home for readers for writers for anyone publications

Science Fiction vs. Fantasy: War of the Speculative Worlds (©1998 Sherry D. Ramsey; first published in a slightly altered form at Sci-fi Arizona [www.scifi-az.com]. All rights reserved.)

The ongoing tug-of-war between science fiction and fantasy crops up in many different places; on bookstore shelves, in publishing houses, at conventions, and in discussion. Most readers and writers of speculative fiction seem to come down decisively on one team or the other, but a few of us, myself included, occupy the most precarious position of all: hanging onto the center of the rope, suspended over that big puddle of mud.

Yes, I confess it. I like science fiction and fantasy, in equal doses, read and write both, and have what I consider to be a fair collection of both gracing my bookshelves. And I make no apology to either team. Both are made up of exceptional members, and I doubt that at the end of the match, either one will actually end up in the mud.

But conflict between the two invariably arises. It isn't difficult to find articles by fantasy lovers denouncing science fiction as "that spaceship crap", nor treatises by SF devotees ranting about fantasy as "that dragon crap". Why this schism? What are the real points of contention? And can they be reconciled? Let's find out.

Defining Science Fiction vs. Fantasy
Proponents in both camps seem to think that the other side has an easier time of it; that one genre is easier to write and therefore a "cop-out". But what exactly are we talking about? Defining science fiction and fantasy is not as easy a task as it might first appear, and it has been attempted many times. I often read stories in magazines categorized as one or the other, and am left wondering how they came to be classified. Novels are usually easier to label, but there are always exceptions.

One answer is that science fiction is built on a foundation of science, however extrapolated or fragile that science may be. There must be a feeling that whatever happens in the story might possibly, even by an enormous stretch of the imagination, happen on earth or at least in a setting bound by the same natural laws of earth.

Even here, however, we can get into trouble, because the bogeyman of faster-than-light travel immediately raises its ugly head. FTL travel is the mainstay of a large body of science fiction work, but it is completely outside the boundary of science as we know it. It is an entirely fantastic notion, but the stories that use it are still science fiction.

And many tales that are categorized as science fiction have nothing to do with science, or contain science that is extremely peripheral to the story, such as works set in the near future. Because they are futuristic, are they scientific? Not necessarily.

So it's difficult to pin down a definition of SF; what about fantasy? Is it any easier?

Fantasy worlds are based on a set of natural laws that differ from those we are bound by on earth. However, this does not mean the fantasy writer has carte blanche to make up whatever he wants. Although the laws may be different, they still must exist. The best fantasy (and we'll assume we're talking about the best of both genres in this article) provides some credible explanation for its fantastic elements. Where magic is a definitive part of a story, the magic system should work on some logical principles; in many cases it can be quite "scientific". Fantasy worlds must be no less "real" than science fiction worlds, if readers are to believe in them.

Of course, not all fantasy is based on other worlds, and not all contain magic. Anything concerning mythical or legendary creatures appearing on earth, manifestations of powers that are not predicated on science as we know it, or pretty much anything that falls outside other established genres ends up as "fantasy".

So it's not much easier to define than science fiction. One of the best definitions I've read comes from Orson Scott Card, another inhabitant of that strange twilight world between science fiction and fantasy. He says, in his book How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Writer's Digest Books, ©1990) "If you have people do some magic, impossible thing by stroking a talisman or praying to a tree, it's fantasy; if they do the same thing by pressing a button or climbing inside a machine, it's science fiction." In other words, look to the trappings of the story to find out where it fits.

A classic example is the Star Wars trilogy. There are few who would say that it is anything but science fiction. And yet the single most important aspect of the story, on which all others depend, is the Force, that strange, wonderful, and entirely fantastic element. But look at the trappings: aliens, spaceships, orbiting Death Stars. Definitely science fiction.

It's no wonder that we run around like dogs chasing our own tails trying to define these two genres with any kind of finality. And do we, as readers, really need to? The bottom line is that both must present a reality with consistent natural laws in order to succeed. This onus is as great in fantasy as it is in science fiction. Writers in both genres must work hard to establish credibility, or their stories will fail.

Who Reads What?
Conventional wisdom seems to characterize science fiction as a more "intellectual" and male-oriented pursuit, and fantasy fiction as more "romantic" and female-oriented. On the whole, I think this is a misconception. While there has been a recent upsurge in a certain type of fantasy fiction that has a strong romantic element and may appeal more to women, this forms almost another fantasy sub-genre. The appearance of the heroine as the lead character is also, I think, a fairly recent development.

Apart from this small category, I would guess there are as many "incidental" romances in science fiction as there are in fantasy fiction, with appeal to both male and female readers. And why not? We as writers know that love (and lust) are strong motivating factors for all humans, and our characters--well, most of them--are only human, after all. And there are enough women writing extremely successful hard science fiction to debunk the notion that females can't keep up with SF on an intellectual level.

Both science fiction and fantasy began life targeted at young males, and both have evolved to embrace a wider audience as more women writers and readers enter the field. But I personally have encountered far more bloody battle scenes and brutality in fantasy than in SF, and find it difficult to accept its characterization as a "kinder and gentler" literature, more appealing to women.

As well, there is a widespread male audience for medieval-setting role-playing and computer games. A significant number of males acquire their taste for fantasy literature via that route.

I think that to classify either genre as the domain of one sex is to unfairly limit its appeal and potential readership.

