Science fiction assumes the universe is impersonal and knowable. Fantasy assumes the universe is governed by gods and other supernatural entities and is fundamentally unknowable by humans.
Horror is like fantasy but it also assumes the supernatural entities are cruel.
I’m pretty sure Joe Haldeman gets credit for these distinctions. He noted that by these definitions, the genre closest to science fiction isn’t fantasy — it’s the procedural mystery.
This was more of a big deal in the 20th Century, but even then, the best writers shrugged it off and were happy to play across genres. Poul Anderson said the biggest fantasy is that our understanding of the laws of the universe would be valid in 1,000 years.
I love Star Trek but the science and technology of Trek is less plausible than Game of Thrones. The science and technology of Doctor Who is even more implausible than Trek, but I love Who too.
I prefer science fiction to fantasy but I don’t make a Thing about it, like Some People do (or did — I think perhaps this controversy died in the 90s, and good riddance to it). I literally have friends who are fantasy writers.
From an excellent Bluesky threadlaunched by John Scalzi.
Today I found myself thinking about a science fiction writer named Clifford D. Simak, popular in the 1930s-50s, best known for short stories, although he continued publishing until his death in the 80s.
Somebody said that the archetypal Simak story went like this: An old country coot is settin on his front porch, sippin moonshine and whittling a sharp stick. A flying saucer lands in the front yard and a scary purple alien comes out. The alien admires the old coot’s sharp stick and says he’ll give the old coot the design for an interstellar spaceship drive if the old coot will give the alien the stick in return. The old coot makes the trade and to seal the deal they set on the front porch and sip moonshine together.
Trump has been doing everything he can to distract the world away from the Epstein files, even starting a war, and Melania just put the spotlight back. That’s interesting.
No email is worth reading that contains the phrase “just wanted to follow up.”
