I love the question of which is best fantasy or sci-fi and today I plan on answering that question DEFINITIVELY!!! So first things first we need a set definition of what fantasy is and what sci-fi is. Okay let’s start with fantasy personally, I see fantasy as a person or persons on a journey through a fantastic and usually magical world (they tend to be character-driven stories.) Sci-fi, on the other hand, is a story that tends to lean more towards questioning society, most of the time about how introducing a certain piece of technology would affect it. Now, this isn’t the case for all sci-fi and fantasy take Starwars for an example I would consider that a more of a fantasy story writing wise despite taking place in a fantasy world so this is just to simplify the terms as a whole. So now that we know what each genre is boiled down to as I see them, The question becomes which do you prefer character-driven or idea-driven stories.

Character-driven stories have the potential be some of the emotionally fulfilling tails that can be weaved, however, If you don’t like the characters it is probably going to be a long and boring experience assuming you don’t stop watching, reading, or playing before the end. The same goes for an idea focused story if the idea is bad the story will be as well. For the sake of the argument, we will be assuming both the fantasy and sci-fi Story is the best it can be… Since that’s kind of hard to do I will have to use an example of my favorite versions of both. For fantasy I will be using “The Adventure Zone: Balance” and for the sci-fi side of things I will be using “Black Mirror” Both of these are episodic in very different ways!

THE ADVENTURE ZONE!!!!! Okay, this is one of my favorite podcasts with my favorite boys and of course their amazing dad. First off this is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast so they are basically working together to make a story. Lets get to the characters Magnus Burnsides a human fighter who rushes in (played by the middlest brother Travis), Merle Highchurch a cleric who might not heal you but will for sure cast zone of truth (played by their father Clint), and last but MOST DEFINITELY NOT LEAST Taako [redacted] who you probably know from TV but if you don’t he is a chef turned wizard who would take anything not nailed down (played by the eldest brother Justin.) I know what you are thinking ” but Eyon those are the main characters what about everyone else? Shut up I was getting to that, Every other side character is played by Griffin McElroy He is the Dungeon Master he is the one who also writes the overarching story.

Now I can’t spoil this podcast it is too good but I will say the story and character development is nothing more than amazing I cried three times during the final episode alone. Merle started off the game as a cleric who wouldn’t have been able to recognize his deity let alone heal his teammates but by the end of the story he had made some of the most important saves of the game and yep sometimes he actually healed someone. Magnus started out easily with the saddest backstory losing his wife and seeking revenge but slowly he goes from always rushing head first into playing smart and accepting the death of his wife. Finally, Taako a character clearly made as a joke goes through easily the biggest emotional rollercoaster of them all starting off as brash, mean-spirited, and Selfish in the end he was well… Brash, mean-spirited, and so selfless!

Okay Black Mirror, This is an amazing example of sci-fi and drawing into question our dependency on technology and many other topics. Black mirror not only tells stories warning us to be wary of technology but also has episodes that show how amazing technology can be my favorite episode like this is San Junipero an episode I also don’t want to spoil but I suggest you watch it and every other episode. This show has a tendency to make me at least a little nervous about a lot of different things but I think that just means it’s doing its job. Black Mirror does a great job of making you scared of your computer which I think might be a good thing. I think sci-fi does more than just entertain but also serves as an important commentary on society.

Fantasy is a way to escape yes it can also deal with some intense subject matter and important lessons but the reason it exists is to make us forget about our problems and stress. Sci-fi does the exact opposite instead of taking us away from our life it turns the lens of focus onto us where fantasy wants us to forget our mundane life sci-fi wants to show us it isn’t mundane at all. So which is it which is better honestly I’m not sure I came in thinking I would say sci-fi but thinking back on all the amazing experiences I’ve had through other characters I am not sure I can say it’s sci-fi but sci-fi is so important I can’t say its fantasy either… maybe the world will never know one of the great unanswerable questions.

Just kidding it’s fantasy

Lovingly yours, Eyon (The wizard cyborg) Palmer