Fantasy or SF

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

This will be very contentious (I hope!) but check out autor China Mieville's very interesting views on fantasy: http://www.panmacmillan.com/Features/China/debate.htm
In some ways, he parallels Michael Moorcock's views, especially on Tolkien.


-I agree with much of what he says. What do you think?

 

[Whoknew5]

Any genre is only as strong as the best authors. Which are the best authors will always be personal taste.

Nemesis, I agree. Each genre has its own highlights and downfalls. I like sci fi for its creative thinking which is often science based. But I love the way some fantasy writers are able to create an entire world based on nothing we are familiar with.

 

[tschurter]

For my 2 cents, I really enjoy both COMPLETELY dependent on the quality of writing.

Great Fantasy - Grrrreeeeaaaat!

Great SciFi - Grrrreeeeaaaat!

Of course, the definition of great is completely determined by the individual reader - long live individual choice and opinion!

PS - SciFi really falls into two categories: Hard Science Fiction and everything NOT hard science fiction. Personally I prefer the later though I do enjoy both.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Interestingly, I have recently been alternating between SF and fantasy, and I find that life is much more fun this way.


Although, I have to be a lot more careful in picking my fantasy reads, as I tend to prefer the darker, more offbeat works in the genre.

 

[Ahdkaw]

Interesting thread this. I'm more into Science Fiction myself, but then I have read Fantasy in the past, although LoTR bored me to tears and now cannot stand anything by Tolkien. I really enjoyed the Thomas Covenent series (the first set, second set were rubbish IMHO), and a couple of others, but that's the only one that really stands out in my mind.

When it comes to Science Fiction though, I have read as much as I can over the years, and for one specific genre, it sure has a hell of a lot of sub-genres to it (Detective, Humour, etc). My favourites (to name a few) include The War Against The Chtorr by David Gerrold, Babylon 5: Legions of Fire by Peter David, Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton, and quite a few more that I can't carry on listing like some kinda drone.

But then there is the Fantasy/Science Fiction crossover that a certain authoress by the name of Julian May did so well with The Sage of The Exiles (Fantasy with hints of Science Fiction) and The Galactic Milieu Trilogy (Science Fiction with a hint of Fantasy). So, it's best not to write the genre off completely, it has it's uses after all...

*rubs chin*

 

[BlueSkelton]

When you write something as immensely popular as the saga Tolkien
wrote it inevitably becomes an institution. Everyone wants a little peace
of the pie so the hacks circle and exploit anything they can get their hands
on. It is the same way with George Lucas (by that i mean old star wars not
the braindead crap he puts out these days). I ve read at least 3 novels containing huge moonlike structures with the capacity to destroy an entire
planet. There are hack writers in ever genre seeking to make a living off other
people's sucess. It is far better to adapt and add aspects of a truly creative and talented writer as your own. In the long run it is better to pay tribute than to emulate. For every good sci/fi fantasy book out there, there are about 100-1000 poor imitations of those books. Unless im in the mood for some pulp sci fi or fantasy (bad writing will teach you far more about writng than anything u can emulate from the masters). If you become a disciple of one of the masters you will forever be trapped by their writing style. You will be judged according to their standards rather than your own. It is far better to let them influence you and write in your own style. Quentin tarantino is the writer i most admire (i would argue that he is a fantasy writer even thou his realms and characters are semi-realistic) Science Fiction and Fantasy both have excellent novels and stories to offer. It really just depends on what genre you prefer. I prefer the gritty hard hitting novelists like heinlein, tolkien, early Elron Hubbard (final blackout). Burt Cole (the Quick) or phillip k dick. I am a sci fi fantasy nut and i really prefer it when they mix the two genres together. i feel that will become more prominent in the future. Serials like shadowrun can be an amusing experience. The storylines of shadowrun can be a little trite but the world is rich and entertaining. Post apocalyptic Fantasy is a genre i feel has not been explored fully and i am looking forward to reading more of it. I just wish the filmakers wouldnt botch good sci fi books and tarnesh its reputation. Starship Troopers was a mockery that made Heinlein roll over in his grave i am sure. There are so many good novels in both genres it really is tough to argue which genre is superior.

 

[thecripplewhoiswhole]

...I am a sci fi fantasy nut and i really prefer it when they mix the two genres together. i feel that will become more prominent in the future. Serials like shadowrun can be an amusing experience. The storylines of shadowrun can be a little trite but the world is rich and entertaining. Post apocalyptic Fantasy is a genre i feel has not been explored fully and i am looking forward to reading more of it... There are so many good novels in both genres it really is tough to argue which genre is superior.

As a shadowrun player, I can say that yes the storylines may be horribly unoriginal sometimes, but that just encourages us to make our own storylines. That makes the immense world of SR even more interesting. I too look forward to seeing the combinations of both SF and Fantasy, things both strange and wonderful happen when the worlds of magic and technology collide.

 

[rune]

I prefer Fantasy, especially dark fantasy

 

[BlueSkelton]

Im glad to know people still play shadowrun. I played

it often when i was a kid and thought maybe it had died

off. Is there new material coming out or is it just based off

the older stuff? And i dont want to put a negative spin

on shadowrun. Any series of books with multiple authors contributing

(what do you call this kind of book series? If you could tell me I would

apreciate it greatly if not i will check the bookstore when i go.) is bound to

have authors who arent as good as others.Do You know of any shadowrun fan

fiction? But i would like to say that

some of the Shadowrun stories are excellent and exemplify the rich

creative world of Shadowrun. Thanks for responding to my post Crip

 

[Ivo]

I prefer Sci-Fi over Fantasy for the most part. However, it seems that there is a weird balance between the two.

There are plenty of Sci-Fi shows around but very few are any good imo. There really isn't much Fantasy made but they tend to be better or maybe LOTR just tipped the scales a bit. I don't know.

 

[BAYLOR]

I like both but do have tenancy to gravitate towards fantasy .

 

[psikeyhackr]

We live in a world where decisions must be made about what to do with e-waste not dragon poop. I had a conversation with a man who carried an Automobile magazine around and said he loved cars. He didn't know a crank shaft from a cam shaft.

So now we have a sub-genre called cli-fi. I bet we will be over 3 degrees C by 2100, but I think all discussion of economics since 1960 that didn't mention planned obsolescence is bullsh**.

Economic Wargames