Genre of fiction including science fiction, horror and fantasy
Speculative fiction
is an
umbrella genre
of
fiction
that encompasses all the
subgenres
that depart from
realism
, or strictly imitating everyday reality,
[1]
instead presenting fantastical,
supernatural
,
futuristic
, or other imaginative realms.
[2]
This catch-all genre includes, but is not limited to,
science fiction
,
fantasy
,
horror
,
slipstream
,
magical realism
,
[3]
superhero fiction
,
alternate history
,
utopia and dystopia
,
fairy tales
,
steampunk
,
cyberpunk
,
weird fiction
, and some
apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
. The term has been used for works of literature, film, television, drama,
video games
, radio, and their hybrids.
[1]
Distinguishing science fiction from other speculative fiction
[
edit
]
"Speculative fiction" is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic", "spec fic", "specfic",
[4]
"S-F", "SF", or "sf".
[5]
[6]
The last three abbreviations, however, are ambiguous as they have long been used to refer to
science fiction
(which lies within this general range of literature).
[7]
The term has been used by some critics and writers dissatisfied with what they consider to be a limitation of science fiction: the need for the story to hold to scientific principles. They argue that "speculative fiction" better defines an expanded, open, imaginative type of fiction than does "genre fiction", and the categories of "fantasy", "mystery", "horror" and "science fiction".
[8]
Harlan Ellison
used the term to avoid being
pigeonholed
as a science fiction writer. Ellison, a fervent proponent of writers embracing more
literary
and
modernist
directions,
[9]
[10]
broke out of
genre
conventions to push the boundaries of speculative fiction.
The term "suppositional fiction" is sometimes used as a sub-category designating fiction in which characters and stories are constrained by an internally consistent world, but not necessarily one defined by any particular genre.
[11]
[12]
[13]
History
[
edit
]
Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to
paradigm-changing
and neotraditional works of the 21st century.
[14]
[15]
Characteristics of speculative fiction have been recognized in older works whose authors'
intentions
, or in the
social contexts
of the stories they portray, are now known. For example, the ancient
Greek
dramatist,
Euripides
, (
c.
480
? c.
406 BCE
) whose play
Medea
seems to have offended
Athenian
audiences when he speculated that the titular shamaness
Medea
killed her own children, as opposed to their being killed by other
Corinthians
after her departure.
[16]
Additionally, Euripides' play,
Hippolytus
, narratively introduced by
Aphrodite
, Goddess of Love in person, is suspected to have displeased his contemporary audiences, as his portrayal of
Phaedra
was seen as too
lusty
.
[17]
In
historiography
, what is now called "speculative fiction" has previously been termed "historical invention",
[18]
"historical fiction", and other similar names. These terms have been extensively noted in
literary criticism
of the works of
William Shakespeare
,
[19]
such as when he co-locates
Athenian
Duke
Theseus
,
Amazonian
Queen
Hippolyta
, English fairy
Puck
, and
Roman
god
Cupid
across time and space in the
Fairyland
of the fictional
Merovingian
Germanic
sovereign
Oberon
, in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
.
[20]
In
mythography
the concept of speculative fiction has been termed "mythopoesis", or
mythopoeia
. This practice involves the creative design and generation of lore and mythology for works of fiction. The term's definition comes from its use by
J. R. R. Tolkien
, whose novel,
The Lord of the Rings
,
[21]
demonstrates a clear application of this process. Themes common in mythopoeia, such as the
supernatural
,
alternate history
and
sexuality
, continue to be explored in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.
[22]
The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history,
explanation
, or
ahistorical
storytelling
, has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction modes since as early as
Herodotus
of
Halicarnassus
(fl. 5th century BCE), for his
Histories
,
[23]
[24]
[25]
and was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopedic writers like
Sima Qian
(
c.
145
or 135 BCE?86 BCE), author of
Shiji
.
[26]
[27]
These examples highlight the
caveat
that many works, now regarded as intentional or unintentional speculative fiction, long predated the coining of the genre term; its concept, in its broadest sense, captures both a
conscious
and
unconscious
aspect of human
psychology
in making sense of the world, and responds to it by creating
imaginative
,
inventive
, and
artistic
expressions. Such expressions can contribute to practical societal progress through
interpersonal
influences,
social
and
cultural movements
,
scientific
research and advances, and the
philosophy of science
.
