Planetary romance[1] (other synonyms are sword and planet,[2][3][4][5] and planetary adventure[citation needed]) is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place against the background of a future culture where travel between worlds by spaceship is commonplace; others, particularly the earliest examples of the genre, do not, invoke flying carpets, astral projection, or other methods of getting between planets. In either case, it is the planetside adventures that are the focus of the story, not the mode of travel.[6]
^Caryad; Römer, Thomas; Zingsem, Vera (2014). "Ein geplatzter Traum" [A Shattered Dream]. Wanderer am Himmel: Die Welt der Planeten in Astronomie und Mythologie [Wanderers in the Sky: The World of the Planets in Astronomy and Mythology] (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 78. ISBN978-3-642-55343-1. Das Subgenre der Sword-and-Planet-Romane (oder Planetary Romance) [The subgenre of Sword-and-Planet-novels (or Planetary Romance)]
^Duncan, Randy (2010). "Fantasy". In Booker, M. Keith (ed.). Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 204. ISBN978-0-313-35747-3. The protagonist of "sword and planet", sometimes referred to as "planetary romance," fantasy, is [...]
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^David Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels: An English-language Selection, 1949–1984, London: Xanadu Publ., 1985. p. 17. Pringle does not include any Bradley or McCaffrey novels. Introducing his selections, he says, "I admit to blind spots—for example, I have little affection for the type of sf story which has been called 'planetary romance'".