Why Do We Talk About "Realistic" in Fantasy and Sci-Fi?
There's a conversation I've had a number of times in one form or another. It tends to go something like this: Person 1: It was mostly a good book, but it was unrealistic when the hero sailed safely down the river despite knowing nothing about boats. Person 2: Wait! You're reading a book full of dragons and wizards, and you think the unrealistic part was the sailing??? Person 1: <awkwardly> Well, um, it's hard to explain, but it just doesn't feel right... I have found this conversation frustrating because I tend to be person 1. I think I'm right, but I'm not quite able to articulate what I meant in order to counter Person 2's snappy 1-liner. So now it's time to fix that. Fantasy vs. Nonsense If you were truly to write a story that abandoned reality, it would probably go something like this. "Bob teleported to the kitchen to destroy the universe again, now that it had started complaining. How else could the flower chickens grow?&q