What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Main differences

What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Main differences
What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Main differences

Video: What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Main differences

Video: What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Main differences
Video: FANTASY vs SCIENCE FICTION: What's the Difference? 2024, November
Anonim

Today, many writers skillfully combine various genres of literature in their creations, reproducing new masterpieces. Recently, books devoted to fictional worlds have been especially popular among readers, so it became necessary to find a clear explanation of the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Although these two genres are similar to each other, there are still some very significant differences.

what is the difference between science fiction and fantasy
what is the difference between science fiction and fantasy

In science fiction, basically everything is considered from a scientific point of view, in it events take place in a world that differs from the modern historical, physical or technological reality. Such works use machines or devices that did not yet exist at the time of writing. How is science fiction different from fantasy? The fact that the ideas of writers in the future are reflected in technological progress.

In due timeJules Verne described the submarine in great detail, although at that time no one thought about the possibility of swimming under water. Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov have repeatedly written about artificial intelligence, Alexander Belyaev sent his heroes to a near-Earth orbital station long before it was proposed to use satellites for communication. And there are plenty of such examples, perhaps what modern authors have dreamed up and what seems to us an ordinary fiction will be taken for granted in a couple of decades.

How is fantasy different from science fiction?
How is fantasy different from science fiction?

What distinguishes science fiction from fantasy is the anomalous properties of the world from the point of view of physics. We perceive time as moving only in one direction, but the writers have suggested that it can move in a circle, repeating the same events many times or returning to the past. This cannot be called a complete fiction, because various anomalies are also found in our world. And the fact that the best minds of mankind have not yet found an explanation for this does not mean that this cannot be. What distinguishes science fiction from fantasy is that the creator of the work is trying to expand the accepted framework for perceiving the world, to conduct a thought experiment. Often in such books you can read about extraterrestrial civilizations, at the moment this is an unconfirmed fact, but it cannot be denied.

What distinguishes fantasy from science fiction is the presence of magic, fictional worlds and races. In such works, the characters use unusual powers, magic wands, secretknowledge, magical abilities, various artifacts. Among the races, the most common are elves, goblins, orcs, gnomes, brownies, hobbits. Among modern fantasy writers, it is worth highlighting JK Rowling with her world-famous Harry Potter novels, John Tolkien with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and others.

science fiction and fantasy library
science fiction and fantasy library

Works of this genre can be considered entertaining, because the events described in them will never happen in reality. The action usually takes place in a fictional world, on another planet, the writer does not indicate the exact location of the magical country, or it is hidden from the eyes of ordinary people, as happens in Rowling's novels. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Library is an interesting collection of books. Many writers combine these two genres to create compelling and worth reading stories.

Recommended: