Quote:
Originally Posted by unboggling
@Fastolfe, lol.
If one must differentiate, that seems practical as a most-likely rule of thumb. But there is also fantasy that rationally and scientifically explicates a complex world with complex technology
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Well, the examples I posted were exaggerations to illustrate what I think the main difference is. In reality, there's a whole range of genres and styles, ranging from pure hard SF in which the author is very VERY concerned about the precise science, or the plausability thereof, behind whatever they're describing, and pure fantasy where silly dragons pop out of thin air, and unlikely dudes with magical swords slay them to rid the world of them for no particular reason.
There's no clear line between science fiction and fantasy, but there needs to be a rough way of categorizing books so libraries know where to put them on the shelf. Just like John Coltrane and Pat Metheny fall under the "jazz" category, they're actually completely different styles of jazz but they're sold in the same aisle at the record store.