I draw the line at fantasy romance. It's just a romance novel set in a "fantasy" setting. I don't accept these books as real fantasy anymore than I would accept a romance novel set in medieval Scotland as a true historical novel.
I have also noticed a blending of the genres recently, with books that have scientific explanations to their "magic," but it's so fantastic that it can't count as science fiction. The Broken Empire series by Mike Lawrence are a good example of this. Jim Butcher, another mainstream author, does this all the time. His Codex Alera series was literally a fantasy series with a scientific explanation behind it (aliens and wormholes).
I draw the line at fantasy romance. It's just a romance novel set in a "fantasy" setting. I don't accept these books as real fantasy anymore than I would accept a romance novel set in medieval Scotland as a true historical novel.
I have also noticed a blending of the genres recently, with books that have scientific explanations to their "magic," but it's so fantastic that it can't count as science fiction. The Broken Empire series by Mike Lawrence are a good example of this. Jim Butcher, another mainstream author, does this all the time. His Codex Alera series was literally a fantasy series with a scientific explanation behind it (aliens and wormholes).
Any technology advanced enough to defy understanding can be thought of as magic.