this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2024
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Weird West
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Weird West (or Weird Western) is a genre of fiction that uses the Wild West period of American History as a foundation and then adds fantasy/supernatural elements to it. So stories where gunslingers encounter zombies, vampires, demons, robots, or any other creatures that wouldn't otherwise be present in a standard Western.
This is a community for sharing various Weird West works. Movies, Books, Comics, Video Games, TV Shows, whatever fits.
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I mean... the reason it's science fiction and not fantasy is because it has some kind of backing in explainable phenomenon. Just because you can say "It's powered by steam" or "it's pushed by magnets" doesn't mean it's not in some way fantastic.
Would more grounded science fiction not count as science fiction to you? Things like The Martian or The Expanse don't count because they don't involved magical fantasy technology that turn the world on its head?
Frankenstein is undoubtedly science fiction... but it's just using electricity to awaken a cobbled together corpse. There's no magic space rays or warp drives or matter transporters.
That's true, just because an explanation is given doesn't mean that explanation makes any sense. You still have to suspend disbelief either way.
the expanse features a fair amount of fantasy in regards to the protomolecule and its fantastical effects and results, as well as it's opponents as the story goes on.