What is Speculative Fiction
Speculative fiction is an encompassing literary genre that contains the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. To put it in a nutshell, think of speculative fiction as being anything that asks the question “What If?” Some even include Mystery in the umbrella of speculative fiction. The lines between the genres that make up the speculative fiction genre are often blurry and the lines even disappear altogether sometimes.
There are many varied and often contradicting definition for what is science fiction. My favorite is that you know it when you see it. Speculative fiction is much the same. You know it when you see, read or hear it. I am not so sure about taste and feel.
How did I get hooked on Speculative Fiction
My love for speculative fiction begins with my encounters of science fiction. My first memories of science fiction begin at an early age and.are centered around reading and television. Science fiction and fantasy were one and the same with the primary differences being robots and spaceships versus magic and dragons. There is nothing more magical to me than a book of science fiction.
The adventures of Danny Dunn were read to me by my mother before I could read for myself. I still retain memories of Danny Dunn in a deep sea diving suit and his anti-gravity paint. Being read to soon turned into hours and hours of reading by myself, the freedom to travel wherever I wanted through books. The first books of science fiction that I remember reading were Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Mysterious Island and Around the World in Eighty Days.
It was when I discovered Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, that I knew I was hooked. During middle childhood years, you could also find Science Fiction on television, if you knew where to look. There was My Favorite Martian, The Invaders, Star Trek (the original series), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Avengers and Wild, Wild West. (Yes, Wild, Wild West was a Science Fiction in the guise of a Western.
My preference, even today, is hard science fiction. My definition of hard science fiction is where real science is used correctly though it can and often is extended beyond our present day knowledge, at least at the time it was written. Good science fiction, as well as most fiction regardless of genre, should also include social and personal commentary. I also enjoy fantasy though I have grown weary of the sword and sorcery stories. Today I prefer urban fantasy or fantasy that takes place in modern times.
The Webpages in this section of my LiBrary contain information about various aspects of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Enjoy them!