Books that successfully fuse "conflicting" genres?

[Jan]

Based on the past discussion on the podcast if cozy fantasy can have gruesome stuff and my attempt to get ChatGPT to write an ultra violent scene for a cozy fantasy novel:

Do you know any (fantasy or science fiction) books that successfully fuse "conflicting" genre or subgenre elements?

I mean you probably can't write "Hard Science Fiction with Magic" or "Platonic Romantasy" but are there any books out there that have managed to merge things one normally would think would be total opposites?

[Tamahome]

I've read the first two Sun Eater books, and they're really both fantasy (or religious miracles) and scifi combined.

[Seth]

Maybe Gideon the Ninth? It's a strange setup - thinking back on it - that an interplanetary shuttle would drop a sword-fighter and a necromancer outside of a gothic castle escape room thing. Feels like lots of elements swirled together and some of them should be opposites.

[Phil]

The Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony is all about merging science fiction and fantasy. The chapters alternate between the two as the main character passes through a portal that takes him from a future world where he is a slave and star athlete in the Games and a fantasy world where he is a master magician. The first trilogy, at least, is pretty good.

[John (Taloni)]

Hard science fiction with magic would be The Magic Goes Away by Larry Niven. Mana as nonrenewable resource and magic following physical laws.

There's a related short where the wizard describes having a demon sit at the front of his cave and only let in the slow moving air molecules. Magical air conditioning.

[John (Taloni)]

Also, I find Pern successfully fuses secondary-world fantasy and science fiction. Dragons and spaceships and threadfall, oh my!

[Clyde]

Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light is SF with strong fantasy overtones.

[Peter]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Hard science fiction with magic would be The Magic Goes Away by Larry Niven. Mana as nonrenewable resource and magic following physical laws.

There's a related short where the wizard describes hav..."

Thanks for this recommendation. I've never heard of this series but I'm now curious to read it. You had me at Maxwell's Demon :)

I just started Elder Race and it might fit this fascinating topic of successfully merging conflicting genres. This novella is starting to present elements of fantasy and science fiction (though some would argue that subgenres of both aren't conflicting at all). Not sure how "hard" the science fiction elements will go, but so far this is a fun read!