Cindy, science fiction and fantasy are very differing genres, but they do have some things in common. They are both classified as speculative fiction because the premise behind each story is what would happen if. That is the question is asked, what if and then a fantastic concept is inserted after the word if. They both do contain fantastic elements. That is objects, beings or occurences that we have no evidence of the actual existence of and which may not be even theoretically possible. The difference lies in the assumed nature of the fantastic element presented. Remember that the word science in science fiction is not there for nothing. Science deals with the natural universe around us. Even though the fantastic elements in science fiction may not be possible in any way known and may not even be theoretically possible there is either some natural explanation in the story for those fantastic elements or it is assumed within the context of the story that the fantastic elements are natural within the context of the universe as we know it. In fantasy, though, those fantastic elements are assumed to be supernatural. Once before you expressed some confusion about whether time travel should be considered science fiction or fantasy. In most cases in which it appears in fiction it is in science fiction, but the trophe of time travel itself is not necessarily science fiction or fantasy. The question is whether within the context of the story does the time travel happen because of characteristics of the natural universe being manipulated in a scientific way or is the time travel done by magic or some other supernatural method. If it is the former, despite the fact that the methods used may not be even theoretically known, it is science fiction. If it is done by calling on supernatural means it is fantasy.
Sci-fi is a derogatory term for some poorly written science fiction. It frequently refers to movies because they tend to be the most poorly written. An example I recall is a television sci-fi show in which a large astronomical body was approaching another large astronomical body in the vacuum of space. To deflect the collision an explosion was set off between them in the hope that the shock wave would deflect them. I found myself asking what the hell was waving. Technically this was science fiction because it was assumed in the context of the story that the natural laws of physics were being called on and manipulated, but it would not actually work unless the explosion was detonated on the surface of one of the bodies. That is, it lacked verisimilitude. It is that lack of verisimilitude that makes sci-fi. I will also point out that verisimilitude is subjective. The more you know about actual science the more sci-fi you will see. So it is something of a matter of opinion.
Horror is a little more vague. Technically it is anything that is written to scare. It tends to be full of certain trophes that are supernatural such as vampires, werrewolves, ghosts and so forth, but that is not absolutely necessary. Most of it is fantasy horror because of those supernatural trophes, but you can technically have science fiction horror or horror of any other genre. Stephen King's "Cujo" was an example of a horror novel that was not also a fantasy or a science fiction. The horror in that story was a rabid dog. Horror is a genre that makes a lot of other genres overlap.
_ _ _"No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means." - George Bernard Shaw
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html----- Original Message ----- From: "Cindy" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Susan" <slumpkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Cc: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Bookshare Support" <support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 10:18 PMSubject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Help--should be help with genres for fiction wishlist
Oh, my goodness. I see I forgot not only to put the subject properly but forgot to post the whole message . And now it's gone--it's not in my draft folder or my trash folder. (I think I got sidetracked). So I'll write the message again. I still don't quite understand the difference between scifi and science fiction--nor, for that matter, do I understand the difference between urban fantasy and some horror. or science fiction (what would wolfen be? Ithought the movie was excellent. I'm thinking maybe I should only use science fiction as a genre for books by authors I know, i.e., classic authors like Azimov, Bradbury, Poul, Wells--or I should just put whatever genre the requester uses to describe the book he/she is requesting. Or maybe I should not bother putting genre at all next to the book on the wish list and let the would-be scanner, if he/she doesn't recognize author's genre, check Amazon for a synopsis of the book? For example, if I see the author is Nora Roberts, I know (I think) the genre is modern romance, and of course Agatha Christie is mystery--so presumably a lot of you scanners, being avid readers, would knowtthe genre in which authors write; of course there are some who cross genres, e.g., K.e. Applegate, who seems to have gone from young afult to adult fiction
Thank you, Susan. If you can help me distinguish genres I would appreciate it.
CindyWish List (i.e., books wanted added to the collection) and books-being-scanned list available at sites below
Wish List: https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Bookshare+Wish+ListBooks Being Scanned List: https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Books+Being+Scanned+List
--- On Sun, 5/16/10, Susan <slumpkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: From: Susan <slumpkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Help To: "'Cindy'" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Sunday, May 16, 2010, 6:20 PM Hi Cindy, Is there any way I can help you with whatever you're needing help with? I'd be glad to if I can! Susan To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
