Fantasy

[wellinghall]

camillofan has asked me:
"Is the distinguishing feature of fantasy (as opposed to other sorts of speculative fiction) Magic?"

And she has also said:
"What you need is a bracing debate on what exactly constitutes fantasy literature."

So - over to you, oh wise FList. What made a book "fantasy"?

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to say that there must be at least a hinted element of the supernatural in one form or another, but I'll will no doubt get my head chopped off for this.

Also, I've had this argument in SF fandom. If a book is simply set in an alternate history, is it SF? What is the difference between Farthing and Fatherland, save that the first is written by an acknowledged SF writer and the latter by someone better known for thrillers and historicals. If you consider one of them SF, then you must also accept the other. However, neither have a hint of either speculative science (or speculative social science or arts) or the supernatural...

I'm inclined to put alternative histories without a hint of the supernatural in any of its forms (including religion) outside fantasy and into 'slipstream'. There are one or two books of Guy Kay's (and I adore his work) that would be slipstream if it wasn't for a mention of the Weaver or Fianovar, and one or two that don't even have that, so they do slide out of fantasy, in my 'umble opinion.