Fantasy vs Science Fiction: A Poll

[Jo Zebedee]

And a third; oh yey! Space opera is, I believe, underrated* and often treated as the second cousin to hard sci fi by the sci fi fans and fantasy by the fantasy fans. Who doesn't love a nice, sexy pilot, some shoot'em ups and some realised characters in an exciting story.

*but, ahem, I would say that, since I'm trying to flog a space opera book.

 

[Bowler1]

There are three of us just waiting in the wings for a good space opera so get flogging!

 

[nightdreamer]

I refuse to vote. That's like asking which is more important, your heart or lungs? Both are essential for survival.

 

[hopewrites]

yes but your lungs wont work without your heart, and your heart will work without your lungs. so ....



thats be being nitpicky because i havent eaten.
i better go see if there is any filet of dragon left in the hover fridge.

 

[Bowler1]

I'll read both but given a choice such as, what to take with me if I were stuck on a island for a year then it would have to be SciFi.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Iiiinn this corner, weighing in at four hundred and eighty seven kilograms*, Sciieeeeence Fiction!!

And iiiin this corner, weighing in one hundred and thirty five pounds**, Faaaantassssyy!!

Now, let's get ready to rummmmbble!!!!!

*Power armour is heavy.

**Chainmail bikinis are not so heavy.***

***May not include the weighht of the average Fat Fantasy Trilogy, Dead Tree Edition.

 

[Bowler1]

Ahhh nooo, I don't want to be the big fat one, DOE, what have you done........

 

[hopewrites]

you forgot to mention how comfortable chainmail bikini's are.

 

[Bowler1]

Hmmm, then again, chainmail bikini's......

 

[hopewrites]

its probably easier to mount a lightspeeder than a dragon though. and aliens are notoriously easier to negotiate with than anything fey.

 

[Bowler1]

If I were fighting fantasy I'd take the easy route. I'd stay in space and chuck rocks at you from a great big distance. Not very brave but effective!

 

[hopewrites]

Yes but how's your cloaking device? And can my fey friends bypass its technology with their magic?
Also how are you supposed to appreciate the view of chainmail bikini clad Amazonian women mounted on flaming dragons from space?
Makes it rather hard to be enchanting ...

 

[Bowler1]

Makes it rather hard to be enchanting ...

Your 100% right Hopewrites, all possible fantasy enchantments would be wasted on a spaceman high in orbit. That would Nulify one of fantasy's greatest strengths and give me a fighting chance. Not very brave, not very fair, but it’s got to give me an advantage. There is only one type of fight that counts, the one you win!

Now, where did I leave all those big rocks?

 

[hopewrites]

In the care of my dwarves of course

 

[J-WO]

Also how are you supposed to appreciate the view of chainmail bikini clad Amazonian women mounted on flaming dragons from space?

Somewhere in California, there's a van with this image airbrushed on it.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Somewhere out in space, there are dwarf asteroid miners with that image airbrushed on their spaceship.

 

[Colbey Frost]

Fantasy to escape the real world and its army of bots!

 

[Gramm838]

wh'at pu'ts me of'f abo'ut fan'tasy is the num'ber of wor'ds that inc'lude un'necessa'ry apost'stop'hies...not every fantasy location or name has to have an arabic or oriental basis to it, does it?

 

[hopewrites]

maybe those writers just want to point up how many contractions it took to give birth to their world.

 

[Abernovo]

wh'at pu'ts me of'f abo'ut fan'tasy is the num'ber of wor'ds that inc'lude un'necessa'ry apost'stop'hies...not every fantasy location or name has to have an arabic or oriental basis to it, does it?

Sorry to be pedantic, Gramm, but apostrophe use does not denote 'an arabic or oriental basis'. Quite often, I take apostrophes in Fantasy words to represent a glottal stop, which is common in many languages, including your own. Scots Gaelic to Polynesian, many cultures have it in their language.

In a different world, I would expect the names to be a little unusual. However, I do take the point that an apostrophe might be used by a lazy writer to create a false air of exoticism, which I think would come across crassly unimaginative.

maybe those writers just want to point up how many contractions it took to give birth to their world.

On the other hand, I think Hope's answer here is perfect.