Guest mcflash271 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Which do you guys prefer, and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I haven't read much in either genre but i recently bought Dune by Frank Herbert as i heard good things about it so will let you know what i think when i get round to reading it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I read a lot of both. It's hard to pick between them, to be honest, although I think there's more variety and a lot more fresh and exciting ideas in sf. When fantasy's done well, like with Steven Erikson or George RR Martin, very little can beat it, imo. It has to bring something new and inventive to the genre to really grab me, and both of those have done that in spades. With sf it's easier to find a book you can read, enjoy, and then not have to go out and buy another ten books in order to see the end of the story, which is a bonus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Definitely science fiction (though contrary to some of my recent posts, there are a few fantasy book I do like!). As KO has said above, sci-fi tends to be more about ideas, which is why it appeals to me. Fantasy, on the other hand, just seems to get bogged down in clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcflash271 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Definitely science fiction (though contrary to some of my recent posts, there are a few fantasy book I do like!). As KO has said above, sci-fi tends to be more about ideas, which is why it appeals to me. Fantasy, on the other hand, just seems to get bogged down in clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 This is like asking me to choose between butter pecan or cookies 'n' cream flavors of ice cream. Both are so pleasing to the palate, but require different taste buds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Definitely science fiction (though contrary to some of my recent posts, there are a few fantasy book I do like!). As KO has said above, sci-fi tends to be more about ideas, which is why it appeals to me. Fantasy, on the other hand, just seems to get bogged down in clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Well, I thought KO made another good point. Whenever you get something actually GOOD from fantasy, it's much better than science fiction(Ex. Lord of the Rings or Hary Potter). I don't entirely agree with that. My favourite books are still science fiction (The Day of the Triffids, The War of the Worlds, The Player of Games etc). The Lord of the Rings is the only fantasy book I've read that I would put on a similar level, certainly not the Harry Potter books (even though I did enjoy them for the most part!). I'm not being snobby here, I'm sure there are other really good fantasy authors out there, it's just that I think any peak fantasy can climb, science fiction has already been there. I agree with you Raven. Scifi (or speculative fiction) is very broad-based (it is not just about space) and fantasy SHOULD BE as well but instead everybody just seems hung up on LOTR , orcs and dwarves and elves. It's not so much the orcs and elves part of fantasy that I find clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 (edited) It's not so much the orcs and elves part of fantasy that I find clich Edited June 19, 2010 by Pixie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Anybody else here read Jack Vance? I know I am biased but both his sci-fi and fantasy stuff are incredible, and his use of language is beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I used to go to Uni with someone who was a big Jack Vance fan (I've not read any of his stuff myself, though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I used to go to Uni with someone who was a big Jack Vance fan (I've not read any of his stuff myself, though). Seriously, you should read one Raven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 And maps, god I hate maps in fantasy books. You've got no hope, then :D It's not so much the orcs and elves part of fantasy that I find clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Oh, and how could I forget Guy Gavriel Kay. Brilliant! I've been trying to get hold of Tigana (didn't he play for France??) but it seems to be difficult to get hold of at the moment in the UK. Apparently it's being re-released next year, though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I tend to read more fantasy, and I love love love it. But if I want something inventive or thought-provoking, then sci-fi is better. Yes, fantasy has many cliches, as a lot seems to follow Tolkien's example. This isn't always bad however. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan has many things in common with LotR.. and yet is amazing and still manages to be original. But I agree there are too many (series of) fantasy books out there that follow the same plot: fellowship of people (usually mixed races, elves, men, dwarfs or some original races like the Ogier in WoT) goes on various difficult quests to save the world from ancient/old evil arising again. I notice these days that it takes a lot for me to read any fantasy book that follows this plotline. I don't want to read a book I'll forget half an hour after reading. Sci-fi.. well in a way I love it more than fantasy. Film and series-wise, I am definitely a sci-fi girl. However in books, it's usually quite difficult to find books I like. I usually don't like the space opera kind of thing, stuff with too many technical details. I couldn't care less how some new, world