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Science Fiction and Fantasy is a catch-all name given to two (or possibly more, see below) distinct genres of fiction. While these genres are distinct from each other they are often seen to have many similarities and are therefore often put together in bookstores - it is assumed that a fan of Science Fiction would be a fan of Fantasy. However this is not always the case and some fans of one of the two sometimes get quite irate over automatically being classified with fans of the other.
How many genres?
Science Fiction and Fantasy are themselves hard genres to define and Science Fiction in particular has very fluid genre borders (see each genres separate entry for a definition of the two genres). As such it is not unusual to find that a few books that some people would count as Science Fiction or Fantasy are not included in other peoples lists and other books that some people would not count as Science Fiction are so included. This is most noticeable with Fantasy books that are perceived to be primarily children's books (such as Harry Potter) and Science Fiction dystopian and/or alternative history books (such as Nineteen Eighty-Four).
Similarities between Science Fiction and Fantasy
Science Fiction and Fantasy are often placed together because, as mentioned before, they often share many similarities. These similarities include, but are not limited to:
Setting:
An imaginary world or imaginary extenstion to our own world. For example Harry Potter, despite involving wizards, dragons and magic is set specifically in England and the main protagonists are modern day teenagers with all the same pressures and worries that real modern day teenagers share. Likewise, Stranger In A Strange Land tells of a normal man who is raised on Mars by Martians and then returns to 1960s Earth. Alternatively the text could be set in a completely different world such as The Wheel Of Time, which is set on an unnamed world whose inhabitants have medival-era technology and access to magic, or Star Wars, which (according to the opening on-screen text of each movie) is set in "a galaxy far, far away".
The unreal:
As previoudly mentioned magic appears often in works of Fantasy and advanced technology often appears in Science Fiction. These elements help further separate the genres from a sense of reality as aliens and dragons are seen as products solely of the imagination.
Adventure:
A large number of Fantasy and Science Fiction works (although it should be stressed that this does not apply to all such texts) also contain a spirit of adventure. Dragons are often fought, princesses are romanced, evil intergalactic dictators are toppled and sometimes entire planets are destroyed. This sense of adventure is also often seen as a uniting factor between the two genres.
"Science Fiction and Fantasy"