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Why Star Wars is coming to Fantasy Book Review
When you come to Fantasy Book Review, you probably come because you want “reviews” on “fantasy books.” It’s a pretty decent assumption, right? It’s in the name, it’s what we’re all about.
So you might find yourself asking, why are there now Star Wars reviews up on Fantasy Book Review?
Well I can answer that for you, as I’m the one who’ll be leading the charge through the Star Wars universe.
When you think of Star Wars, what do you think of? Space? Battles? Lightsabers? Jedi? Bagels?
All of these are likely, and each in and of itself could immediately make you think Sci-Fi (let me work on how the bagels makes you think Sci-Fi, I can make something of it). But take another look at all of those ideas that make up Star Wars and you might see a similarity to Fantasy in there as well.
Space? Just another setting.
Battles? Uh, Lord of the Rings anyone?
Lightsaber? Just a shiny sword.
Jedi? Another word for sorcerer.
Bagels?
And look at the whole picture as well. The good versus bad, dark versus light, the Dark Side versus the … well, what was the other half called?
Beyond that we see a lot of archetypes that Star Wars uses that are similar to those used in the Fantasy genre. ‘Princess’ Leia, the princess from a lost world; mysterious powers bestowed upon a boy from a rural nowhere town; the used feel of the universe compared to the sleek and shiny Star Trek universe.
You can even be really nerdy like Keires on the official Star Wars forum;
“…you can find the typical D&D team (in episode 4, for example): an apprentice-knight, an expert-knight/magician, a mercenary, a princess… Instead of a dwarf and an elf you have two droids (dwarf-size and elf-size!)…”
George Lucas, the creator extraordinaire behind the Star Wars universe, describes the movies as Space Fantasy, which is probably the best way to look at it. The universe isn’t really based on “science” like Star Trek or Babylon 5. The hyperdrive just exists, without any scientific explanation as to how. The same can be said for the power generation for Death Star and Super Star Destroyers, how Coruscant hasn’t just collapsed in on itself under the pressure of all that city, and why everyone speaks basic except for the Sullustans and Wookies.
In Sci-Fi, these things would normally be explained; in Fantasy, they just ‘are,’ whether by being magic or simply unexplained by the author.
Long lost family, redemption for the bad guy, swords and sorcery, wise old men (and Yoda’s) and princesses in distress all cry Fantasy. So it comes really as a natural conclusion for us here at Fantasy Book Review to include Star Wars in our collection of reviews.
As for that bagel? Here’s my attempt at it being Sci-Fi;
Nah, I’ve got nothing.
Note – the prequel trilogy definitely make this classification a little murky, considering its sleek ships and attempt to explain the Force, but as with most Star Wars fans, we’ll simply ignore the movies and move on.
Posted: March 16th, 2010
Author: JoshSHill
Categories: Star Wars
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Lucy Jones
Karen Miller wrote a Star Wars book.
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