Epic films, epic games, epic literatures

Good versus evil in high fantasy

2008-03-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Good versus evil is a common concept in high fantasy, and the character of evil is often an important concept in a work of high fantasy, as in The Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the importance of the concepts of good and evil can be regarded as distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. In many works of high fantasy, this conflict marks a deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil".

Saga or series

Role-playing campaign settings like Greyhawk by Gary Gygax and Dragonlance[8] by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis are a common basis for many fantasy books and many other authors continue to contribute to the settings.

From Tolkien to the modern day, authors in this genre tend to create their own worlds where they set multi-tiered narratives such as the Belgariad, Malloreon and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Other authors such as Stephen R. Donaldson, Robert Jordan, R. Scott Bakker, Steven Erikson, Raymond E. Feist, David Eddings, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Terry Goodkind and Paul Edwin Zimmer write extended stories over several volumes relating with the same character threads.

Epic fantasy - High fantasy

2008-03-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. Built upon the platform of a diverse body of works in the already very popular fantasy genre, high fantasy came to fruition through the work of authors such as C. S. Lewis and, foremost, J. R. R. Tolkien, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s. While it is far from being the oldest fantasy subgenre, high fantasy, along with sword and sorcery, has become one of the two genres most commonly associated with the general term fantasy.

These stories are generally serious in tone and often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural, evil forces. It is one of the most popular subgenres of fantasy fiction. Some typical characteristics of high fantasy include fantastical elements such as elves and dwarves, magic, wizards, invented languages, quests, coming-of-age themes, and multi-volume narratives.

High fantasy is a well-defined genre with established characteristics. This contrasts with low fantasy, a term that can be defined in many contradictory ways, each separate in its own way from high fantasy.

In some fiction, a contemporary, "real-world" character is placed in the invented world, sometimes through devices such as portals to other worlds or even subconscious travels. Purists might not consider this to be "true" high fantasy, although such stories are often categorized as high fantasy due to the fact that they've yet to be classified as their own distinct subgenre, and often resemble this subgenre more closely than any other.

High fantasy worlds may be more or less closely based on real world milieus, or on legends such as Arthurian. When the resemblance is strong, particularly when real-world history is used, high fantasy shades into alternate history.

When the scope is less than epic, dealing with the hero's personal fight for personal stakes against evil forces, the epic fantasy may shade into sword and sorcery.

High fantasy is the most popular and successful subgenre of the fantasy fiction. Its fandom ranges from Tolkien to contemporary. Recent screen versions of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Pullman's Northern Lights and Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe have contributed to the subgenre's continuing popularity. Moreover film adaptations of some novels are in preproduction, such as David Farland's The Runelords, and also Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover and The Elfstones of Shannara.

Epic fimls and movies

2007-10-17T01:13:00.000-07:00

Epic film comics and movies

Generally speaking, the term "epic" refers to movies that have a large scope, often set during a time of war or other conflict, and sometimes taking place over a considerable period of time. A historical setting is commonplace, although fantasy or science fiction settings are not unknown. Sometimes the story is based around a quest that the characters are embarked on over the course of the film. A large cast of characters is also common.

Epic fantasy

2007-10-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Epic good vs evil

Good versus evil is a common concept in high epic fantasy, and the character of evil is often an important concept in a work of high epic fantasy, as in The Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the importance of the concepts of good and evil can be regarded as distinguishing mark between high epic fantasy and sword and sorcery. In many works of high epic fantasy, this conflict marks a deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil".

Epic poetry literature

2007-10-17T01:02:00.001-07:00

Download Epic literature not allowed

Epic poetry

The epic is long, exalted narrative poetry, generally concerning a serious subject and details the heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation. A work need not be written to qualify as an epic, although even the works of such great poets as Homer, Dante Alighieri, and John Milton would be unlikely to have survived without being written down. The first epics are known as primary, or original, epics. Epics that attempt to imitate these like Virgil's The Aenied and John Milton's Paradise Lost are known as literary, or secondary, epics. Another word for epic poetry is epyllion (plural: epyllia) which is a brief narrative poem with a romantic or mythological theme. The term, which means 'little epic', came in use in the Nineteenth Century. It refers primarily to the type of erotic and mythological long elegy of which Ovid remains the master; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the English Renaissance, particularly those influenced by Ovid. One suggested example of classical epyllion may be seen in the story of Nisus and Euryalus in Book IX of The Aeneid.

Epic in comics

2007-10-15T05:18:00.002-07:00

Download Epic comics not allowed

Epic mystical arts

* Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics;
* Epic Illustrated, an anthology series published by Marvel Comics.
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.
Launched by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter as a spin-off of the successful Epic Illustrated magazine, the Epic imprint allowed creators to retain control and ownership of their properties. Co-edited by Al Milgrom and Archie Goodwin, the imprint also allowed Marvel to publish a more mature line of comics oriented toward an older audience.

Epic in gaming

2007-10-15T05:18:00.001-07:00

Download Epic games not allowed

* Epic (computer game), a 1991 computer game;
* Epic (game), a series of wargames;
* Epic Games, a computer game developer.
Epic is a tabletop wargame set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe.
However, where Warhammer 40,000 involves small battles between forces of a few squads of troops and two or three vehicles, Epic features battles between armies consisting of dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers.

Epic in music

2007-10-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

* Epic Records, a record label;
* Epic metal, a type of heavy metal music;
* Epic Trance, a subgenre of melodic trance;
* Epic (song), a popular single by the rock band Faith No More;
* Epic Mazur, an American rapper;
* Epic (album), an album by Borknagar.

Download Epic musics not allowed