fantasy novels are a prime example. Also
referred to as shape-shifters.
shared universe A situation in which several
authors write stories with a common setting,
although usually not with any common char-
acters, as distinguished from writers continuing
or adding to a series by a deceased author.
Shared universes are frequently collections of
short stories, such as the Thieves’ World series,
edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey.
splatterpunk A term applied to writers who spe-
cialize in visceral, erotic horror that employs
shock and revulsion to evoke an emotional
response. Writers generally associated with
splatterpunk include John Skipp, Craig Spector,
and Edward Lee.
steampunk Stories usually set in Victorian
England, or a variation of Victorian England,
that often blend magic and science, such as in
Homunculus,by James P. Blaylock, although
some examples are science fiction rather than
fantasy.
sword and sorcery Originally applied to fantasy
adventures set in a primitive world, sometimes
prehistoric Earth, usually pitting barbarian
heroes against evil sorcerers. The term is some-
times intended to include most contemporary
fantasy using a quasi-medieval setting, i.e.,
swords rather than firearms, although most of
this is more properly high fantasy. Robert E.
Howard and Fritz Leiber are two of the most
prominent writers of sword and sorcery.
tie-ins Stories or novels written to fit into a story
line or fantasy world created in another medi-
um, such as television, movies, and most com-
monly role-playing games and computer
games. The most obvious examples are the
multiauthor Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms,
and Warhammer novel series. They should be
distinguished from novelizations, which adapt
a movie or television script into book form.
timeslip Most commonly romance novels in
which a character from our era is transported
by some magical means back to an earlier peri-
od. Sometimes used in reverse, with a person
from the past magically carried forward to the
present. The most famous of these is the
Voyager series by Diana Gabaldon.
urban fantasy Although technically any fantasy
novel set within a city, the term is more proper-
ly applied to stories in which our world overlaps
at one or more points with that of a fantasy
realm, these points located within a major city
populated by elves and fairies who sometimes
cross the border. One of the earliest and most
influential was War for the Oaksby Emma Bull.402 Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction