Sci Fi vs Fantasy.

[SomeRandom]

It’s the biggest of geek/nerd battles.

I lean more towards fantasy (in particular high fantasy.) But I realise that I probably like Sci Fi more than I think I do. Because I like Verne, I like Back to the Future, I like HG Wells etc etc

Which are your faves from each (or both) genres?
Do you have a preference between them?

 

[Ella S.]

I have never been quite as invested in a fantasy world as The Elder Scrolls. I can name all of the Daedric princes by memory, as well as their realms of Oblivion. I find Sithis and the Soul Cairn very fascinating, personally, and the neat part about TES lore is that it's diverse enough to have something for everyone. I am not a huge gamer by any means, but I have spent maybe a bit too much on TES Online since it's a way for me to spend time with my father when we're in different states.

As far as Sci-Fi goes, I tend to prefer hard science fiction, futurism, and speculative fiction. To immediately contradict this, I loved the Alien movies and I have recently become invested in Star Trek: The Next Generation. What can I say? I find the art of HR Geiger compelling, and the Borg blend that with some nice cybergoth fashion and fetish wear.

All of the above have novelized adaptations that expand on their world that I think are worth checking out for the superfans.

 

[Yazata]

I very much prefer hard science fiction. Within that genre, I prefer novels of ideas with big, metaphysical, even quasi-religious themes. Human beings trying to penetrate the secrets of the elder races, that kind of thing.

My favorite science fiction novel might be Arthur Clarke's old 'The City and the Stars. It is beautifully written from a literary viewpoint. (Clarke actually wrote it twice.) The second iteration was written in 1956 I believe, not long after Clarke had moved to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It's clearly religious science fiction, but from a very unexpected Buddhist perspective (with perhaps a hint of Augustine's distinction between the city of man and the City of God).

It takes place about 3 1/2 Billion years from now. Unimaginably far in the future. Earth has lost its seas and is a desert planet like Mars today. All that remains of humanity lives in one ultimate city called Diaspar, run by a benevolent god-like AI. Each person there is immortal, with his/her consciousness stored in the AI's memory until it is time for them to be reincarnated again in a new cloned body. So everyone has already lived an endless succession of lives, and it's... changed them. There's no more curiosity, no more learning, no more striving, no more growing. Only a focus on immediate here/now pleasure. Diaspar is covered by an opaque dome and to its inhabitants that's the boundary of their universe. Whenever the subject of what's outside the dome arises, people have trouble even conceiving of it and their reaction is horror.

I think that Diaspar symbolizes Samsara, the endless cycle of rebirths of beings driven by karma and desire.

But while the humans have forgotten their past, the benevolent AI hasn't. But it is forbidden by its creators to speak about that. So a boy named Alvin is born into Diaspar, the first new consciousness to appear in untold ages. He's designed by the AI out of whose memory he emerged to be curious and unsatisfied. He finds a ventilation duct opening on the outside and is the first person in a million years to see the outside world, the all-encompassing desert... and the stars. Stars very unlike the stars of today, since they form designs and patterns created by some long forgotten civilization which had the power to move the stars themselves.

So Alvin embarks on a quest, aided by clues from the AI, and eventually learns the later history of the human race, the secret of the creation of Diaspar and the incomprehensible transcendant fate of those who once possessed the stars.

 

[SomeRandom]

I very much prefer hard science fiction. Within that genre, I prefer novels of ideas with big, metaphysical, even quasi-religious themes. Human beings trying to penetrate the secrets of the elder races, that kind of thing.

My favorite science fiction novel might be Arthur Clarke's old 'The City and the Stars. It is beautifully written from a literary viewpoint. (Clarke actually wrote it twice.) The second iteration was written in 1956 I believe, not long after Clarke had moved to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It's clearly religious science fiction, but from a very unexpected Buddhist perspective (with perhaps a hint of Augustine's distinction between the city of man and the City of God).

It takes place about 3 1/2 Billion years from now. Unimaginably far in the future. Earth has lost its seas and is a desert planet like Mars today. All that remains of humanity lives in one ultimate city called Diaspar, run by a benevolent god-like AI. Each person there is immortal, with his/her consciousness stored in the AI's memory until it is time for them to be reincarnated again in a new cloned body. So everyone has already lived an endless succession of lives, and it's... changed them. There's no more curiosity, no more learning, no more striving, no more growing. Only the focus on immediate here/now pleasure. Diaspar is covered by an opaque dome and to its inhabitants that's the boundary of their universe. Whenever the subject of what's outside the dome arises, people have trouble even conceiving of it and their reaction is horror.

