Science fantasy, or sci-fantasy, is a genre that blends elements of science fiction (sci-fi) and fantasy, creating an interesting genre on its own. More often than not, science fantasy involves technological advancements and futuristic settings combined with magical elements of some sort. The hybrid genre is a very unique one and I don’t often see many stories dip into it, but it was an idea that I personally loved so much that I created my own sci-fantasy series called The Fallen Age Saga which blends the new, the old, the ancient, and the mythical into one series spanning centuries (and technically eons if we’re counting the flashbacks). So, what exactly is science fantasy and how can you write a science fantasy book?
What is Science Fantasy?
Science fantasy (sci-fantasy) is basically a genre that blends elements of sci-fi with elements of fantasy. Science fiction tends to explore a world with plausibility based on scientific principles and explanations, even if it tends to get a little wild. Meanwhile, fantasy embraces the idea of magic, mythology, legend, lore, creatures beyond our realm, and more. Science fantasy essentially takes the ideas of both and creates a mixture where you don’t need to necessarily involve plausible scientific explanations and can involve things like the future and advanced technology in a way that almost combines magic in with it.
There are a lot of elements that go into science fantasy that are not very different from other science fiction or fantasy books, but the first and most notable one is the idea of world building. Now, world building is a topic and concept that I constantly talk about on my blog because it’s a super important one to include in speculative fiction stories like fantasy and sci-fi. Naturally, it’s also needed in science fantasy.
Science fantasy also tends to include things like magic and technology coexisting. For instance, there may be technological advancements that are powered by magic. In my series, The Fallen Age Saga, much of the weaponry that the alien species called the Ones Above use is basically advanced tech that is powered by their Mage Arts.
Science fantasy also includes things like mythical creatures but they may be integrated with technology to create things like cyborg wizards or aliens that have magical abilities. That’s the case with my series, as I mentioned that the Ones Above integrate magic pretty much totally alongside their technology.
Science fantasy narratives also tend to explore ideas and themes that are similar to fantasy stories with epic backdrops, themes of good vs evil and destiny, and some even cover the hero’s journey. They can cover science fiction concepts as well like the integration of technology and its impact on society.
How to Write a Science Fantasy Book
Start with a Concept
The first thing you want to do before you get into starting the writing process is to actually come up with a concept for your story. What I recommend is grabbing a piece of paper and jotting down different ideas for a story that you think sounds interesting. You also want to think about stuff like how you will integrate the ideas of science and fantasy together, such as magic, advanced technology, aliens, futuristic settings, etc…
World Building
The next thing you want to do is work on the world building. World building is a bit of a lengthy process if you want to be really detailed about it, but I consider it to be a very rewarding process. You want to create a world that blends the ideas of technology and magic or at least sci-fi elements with fantasy elements to some extent.
You want to develop a magic system, which you can read about how to do that in another post I wrote. You also want to think about other elements like the culture, the history/lore, the government and more.
Design Your Characters
The next thing you’ll want to do is to design your characters. You want to come up with memorable, well-rounded characters that are the best envoy for your story. You want to think about the character’s background, the motivations, the goals, the strengths, the weaknesses, as well as how they interact with the technological and magical elements of the world.
You’ll want to come up with a protagonist, an antagonist, and other secondary characters. You’ll also want to start thinking about what sort of character arc your character will undergo in this story and how it will affect them.
Outline Your Plot
The next thing you’ll want to do with all these elements in mind is to outline your plot. Even if outlining seems like a waste of time, it’s actually a really great way to plan a story out and to save time as you’re writing.
I’ve talked before about how to create a plot outline as well as why a plot outline is helpful, so I recommend you read those posts to get more information.
You want to think about the main plot of your story based on your concept, what elements the story will include, what sort of conflict the character(s) will face (check out this post to see more about conflict types in literature) and more.
Blend the Sci-Fi with the Fantasy
In order to make sure that your sci-fantasy story is actually blending the two genres, you’ll want to work on both aspects of the story with as much depth and effort as possible. You’ll want to think about how technology and magic will ultimately affect each other, how the characters will interact and engage with this world, and how the elements work in the context of the world. You also want to think about ways to blend popular themes from each genre into one to create a sort of complex theme in your story.
Examples of Science Fantasy Books
The Fallen Age Saga by Zainah Yousef
My series, The Fallen Age Saga, is a strong example of science fantasy that combines many elements of both genres. Book 1 starts out mostly sci-fi, taking place in the near future. However, by the end of the story, we are introduced to many new elements that set the rest of the series up to show you how it’s a blend of the two genres. There are aliens, magic, ancient demons, alien religions and more.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune by Frank Herbert is a very powerful science fantasy work that combines magic, space travel, political conflict, war, religion and more. The story takes place in the distant future where noble houses basically fight to control a spice planet known as Arrakis since it brings them a lot of wealth.
Conclusion
Science fantasy is a really powerful genre that takes elements of both science fiction and fantasy and combines them into amazing worlds, powerful stories, compelling characters and more. The idea of science fantasy is not new, but the way it’s been written across time has changed with different authors providing their own takes on science fiction and fantasy and the blend between magic, politics, technology, philosophy and more.
Science fantasy is a personal favorite genre of mine and I really think that it’s a great way to blend the two concepts together into one story.
Before you head on out, be sure to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to get updates on my latest posts, WIPs, book releases and more!