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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36761
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36761
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I would say, you don't get off on a technicality when it comes to readers, so whether you are explicit in telling them it is scifi, or aliens are spaceships or super-high-tech, is all immaterial.

If you expect them to figure it out, then it is not different than if you told them. Just because your _characters_ have no concept of aliens living on other worlds doesn't make your readers stupid!

So the real question is only whether you should mix fantasy and scifi.

The answer: Yes, if you can make it work, **_with one big caveat:_** IMO you should not put significant mysteries into a story that do not have any influence on the plot **in that book** , and it sounds to me like you plan to do that. If you drop an alien out of the sky or talk about the rogue star, then you have [Chekhov's Gun;](https://www.nownovel.com/blog/use-chekhovs-gun/) and it needs to be fired:

> ### ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ is a concept that describes how every element of a story should contribute to the whole. It comes from Anton Chekhov’s famous book writing advice: ‘If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.’
> 
> **In other words, everything that is introduced in a story needs to have a function.**

So, if your intent is to just mention these things and they have no influence on the story, then **yes** , your readers will be displeased, partially for having ray guns in their fantasy, but more importantly, displeased that you wasted their time describing a bunch of stuff that **_did not matter._**

Original score: 25