I’d argue it’s the other way around: Science has no place in space fantasy. That’s why fans were so annoyed by the midichlorian nonsense - it sought to explain the magic through science.
If midichlorians were their connection to the Force and that was it it’d be one thing, where Lucas really fucked up was making it a quantifiable power level thing.
I can’t comment on “space fantasy” specifically, but I like when fantasy builds complex science and engineering on top of their magic. The magic in something like the Stormlight Archive is compelling in its own right, but it’s massively enhanced by seeing how the ancient civilizations leveraged it to build advanced societies, and how they invent new things using the lower level tools over the course of the story.
I’d argue it’s the other way around: Science has no place in space fantasy. That’s why fans were so annoyed by the midichlorian nonsense - it sought to explain the magic through science.
If midichlorians were their connection to the Force and that was it it’d be one thing, where Lucas really fucked up was making it a quantifiable power level thing.
HEs gOt moRe maGiC bActErIa thAN YoDA
I can’t comment on “space fantasy” specifically, but I like when fantasy builds complex science and engineering on top of their magic. The magic in something like the Stormlight Archive is compelling in its own right, but it’s massively enhanced by seeing how the ancient civilizations leveraged it to build advanced societies, and how they invent new things using the lower level tools over the course of the story.