Using Wales as a backdrop for raunchy stories about fairies, mythical kingdoms and dragons is ‘patronising’, experts have warned.
Fantasy authors have repeatedly used the country’s mythology, which has strong links to the legend of King Arthur, to make novels more appealing to world audiences.
Legendary writer JRR Tolkien was said to ‘open the floodgates’ to the trend, when using the Welsh language as the basis for Elvish in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
But more recently, the nation’s mystical associations have been mined by those writing for a new genre dubbed ‘fairy porn’ – which sees writers blend romance and elements of high fantasy.
The genre is popular with female readers and turned Sarah J Mass into a bestselling author with her A Court Of Thorns And Roses (ACOTAR) series.
The books repeatedly rehash Welsh language and lore, critics say, with the American author’s characters named Rhysand, Gwyneth, Alis and Morrigan.
This decision has upset some within the literary community, who say tapping into this culture ‘creates an image of the country which isn’t realistic’.
Professor Dimitra Fimi, a lecturer in fantasy literature at the University of Glasgow, told The Telegraph: ‘Wales in particular has a very rich tradition and there is a chain of key fantasy authors that have played around with that material.
‘Fairy porn’ has proven popular with female readers and turned Sarah J Mass into a bestselling author with the A Court Of Thorns And Roses (ACOTAR) series
The ACOTAR series held half of the places in the top 10, with A Court Of Mist And Fury, Wings And Ruin, Silver Flames and Frost And Starlight featuring
Legendary writer JRR Tolkien was said to ‘open the floodgates’ to the trend when using the Welsh language as the model of Elvish in The Lord of the Rings books
‘It’s a positive thing in terms of discovering a very rich new culture or opening up to other perspectives. What worries me is a particular perception of Wales developing within fantasy, which is that it’s this magical, rural, romantic place.
‘It can be pretty patronising. It creates an image of the country which isn’t realistic. That’s not all that Wales is.’
Bethan Hindmarch, a Carmarthenshire bookseller and fantasy blogger, said the trend had ‘increasingly become something of a pet peeve’.
She believed some authors were using the country’s heritage to sound more ‘mystical, magical and made up’.
The ‘fairy porn’ or ‘Romantasy’ genre has taken the world by storm, with its fans being mainly young middle-class women.
The books feature an array of mystical creatures but, most importantly, very detailed sex scenes.
Romantasy was first posted on Urban Dictionary in 2008, but it’s thanks to TikTok, and Maas – whose books have sold 37 million copies – that it’s really taken off.
ACOTAR features a protagonist called Feyre and her love interest High Lord faerie Tamlin. Even more dastardly and alluring is the lord of the Night Court – Rhysand, the epitome of tall dark and handsome, with spades of sex appeal.
Fantasy romance, or romantasy, took off after the popularity of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing is described as ‘The Hunger Games meets 50 Shades Of Grey’. Pictured: Angelina Frerk
Alicia Whatmore from Manchester added that she ‘didn’t know what to do with herself’ after finishing the ACOTAR series
On TikTok, Grace’s Booknook said there are two types of people – those who have read ACOTAR, and those who haven’t
Also popular is Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, described as ‘The Hunger Games meets 50 Shades Of Grey’ – again featuring morally grey love interest Xaden Riorson.
Goodreads revealed last month that Fourth Wing was the most read book of 2024, attracting more than a million readers.
Its sequel, Iron Flame, took second place with 999,000 readers, telling the story of the second year at Basgiath War College.
The ACOTAR series held half of the places in the top 10, with A Court Of Mist And Fury, Wings And Ruin, Silver Flames and Frost And Starlight featuring.
In 2023, Ms Yarros also faced criticism for her unusual pronunciation of her borrowed vocabulary in her best-selling novel Fourth Wing.
She used Gaelic words to name dragons and was asked to read out in an interview to clarify how they were intended to be pronounced.
Scottish readers took to social media to criticise her pronunciation, particularly her way of saying Gaelic (gay-lik) rather than using the correct sounds for Scots Gaelic (gaa-lik).
But this controversy has not affected the book’s sales or the genre’s popularity.
Julianne Buonocore, who founded book industry publication The Literary Lifestyle, told MailOnline that fantasy romance as a genre took off after the popularity of Fourth Wing.
‘This made way for other fantasy series, including monster books, to become popular on TikTok,’ Julianne explained about the book, which sold over two million copies globally.
