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Heroic Fantasy has Entered the Chat…

New ‘subgenre’ Dan and

Thomas Hyland

told me about the other day is one of the strangest ideas to come out of ‘internet land’ which really does seem like a secondary world at times compared to the real world. The strange thing about it is that while I had been calling it by the old term of ‘Epic Fantasy’ or ‘Heroic Fantasy’ some punk kids went behind my back and dubbed it ‘Noblebright’ (darn kids lol).

The idea as it was explained to my confused mind was that it is the opposite of Grimdark Fantasy.

Now Grimdark has been an absolute BANE to the Genre as the stories of that particular Sub-Genre as pointed out by the likes of

The Black Sun Archives

has been some of the most deeply subversive, so that it has deconstructed in many cases the traditional ideas, themes and the like of Fantasy Fiction.

Yet curious as to what this ‘new’ subgenre could be or how it is generally perceived to be, I chose to look it up so that here’s what Google’s AI had to say about it:

“Noblebright fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that emphasizes hope, heroism, and the triumph of good over evil, even in the face of adversity. It often features characters who are driven by noble ideals, such as honesty, integrity, and sacrifice, and who strive to make the world a better place. While not shying away from conflict or darkness, noblebright stories generally maintain an optimistic tone and focus on the potential for positive change and the strength of the human spirit.”

The emphasis of good traditional values, of hope, heroism and the triumph of good over evil in the face of adversity is good. As to the idea of stories that features Honesty, Integrity and Sacrifice there aren’t enough stories like that circulating the internet these days.

So while I regard this as simply a ‘new’ term of sorts (a butchering term if I’m honest) of Heroic Fantasy, and am scratching my head about this one I would be remiss not to comment about it.

It is I suppose a good idea. The usefulness of such a term to capture the younger generations is good for those of us who are interested in marketing our stories to them. The importance of also countering Grimdark to an extent with good Chivalric stories is something that cannot be denied. It is of the utmost importance.

But let us examine what else Google had to say;

“Key Characteristics of Noblebright Fantasy:

• Emphasis on Hope and Goodness:

  Noblebright stories prioritize hope, heroism, and the belief that good can triumph over evil.

• Noble Characters:

  Characters in noblebright fiction are often driven by strong moral principles and strive to do what is right, even when faced with difficult choices or challenging circumstances.

• Positive Themes:

  Noblebright stories often explore themes of love, sacrifice, courage, and the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.

• Hopeful Tone:

  While not necessarily avoiding darkness or conflict, Noblebright stories generally maintain an optimistic tone and offer a sense of hope for the future.

• Not Utopia:

  Noblebright worlds are not necessarily perfect or without conflict. They can still be dangerous or flawed, but the characters' actions and choices are guided by a desire to make things better.

• Balance:

  Noblebright fantasy aims for a balance between good and evil, light and darkness, without resorting to nihilism or despair.”

These are all fairly good ideas, as the fact is that Fantasy is meant to cast a mirror upon our world. It is meant to showcase to us brave Knights, heroic Lords and Heroes cast in the mould of the finest of Archetypes and Mythic heroes of ancient days. We need more figures like Herakles, Perseus, Sigurdr, King Arthur, Achilles, Hektor, Aeneas and the like to inspire people.

To emphasize the heroic, the good and the true is not ‘boring’ it is not ‘dull’ and it should not ever be considered as such by anyone at any time. The fact that some were convinced this was the case shows how far Marxism prevailed, how deeply it ran in our cultures and how far away we’ve diverted ourselves culturally from our roots.

Heroism, goodness and the like should be held up above all else. It is the heroic, the beautiful and the wondrous that inspires great deeds. It is the Chivalric that young boys aspire after, as it is through the examples of men like Herakles, Roland, King Arthur and Gawain.

Men need Heroes to aspire after, to give them examples of heroism and for us to compose hymns and songs to. Song and music and poetry and good tales are integral to a healthy society, grim, subversive and deconstructive ones are not. Go down too far the path of depression and darkness and all you find is someone incapable of recognizing the true beauty of this world.

