So what do y'all think: does fantasy have to be set in another world? Could a post-apocalyptic or sci-fi story be a fantasy?
To me yes, since it would be about something that probably never could happen and is all speculation. Does it all have be about elves and dwarves and set in the dark ages? So what do you all think about this.


~Joe~

Jay made a post on the HW blog about this a couple days ago...read it, and the comments.

Just because a story is fantasy does not by any means mean that it must have elves or dwarves or be set in a medieval setting. I've read/imagined several stories that would be considered fantasy but are set in more modern times, also there are many stories that don't have elves or dwarves or any other races at all. The main thing for fantasy is that the story is fantastic in that things happen that could not normally happen.

Have you ever read the Dragons in Our Midst series by Bryan Davis? They are set in the modern world, and they are definitely fantasy!
So... yes, I think that a book can be fantasy without being set in another world!

I think he's asking the difference between science fiction and fantasy...

The difference between Sci-fi and fantasy in my mind is the level of technology combined with the possibility/use of space travel. For the most part the two are practically the same.