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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37508
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Wikipedia's Definition of High Fantasty Genre:**

> High fantasy is defined as fantasy set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than "the real", or "primary" world. The secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.

The works of J. R. R. Tolkien are the archetypical works of this genre, meaning that later works often pull inspiration from Tolkien. _Lord of the Rings_, as you note, is set in a medieval-like setting, so guess what, later authors of the high fantasy genre in the English-speaking world set their worlds in a medieval-like setting. This is similar to how Jane Austen's novels have inspired and created a whole Historical Romantic Fiction genre in modern times, or how Arthur Conan Doyle has created the archetypical detective character, Sherlock Holmes, and detective fiction in English literature. The original authors of these classic English works came from European backgrounds, so of course, they would write about what they knew of the world at the time, from a European perspective. Language and culture cannot be divorced from each other.

For a High-Fantasy English-Language story, check out [The New Legends of Monkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Legends_of_Monkey). It is a high-fantasy TV series, based on the Japanese production from the 1970s and 80s (the West actually becomes acquainted of several things of Chinese origin through Japan, mainly because Japan was the first of the East Asian countries to open to the West), which is based on the original Chinese classic novel by Wu Cheng En. The setting is obviously East Asian-inspired. The characters don't eat with chopsticks; they eat with two-tined forks. The architecture looks very East Asian. The religion is inspired from East Asian Buddhism. The cast speaks English, which means the characters actually refer to each other by names instead of by relationship. The gender of the characters also changes, conforming to Western gender expectations. The Tripitaka character is female, probably because the producers don't want the film series to be too religious/Buddhist, and Tripitaka's character feels too feminine for Western viewers - gentle, kind, altruistic, naïve. The Sandy character is female, probably because "Sandy" (a popular translation of the real character's name) sounds like a girl's name. Monkey and Pigsy are kept as male. Apparently, it doesn't matter if the story is High-Fantasy Europe-influenced world or High-Fantasy East-Asia-influenced world. In both worlds, people introduce bizarre anachronistic elements.

However, the main point of a High Fantasy story is to create a make-believe world that mirrors our own, but has a different historical timeline from the very beginning. So, stuff like swords and cannonballs, which may be invented at different times in our history, may be invented at around the same time in the fantasy story but two rival sovereign states. Hence the seemingly anachronistic stuff you see in High Fantasy novels may make sense in the novels' own history of the world.

**Advantages of a Fantasy Setting:**

- You are writing a High-Fantasy novel.

- You are free to imagine however you want about the world. Your imagination is boundless. Just make sure to keep your plot consistent, though.

**Disadvantages of a Fantasy Setting:**

- There are not that many fantasy authors who focus on the language component of fantasy writing. Often, they are stuck with Latin script and random names. Fantasy authors may go further and assign meaning to the names, but they often do not really get into conlanging and actually invent a real language, so the invented names provide absolutely no clue to the actual language. 

**Advantages of a Historical Setting:**

- If a work is set in an actual historical setting with a lot of realistic elements, then it isn't High Fantasy. It's Historical Fiction. The advantage is the type of audience you are targeting towards.

**Disadvantages of a Historical Setting:**

- This is just too much work, man. One must have a huge body of historical knowledge to write such a work. Even folktales aren't really all that precise. That's because the main point of the story is the conflict and resolution. Historical accuracy really isn't the point of it at all, unless it interferes with the plot development. One kind of eating utensil the characters use will probably not interfere with plot development. However, gender roles will definitely interfere with plot development. 

Original score: 4