SCIENCE FICTION – THOUGHTS ON THE GENRE

• By Michael Smart
• June 15, 2015
• 6 Comments

How do you define science fiction? For me, the answer is exemplified in the following quote:

“Take a scientific fact or theory, add a futuristic or other-worldly setting, stir in an imaginative plot and fascinating characters, and a science fiction novel emerges from the cosmic mix”. (Yvonne Coleman)

The question’s relevance pestered me as I pondered the release, promotion, and marketing of my first science fiction title, Davidia’s Seed. Using the same marketing formula I’d developed for my mystery series, I sought to identify my audience and the particular reader profile for this story. Where do I find them? Where do I promote this novel? Which keywords will aid in identifying and attracting those readers?

The simple answer, my novel is science fiction. But it occurred to me, my simple definition may not encompass the genre’s diverse and specialized niches in today’s marketplace.

I’m writing what I’d consider ‘classic’ or ‘hard’ science fiction. But how do I market it for the broadest sci-fi audience?

An internet search on the topic produced a migraine. While science fiction was once primarily about science, it has since evolved to encompass a variety of subgenres and related genres. Where does my novel fit into this fragmented field? And why the bewildering sub-categorization in the first place? Either a story is science fiction or it isn’t. Why the pervasive need to separate, classify, categorize, and pigeonhole? Hasn’t this tendency contributed enough to destructive divisions in our society?

There does appear to be consensus on what constitutes the core elements and characteristics of ‘true’ science fiction:

• Scientific basis: stories must be based in science, involving a mixture of true and speculative scientific laws, rules, and theories.
• Realism: though all fiction require suspension of belief to some degree, a science fiction story cannot be completely implausible.
• Speculative: stories based on the speculative premise, “what if?” What if a scientist used electricity to reanimate a corpse? (Frankenstein). What if humans make contact with an alien species? What if humans achieve faster-than-light travel? What if a deadly virus escapes or is deliberately unleashed on the world? What if genetic experimentation goes terribly awry, or creates a superhuman?
• Impact: stories revolving around the impact of scientific or technological change on people, society, and culture.
• Setting: stories set in a scientifically or technologically feasible future, alternate universe, alternate reality, space, or extraterrestrial world.
• Topics and Themes: the future, alternate/parallel universes and realities, time travel, faster-than-light travel, extraterrestrial life, first contact, science and technology, robots and cyborgs, societal and cultural issues, war and conflict.

In science fiction we may encounter science fantasy, supernaturalism, mystery (a personal favorite), romance (can’t get enough of human-alien romance), suspense, horror, even westerns. Some authorities separate these into subgenres, related genres, mixed, or cross genres. I’ve encountered no less than 55 subgenres of science fiction based merely on the topic, theme, plot device, or subject matter of the story. For example aliens, first contact, and robots, are all considered subgenres by certain authorities. Personally I don’t care. To me it’s a lively, fascinating, but ultimately useless academic discussion. If the story contains the core elements and characteristics of science fiction, I consider it science fiction, period. The story’s particular plot device doesn’t really require its own sub-genre. Or does it?

I’d also argue, specific elements by themselves, do not necessarily make a story science fiction.Take time travel for example. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Time Traveler’s Wife” as a wonderful tear-jerker romance, even though it used time travel as a central element. Likewise, stories set in a dystopian or post-apocalyptic world do not necessarily make them science fiction, while others do (1984, Blade Runner, The Running Man).

If we set aside for a moment the habit to divide, separate, label, and pigeonhole, which of the following is actually science fiction? My thoughts:

Cyberpunk – Yes.
Military science fiction – Yes.
Space Opera – Mostly yes, despite improbable plots and absurd science. Some authorities include Star Wars in this category.
Space Western – Yes. Loved Firefly and Serenity. Not so much Aliens vs Cowboys, though I consider it true science fiction.
Utopian – Not necessarily.
Dystopian – Not necessarily, but a dystopian setting is a staple of science fiction.
Superhuman – Not necessarily. But yes, if the powers result from scientific causes or augmentation, and the story contains other sci-fi elements. No to anything else.
Superhero – Not necessarily, unless the hero’s origin or exploits involve real science, advanced technologies, alien worlds, time travel, or inter-dimensional travel. In most superhero fiction, scientific plausibility is usually below the standard for true science fiction.
Monsters and Mutants – Not necessarily, and mostly no, unless the monster or mutant is derived from a scientific explanation or origin. (Godzilla, Jurassic Park, I Am Legend, Planet of the Apes).
Horror – No, though some sci-fi (grounded in speculatively plausible science) can contain horror elements. (Alien, Predator)
Cli-fi – Mostly yes (The Day After Tomorrow)

Final Thought. Science fiction itself, is a relative in the larger family known as speculative fiction, encompassing fantasy, horror, alternate history, apocalyptic, dystopian, utopian, and other speculative fiction genres. While each of these often borrow from each other, mixing and blending elements of their respective genres in a story, each possesses a distinct character. Science fiction and fantasy for example, though closely related, and often conflated, I consider two separate and distinct genres. The former, grounded in science, is speculatively possible. The latter, based on supernaturalism and magic, is not.

What do you think? How do you define science fiction? Is there one particular science fiction niche you enjoy above another? And what aspects or elements of “Davidia’s Seed” appeals to you? Read a sample at: Smashwords; Barnes and Noble; Kobo Books;

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