The Introduction
Here at IMS, students and teachers today will give their opinions from their worlds of many novels and we’ll see which genre, fantasy or science fiction, is better than the other.
Many kids in their juvenile years read books either for fun or their school education given by their teachers. There are vast genres to choose from, your hands eager to pick a book. Now, you’re stuck between two types of books. Fantasy or science fiction, also known as sci-fi, which will you choose?
What Makes Fantasy… Fantasy?
A fantasy world with real magic, and mythical creatures, and where the rules of nature can be altered is so captivating. It deposits readers right into magical places with talking animals, enchanted forests, and heroic quests. Famous fantasy books like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Hobbit allow fans to step into endless worlds where anything is possible.
Sci-Fi Secrets: What Truly Defines this Genre?
On the other hand, sci-fi is all about the future, with its robots, aliens, and technological progress. It describes scenarios that would be, for instance, space travel and time travel, in terms of the potential of science and technology. Future worlds in books like Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games are meant to challenge us to think about the repercussions of those advancements. Technology’s impact on humanity is what sci-fi encourages people to ask about.
The Know-It-Alls About This Topic
Among all categories of books, fantasy books are the most popular and have sold the most copies over the years. The Harry Potter series is one of the best selling with about 500 million copies sold (WordsRated.com), The Lord of the Rings about 150 million (WordsRated.com), Percy Jackson around 180 million (WordsRated.com), and The Chronicles of Narnia about 100 million copies (WordsRated.com) sold worldwide. These fantasy titles are well popular across the globe.
The opposite is the case with science fiction books; they sell fewer copies. Dune has sold about 20 million (Britannica.com), and Ender’s Game 7-10 million (Homework.Study.com). The Hunger Games series, being more associated with sci-fi due to the setting, has sold about 100 million copies (WordsRated.com).
In the market, fantasy contributes 25-35% of the adult fiction sales and science fiction 10-12%. About 30% of people read fantasy and 20% read science fiction, thus making fantasy slightly more popular (according to Glenda Larke). Both genres have a large following.
The Book War Interviews
So, what will the answer be to this question? The answer to that is, we might as well see. This is really an opinion question, but this article may give that one answer that will help you choose between fantasy and sci-fi.
Survey Results: Fantasy vs. Science Fiction
I went around the IMS sixth-grade hall and asked three people which they preferred more: fantasy or science fiction books. The results I got were pretty exciting.
The first person I interviewed was Diva Vazirani. Diva is a young sixth-grader here at IMS who loves reading various books in her free time when she gets it. Diva said she loved the Keeper of the Lost Cities series written by Shannon Messenger. Additionally, she enjoyed the Warriors series written by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley. “Fantasy is the best,” Diva said. She said she preferred fantasy novels more than sci-fi novels for readers like her who spend her time picking books.
The second person I surveyed was Meera Suresh. Meera is a sixth-grade student who tries to enjoy life. She said she liked Fiona Shaw’s Outwalkers and the Babysitter’s Club series written by Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier and thought fantasy was better than sci-fi. “I like fantasy much better than sci-fi,” she replied.
The very last person I talked to was Darren Neil Joseph. Darren, a sixth-grade student who likes to read for homework, said he enjoyed Aisha Saeed’s Amal Unbound and Sharon Creech’s Bloomability. Although he liked both genres, he’d choose fantasy over science fiction if he was given the option.
Conclusion:
Out of the three people I asked, two out of the three said they liked fantasy more than science fiction. Only one person said they liked both genres but still preferred fantasy overall. It looks like, at least for this group, fantasy is the favorite genre!
