The Magic & Tech Challenge
by morgan on Jun.16, 2009, under Brandon Sanderson
I like the Arthur C. Clarke quote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
The more advanced the technology in a fantasy setting, the less wondrous magic appears. Technology gives us the power to fly and the capability to communicate across thousands of miles. Not so long ago, both acts would have seemed magical to the average person. The science featured in some of the far-future sf novels appears as strange, wondrous and weird as many magic systems.
This is a big reason why so much fantasy is grounded in the past. I’d love to see more books that approach fantasy and science fiction as one genre, instead of genres in opposition. Is it possible to integrate the two in some way and make it work well? Where are our futuristic fantasies? Can anyone think of great examples?
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June 16th, 2009 on 11:35 am
Look no further to Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl.
It’s definitely sci-fi, but with a heavy fantasy element. How is that possible, you ask? Read it and find out!
I posted a review of her outstanding book, which was reprinted several years ago.
June 16th, 2009 on 5:05 pm
That Clarke quote has always been one of my favorites.
I think technology done right is pretty darn magical. One of my favorite scenes ever was toward the end of Star Trek Voyager, in the episode Relativity, with the Timeship USS Relativity. The technology (and special effects) they used to detect temporal incursions several times during the series was very magical to me.
The only other things that came close were a couple of scenes in Stargate SG-1 with the Ancients technology. Some of that was very cool.
Magic and technology - two sides of the coin of knowledge. “We all seek the coin of knowledge.” Hadnan Kadere, WoT
June 16th, 2009 on 5:05 pm
That Clarke quote has always been one of my favorites.
I think technology done right is pretty darn magical. One of my favorite scenes ever was toward the end of Star Trek Voyager, in the episode Relativity, with the Timeship USS Relativity. The technology (and special effects) they used to detect temporal incursions several times during the series was very magical to me.
The only other things that came close were a couple of scenes in Stargate SG-1 with the Ancients technology. Some of that was very cool.
Magic and technology - two sides of the coin of knowledge. “We all seek the coin of knowledge.” Hadnan Kadere, WoT
June 16th, 2009 on 6:35 pm
I consider them to be different variations of the same genre.
How many “fantasy” novels are really post-apocalyptic science-fiction?
“Fantasy” is a genre that takes us out of our own world into a world where anything is possible. Any technology/magic, any social constructs, any kind of alien/monster. It lets us explore concepts from our own world in new ways.
But if you want a prime example of traditional sci-fi and traditional fantasy blended together: Star Wars. The “force” is magic (even with midi-chlorians).
June 17th, 2009 on 2:35 am
I see fantasy and science fiction as two seperate genres simply because I think the approach to writing them is entirely different. I write both, prefer fantasy, and I read both, again prefer fantasy, but to me, they are distinct. What makes them distinct isn’t the presence of absence of technology, but the basic style of writing. Science fiction comes at things from an explanatory point of view. It doesn’t just construct worlds, it busily disects them and lays all the pieces out for careful analysis. Fantasy on the other hand is very character driven and the world (or worlds) serve as stimulus for character actions. That way, there are many books touted as science fiction that are actually closer to fantasies, and some fantasy writers tend to cross into science fiction.
However, a vote for best futuristic fantasy would be Katherine Kerr’s, Palace. I spent ages trying to figure whether this fell into the science fiction or fantasy category and failed miserably at distinguishing it as either.
June 17th, 2009 on 6:11 am
I think it’s definitely possible to merge sci-fi and fantasy from a magic point of view. Having ‘powers’ because of nanotechnology or because of midi-chlorians or because of the Source still yields the same end result: manipulation of reality in sometimes extraordinary ways.
The real barrier between the two sub-genres, in my opinion, is the antagonist. In fantasy, or at least “classical” fantasy, the antagonist is pure evil. The hordes of darkness, pouring forth from Mordor with stench and stave, for example, or the trollocs of the Blight, to name another. Sci-fi usually relies on conflicting interests, and on having both sides think they are good, even though we the reader are led to identify with one side of the conflict.
So really, the separation is actually differing commentary on good and evil. To overgeneralise, in sci-fi, potential for good and evil lies in each individual. In fantasy, good and evil lie outside of us all, and like moral drunkards, we sway across that solid line to one side or the other as we go.