Poll: Fantasy or Scifi?

[verdant monkai]

Fantasy all the way, but for some reason most people prefer sci-fi.

In my opinion the books are easier to read. We can all visualise a man with a crossbow shooting an undead skeleton in the head. We can even imagine what a wizard casting a spell would look like (waving staff/wnad/stick with energy flowing around etc.). But if I say "imagine a space ship" it is a lot harder to visualise, even if I say its green with big engines and looks like a bit like a basking shark, that still leaves you having to imagine most of it. With Fantasy we often have a reasonably good idea of what is being described but it can still be interesting, whereas with sci fi it is a lot more vague and usually relies on you to fill in its gaps. For some people that's fine but, I have to imagine everything perfectly like 3d models in my head.

The fights are also more interesting with swords and magic, whereas with sci-fi it is usually just shitty laser fights (with exceptions to stuff like lightsaber duels). I do really love sci-fi (the Mass Effect's being some of my favourite games) but I am more forgiving with fantasy, and harsher with sci-fi. I can read fantasy for hours but sci-fi books tend bore me.

Also to all the people who said BOTH go look up what a forced choice poll is, and if you are still not satisfied make your own.

And the people who said they are the same thing stop arguing semantics, everyone knows what you mean if you use either phrase.
Sci-fi= Laser guns/spaceships
Fantasy= Magic swords/Dragons

 

[Vault101]

But what sci fi is not is space ships and laser guns and pewpewpew!

[quote/]So I guess what I'm saying is both get a lot of schlock stories that serve no purpose other than empty popcorn entertainment[/quote]
I can osrt of agree in that the "syfy" channel(I mean seriously what the fuck is that?) gives the genre a bad rep, and of coarse it has ended up in a ghetto for those reasons

however I dont see anything wrong with using "space ships lazers and pew pew!" as a setting even if its not tackling big philosophical Ideas, a good story is a good story even if its isnt deep

one of my favorite movies ever is the fith element..I mean its no Blade Runner[footnote/]I dont actually like bladerunner but just as an example[/footnote] but it is a great ride...or Mass Effect

 

[mokes310]

Pretty much this...



[img/]http://data.whicdn.com/images/7946458/tumblr_l3qaudU5VD1qb250uo1_500_thumb.jpg[/img]

 

[Vault101]

-Second, both genres require a "straight man", someone who's either a foreigner, or simply so out of touch that everything needs to be explained to them, otherwise the author has no excuse to weave in exposition, even if it's not obvious, if you aren't completely lost, it's there.

not always....it is an easy tool to use but thats only if your being a little unoriginal

 

[McFazzer]

Fantasy for reading, Sci-Fi for movies. I just had a quick look and my collection of books and movies and that seems to be the way the genres fall.

 

[Nerexor]

I vote for science fiction, largely because it's been less corrupted by the publishing industry's recent obsession of putting out "women humping vampires/faeries/werewolves/other supernatural creature that is totally hunky" books. These days if I go into a bookstore and look in the fantasy section it's nothing but covers that belong on trashy romance novels, with back of the book blurbs that scream "there is lots of graphic sex here, so BUY THIS PORN!"

It's gotten so hard to find decent fantasy that sorting through the trash isn't worth it anymore. At least science fiction still seems open to publishing quality rather than "50 shades of android sex." At least for now...

 

[NightmareExpress]

Very interesting question. It ultimately boils down to whether or not I like a retelling of an epic legend from a simpler, yet more hectic time or delve into speculation as to what the future might look like (dystopic, apocalyptic, utopic or what have you).

I've seen brilliant pieces come from both, and abominations stem from both.
To be frank, I'm entirely okay with either and recognize them as relative equals.
Looks like "Soda" it is.

 

[Akisa]

Why not both? Aka Star Wars!

 

[Ashadowpie]

Fantasy all the way, its got everything i love. swords, shields, bows and arrows, dragons, fairies, kings, kingdoms! epic forests, fields and fantasy creatures and flowers * sighs * tis all lovely to me.

sci fi though. i just dont like it. its too...bleak, everything always White washed and Perfect, weapons are modern guns the most boring weapon ever to me. everything's so sterile. the Aliens are pretty cool sometimes but they're still too "human" looking.

i couldnt care less about space ships too and i dont know why either. exploring unknown planets is really cool though.

 

[Vault101]

I agree. I'm not saying that spaceships and lasers disqualifies something as sci-fi. Just that if all you have is a space setting, it's not science fiction. It's Space Opera. Or space fantasy. Or some other genre.

