7 ms·

If alternative forms of cognition are your jam, consider giving the Children of Time series a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Time_(novel) https

by csours 3y ago

If alternative forms of cognition are your jam, consider giving the Children of Time series a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Time_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Time_(novel) Note: I would consider this series science fantasy, not science fiction. I had to kind of unfocus my critical perspective to enjoy it, but I really did enjoy it.

knodi 3y ago
off topic question, whats the difference between science fantasy and science fiction?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- bjelkeman-again 3y ago
  Science fantasy, something like Star Wars. Magic in a setting that seems technical. Science fiction, only break a few laws of physics, the fewer the hard the science fiction.
  - csours 3y ago
    Magic - or - something that sounds science-y but probably is not possible. I call this one science fantasy because there are some big science gaps that are not filled in, so that the story can happen. It makes a better story, but it is not so scientific.
- dsr_ 3y ago
  With science fiction, the author describes how things work in enough detail that you can definitely tell that it won't. In science fantasy, the author glosses over the explanations and just shows you the effects. In fantasy, the author doesn't care about how it violates known science. (Technically, fantasy is the root of all literature, but these are the marketing categories we have today.)
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    How do we apply that classification system to things that are definitely possible but beyond current engineering? Like a space station around Jupiter.
    - stemlord 3y ago
      I would suppose by the effort the author makes to make the reader feel it could be possible rather than the actual possibility of it (scifi) versus the author not caring to give the reader an impression that it could be possible by any means of explanation (sci-fantasy)
  - alanbernstein 3y ago
    That's cute, but science fiction does not require a physically impossible premise. I like to think of scifi as stories that are fundamentally about how a new development in science leads to changes in the world. It could be far-future questionably possibly supertech (The Expanse). It could be near-future changes in social science (1984). It could be future regression of current technology (The Windup Girl).
    - pasabagi 3y ago
      Mmm, not sure those stories match your idea. The only story I can think of that involves a single change in science is Vernor Vinge's Across Realtime (which is very good). I think an Expanse author once commented that he'd never really thought about how the fusion drive thingies were supposed to work.
      - alanbernstein 3y ago
        I was imprecise, I didn't mean to suggest that any book should be based on only a single technological change. > How does the Epstein drive work? > It works very well, thank you very much.
        pasabagi 3y ago
- kbenson 3y ago
  It's a spectrum along fiction, often along how possibly something is given our known knowledge of the world and possibly future extrapolations. Science fiction can be about something entirely possible today that hasn't been done (and could just focus on the social change or response to it, black mirror sometimes opts for this), but often incorporates at least a few giant leaps to help focus us on the parts the fiction is interested in. For example, faster than light travel to allow us to better explore galactic empires and what it means to not have constrained space for nations again. Science fantasy is the other end of the spectrum, where explaining how something is accomplished or linking it to our current understanding of science is inconsequential. Star Wars is the popular example of this, where generally the explanation of "the force" is so irrelevant that they don't even bother to give it a name beyond the pseudo-descriptive one used. You could replace it's occurrences in the script with "magic" and our understanding and assumptions about it wouldn't change much. In these stories the "science" in science fiction usually signifies it's in space or has aliens, which people associate with the sciences when it involves people out in it.
- api 3y ago
  I think it’s whether or not it attempts to stay within physics. It can still be very out there, like fusion torch rockets or mind uploading, but there is nothing happening that is physically impossible according to what we know about the universe. A physicist would not have to suspend disbelief (much). This is also called hard vs soft sci-fi where very soft is fantasy. Fantasy incorporates elements that go beyond any known physics. Sometimes they are explained in world with invented physics like Star Trek, and sometimes they are alien and not explained like the stuff the protomolecule can do in The Expanse. If it’s alien it’s playing with “what if we met someone WAY more advanced than us?” It’s not a binary thing. Some stories are super far out in fantasy like Star Wars while others try to be very scientifically accurate like For All Mankind, Gattaca, or most of the human tech in The Expanse.
- Razengan 3y ago
  Technology vs Mysticism
ph4te 3y ago
This is one of my top books. I love reading about the spiders evolution. The third book in the series is a little lackluster though.
entaloneralie 3y ago
Another excellent one is the Blue Peril(1911), absolutely alien. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9ril_bleu https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9ril_bleu
titaniumtown 3y ago
Love this book!
chrisweekly 3y ago
100% agreed; if you avoid trying to categorize it, the whole series is (IME) really engaging, thought-provoking and worthwhile.

