Nick Kiene: "If It Ain't Broke, Then Don't Fix It!"

If It Ain’t Broke, Then Don’t Fix It!

By Nick Kiene

            My father is an old-school guy. It seems that not a single week passes without him calling our cabinet “the bureau” or without him referencing the good old days. I’ll never understand some things about him, but one piece of advice, among other wisdom, has become a significant part of my lifestyle: I abide that if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.  Therefore, when I observe efforts to distinguish fantasy and speculative fiction (SF) books, I conclude that readers are trying to categorize the uncategorizable—they are trying to fix something that isn’t broken.

            In my opinion, there is no need to draw an impenetrable line between the two genres, as not every reader feels the urge to classify books into a specific genre due to their variable responses to the piece’s content. I know what you're thinking already. Long time SF and fantasy readers are probably furious, too. But can you recall a single moment in which you considered how the fantastic elements of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere compared and contrasted with the classic SF giants like Zelazny’s Lord of Light or Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Probably not unless you’re an English teacher or if you are a bona fide, David Hartwell SF nerd that is contentious in nature. So why not just simplify things and enjoy the story for what it is? Instead of finding every reason to separate Wells’ War of the Worlds and McKinley’s The Blue Sword by genre, focus your efforts upon reflection on the book’s role in your life and your own experiences reading books that you enjoyed. 

The last thing I hope to accomplish is to raze the walls of genre, because I believe that separating media into genre is an effective way to group similar ideas. My point is that when readers encounter books belonging to fantasy or SF—books that in my opinion, share many mutual key elements, sentiments, and concepts—he or she might polarize to one side without realizing that SF and fantasy have some common ground. I understand that assuming readers segregate into SF and fantasy groups is inaccurate since many fans will indulge in both genres. However, to obtain the greatest benefit from fantasy and SF, they should be joined to ensure that more time is spent enjoying the books, as opposed to classifying them. 

I argue that the most appropriate time to make a distinction between fantasy and SF is when examining the roots of these two types of fiction. Ursula LeGuin, in “The Critics, The Monsters, and The Fantasists,” criticizes the literary community harshly for its egregious disregard toward the history of the SF, especially the fantasy genre. I empathize with LeGuin’s anger. Her rant exemplified the naivety of new fantasy and SF readers, as well. Before diving into the often confusing mix of fantastic and scientific fiction, I believe that readers should explore the roots of the genres. Determining the origins of SF and fantasy becomes especially valuable in this case, because a reader is able to discover the beginning of the genres and observe how fantasy and SF has blended over the past century. Examining the past is the best way to understand the present, and I think that most readers can determine tropes, themes, and plot elements that they will expect in their future fantasy and SF readings. Readers will then learn to find what is best for them, regardless of the genre to which the books belong. 

Occam’s Razor is a principle asserting that a solution with the fewest presumptions, with the least amount of complication and uncertainty is often the best solution. It is also a more politically correct term for my “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it motto.” Approaching and characterizing genre carries a lot of dangerous assumptions, assumptions that will please some but infuriate others. Therefore, I propose that we take the simplest route toward distinguishing SF and fantasy: we don’t make any effort at all. Enjoy the books for what they are and make your own determinations. Spent your time reading, not classifying something that is difficult to categorize. Some SF and fantasy books could not be more different from each other, but in their own broader contexts, fantasy and SF often affect readers in the same way: he or she will find home in a completely new world and learn to appreciate the power of imagination and curiosity.