This month is all about sci-fi and fantasy books. But, have you ever wondered why those two genres get thrown
together? They are a totally different genres, aren’t they?
Yes and no.
Fantasy is just that – fantasy. With made-up worlds,
creatures and all things mystical, magic and spiritual. Science fiction is
expanding on what we already know. But it is still fiction, therefore made up.
Sci-fi deals with things that could happen in the future or alternative
history (what could have happened, say, if Hitler won WW2). With fantasy, it needn’t be explained. Magic can just be. Mythical animals can just be (although I wish someone would dream
up something different to vampires or werewolves!), because fantasy doesn’t need to be explained. We know it isn’t
real, yeah, science fiction isn’t necessarily real anyway, but it’s supposed to be.
With science fiction, there is no magic and so it HAS to work.
Gravity, atmosphere and nebulae (posh word for cloud) need to be just right or else
your characters on your planet won’t look like Brad Pitt (or Angelina Jolie or
whoever/whatever floats your boat – or
spaceship!). It can’t be glossed over,
and it has to make sense.
Of course, you can make things up but it has to seem possible. Want your ship to go faster
than the speed of light? Completely impossible, so someone ‘invented’ the wormhole
(yes, I’m sceptical about them). So invent it and make it possible. It’s no good to say ‘it went faster than the
speed of light’. How? Why?
For argument’s sake, I’ll say science fiction and fantasy can blur into the
other as many books labelled ‘science fiction’ are really just sci-fi/fantasy.
I think, and this in only my personal opinion, it’s because technical advances
have disproved some of the things we thought would be possible one day i.e.
time travel. It isn’t and will never be possible, so therefore some books have
become fantasy. Of course, you’ll always get the real hard core, planetary,
time bending stories that are science fiction through and through.
So, in short, science fiction deals
with things that could happen (or could have happened) and fantasy deals with
things that never, in a zillion years, ever happen.
Of course, you guys may have your own
thoughts and I’d love to hear them.
Eden
Beauty and the Beast for grown ups – a fairytale that’s never out-grown
Imagine being stranded.
No way of getting home.
No telephone, no computer, no shelter.
No food.
Now imagine the place you’re stranded is another planet.
Then you realise you’re not alone after all…
My best selling sci-fi romance, Eden, was a stand-alone novel, but due to the many lovely email requests I’ve had asking for a follow up, I began writing the sequel this summer. Eden the End will be out early next year.
To find out more click!
@louise_wise and T. E Kessler 