metaphysical fantasy

I don't know what would qualify as metaphysical fantasy - there's lots of fantasy about religion, human nature, the nature of reality. Probably a lot of science fantasy along thouse lines too.

Don't many traditional texts make this category?

Oddsocks said:

Does anyone know of any metaphysical fantasy or fantasy with significant metaphysical themes?

I'm thinking specifically of fantasy in which the metaphysical nature of the reality in the world is incorporated into the world building such that it becomes apparent in and plays a real role in the storyline. Particularly anything to do with the mind/consciousness or space/time/reality - that kind of thing.

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There's a little metaphysics in any good fantasy...C. S. Lewis qualifies, though just barely. And Pullman, though by even less of a margin than C. C. Lewis.

Which goes goes to prove Arthur C. Clark's famous line: "Any sufficiently advanced Neoplatonism is indistinguishable from Gnosticism."



You can substitute Hinduism and Buddhism for Neoplantonism and Gnosticism under some circumstances. And Fantasy for Neoplatonism and metaphysics for Gnosticism.

Or so it seems to me.

Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion has one of the most interesting and fully realized religious systems I've seen in fantasy. I'm not sure if that's quite what you meant by "metaphysical", but it does contain some interesting ideas about the nature of free will, destiny, sainthood, and the divine. The sequels are great too, if not as deep.

Roger Zelazny's work often includes metaphysical themes. I particularly like "To Die in Itlabar."

I feel like this is a theme Patricia McKillip plays with.
Though her books are all so beautifully dreamlike that I'm not sure if the dream logic is a facet of the narrative or of the narrated world.

Metaphysics

The fundamental nature of being and the world...

I am a new fantasy writer, and recently had my novel One Land, One King published with Bedside Books. It is a metaphysical fantasy set in a world not quite like ours, and yet, very similar...it does give a certain freedom to explore and develop complex metaphysical concepts such as reincarnation, the human soul, relation of man to heaven, hell and earth, etc. while keeping the fun alive.

If you are interested in the genre, you won't be disappointed

One Land, One King

Best and happy reading!
y.s.hassan

The Futurological Congress - Stanislaw Lem.
Faith of Our Fathers; Ubik; A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick.
Lilith - George D. MacDonald.
Perelandra - C.S. Lewis.
Mythago Wood - Robert Holdstock.
Little, Big - John Crowley.
The Misfit; The Dream Master - Roger Zelazny
Smith of Wootton Major - JRR Tolkien

yoshi06 said:

The fundamental nature of being and the world...

I am a new fantasy writer, and recently had my novel One Land, One King published with Bedside Books. It is a metaphysical fantasy set in a world not quite like ours, and yet, very similar...it does give a certain freedom to explore and develop complex metaphysical concepts such as reincarnation, the human soul, relation of man to heaven, hell and earth, etc. while keeping the fun alive.

If you are interested in the genre, you won't be disappointed

One Land, One King

Best and happy reading!
y.s.hassan

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Amazon says the publisher is "Unseen Books"... Is that wrong?

The worldbuilding in Roger Zelazny's Amber books draws heavily from Plato's Theory of Forms. And they're just pretty excellent fantasy from an amazing writer.

I hope we can stimulate this discussion more.

I write Metaphysical Fantasy, and while it is quite different from much of what has been discussed above, it does relate to far reaching themes, such as Man's place in the universe, is there a god, and questioning the nature of reality.

Like many genres, there is considerable cross over, particularly as I write in the modern world. No elves, or dragons for me. I have an ordinary guy, who is exposed to extraordinary things, which over time, reveal certain truths about the world, the universe and our religions.

It is a fascinating area in which to write, since it allows one to explore themes that are considered heretical (by the major religions) while still telling a rip roaring yarn.

I doubt you're going to have any problems finding a fantasy series with metaphysical themes, I tend to think that, once you get past all the swords-and-dragons escapism (which is perfectly fine in of itself) fantasy tends to be at it's heart the exploration of metaphysical themes and ideas.

I might suggest The Darkness That Comes Before by R Scott Bakker. If you have a strong stomach. Bakker was a former PhD candidate in philosophy and the series very clearly served as a testbed for many of his ideas. It's also as bleak as bleak gets, with unsympathetic characters and some pretty uncompromising ideas. And also, lots of every horrible thing happening you can think of, to the point where it reads like self-parody. No joke, I read everything by Richard K. Morgan afterwards, and found his oeuvre positively cheery by comparison. But still, I'd recommend it, especially if you want a series that's going to challenge your ideas and assumptions with some pretty heavy erudition.

Dhalgren and the Tales of Neveryon by Samuel R. Delany
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
anything by Jorge Luis Borges
most things by Philip K. Dick, but I'd vote for Man in the High Castle

If you're going for metaphysical SFF, I'd strongly suggest the Science Fiction novel Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon.

Kjbartolotta said:

I doubt you're going to have any problems finding a fantasy series with metaphysical themes, I tend to think that, once you get past all the swords-and-dragons escapism (which is perfectly fine in of itself) fantasy tends to be at it's heart the exploration of metaphysical themes and ideas.

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Right - specifically in the area of identity. Fantasy stories tend to have wide character arcs built into them as characters struggle and grow and manage the changes they've been dealt.

Oddsocks said:

Does anyone know of any metaphysical fantasy or fantasy with significant metaphysical themes?

I'm thinking specifically of fantasy in which the metaphysical nature of the reality in the world is incorporated into the world building such that it becomes apparent in and plays a real role in the storyline. Particularly anything to do with the mind/consciousness or space/time/reality - that kind of thing.

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Yes, my current work in progress is based exactly on that theme. However, I would classify it as more a hard science fiction than fantasy.

Why do you ask?

Gotta drop in and fist-bump 2gregory here, Borges should be required reading for any fantasy aficionado.

The book which immediately comes to mind is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.
The second book to come to mind was Neverending Story by Michael Ende. And there was another book of his, Momo.