Genres tree?

Jul 27, 2021
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In my recent reading the author puts an interesting (might be) subject about distinguishing genres between fantasy, sci-fi and horror.
Literature: Herbert Wells, Isaak Azimov, J. R. R Tolkien, Howard Lovecraft, Terry Pratchett, J. K. Rowling, Ray Bradbury.

Cinema: Dr. Who, Alienseries and I don’t have the same long list, just adding screen versions of the above.


There is a suggestion that all of sci-fi and horror are branches of fantasy.


For me, some of the listed above are pure fantasy, some of them ‘clear’ sci-fi’. But in literature many times the genre boundaries are vague.

For instance, Lovecraft works: fantasy, horror, sci-fi in one book.

Aliens: sci-fi/horror?

Dr. Who: pure sci-fi?


I would say, these genres are a domain, inspired from history, fantasy, mythology, folklore, science.


Is sci-fi a stand-alone genre?
 
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Just heard it again on UK television. Horror includes SciFi "as well as the scary bits".

Cat :)
Not all science/ SciFi is Horror. What if it's only about a true event? Apollo 13 was based on a true event so was the Right Stuff. Would they be classified under a historical event ? Just throw everything about space exploration into Horror lol. I'm going to have to look that up.
 
Ahh! Wikipedia classifies them as Adventure/ Drama. Humm, good call there. Contact and Arrival were SciFi, and there wasn't any Horror in it.
Although I did like Van Helsing, that's Horror.
 
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Jul 27, 2021
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Sometimes give it up to a bookstore shelves wandering :)
At least if there is a dragon - it is fantasy, if there are 'Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ' or anything that can be theoretically possible - it is science fiction.
There is a list of good methods to find 'what to read' here in the thread :)
 
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