How many of you AHers don't read fantasy/sci fi?

[SmilingLez]

I wonder if more people read sci-fi vs fantasy or if it's about the same, or most people read both, with one genre more than the other?

I prefer fantasy - especially mythology, magic, monsters, and dragons to sci-fi. For every four fantasy books I read, I probably read one true sci-fi book

 

[NuclearFairy]

I wonder if more people read sci-fi vs fantasy or if it's about the same, or most people read both, with one genre more than the other?

I prefer fantasy - especially mythology, magic, monsters, and dragons to sci-fi. For every four fantasy books I read, I probably read one true sci-fi book

I have no preference, other than a love for stories that seemlessly mix the two. But my SO doesn't like most sci-fi stories.

Which, if I try to read too many of David Webber's solo written books in a go I kinda get. I much prefer that guy's co-written stuff. Too much long detailed descriptions of how a ship works in his solo written stuff.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Im watching The Fellowship of the Ring right now.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Okay, but what dice, how many?

1D20. We're going D&D 5e for this.

I wonder if more people read sci-fi vs fantasy or if it's about the same, or most people read both, with one genre more than the other?

I prefer fantasy - especially mythology, magic, monsters, and dragons to sci-fi. For every four fantasy books I read, I probably read one true sci-fi book

Honestly, I read more mimetic fiction than speculative fiction, but the speculative fiction I consume leans more towards low-magic settings, bits of magical realism, and surrealism. Think something akin to Twin Peaks, Life is Strange, or even songs like Neon Dominion, which while already have Cyberpunk undertones, there are some surreal elements to it ("the city speaks, a heart caught beating / the air alive, with a pulse repeating").

My big problem with Fantasy is that the genre already peaked for me with Discworld on high fantasy, and Old World of Darkness on urban fantasy. Anything that comes after that really doesn't pack the same "oomph!" I've had when I read either Discworld, or build intricate plots around a magic system based on a lot of real life magic in Mage: The Ascension.

As for Sci-fi the genre slowly shifted from concerns about science advancements or philosophical dread, and it shifted into a vibe that feels more like "look at these cool gadgets!" or "check out these hot alien babes next to your area!" While these things certainly have a place, and I'm not against those, a lot of Sci-fi is focusing more on that instead of what made Sci-fi, you know, Sci-fi. Mass Effect had these, yet sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who saw the existential dread that the Reapers are, and later what the Leviathan is, or the horrors and ethical concerns that stuff like the Genophage or Project Overlord can bring. It's like people are covering the stuff that Kindred Dick or C. Clarke discussed with the thickest layer of paint possible, calling the previous names an influence or inspiration, but it feels more like the botched restoration of Ecce Homo. Hell, the whole Planet of the Apes series of movies steers away so much from the original novel that it completely lost the actual meaning of the book as a satire of our society. This whole reason is why I recommended Ghost in the Shell as a Cyberpunk book even though it's a manga: because it doesn't show transhumanism as something incredible, but largely discusses what makes a human a human.

Then you have stuff like Shadowrun, which merges both worlds, and Shadowrun is great, because it understands both Fantasy and Sci-fi, and integrates both concepts perfectly. If only it didn't have such an awful system...

 

[dirk2024]

One thing I don't like about current SciFi is the existence of nannites. Magical little (very little) robots that perform tasks like self-replication, cellular repair, or technological manipulation. Here on Lit, they are usually sexual in nature. Often, they enter a series somewhat late in the game with the neverending "make this episode more fantastical than the last" progression to maintain the series.

It just feels too convienent for me.

 

[ronde]

I like a good sci-fi story or novel, but I can't really get into fantasy. Fantasy is just too much of a stretch for my logical mind.

 

[Britva415]

I would like to raise my hand, but it would have to be in a different thread; "Who here is still reading SciFi/Fant?"

See, this thread is going to get a severe selection bias because there are going to be people who DO read SF/F but skip it and never self-report.

Since I'm posting, I guess I'll raise my hand for "yes I read SF/F" but I wasn't going to

 

[Britva415]

One thing I don't like about current SciFi is the existence of nannites. Magical little (very little) robots that perform tasks like self-replication, cellular repair, or technological manipulation. Here on Lit, they are usually sexual in nature. Often, they enter a series somewhat late in the game with the neverending "make this episode more fantastical than the last" progression to maintain the series.

It just feels too convienent for me.

A really excellent nanite story (real-life novel, not Lit story) is The Diamond Age (Stephenson). The nanites aren't there for convenience.