I'm also not saying that shallow sci-fi (or shallow movies with a space setting) are bad. Just that they're not sci fi.

ah..I see

not sure I agree in that I'd say space oper and such are sub genres under sci fi which goes from hard to doft, but yeah I really wouldnt call star wars sci fi because those elements are window dressing at best

and unfortunatly soft sci fi has a reputation for shlock

 

[evilneko]

Honestly, I can Enjoy Both. The settings are equally interesting and even share lots of common traits. Its all about the characters anyway.

Hell, Its even logical that the two things can exist in the same universe (Though...that thinking lies a little too close to really bad crossover Fanfic)

I am disappointed it took 50 posts to get this meme in here.

So anyway...

Spoiler: To Aru-verse anyone?

Magic. Tech. Magic vs. Tech. Magic vs. Magic. Tech vs. Tech.

 

[Saviordd1]

Uh... both?

They can both be done incredibly well, and they can both be insipid regurgitations of hideously overused tropes.

Examples of fantasy done incredibly well? Has to be much better than the LoTR

That's a retarded rule.

That's like saying "all sci fi you include in your list must be better than Star Wars"

To answer your question: A song of Ice and Fire (better known as that book series Game of Thrones is about), Dragonlance, City of Embers (If I remember correctly, its been a while), and others I can't think of right now.

OT: I honestly can't decide, its such a 50-50 its not even funny. That said I prefer my "save the world" stuff to be sci fi as it seems authors get more imaginative with the shit that's going to end the world (universe, whatever).

 

[Elfgore]

Fantasy all the way baby!!!!

My favorite books of all time are fantasy; The Black Company, The Tyranny of the Night, The Dread Empire, Mazlan Book of the Fallen, and Oath of Empires, just to name a few

I do read Scifi every now and again. But going by past post I read Science Fantasy. All I read in the Scifi field is Warhammer 40k books and the occasional Glen Cook Scifi novel.

 

[synobal]

Scifi though if you liked both I guess you could go with Star Wars.

 

[synobal]

Fantasy is my only reason to read books. I cannot stomach non-fiction, and most of "high literature" (realistic fiction, historical fiction, drama, poetry and so on) is unbelievably boring and pretentious, so that leaves genre fiction, of which romance is rape culture, sci fi is eye-rollingly cheerful and optimistic (yes, even things like WH40K and Event Horizon, because pretty much all of sci fi is the author squeeing with delight at how awesome the future is going to be, even the dystopias), urban fantasy is basically the same story over and over (gasp! hidden magical world! mundane character gets embroiled in politics, action and supernatural shenanigans!), horror is dying off, mystery and suspense are regurgitating the same old plots that Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did better at the turn of the past century, and fantasy is really the only genre worth reading at this point, even if most of it is heteronormative, sexist, racist and so on.

Man you make a lot of broad statements about genre's here. You might want to reconsider your opinion. Find some new books in the genre's you dismiss and give them a ago. I think you'll be surprised.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I prefer sci fi because it generally portrays a "Possible" future, instead of a fantastical setting where there are orcs, goblin or elves.

Sci fi's like Star Trek show what life could be like hundreds of years from now, the potential that some of these alien races and technology could or might exist.

 

[DoPo]

I even have a Cyber Punk/Fantasy idea I'm slowly working on.

So-o-o, like Shadowrun?

The main reason being that sci-fi gets bogged down in the realistic extension of our reality, which I personally find pointless. It's not a textbook from the future, it's fiction. Explaining the mechanics of their futuristic world and how modern Earth would develop into it doesn't do a lot for the narrative in my opinion. I think fantasy gives the author a lot more creative power over the setting. And, on a much more mundane level, I honestly just like magic, swords, castles, fantastical races, and what have you and sci-fi doesn't usually have that, so... not my kind of thing.

I think that's a rather skewed view you have on sci-fi. Yes, there is a science-y jerkfest that reads like some sort of academic textbook but there are also fantasy jerkfests that read like the exact same copy of LotR/D&D. Here you go Protection [http://arthursclassicnovels.com/sheckley/protect10.html] by Robert Sheckley - a guy gets...well protection by some creature

"But what are you?"

"A validusian derg."

"A what?"

"I am -- open your larynx a little wider please. Let me see now. I am the Spirit of Christmas Past. The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Bride of Frankenstein. The -- "

"Hold on," I said. "What are you trying to tell me -- that you're a ghost or a creature from another planet?"

"Same thing," the derg replied. "Obviously."

That made is all perfectly clear. Any fool could see that the voice belonged to someone from another planet. He was invisible on Earth, but his superior senses had spotted an approaching danger and warned me of it.

