Talk:Science fantasy

You might want to take a look at Brian Stableford's "Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature". He distinguishes between three sub-groups of Science Fantasy:

1. "Ambiguous Texts: Texts whose generic status is difficult to determine because the scientific status of the premises they employ is unclear. […]"
I don't know a good sf-related example, but in Mary Gentle's "Rats and Gargoyles" there is a "King's Memory", a person that can accurately remember any conversation – can a person be trained to do such a feat?

2. "Chimerical Texts: Texts that combine elements of sf with elements drawn from other fantasy genres in spite of the fact that they are based on fundamental assumptions that are opposed and irreconcilable. […]"
Michael Swanwick's "Iron Dragon's Daughter" can be used as an example; elven hunters who use cyber-dogs.

3. "Hybrid Texts: Texts in which elements drawn from sf are combined with elements drawn from other genres of fantasy in such a way as to harmonize them, by providing a speculative "rational explanation" for motifs that would be seen as magical or supernatural in another context. […]"
Anne McCaffrey's Pern-Dragons are a quite good example.

I think this classification is quite helpful when talking about Science Fantasy.