Harry Potter: Fantasy or Sci-Fi?

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 14040

Naama:"From this point of view writers who use magic in its 
"utility" sense (natural force) are actually writing a fantasy, 
because they're depicting a world that is very essentially different 
from our own - a world where magic is explainable. This is rather 
off the top of my head. Ebony, if you read this, can you give a few 
examples of such books? Harry Potter is also a fantasy for the reasons 
Pippin gave - the magic in HP is "magical" - unexplainable, 
unpredictable, and very clearly antithetic to science."

I disagree. The Harry Potter books are a recognized subgenre of 
science fiction, the "scientific magic" type.  In Harry's world, magic 
*is* discoverable. Albus Dumbledore himself is known for having 
discovered the uses of dragon's blood during his researches with 
Nicolas Flamel.  Remus Lupin takes a potion to control his lycanthropy 
which wasn't available when he was a student.  Sounds like research to 
me.

There are plenty of examples to illustrate the difference. The late 
Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series was squarely in this genre in an 
alternate history timeframe, when the Plantagenets did not die out but 
instead ruled the Anglo-French Empire and Lord Darcy solved mysteries 
with his wizard assistant, Master Sean.  You couldn't read these books 
without being struck by the connections between them and Harry Potter. 
(There wasn't any copying or idea stealing by JKR; it's just clear the 
two series are the same genre.) Garrett vigorously defended his 
stories as science fiction. 

The Lord of the Rings, OTOH, is fantasy; there is no explanation for 
any of the 'magic' that takes place, and it appears to come solely 
from a supernatural source, all of it mysterious. There is no way that 
a wizard's skill can be increased by study or application, at least 
none we hear about. There's nothing like Hogwarts in Middle-Earth. 
It's a different world altogether.  

"Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic" -- 
Arthur C. Clarke (Grand Master of SF, author of 2001, 2010, etc.)