speculative fiction essay examples

What Is Speculative Fiction?

Lyndsie Manusos

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in web production and content management. When she’s not nesting among her books and rough drafts, she’s chasing the baby while the dog watches in confused amusement. She lives with her family in a suburb of Indianapolis.

View All posts by Lyndsie Manusos

What is speculative fiction? You may get a different answer depending on who you ask. Let’s explore this concept.

Speculative fiction is often used as an umbrella term for genre fiction or for narratives that do not fully belong in a particular science fiction or fantasy genre. I have even seen it referred to as a “ super genre ,” for its broadness. Under this classification, it can include literary fiction with fantastical elements as well as hardcore science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Also, there is the distinction that not all of certain genres, such as horror or science fiction, is speculative.

Stay with me.

The definition of speculative fiction has been—and still is—debated among well-known authors. AND, here’s another thing to cook your noodle: what is deemed speculative has changed, and likely will continue to change, over time.

A Very Brief History Of Speculative Fiction

One could argue that speculative fiction originated when poets and writers began to compose their own reimaginings and what-if stories about the world. Which is…old.

However, according to the Oxford Research Encyclopedias article on speculative fiction , the term itself was coined by the writer Robert A. Heinlein in 1941, and then popularized in his 1947 essay “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction.” Heinlein describes it as a specific science fiction subset, which is:

“[N]arratives concerned not so much with science or technology as with human actions in response to a new situation created by science or technology, speculative fiction highlights a human rather than technological problem. “

Over time, though, this definition became unpopular. Writers such as a Margaret Atwood proposed new, adjusted definitions. I’ll explain more of Atwood’s take below.

Most recently, the term goes even beyond the scope of literature. There are those who have used the term for media and other forms of art. Because of that, some see speculative fiction as too broad a term, nebulous and unproductive.

Now that we have an idea of when it was coined, let’s look at some current definitions.

Recent Definition(s): What Makes It Speculative

Let’s start simple. Dictionary.com defines speculative fiction as “a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements.” Additionally, the Speculative Literature Foundation describes it as a “catch-all term”:

[M]eant to inclusively span the breadth of fantastic literature, encompassing literature ranging from hard science fiction to epic fantasy to ghost stories to horror to folk and fairy tales to slipstream to magical realism to modern myth-making — and more.

With all these definitions and listed genres, it can get overwhelming. So I think it’s best to sit down and ponder the term “to speculate.” To theorize. The questions “What if this happened?” or “What if the world were this way?” often are the seedlings to speculative fiction stories. And what genres better ask these questions than science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.?

Caveats In Speculative Fiction

However, as I mentioned in the beginning, not  all science fiction and horror necessarily counts as speculative. For example, there are books of horror that are still set in our world with our rules.

To explore this caveat, we need Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Atwood places her own work in this category, and as we’ve seen lately in the world, i.e. The Handmaids Tale , she is chillingly accurate to her definition in that regard.

So in this respect, we might define speculative fiction as it relates to the world we know and live in today. These narratives are not set in our world today; that world does not exist. Yet.

Contemporary Speculative Fiction Examples

From the above exploration, I’d like to think of speculative fiction as a mix of the what-if scenario interacting with a basis in our world. I agree that narratives that take place in a purely secondary world (e.g. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy , etc.) don’t quite count. But, to diverge a bit from Le Guin, there are books and short stories set in the real world, grounded in the real world, or an alternate timeline of our world, that have fantastical elements or fall squarely under the fantasy genre. Those I would support being defined as speculative. With that in mind, below is a small list—a jumping off point—of books based on a culmination of the above definitions.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Even stories that Chiang sets in an alternate past or on another world, like “Tower of Babylon,” could breach the limits of what doesn’t count as speculative and still fit the term. It’s because Chiang writes with such an authoritative voice and builds his worlds so masterfully that I unabashedly believe in each story’s possibility. Yet the best is example is found in “The Story Of Your Life.” It’s the short story that the film Arrival is based off of, and honestly, if there was ever a narrative of first contact that felt so grounded in our world, so real that it could happen tomorrow, it’s this one.