I think that Diaspar symbolizes Samsara, the endless cycle of rebirths of beings driven by karma and desire.

But while the humans have forgotten their past, the benevolent AI hasn't. But it is forbidden by its creators to speak about that. So a boy named Alvin is born into Diaspar, the first new consciousness to appear in untold ages. He's designed by the AI out of whose memory he emerged to be curious and unsatisfied. He finds a ventilation duct opening on the outside and is the first person in a million years to see the outside world, the all-encompassing desert... and the stars. Stars very unlike the stars of today, since they form designs and patterns created by some long forgotten civilization which had the power to move the stars themselves.

So Alvin embarks on a quest, aided by clues from the AI, and eventually learns the later history of the human race, the secret of the creation of Diaspar and the incomprehensible transcendant fate of those who once possessed the stars.

Oh wow. I’ll add that to my (admittedly long) TBR list. Sounds fascinating

 

[The Hammer]

I have never been quite as invested in a fantasy world as The Elder Scrolls. I can name all of the Daedric princes by memory, as well as their realms of Oblivion. I find Sithis and the Soul Cairn very fascinating, personally, and the neat part about TES lore is that it's diverse enough to have something for everyone. I am not a huge gamer by any means, but I have spent maybe a bit too much on TES Online since it's a way for me to spend time with my father when we're in different states.

As far as Sci-Fi goes, I tend to prefer hard science fiction, futurism, and speculative fiction. To immediately contradict this, I loved the Alien movies and I have recently become invested in Star Trek: The Next Generation. What can I say? I find the art of HR Geiger compelling, and the Borg blend that with some nice cybergoth fashion and fetish wear.

All of the above have novelized adaptations that expand on their world that I think are worth checking out for the superfans.

I am absolutely enamored with the TES lore and series. I've been an avid player since Morrowind days.

 

[The Hammer]

I like both the sci-fi and fantasy. Ranging from high and low fantasy, and many science fiction types from medical science thrillers, to epic space sagas.

 

[Heyo]

It’s the biggest of geek/nerd battles.

I lean more towards fantasy (in particular high fantasy.) But I realise that I probably like Sci Fi more than I think I do. Because I like Verne, I like Back to the Future, I like HG Wells etc etc

Which are your faves from each (or both) genres?
Do you have a preference between them?

I do read fantasy but I prefer SciFi. Favourite authors (in no particular order): Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Stanislav Lem, Arthur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Kurt Vonnegut, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ray Bradbury, Jack Vance, William Gibson, John Brunner and a few dozen more I can't remember from the top of my head.

 

[sayak83]

It’s the biggest of geek/nerd battles.

I lean more towards fantasy (in particular high fantasy.) But I realise that I probably like Sci Fi more than I think I do. Because I like Verne, I like Back to the Future, I like HG Wells etc etc

Which are your faves from each (or both) genres?
Do you have a preference between them?

I would prefer sci fi. But current fantasy writing has been better than sci fi.
Is Crichton sci fi by the way?

 

[Sedim Haba]

I used to read alot of both of these. AFAIK no one has mentioned Tolkien...

SO... FIRST!

Here's author that is not well known: Jack L. Chalker.

Well World series - Wikipedia

there's no wiki on this series: Soul Rider

 

[ChristineM]

The book i learned to read with was the Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, a fantasy that addicted me to the Discworld, i have read every one of them and laughed all the way through.

Really. Other than that i don't get into much fantasy much, nothing that raises a flag to say i need to read more. D&D and the like do nothing for me.

Sci-Fi i read avidly, Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, Silverberg, Clarke, Anne Mac Caffrey, Douglas Adams, Ian m Banks and several more.

One if the hardest decisions of my life was getting rid of my library of over 4000 books before moving to france. I would say close to half were Sci-Fi

 

[gnostic]

It’s the biggest of geek/nerd battles.

I lean more towards fantasy (in particular high fantasy.) But I realise that I probably like Sci Fi more than I think I do. Because I like Verne, I like Back to the Future, I like HG Wells etc etc

Which are your faves from each (or both) genres?
Do you have a preference between them?

In term of reading novels, I tends to read fantasy.

