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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7974528" data-attributes="member: 22779">Well, fair enough.&nbsp; If you have to reach back nearly a century, before fantasy was even a genre in novel form, well, it's going to be a tough slog to have a discussion.&nbsp;&nbsp; People tend to forget that when we talk about fantasy, it's a REALLY young genre.&nbsp; SF has been around for almost 200 years in novel form, but fantasy?&nbsp; Yes, I realize that there are fantasy novels out there, but, they are REALLY sparce on the ground until you hit the 1960's.&nbsp; And, really, it's not until the 80's that you would even bother separating out fantasy from SF.&nbsp; Everyone was writing SF back then.&nbsp; Was it you that mentioned planet stories?&nbsp; Again, we're rolling back a LONG way.Sure, Flash Gordon looks like fantasy now.&nbsp; But, at the time, that was SF.&nbsp; Very, very soft SF, but, SF nonetheless.&nbsp; But, even back then, you would differentiate something like Flash Gordon from HG Wells or Verne.&nbsp; The real trick is, when talking about the history of speculative fiction, is that up until the 1980's, the genre was so sparse.&nbsp; In the 1960's, there were maybe 10-20 genre titles coming out per year.&nbsp; Novels, I mean.&nbsp; Shorter fiction was a lot more prolific.&nbsp; Today, you get 10-20 original (as in not tied to some movie or TV show) genre titles A DAY.&nbsp; There's been more SF and fantasy printed after 2000 than before.&nbsp; By a considerable amount.So, relying on fiction that's coming up on a century old to prove your point might not be the best way to convince a modern audience of anything.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7974528, member: 22779"] Well, fair enough. If you have to reach back nearly a century, before fantasy was even a genre in novel form, well, it's going to be a tough slog to have a discussion. People tend to forget that when we talk about fantasy, it's a REALLY young genre. SF has been around for almost 200 years in novel form, but fantasy? Yes, I realize that there are fantasy novels out there, but, they are REALLY sparce on the ground until you hit the 1960's. And, really, it's not until the 80's that you would even bother separating out fantasy from SF. Everyone was writing SF back then. Was it you that mentioned planet stories? Again, we're rolling back a LONG way. Sure, Flash Gordon looks like fantasy now. But, at the time, that was SF. Very, very soft SF, but, SF nonetheless. But, even back then, you would differentiate something like Flash Gordon from HG Wells or Verne. The real trick is, when talking about the history of speculative fiction, is that up until the 1980's, the genre was so sparse. In the 1960's, there were maybe 10-20 genre titles coming out per year. Novels, I mean. Shorter fiction was a lot more prolific. Today, you get 10-20 original (as in not tied to some movie or TV show) genre titles A DAY. There's been more SF and fantasy printed after 2000 than before. By a considerable amount. So, relying on fiction that's coming up on a century old to prove your point might not be the best way to convince a modern audience of anything. [/QUOTE]

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