As an organization dedicated to writing Speculative Fiction, or “Spec Fic” as we also call it, it is important to understand what speculative fiction is—at least what we think it is.
Speculative Fiction is generally recognized as an “umbrella genre” that encompasses several others, most notably Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. But it’s not that simple. There are both excellent science fiction and horror stories that do not include a speculative element, and writers are increasingly blending genres with reckless abandon (as they should), making categorization of works into a single genre all the more difficult.
| EXAMPLES OF SPECULATIVE ELEMENTS: Alternate or imagined worlds and societies Futuristic or advanced technology Supernatural, paranormal, or magical elements Extraterrestrial life or alien civilizations Time travel or manipulation of the timeline Dystopian or post-apocalyptic settings Superhuman abilities or powers Artificial intelligence, robots, or androids Parallel universes or dimensions Mythological creatures or beings Speculative scientific advancements Exploration of the unknown or unexplained Societal or cultural commentary through a speculative lens Thought experiments about the human condition Blending of genres (e.g., science fiction and fantasy) |
In this article, we step through the various aspects of Speculative Fiction to develop a definition that works for us.
The Basics
First and foremost, and achingly obvious, is that speculative fiction needs to be fiction, i.e. not real or true. Memoirs, history, or any other type of non-fiction are not included.
Secondly, there absolutely must be a speculative element to the story, i.e. something that does not exist in the world today. These speculative elements may be as obvious as aliens or space travel, magic or dragons, or monsters of the night. But they may also be a single, simple “what if” like, what if dogs could talk, or what if men birthed babies? Entire sub-genres consist of certain “what if” situations, like what if we could change the past (time travel), or what if our technology was still based on steam (steampunk).
The Overlaps
In some genres, the line defining speculative fiction is ever changing, particularly in science fiction where regular advancements in science and technology transform fiction into fact. Horror also includes sub-genres, like psychological horror and serial killers, that are not necessarily speculative as these things exist in today’s society.
Conversely, there are wildly imaginative stories that may include several speculative elements, blurring the lines between genres or mashing them together. Additionally, there are stories considered Speculative Fiction that do not belong to any other genre.
Outside the Speculative Fiction umbrella, other popular genres often overlap with speculative fiction stories, such as Mysteries, Thrillers, Romances, or Historical Fiction among others.
The following diagram attempts to illustrate the overlaps of common fiction genres with Speculative Fiction. We’ve called out several of these overlaps and provided both further definition and some example works.
The Definitions
- Speculative Fiction (standalone) – Stories with a speculative element, i.e. something that does not exist as part of today’s society. Most speculative fiction stories belong to one of the big three genres (Sci Fi, Fantasy, or Horror), but there are other stories that do not fall into other genres, like Dystopian/Utopian or Time Travel.
- Examples: George Orwell’s 1984; Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451; Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale; China Mieville’s The City & The City; Stephen King’s 11/22/63; or Octavia Butler’s Kindred
- Science Fiction (speculative) – The first major genre with Spec Fic, Science Fiction stories may include alien civilizations, space travel or sentient robots, or anything where the speculative element is based on science, technology, or the proven laws of the universe. This large genre includes the sub-genres of Space Opera, Cyberpunk, and Solarpunk.
- Examples: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation; Frank Herbert’s Dune; William Gibson’s Neuromancer; James SA Corey’s Expanse series; Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park; Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One; Andy Weir’s The Martian; Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines; or Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem
- Science Fiction (non-speculative) – Stories that could occur today with modern science and technologies.
- Examples: Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven; Neal Stephenson’s Reamde or Cryptonomicon
- Horror (Speculative) – Another main Spec Fic genre with stories meant to explore darker emotions and provide feelings of fear or despair, usually with monsters or supernatural elements. Not many happy endings. Included sub-genres are Monster Stories, Ghost Stories, and the Supernatural.
- Examples: Stephen King’s The Shining; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Stephen Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter; Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire; or Carissa Orlando’s The September House
- Horror (non-speculative) – Stories of fear, terror, and despair without a speculative element. This includes sub-genres like Psychological Horror, Serial Killers, and Splatterpunk.
- Examples: Stephen King’s Cujo or Misery; Peter Benchley’s Jaws; Bret Easton-Ellis’ American Psycho; or Robert Bloch’s Psycho
- Horror + Science Fiction – Blending these two genres results in stories based in science and technology that generate fear and anxiety.
- Examples: HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds; Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives; Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy; or Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend
- Fantasy – The third main Spec Fic genre, these stories often include magic, dragons, or fantastical creatures. There are several Fantasy sub-genres, the most famous being High Fantasy, but Urban Fantasy and Magical Realism are also popular.
- Examples: JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings; George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire; TH White’s The Once and Future King; Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files; or Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude
- Science Fiction + Fantasy (aka Sci-Fantasy) – Blending these genres result in stories that include elements of both magic and technology. Includes the sub-genres of Slipstream and Surreal, which focus on cognitive dissonance, and Superhero stories.
- Examples: Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis; Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore; NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy; Stephen King’s Dark Tower series; Alan Moore’s Watchmen graphic novel; or Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth
- Fantasy + Horror – Fantasy stories containing elements of dread or fear. Popular sub-genres are Dark Fantasy, Weird West, and Fairie Tales.
- Examples: Chuck Wendig’s The Staircase in the Woods; Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit; F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep (also historical fiction); Peter Straub’s Shadowland; Holly Black’s Modern Faery Tales series; or Scott Hawkins’ The Library at Mount Char
- Fantasy + Science Fiction + Horror – The trifecta of combining elements from all three major genres.
- Examples: C.S. Friedman’s Coldfire trilogy; Stephen King’s The Stand; or Mira Grant’s Into the Drowning Deep
- Fantasy + Romance (aka Romantasy) – Fantasy stories with strong romantic elements.
- Examples: Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing; Sarah J Maas’ Crescent City series; or Callie Hart’s Quicksilver
- Historical Fiction (speculative) – Stories based in the past with speculative elements. Includes Alternate History and Steampunk.
- Examples: Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle; Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series (also Romance); Gail Carriger’s Soulless; or Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass
Conclusion
It is clear that Speculative Fiction includes a wide variety of books, and yet there are many more novels that continue to blur the lines between genres. In addition to every combination of genres we listed, there are many more that blend with other core genres, such as Fantasy Crime stories or Horror Thrillers or Literary Science Fiction and many more.
Faerie Tales might either have a positive outlook (Hopepunk) or be dark and foreboding (Grimdark). Weird West might include magic or it might not. Even Space Operas could have mythological creatures. There is no limit on the imagination of authors.
The main thing is that Speculative Fiction contains a speculative element, and it is up to the imagination of the author to decide what that is. But if those are the stories that you write, then the Speculative Fiction Writers Association is here for you.