A science fiction genre is a division (genre) of science fiction. Science fiction may further be divided along any number of overlapping axes. ... Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... Science fantasy is a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

(Sub-)Genres

Science

Genres concerning the emphasis, accuracy, and type of science described include: Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ...

• Hard science fiction - a particular emphasis on scientific detail and/or accuracy
• Soft science fiction - focus on human characters and their relations and feelings, while de-emphasizing the details of technological hardware and physical laws
• Firm science fiction - falls between hard science fiction and soft science fiction
• Social science fiction - concerned less with technology and space opera and more with sociological speculation about human society

Hard science fiction, or hard SF, is a subgenre of science fiction characterized by an interest in scientific detail or accuracy, being the opposite of soft science fiction. ... Soft science fiction or soft SF is science fiction whose plots and themes tend to focus on human characters and their relations and feelings, while de-emphasizing the details of technological hardware and physical laws. ... Social science fiction is a term used to describe a subgenre of science fiction concerned less with gadgets and space opera and more with speculation about human society. ...

Characteristics

Main article: List of science fiction themes

Themes related to science, technology, space and the future, as well as characteristic plots or settings include:

• Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic science fiction
  • Cosy catastrophe
• Biopunk - uses elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, Japanese anime, and post-modernist prose to describe the nihilistic, underground side of the biotech society
• Dying Earth science fiction
• Military science fiction
• Steampunk - denotes works set in (or strongly inspired by) an era when steam power was still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian England
• time travel
• space colonization
• Space opera - emphasizes romantic adventure, exotic settings, and larger-than-life characters
• Spy-fi

It has been suggested that Post-holocaust be merged into this article or section. ... Cosy catastrophe is the name given to a style of post-apocalyptic science fiction that was particularly prevalent after the Second World War and among British sf writers. ... Biopunk is a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk. // Science fiction Biopunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which uses elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, Japanese anime, and post-modernist prose. ... The Dying Earth subgenre is a sub-category of science fantasy which takes place at the end of Time, when the Sun slowly fades and the laws of the Universe themselves fail, with the science becoming indistinguishable from magic. ... Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction where interstellar or interplanetary conflict and its armed solution (war) make up the main or partial backdrop of the story. ... A rocket lands on the moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune, the film adaptation of Jules Vernes From the Earth to the Moon. ... Classic pulp space opera cover, with the usual cliche elements. ... Spy-fi is a fan name for television series and movies - especially those from the 1960s - that blend the espionage genre with elements of science fiction. ...

Movements

Genres concerning politics, philosophy, and identity movements include:

• Christian science fiction
  • Clerical fiction
• Feminist science fiction
• Gay science fiction and Lesbian science fiction
• Libertarian science fiction

Christian science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, in which a Christian theme or message is expressed through the plot and storyline. ... Clerical fiction is a semi-humorous term for describing a few books and novels which appeared in Poland during the 1990s. ... Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction written from a specifically feminist viewpoint and often relating to issues of particular concern to feminists, such as gender and queer studies family and social structures and controls on the individual the individuals relation and ability to control their body... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Lesbian science fiction. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Gay science fiction. ... Libertarian science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that focuses on the politics and social order implied by libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and a limited state-- and in some cases, no state whatsoever: (see: Anarcho-capitalist literature) As a category, libertarian science fiction is unusual...

Eras

Genres concerning the historical era of creation and publication include:

• Cyberpunk - noted for its focus on "high tech and low life" and taking its name from the combination of cybernetics and punk
  • Postcyberpunk - typically examining the social effects of an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized informaton, genetic engineering and modification of the human body, and the continued impact of perpetual technological change
• Golden Age of Science Fiction - a period from the 1940s-1950s during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published
• New Wave science fiction - characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content
• Pulp science fiction
• Scientific romance - an archaic name for what is now known as the science fiction genre, mostly associated with the early science fiction of the United Kingdom

Berlins Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized as a period from the early 1940s through the 1950s, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. ... New Wave science fiction was characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously literary or artistic sensibility previously comparatively alien to the science fiction aesthetic. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Scientific romance is an archaic name for what is now known as the Science Fiction genre. ...

Combinations

Main article: Genre fiction

Genres that combine two different fiction genres or use a different fiction genre's mood or style include: Genre fiction is a term for fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to the fans of that genre. ...