 

[Britva415]

I wonder if more people read sci-fi vs fantasy or if it's about the same, or most people read both, with one genre more than the other?

My dad reads sci-fi out the wazoo but won't go near fantasy.

 

[Britva415]

Then you have stuff like Shadowrun, which merges both worlds

I hate Shadowrun because it merges both worlds. I find it really contrived and clunky and unappealing.

I'm sure there's a way to merge both worlds which isn't contrived and clunky and unappealing (to me), but Shadowrun isn't it.

 

[Britva415]

if I try to read too many of David Webber's solo written books in a go I kinda get. I much prefer that guy's co-written stuff. Too much long detailed descriptions of how a ship works in his solo written stuff.

to say nothing of the missiles

I got so tired of reading the phrase "bomb-pumped lasers"

 

[NuclearFairy]

to say nothing of the missiles

I got so tired of reading the phrase "bomb-pumped lasers"

It's like, "Dude, just tell us it's the newest first of the line gizmo and get on with the story."

 

[dirk2024]

A really excellent nanite story (real-life novel, not Lit story) is The Diamond Age (Stephenson). The nanites aren't there for convenience.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[ADirtyPerv]

It's like, "Dude, just tell us it's the newest first of the line gizmo and get on with the story."

I read On Basilisk Station and was contemplating continuing the series... Nah? Are y'all saying nah?

 

[Britva415]

I read On Basilisk Station and was contemplating continuing the series... Nah? Are y'all saying nah?

Nah, just... Continue as long as you want, but don't apologize if it gets old after 12, 15 books

 

[VerbalAbuse]

Okay, but what dice, how many?

so very troo.

 

[Britva415]

I've never even played D&D and even I know it's a D20

 

[VerbalAbuse]

I read On Basilisk Station and was contemplating continuing the series... Nah? Are y'all saying nah?

it's getting boring very fast. like dune, the more you read, the more you wish you didn't.

 

[VerbalAbuse]

I've never even played D&D and even I know it's a D20

I don't even know what D+D is.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I do read SF - but nowadays prefer the softer side focusing on people. Bujold's Vorkosigan saga, Murderbot, The Expanse, Iain Banks etc. I'm fascinated by world-building but if I wanted engineering geekery I'd read non-ficton. And some authors do great world-building but forget to put characters in - I've got 3/4 of the way through Red Mars at least twice, it should be my perfect book because it's got a social experiment and politics and world-building and a murder mystery, but I get that far and honestly don't give a shit, which is a shame.

Urban fantasy I also like - Pratchett, Rivers of London, Neal Stephenson - but classic fantasy does lead to some of the worst published books out there. Why does every fantasy novel have to become a trilogy? And Star Wars was pretty tedious even before adding six extra films and god knows how many spin-offs...

I probably read and watch more SF/F than anything else, because as I say about Doctor Who increasingly, even when it's bad, it tends to be interesting.

But I've mostly avoided SF/F on Lit because while other genres tend to get some hot sex in even when the story is terrible, SF self-published stuff so often builds a fantastic world that the author loves, doesn't put much plot or character in, and then on Lit eventually sticks some sex in (and aliens ain't my kink, though there's plenty I wouldn't say no to - Farscape...) Sounds harsh I'm sure, but equally I've not written SFF yet in my quest to hit every category, for the same reasons.

 

[StillStunned]

One thing I don't like about current SciFi is the existence of nannites. Magical little (very little) robots that perform tasks like self-replication, cellular repair, or technological manipulation. Here on Lit, they are usually sexual in nature. Often, they enter a series somewhat late in the game with the neverending "make this episode more fantastical than the last" progression to maintain the series.

It just feels too convienent for me.

My ears are burning...

(Except I introduce them in chapter 2.)

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

D&D is something I never even got near. I know nothing about it at all

Struck me as fodder for the pocket protector, taped glasses bunch.

The same bunch that worships wookies and wizards and whatnots.

 

[Djmac1031]

well it's no wonder all my supernatural Angels And Demons stories here get such low views; no one reads the category lol.

I'll read if if the story interests me. It honestly depends on whether the writer actually has any talent or if its a bunch of convoluted, rambling rip offs of stories that did it much better.

 

[StillStunned]

well it's no wonder all my supernatural Angels And Demons stories here get such low views; no one reads the category lol.

This morning I decided I might trying a straightforward fantasy sex story with the title "The Magic Dick" or something (edit: "Temptation of the Demon's Dick"). Just to see whether it's my titles and taglines that turn off readers.

 

[WaxPhilosophic]

I don't even know what D+D is.

D + D = 2D

Sorry, couldn't resist.