[28]
[29]
[30]
In its
English-language
usage in arts and literature since the mid 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a genre term has often been attributed to
Robert A. Heinlein
, who first used the term in an editorial in
The Saturday Evening Post
, 8 February 1947. In the article, Heinlein used "Speculative Fiction" as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. However, though Heinlein may have come up with the term on his own, there are earlier citations: a piece in
Lippincott's Monthly Magazine
in 1889 used the term in reference to
Edward Bellamy
's
Looking Backward
: 2000?1887
and other works; and one in the May 1900 issue of
The Bookman
said that
John Uri Lloyd
's
Etidorhpa
, The End of the Earth
had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction".
[31]
A variation on this term is "speculative literature".
[32]
The use of "speculative fiction" in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or
establishment
science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by
Judith Merril
, as well as other writers and editors in connection with the
New Wave
movement. However, this use of the term fell into disuse around the mid-1970s.
[33]
In the 2000s, the term came into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. However, some writers, such as
Margaret Atwood
, who wrote
The Handmaid's Tale
, which is a
feminist
piece of speculative fiction, continue to distinguish "speculative fiction" specifically as a "no
Martians
" type of science fiction, "about things that really could happen."
[34]
Speculative fiction is also used as a genre term that combines different ones into a single
narrative
or
fictional world
such as "science fiction, horror, fantasy...[and]...mystery".
[35]
The
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
contains a broad list of different subtypes.
According to publisher statistics, men outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers aiming for professional publication. However, the percentages vary considerably by genre, with women outnumbering men in the fields of
urban fantasy
,
paranormal romance
and
young adult fiction
.
[36]
Academic journals
which publish essays on speculative fiction include
Extrapolation
and
Foundation
.
[37]
Genres
[
edit
]
Speculative fiction may include elements from one or more of the following genres:
Subgenres of speculative fiction
Name
|
Description
|
Examples
|
Fantasy
|
Includes elements and beings originating from or inspired by traditional stories, such as
mythical creatures
(
dragons
,
elves
,
dwarves
and
fairies
, for example),
magic
,
witchcraft
,
potions
, etc.
|
The Lord of the Rings
,
Dungeons and Dragons
,
The Legend of Zelda
,
A Song of Ice and Fire
,
Magic: The Gathering
|
Science fiction
|
Features technologies and other elements that do not exist in real life but may be supposed to be created or discovered in the future through scientific advancement, such as
advanced robots
,
interstellar travel
,
aliens
,
time travel
,
mutants
and
cyborgs
. Many sci-fi stories are set in the future.
|
Halo
,
Godzilla
,
Anime
,
Trilogy
,
Revisions
,
The Time Machine
,
Cyberpunk 2077
,
Mass Effect
,
2001: A Space Odyssey
,
Terminator
,
Pacific Rim: The Black
,
Blade Runner
,
Stargate
,
The Expanse
,
Transformers
,
The Three-Body Problem
,
Stargate
,
Babylon 5
,
Andromeda
,
|
Science Fantasy
|
Hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy.
|
Star Wars
,
Space Dandy
,
ThunderCats
,
Masters of the Universe
|
Superhero
|
Centers on
superheroes
(i.e., heroes with extraordinary abilities or powers) and their fight against evil forces such as
supervillains
. Typically incorporates elements of science fiction or fantasy, and may be a subgenre of them.
|
DC Universe
,
Marvel Universe
,
Masked Rider
,
My Hero Academia
,
Super Sentai
,
Metal Heroes
,
|
Space Western
|
Hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and the genre of Western.
|
The Mandalorian
,
BraveStarr
,
Firefly
,
Outlaw Star
,
Space Dandy
,
Trigun
,
Bucky O'Hare
,
Cowboy Bebop
,
ThunderCats
,
Masters of the Universe
,
Buck Rogers
,
Dan Dare
,
Flash Gordon
,
Duck Dodgers
,
|
Western
|
Genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada.
