In fantasy and sci-fi, there is a lot of talk about “races”. In Lord of the Rings, there are humans, elves, dwarves, orcs. In Star Trek, there are humans, Klingons, Andorians, Vulcans. In Star Wars, there are humans, . In Warhammer, there are humans, orcs / orks, elves / Eldar and so on. In Inheritance Cycle (a LotR / Star Wars ripoff) there are elves, dwarves, orcs Urgals and so on. There is a bit of a problem with this, though.

With the exception of races in Lord of the Rings, none of these are actually “races”.

Race, just like species, is a biological category. Species is a group of organisms which can produce viable offspring. Race is a group of organisms within a species which share most of biological characteristics, but differences are lesser and more mutable than within a species.

So what about “races” in sci-fi and fantasy?