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix. E. Harrow

Let The Speculation Continue

Now, your mileage may vary on how these books sit with the term. Even the authors of these books might disagree. Feel free to discuss your own interpretations and examples in the comments on social media. Additionally, make sure to check out Book Riot’s other posts on explorations of genre, such as magical realism .

Speculative fiction is indeed nebulous. It’s actually why I love this over-arching genre so much. I live for books that maintain our world but bend the boundaries. Books that look underneath the skin of our reality and  probe what might be or  might’ve been. Perhaps there are portals to other worlds lurking in our own, or perhaps we will make first contact tomorrow.

The awe and the beauty is in the speculation.

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What is Speculative Fiction? 5 Examples from Books and Film

• by Lauren du Plessis @lauren.duplessis

Explore this flexible term for non-realist writing, and discover iconic examples from sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism

All fiction requires imagination, bringing worlds and characters to life on the page—but some can even transport a reader to parallel dimensions!

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for any writing about non-realistic worlds . Here, we'll explore how it is defined , which subgenres are involved, and where to find inspiration for your own storytelling, with the help of author Andrea Chapela ( @alcs99 ).

Andrea is the author of the fantasy tetralogy Vâudïz . Born in Mexico, she studied Chemistry at UNAM, and received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa. Her other work includes essay collection Grados de miopía ( Degrees of Myopia ), and short story collections such as Un año de servicio a la habitación ( One Year of Room Service ). She also teaches workshops and contributes to magazines like Este País and Literal Magazine .

Though she thinks of each of her books with a specific label, such as “sci-fi” or “fantasy”, she groups her overall work under the term “speculative fiction”.

What is speculative fiction?

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for non-realist genres .

In essence, all speculative fiction asks “what if” questions that imagine a world distinct from our own . Often, it has a specific purpose: an idea it wants to explore through the eyes of another world.

This could mean setting a story in the far future, on an alien planet, or even in our world but with a distortion of reality. It could be a single difference: Andrea notes that in Men in Black , New York functions almost as it does in our reality, except it adds aliens into the mix.

What speculative fiction is not!

We can also consider speculative fiction in opposition to what Andrea terms “mimetic fiction”. Anything that “happens in our real world, as it is”, is mimetic. Novels and stories that are purely romance, contemporary, action, crime fiction, and so on, fall under this bracket. They are stories about events that (even if rare) could actually happen in the world as we know it.

What is the difference between science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction?

If speculative fiction means all fiction that is non-realist, then it has many subgenres. Sci-fi and fantasy can be called subgenres of speculative writing. Other examples include cyberpunk, science fiction, steampunk, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, magical realism, and others.

Of course, each of these subgenres has its own conventions, but when you take a step back, they have a lot in common. You could even include biblical fiction as a member, as it incorporates what some may call magic, as well as imagining realms outside of our own, such as Heaven and Hell.

Here are some further thoughts on the subgenres, all tied together by that central “what if” question.

1. Science fiction asks “what if” using science and technology (often future-based).

2. Fantasy asks “what if” using magic, imaginary settings, and mythical creatures.

3. Horror asks “what if” using supernatural occurrences, often with a gothic or gory focus.

4. Magical realism asks “what if” with real-world problems and the real human experience, but expressed using magic (see the next section to learn more).

These definitions are brief and incomplete, as each genre is rich with history and diversity.

It’s worth noting that these genres can be slippery, and many writers adjust the definitions to suit their unique work. Some people refer to F&SF, some say “non-mimetic fiction” as the umbrella term. Acclaimed author Alberto Chimal ( @albertochimal ) coined the term “genre of the imagination”.

And some writers aren’t fans of the term speculative fiction either—sci-fi icon Ursula Le Guin was concerned it watered down hard science fiction and tried to make it “more palatable” to a mass audience, erasing the rich tradition.

Is magical realism speculative fiction?

Magical realism as a distinct movement flourished in the twentieth century in Latin America, and though defining it exactly is tricky, it generally refers to stories that feature magic and supernatural occurrences embedded in realist, everyday life. Usually, the magic reflects a real-world problem.

Magical realism is an interesting member of the speculative fiction group. Andrea shares an essay by Alberto Chimal in which he posits that speculative fiction can be a useful term for sci-fi, magical realism, and other non-realist works in “countries and cultures where there are no markets that can actually support specialized authors, and in which a fantastic imagination is used, necessarily, for other reasons”.