changing technology works.. but I do like other races, other worlds, and a genre I adore in sci-fi, is post-apocalyptic books. Some of these mix with the fantasy genre, as do more sci-fi books (like Anne McCaffrey), love that. Give me a book in which the world is destroyed any day. Anyway, lately I notice I am searching for science fiction to read, have just grabbed some unknown (to me) sci-fi books at the library, and am thinking about reading Arthur C. Clarke, the Riverworld series, the Darkover series, the Drowned World etc by J.G. Ballard, and much more. More sci-fi is on my TBR list than ever. So I love both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Now, see, I picked up the near thousand page tome that is the first book in the Wheel of Time series in Waterstones a week or so back and was tempted to buy it, but then I spied volume 12 on the shelf next to it and went-it-back straight away! I read - at best - two books a month, and of that length I would probably be down to one, so it would be a major commitment on my part to start a series like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 That's a shame. Most of the top-notch fantasy novels I've read are fairly huge - and parts of larger series, as well - so they do require something of a commitment, fortunately/unfortunately (depending upon personal tastes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I'm not against reading a long saga per-say, but it would have to be split up into parts that I could read in stages (like the Shanara books, for example). As I understand it the WoT books are one continuous series (is that correct?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Pretty much Raven, yeah. None of them make sense without the one before it. It'd be like reading Two Towers without reading Fellowship of the Ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 But does it have self-contained sections (do the first three books make a trilogy in their own right etc?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 The philosopher in me is attracted by the conceits of science fiction, though I would like to point out that if one thinks fantasy isn't about Ideas too, one simply hasn't been reading the right kind of fantasy. But the poet, the storyteller, the scholar and the dreamer in me - which beat the philosopher 4 to 1 - are primarily fantasy readers. Sure there can be clich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 The philosopher in me is attracted by the conceits of science fiction, though I would like to point out that if one thinks fantasy isn't about Ideas too, one simply hasn't been reading the right kind of fantasy. I agree. Nicely said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm not against reading a long saga per-say, but it would have to be split up into parts that I could read in stages (like the Shanara books, for example). Raven, have you considered Glen Cook's 'Black Company' books? They seem to fit a lot of the criteria you mention. They're of reasonable length, are composed of shorter story arcs (each arc is currently available in its own omnibus edition), contain none of the cliches mentioned, and - wait for it - there are NO maps!! They're different and quite gritty. To me, they always come across as what fantasy would be like if written by James Ellroy. You can read the start of the first book here: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Black-Company-Glen-Cook/dp/0765319233/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277152770&sr=8-4#reader_0765319233 Highly recommended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Sorry for the delay in replying Raven. The answer is no. No self-containment at all. I know what it is you're looking for as an avid Shannara reader myself. And with Shannara you get the Sword trilogy, the Talismans quad, the Voyage trilogy and so on. But there is no such structure with WoT. Jordan wrote one looooooong story spread out over the currently published 12 books (one posthumous publication). And there are I believe another 2 to be completed, edited and published in the future from his notes. There is no conclusion per se to any of the books (at least up until book 9 which is where I left off). Each book leaves several cliffhangers with various different characters, and for the missing information you have to read the next book. And each book follows on directly from the one before. The character whom the entire series surrounds, Rand, is slowly developed over the first three or four books, and all events in subsequent books revolve around him. The books must be read in their entirety from book 1 through to the last. For the type of epic but self-contained read you are looking for in the fantasy genre, I know only of Brooks' Shannara. The good news however, is that the first publication from a new trilogy is due out later this year, titled Bearers of the Black Staff. Stephen King's Dark Tower series is 7 books long and that is a good read. Or you can pick up JV Jones. She's quite nifty as a writer (and nothing like Canavan whom I know you abhor). She's generally written only trilogies. I've only read one, which is the Book of Words, beginning with the Baker's Boy as book 1. I simply never got round to any other works of hers. But Words is a smashing series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauline K. Anderse Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Sci-Fi, because it's very close to reality. But I also like Fantasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.