Random question

[author_by_night]

What differs adult fantasy from children's/YA fantasy? Or is there a difference?

I just told a friend that I don't consider Lord of the Rings a series for children, but I think The Hobbit is. (ETA: I worded the rest of that paragraph poorly, so I've edited it.)

Also, what exactly is the difference between sci fi/fantasy/action and adventure? For instance, with shows like Buffy and Supernatural, I keep hearing different genres being assigned. Some say fantasy, some say sci fi (which to me usually implies spaceships or something else that is  science based), some say it's just action.

I'd just like to hear your thoughts.

Comments

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I would say that children's fantasy involves negligible amounts of maturation by the main characters, YA fantasy involves the main characters accepting their impending adulthood, and adult fantasy involves the main characters coming to a truer understanding of the world. And that fantasy = magic, magic realism = fantasy that literary fiction types like but don't want to call fantasy because they think fantasy is immature, supernatural = technically fantasy but the only magic stuff is magic species like vampires and werewolves, science fiction = magic stuff happens but it's because of science, action and adventure = there is no magic and science is at the level we know it to be, except maybe for some gadgets and a Macguffin. I also generally think of speculative fiction as science fiction or fantasy that involves some kind of what-if-people-discovered-something scenario, but I think that's just me.

So I would say that Buffy and Supernatural are both supernatural fiction. LotR is difficult for me to categorize because I don't particularly like it, but afaik it's more about Frodo and Sam's understanding of the world than them growing up in a YA way; the Hobbit would be children's because Bilbo becomes stronger but doesn't (iirc) change in character that much.