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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jian" data-source="post: 9893368" data-attributes="member: 78087">Yeah, I basically disagree with all of that. Supernatural is required for fantasy, of course, but it’s by definition non-scientific. What definition of science fiction would you use that is any use as a distinction or classification?(Supernatural is of course relative to the time of writing, so The Land Ironclads counts because tanks didn’t exist in 1903; The War in the Air counts because transatlantic aircraft didn’t exist in 1907.) To help you out, let us note that the OED defines science fiction as:“Fiction in which the setting and story feature hypothetical scientific or technological advances, the existence of alien life, space or time travel, etc., esp. such fiction set in the future, or an imagined alternative universe.”So Quintet gets by on “imagined alternative universe” but nothing else. And a large number of non science fiction works, such as a lot of fantasy, would also qualify under that, which would presumably be a problem. I don’t think it’s great to declare The Lord of the Rings science fiction, as a useful definition.</blockquote>