|
Wagon Train
,
Dollars Trilogy
,
Annie Oakley
,
Bucking Broncho
,
Buffalo Bill
,
Buffalo Dance
,
Lasso Thrower
,
Mexican Knife Duel
,
Sioux Ghost Dance
,
|
Supernatural
|
Similar to horror and fantasy, it overlaps with Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Occult Detective Fiction, and Paranormal Fiction. It exploits or requires plot devices or themes that often contradict commonplace, materialist assumptions about the
natural world
.
|
The Castle of Otranto
,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
,
Angel
,
Big Wolf on Campus
,
Teen Wolf
,
Harry Potter
,
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
,
Stranger Things
,
Paranormal Activity
,
Dark
,
Fallen
,
The Vampire Diaries
,
Charmed
,
The Others
,
The Gift
,
The Skeleton Key
|
Horror
|
Focuses on terrifying stories that incite fear. Villains may be either supernatural, such as
monsters
,
vampires
,
ghosts
and
demons
, or mundane people, such as psychopathic and cruel murderers. Often features violence and death.
|
The Exorcist
,
Cthulhu Mythos
,
A Nightmare on Elm Street
,
Us
,
Books of Blood
,
The Hellbound Heart
,
Resident Evil
,
Scream
|
Utopian
|
Takes place in a highly desirable society, often presented as advanced, happy, intelligent or even perfect or problem-free.
|
Island
,
Ecotopia
,
17776
|
Dystopian
|
Takes place in a highly undesirable society, often plagued with strict control, violence, chaos, brainwashing or other negative elements.
|
The Last Of Us
,
Neon Genesis Evangelion
,
1984
,
Brazil
,
The Handmaid's Tale
,
A Clockwork Orange
,
The Hunger Games
|
Alternate history
|
Focuses on historical events as if they happened in a different way, and their implications in the present.
|
The Man in the High Castle
,
The Last Starship from Earth
,
Inglourious Basterds
,
The Guns of the South
,
Fatherland
,
The Years of Rice and Salt
,
Wolfenstein
,
Gravity Falls
|
Apocalyptic
|
Takes place before and during a massive, worldwide catastrophe, typically a
pandemic
or
natural disaster
of extremely large scale or a
nuclear holocaust
.
|
On the Beach
,
Threads
,
The Day After Tomorrow
,
Birdbox
,
2012
,
War of the Worlds
|
Post-apocalyptic
|
Focuses on groups of survivors after massive worldwide disasters.
|
The Stand
,
Mad Max
,
Titan A.E.
,
Waterworld
,
Fallout
,
Metroid Prime
,
Metro 2033
,
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
,
Wasteland
,
Z213: Exit
.
|
Speculative evolution
|
Focuses on hypothetical future or alternative
evolution
of animals and/or humans.
|
Expedition
,
After Man: A Zoology of the Future
,
The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution
,
Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future
,
Snaiad
,
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Oziewicz, Marek (2017).
"Speculative Fiction"
.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature
.
doi
:
10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.78
.
ISBN
978-0-19-020109-8
. Archived from
the original
on 18 October 2022.
... a super category for all genres that deliberately depart from imitating "consensus reality" of everyday experience. In this latter sense, speculative fiction includes fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but also their derivatives, hybrids, and cognate genres like the gothic, dystopia, weird fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, ghost stories, superhero tales, alternate history, steampunk, slipstream, magic realism, fractured fairy tales, and more.
- ^
"speculative fiction"
.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
(Online). n.d
. Retrieved
20 January
2021
.
- ^
Henwood, Belinda (2007).
Publishing
. Career FAQs.
ISBN
978-1-921106-43-9
.
Archived
from the original on 5 January 2023
. Retrieved
29 December
2022
.
- ^
"SpecFicWorld"
. SpecFicWorld.
Archived
from the original on 14 January 2013
. Retrieved
10 February
2013
.
- ^
"A Speculative Fiction Blog"
. SFSignal.
Archived
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. Retrieved
10 February
2013
.
- ^
Vint, Sherryl (16 February 2021).
Science Fiction
. The MIT Press.
