I think of "fantasy" as a sort dreamy PG romance/adventure with fantasy creatures (unicorns, witches, mermaids, fairies), castles, possibly knights, pretty gowns and jewels, swords, horseback riding or boats with sails (no guns, engines or any other tech), damsels in distress.. Of course, from here people who are not soft and romantic wrote Urban Fantasy, still with the pretty and the fantasy creatures, but set firmly in the present or future, and with some use of normal every day tech (cell phones, cars, guns, airplane travel).. some of these do strive for dark realism, but usually overshoot and land in the way darker place :P either way, these writers are usually just looking for a cool backdrop for the romance/adventure they want to write.
Sci-fi is all about the tech, explaining the hows and the whys (no "magical machines", that's steampunk :PP). Space travel or time travel is likely to be at least in the background. No swords, no prettiness, extreme realism, often rather dark and sad (see: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Neuromancer). The best sci fi authors do not just make up new shit and explain it/show it off, they also express philosophical views re: future tech and the various moral dilemmas it will present and possible ways these can or cannot be resolved.
One of the best blendings of hard sci fi and fantasy is The Goblin Reservation by Clifford Simak, who mostly wrote excellent hard sci fi but also did write some ridiculous fantasy...stuff (I am always harping about Simak, sorry!) - this book does have a LOT of fantasy creatures and even a ghost, but they are explained through tech. There is space travel, time travel, mech animals, alien societies, and an expression of philosophical thought in regard to it all..
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Date: 2011-10-19 04:14 pm (UTC)Sci-fi is all about the tech, explaining the hows and the whys (no "magical machines", that's steampunk :PP). Space travel or time travel is likely to be at least in the background. No swords, no prettiness, extreme realism, often rather dark and sad (see: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Neuromancer). The best sci fi authors do not just make up new shit and explain it/show it off, they also express philosophical views re: future tech and the various moral dilemmas it will present and possible ways these can or cannot be resolved.
One of the best blendings of hard sci fi and fantasy is The Goblin Reservation by Clifford Simak, who mostly wrote excellent hard sci fi but also did write some ridiculous fantasy...stuff (I am always harping about Simak, sorry!) - this book does have a LOT of fantasy creatures and even a ghost, but they are explained through tech. There is space travel, time travel, mech animals, alien societies, and an expression of philosophical thought in regard to it all..