Fantasy vs Science Fiction

On my other blog, Popular Science, I review both popular science books (duh) and science fiction. I squeezed SF into that blog because I reckoned that many people who are interested in science also read science fiction (as, indeed, I am). And if you were to ask me until recently whether I preferred SF or fantasy I would have proudly stated 'science fiction'... but I'm starting to wonder if it's true.

If I had to list my favourite fiction authors, I would certainly mention some SF writers, from Fred Pohl to Adam Roberts, but there would be a strong showing from fantasy novelists. Throughout my teens, my 'go to' author was Alan Garner, and since then the likes of Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman and Ben Aaronovitch have featured regularly amongst my best-rated fiction. Recently I’ve rediscovered Robert Holdstock’s remarkable Mythago Wood and picked up on outstanding fantasy titles from current writers, such as The Night Circus. For that matter, some authors more frequently associated with SF, such as Ray Bradbury and Roger Zelazny, probably wrote better fantasy.

There is one big proviso here. Apart from The Lord of the Rings, which I loved from about age 12, I’m never been a fan of swords and sorcery. You know - the humans, wizards, elves and dwarves in a magic world stuff. For me, a really good fantasy has to be anchored in the everyday world. It's the way that normal life and normal people are exposed to something strange and unexpected that makes it great. It’s one of the reasons that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was such good TV.

I appreciate fantasy isn't everyone's cup of tea, and because it's another step removed from popular science, the reviews will stay here on Now Appearing. But given the proviso that I only really mean a subset of fantasy, I suspect I will have to admit in future that while I'll always love SF, it's possible that I get more enjoyment out of fantasy.

Incidentally, a subscriber to my free weekly email recently complained about what they considered rather a lightweight set of articles, I suspect because there wasn't much on popular science. I make no apology for this post being published in a slightly fantasy-heavy week, as it also features my review of Holdstock's Lavondyss - but please be reassured, I have no intention of abandoning the popular science and SF. The reason fantasy and crime have appeared rather more often recently is that it was my birthday not long ago and I tend to read more non-science titles as a result of what I'm given. This will happen occasionally - but it's not a drift away from my core topics.

Image by Robert Lukeman from Unsplash

See all of Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly digest for free here

Comments

Why I hate opera

If I'm honest, the title of this post is an exaggeration to make a point. I don't really hate opera. There are a couple of operas - notably Monteverdi's Incoranazione di Poppea and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas - that I quite like. But what I do find truly sickening is the reverence with which opera is treated, as if it were some particularly great art form. Nowhere was this more obvious than in ITV's 2010 gut-wrenchingly awful series Pop Star to Opera Star , where the likes of Alan Tichmarsh treated the real opera singers as if they were fragile pieces on Antiques Roadshow, and the music as if it were a gift of the gods. In my opinion - and I know not everyone agrees - opera is: Mediocre music Melodramatic plots Amateurishly hammy acting A forced and unpleasant singing style Ridiculously over-supported by public funds I won't even bother to go into any detail on the plots and the acting - this is just self-evident. But the other aspects need some exp...

Murder by Candlelight - Ed. Cecily Gayford ***

Nothing seems to suit Christmas reading better than either ghost stories or Christmas-set novels. For some this means a fluffy romance in the snow, but for those of us with darker preferences, it's hard to beat a good Christmas murder. An annual event for me over the last few years has been getting the excellent series of classic murderous Christmas short stories pulled together by Cecily Gayford, starting with the 2016 Murder under the Christmas Tree . This featured seasonal output from the likes of Margery Allingham, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellis Peters and Dorothy L. Sayers, laced with a few more modern authors such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, in some shiny Christmassy twisty tales. I actually thought while purchasing this year's addition 'Surely she is going to run out of classic stories soon' - and sadly, to a degree, Gayford has. The first half of Murder by Candlelight is up to the usual standard with some good seasonal tales from the likes of Catherine Aird, Car...

Why backgammon is a better game than chess

I freely admit that chess, for those who enjoy it, is a wonderful game, but I honestly believe that as a game , backgammon is better (and this isn't just because I'm a lot better at playing backgammon than chess). Having relatively recently written a book on game theory, I have given quite a lot of thought to the nature of games, and from that I'd say that chess has two significant weaknesses compared with backgammon. One is the lack of randomness. Because backgammon includes the roll of the dice, it introduces a random factor into the play. Of course, a game that is totally random provides very little enjoyment. Tossing a coin isn't at all entertaining. But the clever thing about backgammon is that the randomness is contributory without dominating - there is still plenty of room for skill (apart from very flukey dice throws, I can always be beaten by a really good backgammon player), but the introduction of a random factor makes it more life-like, with more of a sense...

Search This Blog