The term "fantasy" is derived from the Greek word phantastike - the art of imagining. This is the name of a special direction in fiction, which is based on a fantastic assumption, a description of the world that does not exist in reality. Sometimes fiction is mistakenly called a literary or cinematic genre, although this is incorrect. Science fiction, as a holistic, self-sufficient direction in art, includes a whole range of diverse genres.
The main distinguishing feature of a fantastic work is a fantastic assumption, which completely determines the development of the plot. It can be a different world, existing according to other laws of physics or in a different time; a level of technological development that is absent in reality; special, superhuman properties of characters; the presence of magic or creatures that do not exist in reality. Modern fiction encompasses many genres, the two main ones being science fiction and fantasy. Science fiction (SCI-FI) describes events that take place in the real world, but which has at least one significant difference from modern or historical reality. It can be technical, social, historical or physical, but never magical. Most of the works of science fiction consider the impact on society of scientific and technical inventions. The action can take place both in the distant future and in other (parallel) worlds, but these worlds are never supernatural. The most common plots in science fiction are flights to other planets, socio-political cataclysms in the technogenic world, robotics, unexpected scientific discoveries. Fantasy, as a rule, assumes the existence of magic and supernatural phenomena in the described world and the absence of a technological civilization in it. In its spirit, the fantasy style is close to the traditional epic with its heroes of "sword and magic", the global scale of events and the chain of numerous feats and adventures. The basis of the plot and its main thread usually becomes a special mission of the protagonist and his friends, which continues throughout the book, and often a whole series of volumes. Modern fiction includes many subgenres related to science or fantasy. SCI-FI literature can be divided into genres such as hard science fiction (hard SF), post-apocalyptic fiction, dystopia, space opera, cyberpunk, post-cyberpunk, cosmopunk, social fiction, and alternative history. The fantasy style is characterized by genres: fantasy epic, heroic fantasy, lyrical fantasy, humorous fantasy, techno fantasy, fantasy - Darkness and much more.
