Mortimus's comments (member since May 21, 2009)

Mortimus's comments from the Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors group.

Maxwell,

I agree. Enough wannabe Tolkien. Fantasy was not exhausted by him.

I think the wannabes never really "got" Tolkien anyway. They fell in love with the furnishings and missed the point.

Of course you're right, Mike -- since you seem to see the world similarly to me!

I think the infatuation with science has worn off. A popular culture turning point for me was Star Wars (which works more like fantasy -- think of the beginning!)

I remember how clean everything was in the science fiction universe before that. Everything from Forbidden Planet to 2001 a Space Odyssey: uniforms never got dirty or worn -- everything was subject to rational inquiry. Then in Star Wars we had used and rundown equipment and a mysterious "force" -- we're told later that it could be explained scientifically -- but the Jedi were a religious order transparently a mix of the Knights Templar (even down to the betrayal) and eastern mysticism.

Remember what the monster was in Forbidden Planet -- "a monster from the Id" -- Freudian pseudo-scientific psychobabble. No mystery, really -- just natural phenomena amplified by technological means.

Good thoughts everyone. Here are some of mine.

Sci-Fi posits a universe entirely accessible to reason and governed by natural laws. There are other sentient beings (aliens), but they are all subject to the same laws we are. The worlds of science fiction are worlds without mystery -- except in a rudimentary sense --"We don't understand it, Jim -- but let's put it in the tricorder and find out what it's made of."

Fantasy helps the reader see a world that has purposes woven into it and not subject to our means of rational control or manipulation. In fantasy we encounter who are not merely residents of a parallel universe, nor Jungian archetypes, but truly Other, whose very existence shakes us. Fantasy is about the numinous and spells wonder with a capital "W".

This is why simply saying its all fiction doesn't work -- it glosses over too much -- failing to make the vital distinction. I think we live in a wonder starved world. We love science and reason -- we enjoy the fruits and noone wants a world without them -- but they're not enough.

I've given considerable thought to this distinction -- has anyone else?

Is it possible for something to ostensibly be science fiction but really be fantasy? How about the other way round?

When I was a kid SF was king and fantasy was a subcategory of SF. Now it seems to almost be reversed. Any thoughts?