Science Fiction vs Fantasy

Use this forum to discuss the July 2020 Book of the month, "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.
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RHD
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Re: Science Fiction vs Fantasy

Post by RHD »

We haven't even unraveled half of what there is. How do we then claim factually what is fiction and science. Perhaps, most likely, some fictitious stuff might actually be scientific!
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

I have not read a lot of science fiction, probably a short story by Asimov and some things by Vonnegut that might fall under the category of science fiction. It seems to me that you define sci-fi as something that cannot be true. You defend your argument against it being sci-fi by implying that what they are doing, finding new (and previously old) species of animals, and then the whole plant and hormone thing, is not fiction, but rather science. I guess I never thought science fiction carried the connotation of being scientifically impossible. The story just has to be made up to make it "fiction" - a made up story that has a scientific theme or undertones. Regardless of how one defines science fiction, I agree that this doesn't feel sci-fi. Maybe it's how the sci-fi aspect was presented; it's kind of an answer or explanation as to what happened to Randall and his team, making this still a crime or mystery novel.
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Post by shravsi »

No, this book heavily gravitates towards fantasy. I think the author tried to create a book combining spy, fantasy, and sci-fi.
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

Even though it is categorised as science-fiction, I don't think it completely belongs to the genre. It is a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and reality.
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Post by Akshobhya B »

Zona is billed as a sci-fi novel but the only science part in it is that half of the characters are scientist doing research in the forbidden land. It's a plain and simple fantasy adventure, not a science fiction. Assimov would turn in his grave if Zona is described as a sci-fi any longer.
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Post by Alexandur Gicov »

There is a combination that is an integral part of science fiction. Yes, some things definitely happen on Earth and are not unknown to humans, but new discoveries are always associated with science fiction. And next to fantasy, it's always interesting when there's a little breaking. But she would rather lean towards science fiction than fantasy. In my opinion, there must be some magic or superhuman ability to be defined as fantasy. My opinion.
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Post by Quinton Lester »

The fantasy in the story is so good it really takes you over but the science fiction aspects are not lost at all and really works together to keep the fantasy alive.

What is fantasy without science fiction?
I feel like the par together really what keeps the book going. Its not too lost in fantasy the science fiction brings some optimum of truth, a possibility that its not all fiction and that it could be real

Do you believe Zona or a place like it could really exist here on earth?
With the description the author gave, do believe Zona is real?
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Post by Sandeep Moses »

The amount of science fiction was kept at a minimum to maintain the characters. If too much science fiction was applied, the gist would have disappeared. The story would have gone other ways. I feel the author put the right amount of fiction into this book.
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Post by Donald Trust »

Well, the science aspect was okay. I also felt like the fantasy was a bit much for this kind of book.
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Post by kensgarment odogwu »

Honestly, too much of the science would definitely get me very bored. I think the author included the right amount of the science into this book. It is a perfect blend of science fiction and a bit of fantasy.
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Post by Gandhi_D 1st »

AlexisLib wrote: 19 Jul 2020, 19:22 I have read much more fantasy than science fiction. As I was reading Zona, I kept waiting for the science fiction, and it really didn't appear until halfway through the book. Is that normal for science fiction books?

And when it finally did appear, as prehistoric animals and different hormones and chemicals and vegetation, at first I was like, is that all there is? With fantasy, magic or unusual things appear very quickly, within the first few pages, and then there's tons of other occurrences. I think one could even argue that the science fiction elements weren't really science fiction at all, we are always discovering new animals and plants in the jungles and other areas that haven't been fully explored yet.

What did you think about the science fiction in this book? Is the type and amount of science fiction typical for books in this category?
I didn't expect much science fiction from this novel after reading the description of this novel. The title as well too was more of a fantasy genre. So if the novel lacks science fiction, I would be surprised.
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Post by E Daves »

This book is a combination of science fiction and fantasy. No rule says that a book will strictly be one genre. A touch of this and a touch of that adds spice to the whole story.
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Post by E Daves »

kensgarment odogwu wrote: 09 Jul 2022, 04:19 Honestly, too much of the science would definitely get me very bored. I think the author included the right amount of the science into this book. It is a perfect blend of science fiction and a bit of fantasy.
Exactly my point! I agree that the right amount of science fiction was included in the book, along with fantasy and mystery. It made the whole story a beauty to behold. Honestly, I don't have complaints about the composition of science fiction in the book.
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Post by Jakub Bystrowski »

I think it's a mixture of both. The sci fi blends with the fiction to gove a thrilling masterpiece. I just disliked how we had to wait till half way of the book to read the fiction.
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Post by Online Concept »

The science fiction in this book was just right. It's science fiction because they were literally sleeping around and misbehaving because of the plants that surrounded the environment. And I don't think something like that exists.
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