Here’s a thought on the science fiction vs. fantasy discussion, primarily from my perspective as a writer rather than a reader. One of the reasons that I write much more fantasy than science fiction is that as a reader I find that fantasy wears significantly better than science fiction. If I pick up a stack of 30 year old sf and fantasy I find that the fantasy is usually much more current and quite a bit less likely to have been rendered moot or obsolete by the passage of time. For me this is true even with sf and fantasy titles that I loved when I first read them in the 80s when I was reading about even amounts of both genres. As a writer it’s certainly my hope that people will still find at least some of what I write worth reading a hundred years from now and I feel that writing more fantasy than science fiction increases my odds dramatically.
(Originally published on the Wyrdsmiths blog April 14 2008, and original comments may be found there. Reposted and reedited as part of the reblogging project)