Fiction that resists the “concrete” future proposed by some extremist politics and ideology has existed in Latin American literature for decades if not centuries, often parodying or choosing fantastical lenses through which to examine corruption and lack of freedoms.

Examples of speculative fiction

So speculative fiction can serve a number of purposes using a range of fantastical storytelling devices. Andrea recommends several books, series, and films throughout her course, to help you better understand the breadth of possibilities. Here are just a few to inspire you.

1. Studio Ghibli

The films of Studio Ghibli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, offer ethereal animated experiences, often through the eyes of a child or young person. Man’s relationship with nature is a key theme, with the wisdom and divinity of the natural world appearing through magical creatures and gods. Try Princess Mononoke, Laputa: Castle in the Sky , or Spirited Away .

2. Ursula Le Guin

Known for her focus on anthropology and philosophy, Le Guin explored life under drastically different political circumstances for humans around her fictional galaxies. Taoism, feminism, and the subversion of older tropes can be found throughout her work. Try The Left Hand of Darkness, the Earthsea series, or The Dispossessed .

3. Jorge Luis Borges

Constructing dreamlike explorations of humanity through mythology and philosophy, Borges’s short stories are essential members of the magical realist canon in Latin America. His best-known works are two short story collections, Ficciones (Fictions) and El Aleph (The Aleph) .

4. The Chronicles of Narnia

A magical land in perpetual winter filled with talking animals is discovered by a girl inside a wardrobe: that was the setup for fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia , written for children by C. S. Lewis. The seven-book series features many biblical references, and has been adapted into several films.

5. Ted Chiang

Winner of many sci-fi fiction awards, author Ted Chiang explores notions of free will through scientific and philosophical concepts. Read Story of Your Life , a novella about language and memory (and aliens!) which was later adapted into the first-contact movie, Arrival .

But there are so many other examples. You might also want to check out works by George Orwell, Gabriel García Márquez, Philip K. Dick, Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood, N. K. Jemisin , and the thousands of others writing in this tradition!

Speculative fiction is always shifting and impossible to nail down—but the term is a useful tool for understanding fiction’s relationship to reality , and its flexibility allows for exciting experimentation .

Learn more about creative writing

As well as our range of writing courses from acclaimed authors and screenwriters, we’ve conjured up a few ideas for where to take your imagination next.

1. Decide which medium you want to tell your narratives in, by learning the difference between a novel and a short story. 2. Unlock your creativity with six free creative writing tutorials , whatever writing level you’re at.

3. Learn about the life of one of the earliest science fiction novelists , Mary Shelley .

4. Deep-dive into narrative writing with this introductory course by Alberto Chimal.

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Understanding our world: speculative fiction through the ages, exploring the storied history of speculative fiction from the age of antiquity to the modern day. plus, we offer tips on how to write it.

Table of Contents

A multiverse of possibilities may spring to mind when considering the term speculative fiction , from dragons soaring over verdant meadows to massive starships exploring the cosmos.

By contemporary reckoning, it comprises many genres and has a lineage that far predates its name.

To better understand speculative fiction, let’s go on a journey through its rich history and discover what its exciting future may hold.

What is Speculative Fiction?

Defining speculative fiction can sometimes be as challenging as slaying our aforementioned dragon.

Some have considered it science fiction that focuses on the human condition. This fiction proposes events that are possible, but that have not happened.

It is also an umbrella term for any fiction that is not constrained by our understanding of reality.

Exploring this evolution is important for us to understand that speculative fiction has changed and continues to change over time. Tomorrow, it may not mean exactly what it means today.

Origins of Speculative Fiction

Robert A. Heinlein, the author of Starship Troopers , coined the term in his 1947 essay “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction.”

He defined it as a story where we imagine new scientific realities and consider the challenges humanity may face as a result, then explore “how human beings cope with those new problems.”

Speculative Perspectives

Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale , proposed another definition in the 1980s. Unlike her predecessor, she contrasted science fiction and speculative fiction.

