The popular geek blog io9 published an interesting article a few months ago observing that modern Fantasy books often contain more actual science than Science Fiction. My theory regarding this phenomenon is that when something is labeled “Science Fiction” the reader is expecting things to go over their heads, so the writers have a little more room to fudge the physics and biology. In Fantasy, however, the readers are already aware that they’re reading something with magic and monsters, so adding some hard science regarding those beasties’ anatomy helps readers suspend their disbelief enough to enjoy the stories.
I’m reminded of the passage in A Game of Thrones where Tyrion was reading about Dragons. In that particular Fantasy world, those mighty fire-breathing sky lizards have bones which are blackened by a high concentration of iron. As a result, Dragonbone bows were prized far and above wooden bows because they were more durable and also had bigger range. While it was a very minor part of the book, it served both to illustrate the brainy, scholarly tendencies of Tyrion himself while also reminding us that actual Dragons live in this world – and foreshadow their influence over the events of the series.
Though I’m no master of science, it does make me cringe whenever I see a work of Science Fiction that abuses the first word of its genre, essentially explaining any strange details of a book or movie with what amounts to pseudo-science rather than doing research or even emailing a few PHD’s in relevant fields. Heck, I’d really settle for having them read “The Demon-Haunted World” so that they could at least get some idea of what science actually is.
But ultimately, stories are entertainment. It doesn’t matter that the science displayed in Star Wars is softer than butter sitting in the sunlight on an August afternoon, and it really doesn’t matter how many parts of a beastie’s anatomy gets labeled and catalogued by the writer. The story has to work – the elements, pacing, and character must work together.
Part of my goal in crafting the Aidan’s War Trilogy was creating a series that effectively fused both Fantasy and Science Fiction genres. I wanted a world where scifi elements like plasma weaponry and powered armor existed right alongside fantasy characters who were Knights and Lords. And as I continue writing the series, I plan to see just how far I can integrate the two genres.
The First Book in the Aidan’s War trilogy, “A Test of Honor,” is in bookstores now! Buy it from your favorite platform today:
- Amazon (ebook or paperback)
- Barnes & Noble (Nook version only)
- Kobo
- iBooks
- Smashwords (Great option for the tech savvy – multiple file formats)