Fantasy vs Science Fiction: A Poll

[True Blue Mug]

My head say sci-fi, but my heart says fantasy.

 

[Palerider]

Horror and Fantasy, in that order.

 

[R M Tobias]

What does book of the new sun come under?

 

[mosaix]

SF for me, every time.

 

[Weasel Soup]

My decision came down to do I prefer Martin or Gibson. Love them both but Martin wins.

 

[Connavar]

Close this thread for SF fans sake

Of course the heroics of fantasy wins over the what ifs of SF,darker social stories,science babble stories. A generlisation but fantasy is more popular so what.


SF fanboy rant over !

 

[midworldman]

Fantasy is for those who wistfully long for a world where their dreams are real. A world that can never exist. Science Fiction can oft times become reality. Even it's most ambitious visions are just a question of engineering.

 

[Michael01]

I chose fantasy, but like others here I like both - very much. How can I not love stories like Dan Simmons' Hyperion or Clarke's Ender series (especially the Bean books)? I found as much wonder - and sometimes more - in them as any fantasy I've read.

And there really is a lot of same old, same old in fantasy. It's just that it has so much more potential than it actually exhibits most of the time. I can imagine fantasy going places and doing things in many directions; yet, many writers keep to the same well-worn paths and rarely seem to venture off of them. I read many fantasy stories that I love, but I keep hoping for something that goes beyond the usual fare at the same time.

In the meantime, I still have my favorites: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Elantris, The Chronicles of Amber, and so on....

 

[mdlachlan]

I prefer fantasy books but SF films. With the exception of Lord of the Rings and maybe Time Bandits, I struggle to think of a good fantasy film. And yes, I am including Highlander and Potter.
That said, can't we like both? I mean, I like tea, I like coffee, what's the problem?

 

[Cynic]

Definitely Fantasy. I read Sci Fi now and again but if I want to read something scientific I tend to read Scientific papers or articles. Fantasy will always be my favorite genre.

 

[william b]

I don't always care for hard sci-fi but I like a good space adventure or a twist on old SF ideas.

 

[Esspwebbb]

I will go with science fiction.Its more interesting.

 

[Starbeast]

I couldn't vote. There are many elements of science fiction and fantasy I like, plus the combination of both can make for a wild story.

 

[Abernovo]

SF for me, and decent Hard SF, by preference. That said, my guilty pleasures include some Urban Fantasy, particularly Jim Butcher's 'Dresden Files' and Richelle Mead's 'Succubus' novels (I'm in touch with my feminine side - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). Most other Fantasy does nothing for me. I have to admit I thought Lord of the Rings was pretty decent, but all other High Fantasy leaves me cold. Maybe I'm reading the wrong books, or maybe I'll go back one day and love some of them. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

 

[Needle]

Simply put- dragons and magic trump spaceships and robots every time!

 

[Vince W]

For me it's scifi. I love to see the future and how it is envisioned. Fantasy is ok once in a while, but it can't hold my attention for very long.

 

[CS Johnson]

I can't answer this! Somedays fantasy, others SF, then again ... It's a bit like asking which of your children you prefer.

 

[hopewrites]

I chose fantasy because magic is more believable.

wait wait let me defend my statement.

The SF I've read is full of technical jargon and incomplete world building. I dont know where I am or what is going on. Where as fantasy explains things.
I love watching Futurama, because they explain the SF end of it. Too often when I read SF and come to some techno-babel I, like Fry, just say "magic" and move on.

 

[Jeni]

I prefer fantasy.

I find it takes me a lot longer to get into and read science fiction... I can read a whole fantasy series in the time it would take to read one sci-fi novel. This is in part because I've never been able to get as emotionally connected to a sci-fi novel as I can to a fantasy novel... although I did get close with Asimov's 'The God's Themselves'.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Very very hard, I read more fantasy, but when it comes to creation, it's sci fi all the time, even when I don't mean it to be, and even though my knowledge and skills lean to fantasy, I suspect its the legacy of early reading.. Dune, C. S. Lewis, Scott card's short work. Whilst I love the fantasy its the sheer untouched potential that makes my main character a space boy, and I can't change that. Heck, yes, it's sci fi, tried to talk myself down, but there you go... any tickets on the Virgin starship for less than a quid?