belgariad is a five book fantasy epic written by David Eddings. ... The Malloreon is a five part fantasy book series written by David Eddings, which follows The Belgariad. ... P. C. Hodgell (b. ... Alternative meanings: Robert Jordan (lawyer) for the former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Robert Jordan (character) for the character in Hemingways For Whom the Bell Tolls Robert Jordan Robert Jordan is a pen name for James Oliver Rigney, Jr. ... The Wheel of Time (abbreviated tWoT or more commonly, WoT) is a fantasy book series written by Robert Jordan, notable for the extreme density of its plotting, the intricate detail of its imaginary world, its generally pessimistic tone in which almost anything that can go wrong eventually does, and the... Ursula K. Le Guin at an informal bookstore Q&A session, July 2004 Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (born October 21, 1929), is an American author. ... A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, is the first of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea. ... George R. R. Martin, circa 1986 George Raymond Richard Martin (sometimes called GRRM by fans; born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, and also a screenwriter and producer. ... A Song of Ice and Fire (ASoIaF) is an epic fantasy series of novels by George R. R. Martin. ... Mervyn Laurence Peake (July 9, 1911 - November 17, 1968) was a British modernist writer, artist, poet and illustrator. ... Gormenghast is a fictional castle of titanic proportions that features prominently in a series of fantasy works penned by Mervyn Peake. ... Margeret Weis is an extremely prolific fantasy novelist, perhaps best known for her work with Tracy Hickman on the Dragonlance series. ... Tracy Raye Hickman (born 1955) is a best-selling fantasy author, most commonly known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR. They also wrote Dark Sword trilogy and the Death Gate Cycle. ... Dragonlance is a large series of fantasy books, and a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. ... Robert Paul Tad Williams (born March 14, 1957) is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchasers Song; the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series; the Otherland series and The War of the Flowers. ... Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is Tad Williamss epic fantasy trilogy, comprising The Dragonbone Chair (1988), Stone of Farewell (1990) and To Green Angel Tower (1993). ... The first novel in Tad Williamss epic fantasy trilogy Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, The Dragonbone Chair details how Prince Elias comes to the throne of Osten Ard and forges an agreement with the Storm King, Ineluki the Sithi. ... Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 - June 14, 1995) was a United States writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. ... The fictional realm of Amber is the setting for the Amber fantasy novels by Roger Zelazny (and for the Amber diceless role_playing game they inspired). ... Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy and science fiction novelist. ... The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever is a fantasy epic by Stephen R. Donaldson. ... Robin Hobb, Finncon 2004 Robin Hobb is a fantasy author. ... Robin Hobb, Finncon 2004 Robin Hobb is a fantasy author. ... Katharine Kerr (born 1944, Cleveland, Ohio) is a science fiction and fantasy novelist, best known for her series of Celtic-influenced high fantasy novels set in the fictional land of Deverry. ... Deverry is the name of a fictional land in the fictional world of Annwn, which literally means no place, created by Katharine Kerr. ... Being stoned means to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance, such as cannabis . ...