Fantasy and Sci-fi

The two are rarely wed.  So many awesome fantasy and sci-fi novels have influenced my life, they become part of you on a deeper level.  I've rarely read a book within these genres that I didn't like, but a few authors will always stick with me: Frank Herbert, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Raymond E. Feist, Robert Jordan, Piers Anthony, Terry Goodkind, Isaac Asimov are but a few.

I love them all.  

But what I really love is when the two genre's combine.  It really doesn't happen as often as I would like to see.  I think this is, in part, because it's rather difficult to pull off.  Frank Herbert's Dune series, Robert Jordon's Wheel of Time, and Terry Brooks Shannara series skirt the border sometimes.  Also, the Shadowrun universe and Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series  definitely plays with such a duality.  

It is in this tradition that I have set my own world in.  

A World Long Sundered

The story starts on a broken and desolate planet,  Sapphyre is a skeleton of a once vibrant and magical world.  Much of what was, is no more.  My first chapter gives the reader hints to the world's condition but more will be revealed in later chapters. 

Although, not apparent from the get-go, Sapphyre is a part of a much larger universe.  For some yet unknown reason, the world of Sapphyre had remained hidden from the expanse of sentient life that inhabited the vastness of space.    A long history of events bridging multiple planets and solar systems is in place long before we come to the main protagonist.  

Auryn Riggs is as about as broken as the world around him.  Even though he initially remembers little of why the world is in the state it is, self-consciously he believes he played no small part in its downfall.  He is unaware of the extent of the world's deterioration, and inwardly he is convinced that it has nothing to do with him.  

In order to escape from his prison, Auryin will need to remember more than just his past.  But he will often ask himself if it is a past worth remembering...

A Request From The Community 

As previously stated, combining both fantasy and sci-fi into an enjoyable experience is not easy.  Meshing both magic and technology is undeniably not a new concept but surely an enjoyable one.  

My question out to the community is this:

Of the worlds that combined both fantasy and science fiction, which were your favorite?  What aspects made them so and why?

I would love to hear back from everyone.  Also, if anyone is interested in giving me their honest opinion of my first chapter of A World Long Sundered, you can find it here.  I know it is a bit of a read, so let me thank you all in advance!

Some images provided by https://pixabay.com/