Atwood has described speculative fiction as being stories that explore theoretical situations grounded in what is possible. In her own work, she speculates on sociopolitical circumstances that could very well happen today.

Contemporary Speculative Fiction

The contemporary understanding of speculative fiction differs from these definitions but does not exclude them. Rather, it includes much more.

We use the term today to encompass all fiction not quite grounded in reality. Some refer to it as a "mega-genre" or "super-genre."

Characteristics of speculative fiction include visits to fantasy worlds, magic and the supernatural, undiscovered scientific principles, and even encountering extraterrestrial life.

These stories contain elements that...

• Could not possibly occur: In other words, certain events, objects, characters, or situations are not real and could never be.
• Have yet to occur in the future: These stories explore the possibilities brought forth by advances in technology.
• Did not occur in the past: Authors rewrite fictional histories by posing the question, "What could have been?"

Essentially, speculative fiction stories speculate beyond humanity’s knowledge of reality contemporary to the writing of the story.

Genres of Speculative Fiction

As a mega-genre, speculative fiction includes a massive range of genres and subgenres. Science fiction, fantasy, and speculative works of alternative history all fall within its scope.

A sizable portion of horror fiction and certain subgenres of literary fiction such as magical realism can be considered speculative fiction as well.

There are also stories that don’t fit neatly onto these shelves, but most definitely qualify as speculative fiction. What all these have in common is a yearning desire to ask, “What if?”

Let's look at these in more detail.

Science Fiction 🚀

Speculating on what may yet happen, science fiction explores possibilities the future may hold.

Common elements of this genre include space travel, time travel, dealings with alien life, technological advancements, and the repercussions of alterations to our reality, ranging from socioeconomic policies to climate change.

A story set in the author’s contemporary reality can qualify as science fiction with even minor speculation, such as exploring the potential impacts of artificial intelligence research in the near future.

Science fiction is itself another super-genre, encompassing subgenres such as space operas and military sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, and cyberpunk fiction (just one of many types of futuristic punks).

Incorporating elements of the fantastic, magical, or supernatural, fantasy delves into the impossible or improbable.

These stories range from familiar settings with magical elements to entirely new worlds created by the author.

Within fantasy fiction, you’ll find magic (of course), fictional creatures, myths come to life, and tangible representations of the supernatural—often in the form of deities meddling in mortal affairs.

Yet another super-genre in its own right, fantasy includes a wide range of subgenres including sword and sorcery, epic or heroic fantasy, dark and grimdark fantasy, mythology and fairy tales, and gothic fiction.

Alternate History ⏳

This genre takes a more grounded approach to speculation, turning an eye to the past and reimagining entire histories. The departure from reality is more subtle, exploring the ramifications of fictional outcomes to real historical events.

These stories explore worlds where empires didn’t fall, wars had different results, and hypothetical revolutions changed society.

The alternative history genre is also known to explore retrofuturism, where modern or futuristic technologies are invented in the past using historically-appropriate methods.

Many punk genres—such as steampunk, dieselpunk, and atompunk—examine these ideas. They're considered alternate history as long as they remain grounded in realistic possibilities.

Some horror falls under the scope of speculative fiction, but not all of it.

When determining whether a horror story is speculative, focus on how likely the events of the story are to occur in the world contemporary to the author.

Let’s look at an example of a detective investigating a series of murders perpetrated by a cult:

• Are the cultists ordinary people that are just being extra stabby? That’s not speculating on anything.
• Are their rituals summoning an actual demon or raising an army of zombies? Are the cultists actually a secret coven of vampires? This would be speculative horror.
• In the case of futuristic sci-fi horror: is your cult a pack of mad scientists building an army of sentient robots or a doomsday device? This would also be considered speculative fiction.

Since quite a bit of horror fiction involves the supernatural or monsters, the portion that falls under the definition of speculative fiction is substantial.

Magical Realism ✨

While some think this genre better fits within the scope of fantasy, it is more widely accepted to be a form of literary fiction separate from the fantasy genre.

Magical realism blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy. It focuses on the mundane and only adds subtle touches of the fantastic. In these stories, the fantastic elements are not the focus of the narrative.

Similar to how Heinlein first defined speculative fiction, these stories focus on how the added elements affect the characters . Often, the dash of fantasy in magical realism is used metaphorically to explore deeper ideas about the human experience.

