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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wombat" data-source="post: 2264578" data-attributes="member: 8447">I dunno...  I've read a fair amount of works that are categorized as sci-fi that don't seem to fit the definitions above.  There is a heck of a lot of what I call "military sci fi" that is merely a series of wishy-washy politics, lots of things going "boom", and little to no scientific rationalization for any of the abilities in the book other than that they seem keen -- would that still count as sci fi?  If not, what is it?I have also read a number of sci fi books that do include psionic/psychic powers over the years.  Does the inclusion of these powers drop them out of sci fi?Is Flash Gordon fantasy or sci fi?  What of John Carter?  How about Star Wars?  These seem to have their feet solidly planted in both camps...What is fantasy?  Well, I can bat around that topic, if not nail it.  Usually (this qualifier will be used a LOT!) there is a pre-modern system of government -- maybe imperial, maybe feudal, maybe city-states, maybe absolutist; very rarely is is democratic or socialist.  Usually the technology is kept to a Renaissance-or-before level.  Usually combat does not involve gunpowder.  Often there are non-human races -- elf/fey-analogs, goblin/orc-analogs, sometimes dwarves and "little people sporting furry feet".  Usually there is magic involved, but this might be anything from small scale healing to ripping up the crust of the earth.  Usually there is a directly identified quest, often either to gain a specific item or to get rid of it.  Often there are identifiable Good and Evil sides, but this has become far less common.  That's a lot of "usuallys" in there, none of which are solid and thus the whole definition gets pretty maleable.  One big difference I have noticed over the years between sci fi and fantasy is that often in fantasy literature a single individual (or a very small group) can Totally Change The World; in sci fi, conversely, there is less of a tendency this way, though it does still pop up.I don't think there is going to be a solid definition of what makes a book Fantasy or Science Fiction any more than what separates Romance and Historical Novels from General Fiction -- often the definitions are left to individual readers.</blockquote>

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