a question about science fiction and fantasy?

A lot of science fiction doesn't bother to explain much at all in the way of its technology. Space weaponry, faster than light (FTL) travel, teleportation, etc., all regularly go without the slightest effort by way of explanation even in highly regarded science fiction.

One genre / sub-genre of science fiction that does tend to focus on providing explanations is "hard science fiction." The genre that features the most unlikely technology, without any explanation, tends to what is known as "space opera."

Certainly there is no need for you to go into explanations. Consistency and some sort of plausibility is another matter. Plausibility is a tricky concept. Most people would agree that most of the forms of FTL travel used in science fiction are implausible, but the are often necessary for the stories, and the "plausibility" factor is more akin to consistency, in handling sensibly, plausibly and consistently the way that things would work - trade, war fare, tourism, what have you - with that kind of FTL.

If you want to look at great science fiction that does little to explain its technology, its aliens, etc., check out Ursula LeGuin, a ferociously talented writer and storyteller, though with a unique and hard to duplicate sparse style; and David Brin, whose work often has the feel of hard science fiction, but is really great, extremely well-written space opera.

Sci-fi tends to have a scientific basis for the theme. That is the things that happen in the story are directly related to technology of some kind, or have technology as a central theme. Just because you write a fantasy story doesn't mean you can get away from explainations however. Even if you create your own world, there have to be laws, even if you never overtly tell the reader what they are. There should be some semblence of realism.

For example, if unicorns can't fly, then you have to stick with that throughout your story. You can't suddenly make it possible at the end simply because it's convenient for rescuing your main character. At least not without a believable explaination on how it's possible.

In a way your answer is correct in that I can't think of a single Fantasy novel that tries to explain the functionality of the phenomena contained in the story. Unfortunately the same is true of many or maybe most Science Fiction novels. A few "hard science" authors attempt to predict from current science but most just throw that out of the window and imagine a desired future state.

*Edit: Actually I can think of a couple of fantasy stories that do try and explain the phenomena with ideas such as the characters are in a VR scenario, it was all a dream or that there is some kind of energy that can be manipulated by the minds of trained individuals.*

Ruf

Yes, I would at least get a passing understanding of genetics, but after that... if you make up your own gene codes, blood types, mutations, there's no limit (especially when dealing with a whole new creature).

It is all personal preference, people who are more science based are more likely to want the hard facts. People reading for pleasure don't really care HOW the aliens manage to do this, just want the rules of the "magic" ability.

that's some thing i could decide to appreciate the respond to besides. listed below are some that I even have enjoyed: The Sprawl Trilogy by using William Gibson The Bridge sequence by using William Gibson A clockwork Orange The Streets Of Eyes (a internet novel this remains continuing. seek it on google.) that's all i will think of of on the 2d best off the suitable of my head. they're all definitly for adults. A clockwork orange and The Steets of Eyes are very picture, and that they are all technological information fiction/cyberpunk based.