Earlier quoted context omitted.
They really aren't all that different from each other. One is imaginary things that might one day be possible, and the other is imaginary things that won't ever be possible. And even then, that can swap between the genres. Scifi often contains FTL tech, which from what we know is almost certainly impossible so it's actually more like fantastical magic. Meanwhile, fantasy can have hard rules for its magic, in which ca…
I never find it helpful when people say they aren't that different from each other. Sure there may be some similarities if you want to take an analytical view of the genres, but there's an awful lot of people who like one but not the other.
My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
101–110 of 179 posts
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
How would you classify The Foundation? Classic sci-fi novel, right? But it has telepaths.. By modern standards, telepathy, empaths, telekinesis.. that's all magic. Fantasy. But in 20th century science fiction it was extremely common.
Note that in the 20th century telepathy was believed to be real.
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#103I read sci-fi but not fantasy, why do people insist on lumping these together?
Practically speaking, they're lumped together for a few reasons: 1. Many people who like one genre also like the other. 2. Many authors write in both genres. 3. There's a lot of similarity in the genres, and lots of things that are hard to categorize. More true lately btw. Just as an aside though, I personally was an avid almost-only-SF reader for the first 30-ish years of my life, but lately have been reading a lot…
*urban fantasy has entered the chat*
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#104I read sci-fi but not fantasy, why do people insist on lumping these together?
How would you classify The Foundation? Classic sci-fi novel, right? But it has telepaths.. By modern standards, telepathy, empaths, telekinesis.. that's all magic. Fantasy. But in 20th century science fiction it was extremely common.
Especially given how some of the "science fiction" elements of it read 100+ years later.
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#105Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#106I read sci-fi but not fantasy, why do people insist on lumping these together?
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#107I read sci-fi but not fantasy, why do people insist on lumping these together?
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#108Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm with you. My favorite sci-fi is something like Project Hail Mary, which is radically different from fantasy.
I do not understand the praise that PHM or Andy Weir get in general. I hate the way he writes. Characters are all interchangeable and quirky because he says so. The science is tacked on like a chemistry teacher putting their kids to bed. SciFi: Read Larry Niven and James Blish if you like feats of engineering, read Ann Leckie and Nancy Kress if you like characters defined by their actions. Don’t tell me to be excited…
Re: My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before
#110Anyone got some favs to share? I need to read the new Peter Hamilton book (book 2 due out soon). And I am ashamed to admit I haven't read any Greg Egan yet, need to get on that :)