Adult Reading Round Table Genre Boot Camp  •  Science Fiction

Science Fiction DEFINITION:  Science Fiction is speculative fiction based on plausible extrapolation from our current understanding of science and the physical world. The appeal of the genre is often the intellectual exploration of traditional ideas in non-traditional settings. The best Science Fiction evokes a “sense of wonder” in new worlds and new adventures.  The genre defies precise classification because Science Fiction authors experiment with themes, styles, and frames, blending technology with sociological ideas or adventure stories with far future settings. The list below groups authors in subgenres that reflect much of their writing.

Classic Authors: Isaac Asimov, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Le Guin, Andre Norton, Theodore Sturgeon, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells

CHARACTERISTICS:
Technology and science is both the framework and the forefront of the story.
Xenophilia: or, a love of the strange, alien and new. The reader is routinely challenged to accept new cultures and unimagined technology. Setting and atmosphere contribute to this strangeness and “sense of wonder”.
Generally plot-driven; very few novels are character studies.
Pacing is moderate to brisk; again, very few dreamy, slow, unfolding stories.
Short stories are very prominent, and readers have great affection for anthologies of both classic and new stories.

APPEAL: Readers like being intellectually challenged and are proud at the amount of tacit knowledge they must have to read and understand the genre. For SF set in our near future, the setting is very familiar, just ramped up. The adrenaline rush of military or space opera is a draw for both men and women. SF has become very feminist, and there are almost as many empowered heroines as there are in Romance!

READERS: Intelligent and young: the average age for SF /Fantasy discovery is 11! Often begin as media readers and discover other, more specific worlds. May disdain fantasy or adore it, but a constant is the love of escape and a willingness to use their imagination to learn new languages, memorize alien street names, and comprehend alien biology. Generally not big fans of libraries: they like to own their books and mistrust the librarian’s knowledge of the genre. Anecdotally, more male than female.

SUBGENRES:
“Hard” Science: Intellectually challenging, strong elements of physics, engineering or chemistry.
“Soft” Science: Focusing on culture, gender, and relationships, or considering sexual or ethical problems.
Military: Maneuvers, battles and hierarchy, often with women in the leading roles.
Media: Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, as well as gaming, i.e. Dragonlance, Halo, Final Fantasy.
“Universe” Novels: An entire ecology with flora, fauna and resident aliens.
New Wave/Cyberpunk: Gritty style, intense interaction with computers, usually set on near-future Earth.
Alternate History: Often centered on wars and their outcome, occasionally featuring disruptive aliens.

TOP AUTHORS:
“Hard” Science: Kim Stanley Robinson
“Soft”: Connie Willis
Military: David Weber
Alternate History: Harry Turtledove

TRENDS:  There are diminishing print sources of stories, but reprints and anthologies are booming: a good way to sample unfamiliar authors. The continued interest in science fiction films brings a larger audience to these stories.

WEBSITES:
www.sfsite.com: reviews, interviews, awards, and more.
www.locusmag.com: author news, bestseller lists, book news, reviews, and more.

REFERENCE BOOKS:
The Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois (24^th edition, 2007)
Anatomy of Wonder, edited by Neil Barron (5^th edition, 2006)
Strictly Science Fiction, by Diana Herald (Libraries Unlimited, 2002)
Classics of Science Fiction (Salem Press, 2002)
What Fantastic Fiction do I Read Next?, edited by Neil Barron (Gale, 1998)

Collections of Note:
Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction, edited by Robert Silverberg (Avon, 1999).
The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990, edited by Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Attebery (W.W. Norton, 1993)
Women of Wonder: The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s and Women of Wonder: The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s, edited by Pamela Sargent (Harcourt Brace, 1995).

PUBLISHERS AND IMPRINTS: Del Rey, Baen, Tor, Ace/Roc, Bantam Spectra, Eos, Forge, Wildside, DAW. Golden Gryphon and NESFA offer new work and reissues of Golden Age authors. 

MAGAZINES:  Locus, edited by Charles Brown, which collects reviews, publishing information, interviews, obituaries, convention news, and the Hugo ballots. An essential selection tool.  A vanishing breed, but still on the playing field: Asimov’s Magazine of Science Fiction, the venerable Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (online at http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/), and Interzone, a British SF magazine.

ORGANIZATIONS: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). 

CONVENTIONS: The World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (WorldCon) is held annually around the world since 1953. There are numerous smaller conventions like WindyCon (Schaumburg) and “character” or proprietary conventions for Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. ComicCon is an increasingly mainstream annual convention for comics in all their forms: print, video games, movies, and art.

AWARDS:  The Hugo, an annual ballot of fan favorites in more than a dozen categories, presented at the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (WorldCon). Includes fiction, nonfiction, art and film.  The Nebula, presented and voted on by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in five categories, presented at a special yearly ceremony.

Prepared by Roberta S. Johnson
September 2007

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