I like both, but I've always leaned toward science fiction myself. I have an easier time finding deep and thought-provoking stories in the science fiction genre, and I tend to prefer its more emphasis on exploring what its possibilities mean and using them to examine ourselves.
I think this varies wildly on the type of scifi you're reading like le Guin and PKD often gave very little consideration to the particular scientific details. My favorite scifi novel is Shikasta by Doris Lessing, which admittedly blurs the lines between scifi and fantasy, but it doesn't bother explaining how the future tech works, because it's not important. The novel focuses instead on the impact and how the terraforming and bio-engineering is used, not the particular mechanisms.
defo. I love sci-fi and the best stuff isn't sciencey for science sake. but can't see a le guin fan being that type of sci-fi only dweeb - would miss out on her many beautiful fantasy novels for one.
shikasta sounds good I'll have to put it on the list. fucking love not knowing how things work. that's the best type of story - a world that feels fully realised but you have vey little idea what's going on.
I tend to love the first novel in a series and then get progressively less involved as the oblique and mysterious stuff gets clarified.
Shikasta is incredibly good because it feels like you're reading something intended for a completely different audience who would understand all the technical and religious stuff going on, but you're just a modern human so you have to piece together what's happening based on your own understanding. The novel is from the perspective of a highly advanced alien culture who have their own religion and values and etc, but none of that is explained explicitly. It's assumed you know all that already.
Like the aliens view obsessive individuality and greed as a kind of degenerative disease resulting from flawed biology. Being disconnected from a kind of universal harmony.
It's rad. Read it.
yeah that sounds exactly my shit. im all in