That's the most concrete science-y explanation in there. It may as well be magic. There is Ask A Foolish Question [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33854/33854-h/33854-h.htm] which is a bit weird and philosophical in nature, Warm [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29509/29509-h/29509-h.htm] is plain bizarre and philosophical in nature, Hour of Battle [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29445/29445-h/29445-h.htm] has humans facing telepathic aliens, Keep Your Shape [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32346/32346-h/32346-h.htm] has shapeshifting aliens on their way to conquer Earth, Citizen in Space [http://www.e-reading-lib.org/chapter.php/149381/11/Sheckley_-_Citizen_in_Space.html] is a bit of a 1984 meets space travel but more light hearted, Something for Nothing [http://www.e-reading-lib.org/chapter.php/149381/7/Sheckley_-_Citizen_in_Space.html] has a person finding...well pretty much a magic genie machine, A Thief In Time [http://www.e-reading-lib.org/chapter.php/149381/4/Sheckley_-_Citizen_in_Space.html] while it has time travel doesn't get too focused in it, The Battle [http://www.e-reading-lib.org/chapter.php/149381/9/Sheckley_-_Citizen_in_Space.html] is about Armageddon - really, forces of hell vs humans with remote controlled war machines (these get a glancing mention). And there now some I haven't found online - in Earth, Air, Fire and Water a guy has to basically survive on Venus waiting for rescue, The Odor of Thought has a different guy on a different planet who has to survive the telepathic wildlife there.

And moving on from this one author, let's take one of the people who laid down the groundwork for sci-fi - Isaac Asimov. You may know him for his laws about robots which people still cite and are still relevant but also from writing some hard sci-fi. Well, in Belief [http://coteart.com/Belief.html] you've got no explanation to what looks like supernatural phenomena.

however I dont see anything wrong with using "space ships lazers and pew pew!" as a setting even if its not tackling big philosophical Ideas, a good story is a good story even if its isnt deep

I agree. I'm not saying that spaceships and lasers disqualifies something as sci-fi. Just that if all you have is a space setting, it's not science fiction. It's Space Opera. Or space fantasy. Or some other genre.

I'm also not saying that shallow sci-fi (or shallow movies with a space setting) are bad. Just that they're not sci fi.

Space opera to science fiction has the same relationship like high fantasy to fantasy. It's a subgenre. Well, difference being that fantasy subgenres usually contain "fantasy" in the name, so it spells it out clearly.

 

[el_kabong]

A problem with sci-fi is technology. Not that I have anything against it, but technology is centered around making life easier and being able to overcome seemingly impossible challenges. However, challenge and tension are the main things I look for in my escapist hobbies. When you make life generally easier, I'm less interested in the product. Sci-fi does have universes where technology is either really low or has been wiped out (Star Wars universe, Warhammer 40K, etc.). While I do like these low-tech universes, they usually have more in common with fantasy than sci-fi.

Think about the dramatic/tension elements that are lost when we add technology before its time. Your typical horror movie would suffer from the inclusion of cell phones because a call to the authorities/help is right in everybody's pocket. How difficult are the Riddler's challenges to Batman when he has Google? How trying would the flight of the Israelites from Egypt be if Moses conjured dune buggies from the heavens?

Technology takes the humanity out of stories by lessening our limitations.

 

[Darken12]

Wow, that is possibly the most depressing and reductive assessment of literature I've ever seen. What did you read to make you hate everything so much? All I can think to say is that I am very glad I don't have your outlook on these things else I'd have given up on fiction years ago.

It's reductive because I don't consider it necessary to bore everyone with paragraphs upon paragraphs of why I dislike each specific genre and type of literature.

As for where I got my views, well, I was a very early reader. I spent most of my childhood and adolescence with my nose buried in a book, always feeling vaguely dissatisfied without really knowing why. When I reached adulthood, my views catalysed into what they are today. I still read, occasionally, but my expectations of reading something I might actually enjoy have pretty much disappeared.

Man you make a lot of broad statements about genre's here. You might want to reconsider your opinion. Find some new books in the genre's you dismiss and give them a ago. I think you'll be surprised.

See above as to why I went with broad statements. I summarised my opinion as succinctly as I could, as I'm sure nobody wants to hear someone tearing down pretty much every genre in a way that is ultimately subjective and I don't expect anybody to share.

As for "find new books", what guarantee do I have that my time investment in these books is going to pay off? I pretty much dislike every book I read (to varying degrees; I dislike some books a lot less than others), so why should I give any book a chance when past experience has consistently proven me right? The only reason I still give fantasy a chance is because most authors at least try to be original somehow, and they might have ideas I can transform, improve and incorporate in my own writing and worldbuilding.

 

[Auron]

Both!!! And uh Cyberpunk.