The History of Speculative Fiction

Given the breadth of storytelling that falls within the range of speculative fiction, its history spans retroactively to the earliest civilizations.

From the dawn of humanity, we have gazed out beyond the horizon and pondered what might lie beyond our reach.

Speculating on the unknown has been an integral part of the human experience, from the first work of paleolithic cave art to the blockbuster films of today.

Though many of these works weren't actually intended to be "speculative" during the time periods they were written, we consider them as such today.

An Age of Legends: The Speculative Fiction of Antiquity

Some of the oldest and greatest works of literature in history contain speculative elements, many of them featuring legendary myths, fabled monsters, and pantheons of gods.

If you'll believe it, there was even a tale involving space travel, first contact with aliens, and interplanetary wars written during this time: Lucian’s A True Story (sometimes translated as True History ). Lucian wrote it as a satire, criticizing his contemporaries for the fantastical breaches of reality made in their own writing.

Here are just a few prominent works from the ancient and classical eras:

• The Epic of Gilgamesh (2500–1700 BCE, Sumer and Babylon)
• The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (2000–1900 BCE, Egypt)
• The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer (750–650 BCE, Greece)
• A True Story by Lucian of Samosata (2nd Century CE, Roman Syria)

Fables and Fairy Tales: Medieval Speculative Fiction

While historical chronicles, theological studies, and a burgeoning exploration of the sciences occupy most of Middle Ages literature, plenty of fantastic tales were told during this time.

Much of the folklore that inspired today’s fantasy came from this period, from the elves and dwarves of Celtic and Norse mythology to the mysticism of the Middle East. What follows are some notable pieces of speculative literature from this time:

• Beowulf (700–1050, Anglo-Saxon Britain)
• The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1308–21, Italy)
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1387–1400, England)
• A Thousand and One Nights (Various dates and sources)

The Rebirth of Reason: Early Modern Speculative Fiction

While the Middle Ages dabbled with science and reason, these concepts defined the Renaissance and the early modern age.

This was a time of renewed interest in the search for knowledge and understanding. Despite this, speculation beyond the bounds of our reality hardly waned during this period. Instead, it shifted to something akin to the speculative fiction of today: stories that attempt to analyze the real through a lens of the unreal .

Several seminal works from this era are:

• Utopia by Thomas Moore (1516, Habsburg Netherlands)
• Doctor Faustus by Christoher Marlowe (c. 1588, England)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (1600, England)
• The Chemical Wedding by Johann Valentin Andreae (1616, Germany)

A Time of Revolution: Speculative Fiction and Industrialism

Alongside the sociopolitical revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, literature experienced upheavals. With the wide dissemination of the printing press, literature proliferated amongst the population. This gave rise to the novel, which would serve as a primary form of entertainment for many.

Romanticism , a trend towards focusing on individual experiences and criticizing social structures, dominated the literary world. Gothic fiction also grew popular , incorporating elements of horror.

Finally, literature reacted to the scientific advances of the industrial revolution, inspiring the foundations of modern science fiction. Some notable examples include:

• Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1818, United Kingdom)
• “Mellonta Tauta” by Edgar Allan Poe (1849, United States)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1867, France)
• The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells (1898, United Kingdom)

The Golden Age of Speculative Fiction: Reality Reimagined in the New Century

The early twentieth century ushered in troubling times. Two world wars and the Great Depression left people anxious about the state of the world. In response, many turned to fiction for an escape from reality.

Pulp fiction magazines boomed in popularity, appearing everywhere from newsstands across America to care packages on the battlefields of Europe. When the wars ended and economies began to recover, rapid technological progress inspired a sense of wonder about what the future could hold.

As a result, the early twentieth century is considered the Golden Age of Science Fiction, but other genres boomed (or were created) during this time. Here are just a few of the most influential examples of golden age speculative fiction:

• A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912, United States)
• Metropolis by Thea Von Harbou (1925, Germany)
• The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (1926, United States)
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932, United Kingdom)
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937, United Kingdom)
• 1984 by George Orwell (1949, United Kingdom)
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950, United States)
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953, United Kingdom)
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953, United States)

On the Fringes: Speculative Fiction From the Space Age to the Age of Information

In the latter half of the twentieth century, speculative fiction remained an important part of our society, but many considered it to be a niche. The usually minuscule Science Fiction section of the bookstore often had fantasy and horror unceremoniously lumped in.

