This sub-genre is the bread and butter, some would say, of the Fantasy genre itself. And examples surely abound of award-winning novels replete with the hack and slash/ spells-a-flying plot lines. These types of stories usually include (with notable exceptions) sword-play, magic, and a modicum of medieval-brand adventure. One does not have to look far to find outstanding examples of this type of story, with authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and Robert E. Howard.