Fantasy is meant to valorize, to inspire and to move the human soul. It is the best part of fiction and literature in my view. It is the finest Genre for a reason, and the best literature has always belonged to it.

It is the most philosophical and beautiful Genre because it speaks to the heart and core of the human experience and human nature. The trouble with the division into sub-genres is that I often worry that this is 'atomizing’ it in some fashion or somehow ‘dumbing it down’ as

JD Cowan

has implied on a number of occasions we are in danger of doing. A wise and knowledgeable man, Cowan is correct to fret about the obsession over Genre.

The thing about fretting over such things is that too often people become consumed by the means and not the ends. They see a single tree and do not see the forest. They fail to perceive that there are valuable lessons to be learnt from Sci-Fi, Horror and many other sorts of stories when all literature and fiction has the same point of origin (another thing that Cowan is quite right to point out).

The Purpose of Heroic Fantasy

The purpose is to instil in people the ideals of goodness and heroics. It is to serve the same purpose that the grand narratives that Virgil and the poet who composed Roland tried to instil in people just as those who wrote the Arthurian epics tried to push forward.

The purpose of this sort of fiction is clear enough and the importance of its role in our societies kind of goes without saying and has already been discussed. The thing about a moniker of ‘Noblebright’ is that it could only come out from a society that has lost connection with its traditions as it invents a new term for an old style of story. This is something that could only be done by the desperate to be quite honest.

That being said from a marketing perspective it is something that is an important step in the right direction as Heroic Fantasy has been torn asunder, destroyed and otherwise laid low by the forces of Subversion and Deracination. So to write something that is transcendent and beautiful necessitates playing to an extent at times the ‘word games’ that the forces of deconstruction like to play. So they tore apart Heroic, well then here’s Noblebright for you.

The trouble though is that for ‘old timers’ like me its terribly confusing. What it also is, is something that is done as a reaction by people who are kind of sick of Grimdark stories like Game of Thrones. It is very evident that it is a reactionary response to stories like that one.

This is an act of desperation by people somewhat unfamiliar with the Genre, and yet there’s something refreshing in a way. Why is it refreshing? Because it shows that people unfamiliar with the older stories have enough sense between their ears to actively reject the messaging coming from the other side.

We must however pay heed; there must be distinctions made between Heroic and this Noblebright thing. I’ll admit I struggle to see a difference but if push comes from up top we’ll know its just a means to further divide the genre in some strange bureaucratic manner and that we should perhaps see Noblebright as a mostly online feature. I cannot fathom any possibility that normies might possibly dream up such an odd term.

And yet if it helps market things on sites like Amazon, Royal Road, Webnovel and others then we should push it forward as it can only help us claim our audience. It is something that could be of some use to us writers of Fantasy.

That said, the Genre will need more than mere token newspeak to raise it back up. It necessitates good prose, good plotting and a great deal of genius, faith and fidelity towards one’s readers. It necessitates that we ponder what it means for such a term to have come about.

It likely is a signal that there is as said discontent towards the present order of things that there is a craving for nobler, more positive and hopeful stories. We need stories that highlight the importance of sacrifice, of goodness and heroics and of Chivalry, we need these things in order to raise people up and the like. But if people are indeed discontented it could just take one great epic Heroic Mythic tale to raise their spirits back up, to act as a kind of battle-standard for people to rally around and to inspire in them the old virtues.

The crucialness of being aware of the present mood, and of having good stories present at hand cannot be overstated. What is more is that if we are indeed to inspire people as Tolkien once did cannot be overstated enough also. It happens that his own stories acted as a kind of relief for a downtrodden world and that we now find ourselves in a similar mood.

Therefore this term strange as it is, could be useful for marketing and getting our stories to the right readers and audiences. So I don’t see much harm in it, though I’ll keep using the term Heroic Fantasy.

In the meantime feel free to recommend me your ‘Noblebright’ stories in the comment sections please.

But you know what would be the most Noblebright thing you can do? Consider giving a 6$ donation to Bros Krynn (yep the annual subscriptions have been lowered even more).

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Also Crown of Blood has a new edition, with maps, character bios and more!