• Alternate history science fiction - fiction set in a world in which history has diverged from history as it is generally known
• Comic science fiction
• Science fiction erotica
• Gothic science fiction - a subgenre of science fiction that involves gothic conventions
• New Wave science fiction - characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content
• Science fantasy - a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements
• Science fiction romance - fiction which has elements of both the science fiction and romance genres
• Science fiction Western - fiction which has elements of both the science fiction and Western genres

Alternate history (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Comic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that exploits the genres conventions for comic effect. ... Modern science fiction frequently involves themes of sex, gender and sexuality. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... New Wave science fiction was characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously literary or artistic sensibility previously comparatively alien to the science fiction aesthetic. ... Science fantasy is a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space western. ...

Creation

The marketing section of the science fiction publishing house or of a film production company will define the genre and subgenre of a work from experience (see genre fiction). Many publishers and production houses now specialize in genre and subgenre work. Publishers normally publish what they have experience with, so the criteria for defining genre or subgenre is whatever else is out there that is similar. A new definition usually comes about as a result of a buzzword included in the work that is considered an original subgenre. It is rare that a publisher will take on the challenge of a non-established genre or subgenre. Established writers are mostly responsible for creating new subgenres. On occasion a publisher may change the genre or subgenre of a work. They may also use multiple genres and subgenres. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Genre fiction is a term for fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to the fans of that genre. ...

Theory

The genre of a work is often discussed in academic circles and the conclusion of the genre or subgenre of a work may differ from the publishers or producers of the work. For example Gary K. Wolfe's Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy identifies over 30 definitions of SF not including speculative fiction and science fantasy. ... Science fantasy is a mixed genre of story which contains some science fiction and some fantasy elements. ...

Additional themes

Main article: List of science fiction themes

The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which a technologically-superior extraterrestrial society invades Earth with the intent to replace human life, or to enslave it under a colonial system, or in some cases, to use humans as food. ... Hondas humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Astrosociobiology (also referred to as exosociobiology and xenosociology) is the speculative scientific study of extraterrestrial civilizations and their possible social characteristics and developmental tendencies. ... Biopunk is a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk. // Science fiction Biopunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which uses elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, Japanese anime, and post-modernist prose. ... Biorobotics is a term that loosely covers the fields of cybernetics, bionics and even genetic engineering as a collective study. ... Communalness, as suggested by Robert A. Freitas Jr. ... Cybernetic revolt, more commonly known as the computers take over, is a science-fiction scenario in which artificially intelligent man-made beings (often a single supercomputer) decide humans are a threat and try to control or destroy the human race. ... It has been suggested that Virtual world be merged into this article or section. ... Seven of Nine, a Borg in Star Trek: Voyager The term cyborg, a portmanteau of cybernetic organism, is used to designate an organism which is a mixture of organic and mechanical (synthetic) parts. ... Edisonade is a now-archaic term for stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras that would now be classified as science fiction. ... The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, currently used by the SETI project in the search for extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth, the only place in the universe currently known by humans to support life. ... A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and probably a habitable inner surface. ... Scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope depicting the inside of the Millenium Falcon when entering hyperspace. ... Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of existing for a potentially infinite, or indeterminate, length of time. ... A multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise all of physical reality. ... Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ... For other uses of the word plane, see plane. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sword and Planet. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Retro-futurism, retrofuturism or retro-future (terms combining retro and futurism or future) can refer to two different yet not incompatible concepts: A return to, and an enthusiasm for, the depictions of the future produced in the first half of the 20th century, which often were based on a lack... ASIMO, Cartman in an episode of South Park. ... The science fiction sitcom genre is a relatively new one having started significant growth only during the last few decades of the twentieth century. ... Not so much actual science fiction as childrens stories, modern fairy tales and related topics which focus on or are dominated by elements known from science fiction like space travels, aliens, robots, future societies and amazing technology and such. ... Shapeshifting, transformation , transmogrification or morphing is a change in the form or shape of a person, especially: a change from human form to animal form and vice versa a change in appearance from one person to another Shapeshifting is not considered scientifically or medically possible for humans (and animal shapeshifting... Sword and Planet is a subgenre of speculative fiction that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring Earthmen as protagonists. ... Synthetic biology is a new area of research that combines science and engineering in order to design and build novel biological functions and systems. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience. ... Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. ... Les Voyages Extraordinaires (The Extraordinary Voyages in English) was a publishing title affixed to the novels, fictional and non-fictional, of French author and Science Fiction pioneer Jules Verne. ... An organic computer based on living neurons and ganglions. ... In both science fiction and utopian/dystopian fiction, authors have made frequent use of the age-old idea of a global state and, accordingly, of world government. ... Xenofiction is a class of science fiction encompassing stories set among species or cultures extremely different from humanity or human society. ...

See also

• List of science fiction topics
• List of science fiction themes

The following is a list of science fiction topics. ...