Science Fantasy

[Mizore]

In my opinion, all science fiction is fantasy, since science fiction begins when we rely on some scientific notion and add something that we do not know if it is possible or that is probably impossible, that is, fantastic. There is no real distinction between science fiction and science fantasy then. There is only distinction between fantasy based on scientific ideas to diverse degree, such as Star Trek or Star Wars, and fantasy not based on scientific ideas at all, such as Conan or The Lord of the Rings.

 

[Mizore]

The problem is that some people in our very real world believe telepathy is a real possibility.

I consider that some psychic phenomena exist, but that's why the distinction science fiction and science fantasy is a mistake; everything is fantasy with varying degrees of scientific notions.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I suppose if magic is explained (to some degree) and has a logical, even scientific, basis, that moves fantasy in the direction of science fantasy. That would include most of my fantasy novels but I would be loath to categorize them as such. I would most definitely not call them science fiction, of which I would consider science fantasy on the order of Burroughs's Barsoom to be a sub-genre.

On the other hand, I have published an SF book (under a pen name) which probably fits the niche pretty well, in that it revolves around the idea of a race of aliens who can teleport themselves pretty much anywhere in the universe (and the mechanism is not really explained in any depth).

 

[The Dark One]

I'd suggest there is a continuum between hard science fiction at one pole and fantasy at the other pole. The continuum itself is essentially a graduation of magic going from anything goes at the fantasy end to preternatural technology at the hard sci-fi end. (In this sense I mean preternatural as beyond what is understood - so might seem like magic to those who don't get the technology.)

Of course, that doesn't mean the worlds invented by others have to obey MY rules, but for me, I prefer there to be some logical consistency in a world, wherever it falls on the continuum. I don't like lots of magic in a highly technological world as I don't think they fit comfortably together. I can accept the force in Star Wars because its fairly understated. There aren't vast numbers of practitioners throwing fireballs, not that they'd ever hit Skywalker if their aim was anything like a Stormtrooper's blaster aim!!!

 

[Alex Reiden]

I'm wrote a scifan called CyberRealm, in which a world I developed for a high fantasy RPG advanced to the age of cybernetics and robotics. Progress was handled differently for each region of the world, with some accepting new technologies and integrating them into society along with their magic, while other eschewed one or the other, and abandoned magic in favor of tech or chose to focus on magical technologies and artifacts while rejecting conventional sciences.

In the main story setting, I went with the lost magic trope, and stories of magic from other parts of the world are generally regarded as nonsense or backward peoples not understanding the physics they're dealing with. That being said, there's still plenty of fantasy lore, races, and artifacts in this setting, and some of the main characters are part of an underground guild that practices and preserved the knowledge of magic.

 

[James Wilson]

While my work so far wouldn’t be considered science fantasy, it does have that potential because in the Sundered Spheres magic IS science and technology. In the as yet unpublished novel Heart of Flint two characters from Earth meet and the elder tells the younger that the world they’re in has entered a sort of magic-based industrial revolution, and I’ve already written a novel in the future where this revolution has advanced much further. Simultaneously a sort of Luddite movement against advanced and ubiquitous magic has sprung up, causing religious schisms and wars that eventually bring about a magical arms race, as well as space travel etc, but all of it based on magical applications rather than technology per se. I’m still mainly writing in 1859 and 1888, which in my world is basically High Medieval, but their version of the renaissance is already starting in sputters and lurches just like the historical version. I’ve only written one novel that takes place 150 years later and it’s the hinge pin of the new arms race that gets started by The Heretic, all without his ever meaning any harm.

Lots of interesting things canon be done by blending fantasy and science fiction concepts, and John Carter only scratches the surface. Luck to you!