Fantasy vs Science Fiction: A Poll

[Culhwch]

Or George R. R. Martin, or Scott Lynch, or Neil Gaiman, or Patrick Rothfuss, or...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I would put science fiction because it seems that with every fantasy book they have the same type of character based in them - elves, orcs, and that sort of deal.

When people say things like that I always wonder if they actually read fantasy, or are simply going by some popular perception.

 

[Rinman]

Man I feel like I'm getting beaten up here...Teresa you know I'm completely new to this stuff - just from what I see and hear...Tolkien, Brooks, whoever wrote the Warhammer books (Not 40 000), Warcraft...they've all got similar aspects really.

Sheesh. *cries*

 

[Culhwch]

No one's beating any one up. Just making the point that fantasy encompasses worlds upon worlds more than Tolkien, Brooks, Warhammer and Warcraft (the latter two, and perhaps even three, most fantasy afficionados would more than happily omit from a list of some 'typical' fantasy).

The thing is, there is no such thing as typical fantasy, just as there is no such thing as typical science fiction (bad science fiction, yes, boring science fiction, yes, typical science fiction, no...*).

Try this on for size. It's at least a good jumping off point.

*prepares self for inevitable flaming

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

... there is no such thing as typical science fiction (bad science fiction, yes, boring science fiction, yes ...)

Wait -- haven't you disproved your own point?

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I don't really mean that. I used to read a lot of science fiction.

That's a pretty good article, for Wikipedia, Cul -- although it does put some authors who write in a wide variety of sub-genres and a wide-variety of settings (Tanith Lee, for instance) into categories that are hardly representative of their body of work.

But if you scroll down as far as, say, Fantasy of Manners you will come across one or two very good authors.

 

[Professor 0110]

Man I feel like I'm getting beaten up here...Teresa you know I'm completely new to this stuff - just from what I see and hear...Tolkien, Brooks, whoever wrote the Warhammer books (Not 40 000), Warcraft...they've all got similar aspects really.

You're getting that perception because many popular fantasy books (i.e the fantasy series harped on about by the media) deal with the epic battle between good and evil. You know, the stuff that a lot of people really love. Especially if it also contains a little romance.

My vote is for fantasy.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Went for fantasy. I just prefer swords and dragons to spacecraft. Overall, probably read more sci-fi than fantasy (although I got rid of a lot of sci-fi a few years ago and have read mostly fantasy and classical stuff since).

 

[kythe]

Fantasy. I do read both, but the books I tend to get attached to and read over and over are fantasy. Sci-fi can be thought provoking and stretch us in different ways, but fantasy is often more character driven and creates a greater emotional attachment.

 

[ratsy]

I would put science fiction because it seems that with every fantasy book they have the same type of character based in them - elves, orcs, and that sort of deal. It seems with science fiction you can have more of a variety.

This kind of stereotype really gets to me. There is so much Fantasy out there that is way above the common misconception. If all I read was LOTR and walked around if Hobbit slippers than I could understand but there are so many fantastic authors changing the genre all the time.

There is a new generation of great authors out in the past few years; Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson to name a few that are anything but typical dragons, elves, coming of age journey with wizards and constant perils.

You know what, I do read some generic fantasy because they are classics just like I am sure SF fans still read Asimov but the Fatansy field isn't limited to these stories.

I see what shows are on television for fantasy and in truth I don't blame people for not knowing how good it can be because of the junk they put on t.v. Merlin?? Legend of the Seeker?? Come on...I really can't wait for GRRM's series to hit HBO so the world can see a great fantasy story.

Anyone who doesn't read fantasy should try some of these new authors and see what they think. What can it hurt?

 

[AE35Unit]

Saying fantasy is all the same is like saying SF is all the same,or all cars look the same. Totally irrelevant and these kind of What genre is best threads are quite pointless other than to get people hot under the collar.

 

[Pyar]

Pyar: which was the last one?

A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park

It started out ok, but it devolved into a very bad plot with underdeveloped characters. It ended with a kind of cliffhanger that almost made me want to read the next one but it was just written so badly that I just couldn't.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

What genre is best threads are quite pointless other than to get people hot under the collar.

Quite right. People should be able to stick to saying what they like and why they like it without taking digs at what somebody else likes.

This poll doesn't seem to be attracting very many votes. Maybe there should have been a "Who Cares?" option.

 

[J-Sun]

A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park

It started out ok, but it devolved into a very bad plot with underdeveloped characters. It ended with a kind of cliffhanger that almost made me want to read the next one but it was just written so badly that I just couldn't.

Ah. I've never read him, but always thought he was an SF author. Many authors can switch hit, but some can't. Maybe he's one of the latter and some born-and-bred fantasy would do better. (Then again, maybe he's not a good SF writer, either.)

 

[Erin99]

This poll doesn't seem to be attracting very many votes. Maybe there should have been a "Who Cares?" option.

Well, I missed this poll because it was hidden in this section, which I rarely visit these days......

But it's definitely fantasy for me. You can't beat being sucked into a different world, with strong, engaging characters and sweeping plots.

Plus, though I'm a techy person, I've never been into the whole "spaceship" idea. Saying that, however, I do like Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, because that feels more fantasy-like to me.

 

[Lioness]

Fantasy for me.

A fantasy world usually resembles some sort of medieval or close-to-medieval world. Do note I said usually, I know that not all of them do, and in fact the ones that don't can be a pleasant surprise.

I just like getting lost in magic and tales and fantastical things.

 

[Rinman]

Ya know the funny thing is that I just realized, the stuff that I read is more science fiction, I prefer science fiction overall, but the things I want to write seem to be more fantasy. It's kind of like how Stephen King is a horror writer, yet his Dark Tower series ended up in the Science Fiction / Fantasy section at McNally Robinson's...

 

[Culhwch]

The thing is Stephen King isn't just a horror writer. That's just one genre he writes in. There's no rules saying you can't write across a number of genres.

 

[Rinman]

What other genres does he write in? I've only seen books in the horror section (Forget about the Dark Tower series - pretend it didn't exist). So yeah, what other genres?

 

[Culhwch]

Why would I pretend it didn't exist? The Dark Tower series and The Eyes of the Dragon are both SFF, and a number of his novellas, such as Apt Pupil, The Body, and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, are definitely not horror. The Green Mile I'd say is more of a supernatural fable, to coin a genre on the spot. Hearts in Atlantis is another one that's hard to place, though certainly not horror.

Horror is just what he's best known for. I don't think it's even what he's best at. My opinion, though.

 

[Rinman]

What I meant by "pretend it doesn't exist" is if he hadn't written that, what other books would you find in genres other than horror. That's what I meant. Because I know you'd find The Dark Tower in Sci Fi / Fantasy. I've never heard of Eyes of the Dragon so there's one. That's what I meant.