ISBN
9780262539999
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1 May
2023
.
- ^
"The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy"
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Archived
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. Retrieved
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"Citations and definitions for the term 'speculative fiction' by speculative fiction reviewers"
. Greententacles.com.
Archived
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. Retrieved
10 February
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.
- ^
Watts, Peter (Summer 2003).
"Margaret Atwood and the Hierarchy of Contempt"
(PDF)
.
On Spec
. Vol. 15, no. 2. pp. 3?5
. Retrieved
9 November
2019
.
- ^
Davies, Philip. "Review [untitled; reviewed work(s):
Science Fiction: Its Criticism and Teaching
by Patrick Parrinder;
Fantastic Lives: Autobiographical Essays by Notable Science Fiction Writers
by Martin Greenberg;
Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction
by H. Bruce Franklin;
Bridges to Science Fiction
by George E. Slusser, George R. Guffey, Mark Rose].
Journal of American Studies
Vol. 16, No. 1 (April 1982). pp. 157?159.
- ^
Izenberg, Orin (2011).
Being Numerous: Poetry and the Ground of Social Life
. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 210.
- ^
Leitch, Thomas M.
What Stories Are: Narrative Theory and Interpretation
University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1986; p. 127
- ^
Doma?ska, Ewa (1998).
Encounters: Philosophy of History After Postmodernism
. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. p. 10.
- ^
Barry Baldwin, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Calgary, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, "Ancient Science Fiction", Shattercolors Literary Review
- ^
"逆援助紹介PARADOX!"
.
paradoxmag.com
. Archived from
the original
on 28 July 2010.
- ^
This theory of
Euripides
' invention has gained wide acceptance. See (e.g.) McDermott 1989, 12; Powell 1990, 35; Sommerstein 2002, 16; Griffiths, 2006 81; Ewans 2007, 55.
- ^
See, e.g., Barrett 1964; McDermott 2000.
- ^
"Mark Wagstaff ? Historical invention and political purpose | Re-public: re-imagining democracy ? english version"
. Re-public.gr. 17 January 2005. Archived from
the original
on 16 January 2013
. Retrieved
10 February
2013
.
- ^
Martha Tuck Rozett, "Creating a Context for Shakespeare with Historical Fiction", Shakespeare Quarterly
Vol. 46, No. 2 (Summer, 1995), pp. 220?227
- ^
Dorothea Kehler, A midsummer night's dream: critical essays, 2001
- ^
Adcox, John, "Can Fantasy be Myth? Mythopoeia and The Lord of the Rings" in "The Newsletter of the Mythic Imagination Institute, September/October, 2003"
- ^
Eric Garber, Lyn Paleo Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, 2nd Edition, G K Hall: 1990
ISBN
978-0-8161-1832-8
- ^
Herodotus and Myth Conference, Christ Church, Oxford, 2003
- ^
John M. Marincola, Introduction and Notes, The Histories by Herodotus, tr. Aubrey De Selincourt, 2007
- ^
Lendering, Jona.
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. Livius.org. Archived from
the original
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. Retrieved
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2013
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- ^
Stephen W. Durrant, The cloudy mirror: tension and conflict in the writings of Sima Qian, 1995
- ^
Craig A. Lockard,
Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History: To 1500
, 2007, p. 133.
- ^
Heather Urbanski, Plagues, apocalypses and bug-eyed monsters: how speculative fiction shows us our nightmares, 2007, pp. 127.
- ^
Sonu Shamdasani, Cult Fictions: C.G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology, 1998
- ^
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- ^
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"
. Jessesword.com. 28 April 2009.
Archived
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- ^
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Archived
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. Virtual.clemson.edu. Archived from
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on 22 January 2013
. Retrieved
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. New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. p.
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.
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.
- ^
Canton, James; Cleary, Helen; Kramer, Ann; Laxby, Robin; Loxley, Diana; Ripley, Esther; Todd, Megan; Shaghar, Hila; Valente, Alex; et al. (Authors) (2016).
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- ^
"SF Foundation Journal | The Science Fiction Foundation"
. Sf-foundation.org
. Retrieved
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.
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permanent dead link
]
External links
[
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]