[LMB] SciFi vs Fantasy

[M Hämäläinen]

From: Katherine Collett <kcollett at hamilton.edu>

>
> Do any of you prefer the Vorkosiverse when you usually go more for
> fantasy,
>

Reporting as ordered, although late. :)

I love fantasy because most of the time I want my reading to take me
literally to different worlds than the current modern one. Zelazny Amber is
one of the settings that I adore and is the perfect example of a wide
fantasy world.

Most of the time I don't care for SF (as I said in some earlier post)
because it's 1, science heavy (I'm a 100% Arts student. Most science
explanations make as much sense to me as magic.) 2, explanation heavy (bored
to tears, here) and 3, not friendly to female characters or readers. Of
course, there are plenty of fantasy that contains point 3 and which I do my
best to avoid.

Notice, that Lois's work contains none of the above. It's character centered
and *actually has science that is beneficial to women*. Compared to the
other SF where surprise pregnancies happen as (important) plot points,
Lois's work is extraordinary!

For some reason I haven't liked the fantasy so much. I suspect it's because
they are essentially stand-alone books with male MCs. Much less material for
each character. My favourite Bujold fantasy book, by the way, is Hallowed
Hunt which, IMHO, has more quirky secondary characters than the other
fantasies.

Also, the fantasy books, at least to my eye, have more cliche elements.
*All* female characters are described as outstandingly beautiful. I'm short,
plain, fat, and female. There's no way I can relate to any of those gorgeous
fantasy (in all senses of the word) women. At least Miles isn't physically
perfect and Cordelia is described as not classically beautiful.

Also, romance is more in the foreground in the fantasy books (except for
CoC) and I much, much prefer establish couple romance to boy-meets-girl
romance. Indeed, I wouldn't have picked up the Sharing Knife at all if it
had been written by somebody else than Lois. The SF isn't so focused on
romance.

Mervi