Entropy Central

More About the Future of SF

Yesterday, we talked about where SF is going. I’d like to continue that discussion today. But first, I want to show you a picture.

This is a very long exposure photo of the moon taken with my digital camera. The exposure is on the order of two to three seconds. I love how it lights up the clouds, but I don’t like the small reflection from the inner surfaces of the lens.

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Now, onward to the Future of SF.

In yesterday’s comments, I posed a question to ^jr^ . Why is fantasy sell better than science fiction?

Let’s consider some points.

1) Fantasy’s popularity largely stems from The Lord of the Rings.
2) J.K. Rowling, regardless of what you may think of her work, is responsible for bringing a lot of new readers to the genre.
3) Fantasy has evolved and matured more recently than SF, stretching its own boundaries into cross-genre diversions.
4) SF has dominated the silver screen since 1977. (What happened in 1977?)
5) Fantasy gained popularity in written fiction about the same time SF gained popularity in the movies.
6) Despite the success of the Lord of the Rings movies, SF still dominates the movies.
7) Fantasy is creeping into television (Heroes, for example).
8) Harry Potter kids will grow up. Where will their reading tastes take them? I read every Hardy Boys book as a child, but I don’t read mysteries as an adult. Still, I read whenever I can.

With that, I open the comments area to opinions of why fantasy outsells science fiction in print.

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