Bailey Simmons-Brown: "Riding the line of Sci-fi and Fantasy"

Riding the line of Sci-fi and Fantasy

By Bailey Simmons

Drawing a line between fantasy and science fiction is pretty difficult because there are many stories that fall into a gray area. Elements of fantasy I have noticed from my readings include the presence of fantastical elements, mythical beasties, supernatural abilities/elements, and some other world given to us by the author. Now for science fiction, from my own readings of the genre, I have noticed some specific elements in science fiction writing include heavy emphasis on technology, the technology goes wrong or is exploited, usually another planet is involved, and there is usually some sort of unexplained scientific thing that makes the scenario possible. The reason that that it is difficult to draw a line between fantasy and science fiction is because they are so similar. Both types of stories place you into a scenario that will probably never happen. Both will have foreign aspects. Both will put you in a new world to explore through the experiences of the main character. Because they share many similar aspects, one could possibly change the genre by adding or subtracting one part of the story.

It is possible for a science fiction to become a fantasy story with a little tweaking. For example, the setting of Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny can be considered a setting for both sci-fi and fantasy. If the Lord of Light didn’t mention that it was technology that brought people back, and never mentioned that they had to leave Earth to live on this planet then the story would be seen completely different. It would then be seen as a story about a guy, his monkey friend, and other companions in a world nothing like our own trying to go against gods that are abusing their power of reincarnation and holding it over the ones they rule. This version of the story would not focus on the how it happens, but rather what happens. The moment an author tries to give a rational reason for something that happened seems to me the moment it becomes science fiction. This could work the same for a book like Dune by Frank Herbert. Once again all you need to do is remove the interstellar travel and boom fantasy. Now you can’t easily turn all sci-fi stories into fantasy stories. It mainly works with the stories that are so far into the future or those that deal with the colonizing of a foreign planet and the reason that this works is because the setting is so far from our own and it is so far in the future that it just seems make believe. This wouldn’t work as well for sci-fi stories that coincide with our own world that much but I am sure a stretch could be made.

Now, a similar thing can be said about fantasy stories. But in this instance, instead of getting rid of an element you just add one. An example of a fantasy story becoming a sci-fi one could be Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. In this story there is a London below and a London above. If it was mentioned in the story that London below was actually there because of a failed genetic experiment and it caused an entire city of mutations in everything that lived there and were therefore exiled below London. Now, it would have to be hidden by the government so as not to scare the public and this is why they are underground. Richard then gets stuck down there and needs to find his way out and yadda yadda. Another example, The lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe all that would need to be added really is that in the wardrobe there is some sort of inter-dimensional portal. And the reason for it is because the person that lived in the house previously was some super scientist. But once they enter the world then it just becomes their adventure through Narnia. Maybe add a bit more sciency stuff, annnd sci-fi. This method, like the last one, would only really work for low fantasy because it is still loosely tied to reality. 

It is pretty hard to find an exact line determines sci-fi or fantasy. However, some stories in science fiction and fantasy pretty much ride the line that determines their genre, and can be easily nudged over the edge with an addition or subtraction of a certain element.