by csours 3y ago

knodi 3y ago

off topic question, whats the difference between science fantasy and science fiction?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
bjelkeman-again 3y ago
Science fantasy, something like Star Wars. Magic in a setting that seems technical. Science fiction, only break a few laws of physics, the fewer the hard the science fiction.
- csours 3y ago
  Magic - or - something that sounds science-y but probably is not possible. I call this one science fantasy because there are some big science gaps that are not filled in, so that the story can happen. It makes a better story, but it is not so scientific.
dsr_ 3y ago
With science fiction, the author describes how things work in enough detail that you can definitely tell that it won't. In science fantasy, the author glosses over the explanations and just shows you the effects. In fantasy, the author doesn't care about how it violates known science. (Technically, fantasy is the root of all literature, but these are the marketing categories we have today.)
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  How do we apply that classification system to things that are definitely possible but beyond current engineering? Like a space station around Jupiter.
  - stemlord 3y ago
    I would suppose by the effort the author makes to make the reader feel it could be possible rather than the actual possibility of it (scifi) versus the author not caring to give the reader an impression that it could be possible by any means of explanation (sci-fantasy)
- alanbernstein 3y ago
  That's cute, but science fiction does not require a physically impossible premise. I like to think of scifi as stories that are fundamentally about how a new development in science leads to changes in the world. It could be far-future questionably possibly supertech (The Expanse). It could be near-future changes in social science (1984). It could be future regression of current technology (The Windup Girl).
  - pasabagi 3y ago
    Mmm, not sure those stories match your idea. The only story I can think of that involves a single change in science is Vernor Vinge's Across Realtime (which is very good). I think an Expanse author once commented that he'd never really thought about how the fusion drive thingies were supposed to work.
    - alanbernstein 3y ago
      I was imprecise, I didn't mean to suggest that any book should be based on only a single technological change. > How does the Epstein drive work? > It works very well, thank you very much.
      - pasabagi 3y ago
kbenson 3y ago
It's a spectrum along fiction, often along how possibly something is given our known knowledge of the world and possibly future extrapolations. Science fiction can be about something entirely possible today that hasn't been done (and could just focus on the social change or response to it, black mirror sometimes opts for this), but often incorporates at least a few giant leaps to help focus us on the parts the fiction is interested in. For example, faster than light travel to allow us to better explore galactic empires and what it means to not have constrained space for nations again. Science fantasy is the other end of the spectrum, where explaining how something is accomplished or linking it to our current understanding of science is inconsequential. Star Wars is the popular example of this, where generally the explanation of "the force" is so irrelevant that they don't even bother to give it a name beyond the pseudo-descriptive one used. You could replace it's occurrences in the script with "magic" and our understanding and assumptions about it wouldn't change much. In these stories the "science" in science fiction usually signifies it's in space or has aliens, which people associate with the sciences when it involves people out in it.
api 3y ago
I think it’s whether or not it attempts to stay within physics. It can still be very out there, like fusion torch rockets or mind uploading, but there is nothing happening that is physically impossible according to what we know about the universe. A physicist would not have to suspend disbelief (much). This is also called hard vs soft sci-fi where very soft is fantasy. Fantasy incorporates elements that go beyond any known physics. Sometimes they are explained in world with invented physics like Star Trek, and sometimes they are alien and not explained like the stuff the protomolecule can do in The Expanse. If it’s alien it’s playing with “what if we met someone WAY more advanced than us?” It’s not a binary thing. Some stories are super far out in fantasy like Star Wars while others try to be very scientifically accurate like For All Mankind, Gattaca, or most of the human tech in The Expanse.
Razengan 3y ago
Technology vs Mysticism

ph4te 3y ago

This is one of my top books. I love reading about the spiders evolution. The third book in the series is a little lackluster though.

entaloneralie 3y ago

Another excellent one is the Blue Peril(1911), absolutely alien. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9ril_bleu https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9ril_bleu

titaniumtown 3y ago

Love this book!

chrisweekly 3y ago

100% agreed; if you avoid trying to categorize it, the whole series is (IME) really engaging, thought-provoking and worthwhile.