Science Fiction and Fantasy

In any medium, from books to movies to television, science fiction and fantasy are two of the most popular genres around today. Given that sci-fi was looked down on as 'space opera' and fantasy sneered at as 'sword and sorcery' for decades, it's kind of nice to see them getting the respect they deserve. Or at least see the genres commanding some financial clout at last.

Science fiction can trace its roots to the 'speculative fiction' of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells in the Nineteenth Century. Fantasy has even more venerable lineage - back to the fairy tales and hero myths told around the fire by a pre-literate people. Homer wrote fantasy. So did Chaucer, Malory, Scott and Grimm.

Now science fiction and fantasy dominates the movie marquees and television schedules. The Star Trek franchise is entering its fifth decade, and Star Wars nearing its fourth. The Lord of the Rings dominated the box office and made heroic epics fashionable again. And wonder of wonders, Harry Potter even got the videogame set reading again.

In this category, find out more about the genres themselves - how science fiction distinguishs itself from fantasy, what subgenres are recognized, how to write both fantasy and science fiction, and various other subtleties of the genres not obvious to the mundane, the muggle or other outsider.

Explore here as well the many esoteric aspects of science fiction and fantasy fandom, that unique domain in which the inhabitants know more about a particular franchise or novel than the creator, where lifelong friendships are formed and marriages arranged between fellow fans, and where blood feuds can hinge on one's preference between the various Star Trek captains.