I do have many (conflicting) feelings on this very topic and have been known to get into heated debates with anyone stupid enough to go there with me. But I'll start with this:
I think if something is saying it is Sci-fi, then it needs to be Sci-fi. There must be some basis in science (actual science, futuristic science, whatever, SCIENCE! maybe even sKience!) with appropriate explanations for the ~stuff~ that happens within this universe. (I'm looking at you, Torchwood, and your confusion about what the hell you were.)
If it's fantasy, it doesn't have to work quite so hard to explain things. You can just go blah blah MAGIC! and Bob's yer uncle. Although, world-building for any type of fantasy universe should be pretty involved. I'm not a big fantasy fan b/c I genuinely hate it when there's MAGIC just for the sake of "ooh shiny" or what have you. Even in a magical world, things must make some sort of sense. (And this is why - do not stone me - I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan. Because so much of the flashy flashy magic crap was pointless and without reason.)
Blending the two successfully just sounds way too difficult for my feeble brain. There are so many things that MUST BE EXPLAINED!
Take the zombie genre, for example. You've got your old school rising from the grave voodoo zombies, and you new class "virus" zombies. The former, magical. The latter, science-y. With the former, you don't have to work so hard on explaining HOW dead bodies are walking around and eating live ones. IT IS MAGIC! But with the latter, suspension of disbelief is relied upon too much. All the science talk in the WORLD does not explain a virus that kills then reanimates the corpse, allows that corpse to walk and eat but does not slow/stop decay. Mr Zombie, how are your muscles working if your blood is not pumping? HOW? HOW?
...it's possible I've thought about this way too much.
As for your questions... I sincerely believe that a good writer can make any scenario work within any set of boundaries. It's just really fucking hard. And you should decide, before you set out, if you're going to be science or MAGIC.
no subject
OK!
I do have many (conflicting) feelings on this very topic and have been known to get into heated debates with anyone stupid enough to go there with me. But I'll start with this:
I think if something is saying it is Sci-fi, then it needs to be Sci-fi. There must be some basis in science (actual science, futuristic science, whatever, SCIENCE! maybe even sKience!) with appropriate explanations for the ~stuff~ that happens within this universe. (I'm looking at you, Torchwood, and your confusion about what the hell you were.)
If it's fantasy, it doesn't have to work quite so hard to explain things. You can just go blah blah MAGIC! and Bob's yer uncle. Although, world-building for any type of fantasy universe should be pretty involved. I'm not a big fantasy fan b/c I genuinely hate it when there's MAGIC just for the sake of "ooh shiny" or what have you. Even in a magical world, things must make some sort of sense. (And this is why - do not stone me - I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan. Because so much of the flashy flashy magic crap was pointless and without reason.)
Blending the two successfully just sounds way too difficult for my feeble brain. There are so many things that MUST BE EXPLAINED!
Take the zombie genre, for example. You've got your old school rising from the grave voodoo zombies, and you new class "virus" zombies. The former, magical. The latter, science-y. With the former, you don't have to work so hard on explaining HOW dead bodies are walking around and eating live ones. IT IS MAGIC! But with the latter, suspension of disbelief is relied upon too much. All the science talk in the WORLD does not explain a virus that kills then reanimates the corpse, allows that corpse to walk and eat but does not slow/stop decay. Mr Zombie, how are your muscles working if your blood is not pumping? HOW? HOW?
...it's possible I've thought about this way too much.
As for your questions... I sincerely believe that a good writer can make any scenario work within any set of boundaries. It's just really fucking hard. And you should decide, before you set out, if you're going to be science or MAGIC.