No, I'm not saying one is better than the other. I love both categories of fiction. It's just that when I was shelving in the bookstore the other day it struck me how much larger the fantasy section was than the science fiction. Fantasy is twice the size, almost exactly.
What I can't help wondering is whether this is a reflection of current popularity trends - eg. urban fantasy, which I know is really popular right now, or if it's just a difference in the number of books being put out in each type.
Personally, I'm inclined to think it might be the first. But, that thought isn't based on anything in the bookstore, but instead on the blogs I've found. That is, I've found quite a few fantasy-focused blogs, some of which also do science fiction reviews, but a lot of them are fantasy only, and a lot of those focus on the urban fantasy/paranormal/romance genre. Now, my finding those in numbers and easily might be a reflection of what I've been searching for, but I haven't run into more than one or two science-fiction only review blogs. Which makes me wonder if more fantasy is being read right now than science fiction.
Opinions?
1 comment:
Well, I am a fan of both genres, but I find there is more good fantasy than science-fiction. I also think it is a lot harder to write science-fiction, since there has to be a lot more believe-ability involved in constructing the world. In fantasy, you can create the rules and make up explanations for anything, whereas in sci-fi it has to be at least plausible.
I also think that many fantasies are a lot lighter than science-fiction.
I do have to agree I think it has to do with trends. There have been a lot of big titles in fantasy in recent years, but hardly none in sci-fi. That has definitely given the genre a burst!
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