Genres within Genres
So let's assume we have some vague idea of how to distinguish fantasy from science fiction. There's also the issue of sub-genres. Browse the entries in a writer's market and you'll find mention of dark fantasy, light fantasy, contemporary fantasy, heroic fantasy, traditional fantasy, feminist fantasy, magic realism and unclassifiable fantasy, and this is not an exhaustive list! Likewise, science fiction is first subdivided into "hard" and "soft" SF, moving from there into space opera, time-travel, alternate history, sociological SF, literary SF, adventure SF, and the list goes on.

The best place to look if you really want to know the differences among all these types is a writer's market guide geared specifically for speculative fiction. Each sub-genre of fantasy and science fiction has certain conventional elements, and some short story markets especially are very particular. But do keep in mind that these sub-genres, too, are the product of a publishing industry with a driving need to classify and pigeonhole manuscripts.

Probably the most frequently voiced criticism of fantasy by science fiction lovers is that it is "formulaic". Ironically, many fantasy lovers level the same accusation against SF. This perception goes hand-in-hand with the notion that all fantasy or all science fiction can be lumped together and categorized in the same way. It doesn't acknowledge the wide range of sub-genres listed above, and it doesn't embrace the fact that science fiction and fantasy together have to face the slings and arrows of the rest of the literary world.

Most of the rest of that literary world views all speculative fiction as "formulaic". The term is used very pejoratively, connoting writing that is unimaginative, unoriginal and predictable. I think this is, in most cases, a gross misconception. What speculative fiction does is conform to a certain set of conventions or traditions, because it caters to readers with very specific sets of expectations. This does not mean that there is no room for originality within those conventions. It merely means that writers of science fiction and fantasy must work hard to provide new treatments of ideas within a somewhat bounded framework. There is actually more room for imaginative writing in these fields than in any others.

Speculative fiction heroes today must be well-rounded and alert to the workings of their world, regardless of whether they wield sword, magic, futuristic weapon, or computer keyboard. Fantasy and science fictional worlds alike are rife with political/religious intrigue, ethnic/class rivalry, or economic/social unrest, if not all of the above. Tight-lipped, muscle-bound, hormone-driven barbarians/spaceship captains ain't gonna get far.

And although it may appear to an outsider that fantasy writers ignore inconvenient scientific principles, like why dragons or Pegasi can fly despite the laws of aerodynamics, they aren't really ignoring them. It's just that such things are predicated on a different set of laws. Laws which govern the practice of magic, or control a different set of physical forces than exist on earth. After all, bumblebees are aerodynamically silly in our world; they shouldn't be able to fly at all. And does any science fiction story explain how FTL travel really works? Speculative fiction, all of it, expects a leap of faith from its readers, so long as it provides a consistent springboard from which readers can take that leap.

Let's remember, too, that both science fiction and fantasy had their beginnings in the same literary primordial soup; the pulp magazines of the late 1920's. Back then, there were no endlessly-dividing publishing categories to fill; there was merely what Orson Scott Card calls, "The Literature of The Strange". Science fiction and fantasy readers alike look for many of the same elements in their fiction: a strong story plot, intriguing characters, innovative ideas, a sense of discovery and wonder, a new way to understand the human (or otherwise) struggle. Categories of genres and sub-genres today are largely the creation of publishers, who need to pigeonhole works in order to slot them into their publishing mandate and bookstore shelf space. And since these categorizations are arbitrary labels, I urge readers on both sides of the rope to keep an open mind. Don't fall into the trap of siding with one camp or the other until you've sampled them both for yourself.

A Fantasy and Science Fiction Primer
To that end, I'd like to suggest a few books here which I think provide a good introduction to the types of speculative fiction I've been discussing. To lump all fantasy together as "that dragon crap" or all science fiction as "that spaceship crap" is not only misleading but close-minded. Not every science fiction story involves a spaceship, and not every fantasy story involves a dragon. If you usually come down hard on the side of one or the other, consider trying one or more of the following in the genre you're not familiar with. You might be pleasantly surprised. Some of these books begin a series; I've put the series title in parentheses.

Fantasy Titles:
The Diamond Throne (The Elenium) by David Eddings
Faery Lands Forlorn (A Man of His Word) by Dave Duncan
The Silent Tower by Barbara Hambly
Echoes of the Great Song by David Gemmell
The Well-Favored Man by Elizabeth Willey
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin
The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

Science Fiction Titles:
Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress
Bloom by Wil McCarthy
Moonfall by Jack McDevitt
Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer
Contact by Carl Sagan
Vigilant by James Alan Gardner
Gateway by Frederik Pohl

For an interesting mesh of fantasy and science fiction, try:
Split Infinity (The Apprentice Adept) by Piers Anthony

And for a humorous twist in both genres, look at:
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series by Douglas Adams or
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett

The schism between science fiction and fantasy probably isn't going to go away anytime soon. That tug-of-war will continue, vying for space on bookstore shelves, publishers' attention, and readers' cash. It is unfortunate that we divide so easily into teams on the respective sides of speculative fiction. Perhaps the rivalry does little harm, except when preconceptions deter a potential reader from dipping into the wealth of either genre. Then it robs writers and readers alike, and leaves us all a little poorer.

Maybe more people should stop taking sides in the tug-of-war and try a little crossover reading or writing occasionally. There's plenty of room here in the middle of the rope.

Back to the Top