Modern Fantasy
It is set in the current time, but with unusual elements such as animals who talk, flying cars, faeries, ghosts, and other non-indigenous creatures. It is set in our world, not a separate reality. Think of modern horror with lighter elements to it and a sense of wonder. Usually it starts with people having normal lives that are interrupted by the fantastical elements bursting in.
Urban Fantasy
Although usually set in modern cities, technically any city will do, such as Victorian London or WWII Paris. The important part is that the city becomes one of the characters in a way—the setting is crucial. Usually there is a magical / horror layer—what comes out at night in a dark alley. Is that guy on the corner painted silver, or is he actual silver and drains the life out of children each night? Usually there is a strong romance going on between two of the main characters, although that is not the primary idea driving the plot.
Historical Fantasy
Sometimes called “Sword & Sorcery”, it must take place in a time earlier than the 20th century, and often between 1100-1600 C.E. or in Ancient Greece. Culture has a major influence, whether it is trying to be accurate to a specific time period, or a sort of alternate history world. Most of the fantasy that first comes to mind, especially ancient faerie tales, falls into this category. Steampunk could be put under here as well, although it is different enough to warrant its own area and I would put it more with Science Fiction.
Epic Fantasy
Filled with large numbers of characters and worlds on the brink of extinction if the intrepid hero cannot save them, high fantasy is concerned with the bigger picture and has a grand scale to it. Books such as Lord of the Rings come to mind. A Song of Ice and Fire is more difficult to place, because despite the threat from The Others, most characters are only interested in personal quests. I would personally put George R.R. Martin into this category simply from the scope of his works.
Alternate / Parallel Worlds
When a few modern characters find themselves pulled into secret kingdom of dwarves, it’s time to look at the alternate worlds sub-genre. I mostly use this because it is what faerie stories use—plain normal life of a cottage and the character is down on their luck, then they help an old woman across a stream and poof—into a magical castle with talking chalices. The Chronicles of Narnia is a famous example of the parallel world, and the popular Australian series Elephant Girl where a modern day girl discovers she is the mythical princess of an alternate realm. What is great about this genre is that there are characters we can relate to that ground the mythological elements, and can demonstrate the wonder of being in their first tournament. Knights in a historical fantasy would be more “whatever” about it. Popular plots include: Stranger in a strange land, Between the worlds, Multiverse, Alternate Timeline, Out of Phase.
Dark Fantasy
Gloomy dread-filled Gothic tales of sweeping moors and abandoned mansions fill this sub-genre. It has a lot in common with other supernatural books, but tends to be more interested in the horror element as something to be explored. What are the creatures who go bump in the night thinking? Why do they have the lust to kill? Often the protagonist is not trustworthy and haunted by his or her own demons. If you get chills reading the book, it probably falls into this category.
Paranormal Romance
Technically it is a sub-genre of romance novels, but it can overlap with fantasy, so I included it. The most common setting is modern times with otherworldly creatures falling in love with humans, or people who gain special abilities such as telekinesis. Occasionally the romance will happen between two supernatural beings, such as a wizard and a succubus, and sometimes they are set in the past or future. Usually it explores what happens as a normal modern protagonist falls in love with a creature from a secret world or different time. As of this moment, it is quite popular as a sub-genre.
Food can add dimension to fantasy, or bog the story down in details, depending on how it is handled. Harry Potter uses it both to accentuate the differences of the Wizarding World (who can forget self-flossing gum?) and to move the story along, such as with the Halloween Feast in the first book. If food is mentioned, there is a purpose to it that drives the plot or gives a laugh that diffuses tension. Chocolate becomes the remedy for those affected by evil dementors, and a chocolate frog card helps Harry figure out what the Philosopher’s Stone is.
Food can become symbols of different races or cultures to help us learn more about them—Elves have light waybread of lembas in Lord of the Rings, which contrasts with “red meat off the bone” of Dwarrows, and Hobbits’ pub grub choices. We understand each culture based on the food put before their guests. In The Hobbit, a character who loves animals serves vegetarian fare. When writing about food, think of what the choice says about the people in the scene. Food can further characterization in ways dialogue cannot. If a huge armoured knight enjoys dainty tarts, what does that say about him? If an otherwise elegant lady secretly hoards legs of turkeys to enjoy in private, what do we learn about her?
In A Song of Ice and Fire, food is described in excruciating detail, right down to the bacon drippings wrapping fish served at an elaborate multi-course meal. We know Tyrion enjoys bacon burned black, that Sansa loves lemon cakes, and that brothers in Castle Black eat pies, but rarely is food used to help the plot or characters. Readers get the feeling characters eat a lot, and are appreciative that George R.R. Martin did his research, but pages of food descriptions for no reason? Sometimes reading the books makes me hungry after going through paragraphs of succulent details of meals, with nothing much else going on during those scenes.
Game of Thrones
Of the seven aspects, few in Westeros pray to the Stranger in time of need, so it is interesting that the Sisters of the faith have to do with that aspect. Whether it was out of love for God in that manner, or out of practical reasons, the Sisters are there to see to it that the dead have proper respect. In an era where violence is casual, with bodies left in the streets stripped naked, the sisters take those forgotten ones and show them tender care they did not receive in life. Bodies are cleaned and prepared for transport or carefully buried.
With people already afraid of the Stranger, death, the cowled habit of the sisters covering all but their eyes, and the vow of silence which can be eerie, they are generally avoided. Though the living shun them, when someone has died, those same people are grateful for the sisters help. Normally during wars they can move freely helping who they can, but some of the more violent men attack the sisters as well. That act is considered unholy, dangerous, and terrible, so few attempt it and usually the sisters are safe to go on with their work.
Numerous characters threaten young girls who are not behaving with being “sent to the silent sisters” which could be put down as a joke, save the fact Cersai the queen seriously considers doing that to a woman she is having problems with. If Cersai, who would as soon murder someone as look at them, contemplates forcing a woman to become a silent sister, that seems to lend credence to the idea that many of the sisters were unwilling participants. This makes sense, since the order is so feared and likely has trouble recruiting. “Come take a vow of silence and clean dead bodies for your entire life” is not exactly something hundreds of girls would want to sign up for. On the other hand, being able to join the order instead of being forced to marry an abusive husband and bear his children might be worth considering. From what the books hint at, many of the sisters joined as middle-aged widows. It may have been a logical choice rather than be forced into another marriage or be murdered for their lands, like Lady Hornwood. Joining the sisters would be safe and have more freedom to it, despite outward appearances.