Here, my favourites were Raymond Feist’s original trilogy, the Riftwar Saga, David Eddings’ Belgariad (series).

I like Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, but I had never finished reading the series (didn’t read the last 4 books), due to there were so many characters that I lost track, which made me lose interest in altogether.

I also like the older fantasy, The Lord of the Rings.

In TV series and movies, I like both fantasy and sci-fi.

TV sci-fi: The X-Files, Fringe, Stargate SG1 & Atlantis, Enterprise, and some of the Marvel & DC superhero series (Agents of SHIELD, Loki, Hawkeye, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow).

Sci-Fi movies: the X-men series, only the original Matrix, Clash Of The Titans (remake).

I tends to prefer Marvel movies (like the Avengers, Iron man, Thor, etc) over the DC (like heroes from the Justice League).

Fantasy movies: The Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings series, Pirates of the Caribbean, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

There are obviously a lot more that I like, but I cannot think of them.

 

[gnostic]

I recently saw the 1st season of Wheel of Time.

The TV adaption was horrible. They changed too much of it, trying to make it like the Game of Thrones; that's a fatal mistake.

 

[Kooky]

I recently saw the 1st season of Wheel of Time.

The TV adaption was horrible. They changed too much of it, trying to make it like the Game of Thrones; that's a fatal mistake.

I found it pretty decent, if a little too rushed; which is ironic, because I found the books an unbelievable drag past the 3rd or so, which is why I never managed to finish the series.

I don't see much in common with GoT, besides the obvious based on the fact that they're both high budget series based on successful fantasy franchises.

 

[Kooky]

Which are your faves from each (or both) genres?
Do you have a preference between them?

I don't think there is much of a distinction to be made between either, and much of the stuff I enjoy can be put into either category.

One author I'm particularly fond of is Ursula K. LeGuin, who is probably most famous for her Earthsea series of fantasy novels, but also pioneered what has come to be known as "social Scifi" or, somewhat derogatory, as "soft Scifi". She wrote several books in that genre that read a lot like anthropologists discovering strange new cultures and trying to deal with culture shock and the conflicts that arises from it, for example The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, and The Word for World is Forest.

Another author I've always enjoyed reading is William Gibson, and I think I've read pretty much all his major works, starting with the Sprawl trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive), the Bridge trilogy, all the way to his more recent fare that reads more like Crichton style "techno thrillers" than Scifi in the more traditional sense, including the very strange The Peripheral.

Some other books I liked a lot were Frank Herbert's Dune series, the Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe, and most recently, Catherynne Valente's novel Palimpsest.

I also enjoy reading authors that are not strictly fantasy, but still straddle the border between "respectable" literature and the fantastic, such as the Magical Realism genre popularized by people like Borges, Marquez, Eco and Pamuk.


The thing I arguably enjoy most about speculative fiction is the sense of wonder it invokes in me from exploring strange and mysterious places, technologies, events or societies.

 

[Kooky]

Is Crichton sci fi by the way?

I heard Crichton works described as "techno thrillers" which seems to be basically speculative technology-based fiction set in a contemporary world, although arguably West World is pure Scifi/Horror.

The fun thing about Scifi is that as a genre, it can be as wide or as narrow as we want it to be.

 

[Sedim Haba]

The book i learned to read with was the Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, a fantasy that addicted me to the Discworld, i have read every one of them and laughed all the way through.

Really. Other than that i don't get into much fantasy much, nothing that raises a flag to say i need to read more. D&D and the like do nothing for me.

Sci-Fi i read avidly, Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, Silverberg, Clarke, Anne Mac Caffrey, Douglas Adams, Ian m Banks and several more.

One if the hardest decisions of my life was getting rid of my library of over 4000 books before moving to france. I would say close to half were Sci-Fi

If you love Terry Pratchett you'd adore Piers Anthony. Xanth series.

 

[ChristineM]

If you love Terry Pratchett you'd adore Piers Anthony. Xanth series.

I've read Firefly, was one of those books i thought, good, I'll have to look for more of his, then forgot. Now you remind me again, my next order may include one or his.

 

[Sedim Haba]

I've read Firefly, was one of those books i thought, good, I'll have to look for more of his, then forgot. Now you remind me again, my next order may include one or his.

Not familiar with that one. While it is set in Florida, it's not part of the Xanth series:

piers anthony xanth series list - Google Search