Richard Risch has posted a fantastic article about the differences between Science Fiction and Science Fantasy over on SSF World. At the heart of his argument is idea that the two are distinguishable by what happens to the story if the science element is removed. Science Fantasy, Risch argues, will continue chugging along as it isn’t relying on its science to form key elements of the story; Science Fiction, however, falls apart.
To expand on this, Risch compares several elements of a Science Fiction book, his own Beyond Mars - Crimson Fleet, to that of a work of Science Fantasy, namely, Star Wars. We’ll take a quick look at the various elements of Mr. Risch’s article. Appearing under Mr. Risch’s microscope are…
Fighter Space Crafts:
“Added to this, was the attack on the exhaust port (which was purportedly ray-shielded) with photon torpedoes (borrowed from Star Trek). Funny thing, a mass of photons is considered ray. (Photon energy is produced by an electron dropping from a higher orbit to a lower orbit as it travels around in an atom.) Therefore, how could photon torpedoes be realistically considered the weapon of choice for this attack?”
More after the Jump…
Weaponry
"Weapons in Beyond Mars - Crimson Fleet range from shotguns firing massive steel darts used to disable a laser cannon (vs blowing it up with a rocket launcher at close quarters and creating a good deal of shrapnel) to a "watcher", an implant device that uses wifi to monitor a person's brain and health responses. These devices, although first written years ago by me in Beyond Mars - Crimson Fleet, are just now making their debut in reality."
And Characters (or more specifically, their use and understanding of the scientific terms and concepts of which they speak):
"Take Han Solo for example, who boasted that the Millennium Falcon "made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs" or "can make 0.5 past light speed." Well, a parsec is an astronomic unit of distance, not time. (A parsec is the distance equal to light traveling for 3.26 light years.) As for "making 0.5 past light speed", any matter traveling at the speed of light would have infinite mass and cannot travel any faster. This is part of Einstein's law, not mine. In other words, Han Solo lives in another universe (not just another galaxy far, far away), which can routinely violate Einstein [sic] Theory of Relativity at a moment's notice."
I encourage you to read the whole thing for yourself (you can find the article here). Richard Risch packs a touch of humor in with his analysis of Science Fiction and Science Fantasy and makes what could have been a dry article a pretty fun read.
Star Wars Characters Occasionally Spout Inaccurate Technobabble: Film at 11!
Seriously, though, I'd never call Star Wars Science Fiction, and the linked author is entirely correct in categorizing it as Science Fantasy.
But the standard warhead loadout on an Incom T-65 X-Wing is _proton_ torpedoes. :)
I'm taking a science fiction course right now and the first thing the prof covered was this all important difference
Yeah, it's one of those sub-genres that stradles the line between Fantasy and Science Fiction. To that end, maybe it's more of an uber-genre, but I don't quite think so.
In any event, it can trip up a casual reader who might think that because there is "science" or technological elements contained in the story, then it must therefor be Science Fiction. Not quite.
But this is all really academic, at the end of the day the most important question is: did ya like the story?
Of course, I wouldn't try using that line on an exam...I have a feeling it wouldn't go over.