Tolkienesque
Like Middle-earth tales
Tolkienesque describes fantasy fiction resembling the work of J.R.R.
Tolkien—elaborate mythologies, invented languages, epic quests, and struggles between good and evil in richly detailed secondary worlds.
The term often implies high fantasy with elves, dwarves, and dark lords: The novel's Tolkienesque world-building includes three thousand years of history and a dozen fictional languages.
Impressively grand in scope
- legendariumComprehensive fictional mythology collection
- sagaExtended heroic narrative
- questSeeking journey for something
- subcreationInvented fictional universe
philological · world-building · bardic · timeless · allegorical · elegiac
Fantasy world with hobbits
- conlangsPurposefully invented linguistic systems
- ElvishTolkien's constructed languages
- mapsGeographic visual representations
- historiesAccounts of past events
appendices · genealogies · ages · realms · races · lore · cosmology · Silmarillion
Small, peaceful fantasy folk
Of countryside or clergy care
- verdantLush with plants
- ancientVery old indeed
- twilightLight after sunset
- idyllicPerfectly peaceful and charming
rustic · medieval · timeworn · luminous · sylvan · autumnal · starlit · weathered
Urge toward the unwise
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- friendshipBond of mutual affection
- providenceDivine protective care
mortality · loss · hope · redemption · burden · pity · mercy · industrialization
epic
Impressively grand in scope
- legendariumComprehensive fictional mythology collection
- sagaExtended heroic narrative
- questSeeking journey for something
subcreation · philological · world-building · bardic · timeless · allegorical · elegiac
Middle-earth
Fantasy world with hobbits
- conlangsPurposefully invented linguistic systems
- ElvishTolkien's constructed languages
- mapsGeographic visual representations
histories · appendices · genealogies · ages · realms · races · lore · cosmology · Silmarillion · backstory
hobbits
Small, peaceful fantasy folk
rangers · fellowship · oath-bound · Nazgul
pastoral
Of countryside or clergy care
idyllic · rustic · medieval · timeworn · luminous · sylvan · autumnal · starlit · weathered · moss-covered
temptation
Urge toward the unwise
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- friendshipBond of mutual affection
providence · mortality · loss · hope · redemption · burden · pity · mercy · industrialization · stewardship
Tolkienesquegrimdark
Cynical fantasy subgenre
nihilistic · morally gray · cynical · amoral · bleak
Tolkienesquegritty
Coarse or courageous
modern · brutalist · minimalist · colloquial · sparse
Tolkienesqueurban
Pertaining to cities
industrial · dystopian · steampunk · cyberpunk · technological