Likewise, cinema and television had a steady flow of offerings, but they rarely dominated the culture—with the release of the film Star Wars in 1977 being one notable exception.

Despite this, the genre thrived, and many who read speculative fiction during this time did so with ravenous appetites and fierce devotion. Below are a few impactful literary offerings from the latter half of the century:

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962, United States)
• Dune by Frank Herbert (1965, United States)
• Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972, United Kingdom)
• Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976, United States)
• The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (1977, United States)
• The Stand by Stephen King (1978, United States)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979, United Kingdom)
• Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984, United States)
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985, Canada)
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996, United States)

The Future of Speculative Fiction

Just like our world almost a hundred years ago, we again find ourselves at a major turning point. Life today can feel like a maelstrom of uncertainty. Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that speculative fiction is experiencing what many consider a second golden age.

Both on the page and on screens large and small, speculative fiction finds itself a prominent part of our culture. There are more ways to escape reality through fiction than ever before.

Below are just a few examples of contemporary speculative fiction literature illustrating the diversity of voices and ideas that are becoming more mainstream every day:

• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)
• The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (2008)
• Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (2010)
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuong (2018)
• Gamechanger by L.X. Beckett (2019)
• Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee (2020)
• Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott (2020)
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (2020)
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021)
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021)
• The City Inside by Samit Basu (2022)

A new surge in the number of storytellers delving into speculative fiction has been brought forth.

In part, this is thanks to unprecedented growth in popularity and increased accessibility for creators of these stories. With it, we've seen an explosion of voices with diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, inspirations, and ideas in the genre.

New genres continue to be created all the time, too. Take climate fiction, which has become more prominent in direct response to the climate change crisis. Where we go from here is unknown, but it seems the trajectory is both rising and expanding.

How to Write Speculative Fiction

Perhaps you’re ready to join these speculative fiction authors and pen your own tale. You might be unsure of where to start if this is your first time scribing a novel or even a short story.

I’ve been at this game for a while now—as an author, publisher, and editor—so here are a few general tips from me to give you a leg up on the process.

Writing and Worldbuilding Consistency is King

No matter what you’re dealing with—be it building a landscape, developing a magic system, or setting up clues to a mystery—you absolutely must be consistent .

The great thing about speculative fiction is that you can make your own rules, but nothing will shatter story immersion faster than breaking those rules.

It's vital to always present a consistent view of the world you are exploring (even if that consistency doesn't feel true to your characters).

A writing tool like Campfire can serve as your story bible—with 18 writing and worldbuilding modules, plus a digital project notebook and smart tagging features to literally connect the dots between elements, you'll never forget all those tiny (but important!) details ever again.

Put Your Fictional Genres in the Blender

What makes a great story stand out is presenting something completely new. A good first step toward this is blending genres together.

For example, elements of sword and sorcery blended with space opera led to the creation of a new genre: sword and planet fiction.

I encourage you to look outside of speculative fiction genres for inspiration. Mix fantasy with romance, cyberpunk with mystery, or space opera with satire—the blank page is yours to decide what to do with it.

Think of the tropes of speculative fiction and other genres as tools. Then, expand your toolbox and find just the right devices to tell your story.

Focus on Character Development

Looking back to Heinlein’s definition of speculative fiction, I would say he had one thing right: it should focus on how characters react to things. You want your characters to feel alive and connect with the reader.

The Characters Module on Campfire is a great tool to help you toward this goal. There are 100+ character attributes to choose from alone in the Attributes Panel, so the stress of developing a believable, flesh-and-blood character is removed.

Your readers will connect most with the characters in your stories, not the fantastic landscapes or twisting plots. Those other story elements are definitely important, but it is the emotional connection with your characters that will cause a reader to fall in love with your storytelling.

If you can master this, you'll be one step closer to joining the legendary ranks of authors that came before us.

As a final thought: there is no singular, correct way to write speculative fiction. As long as you capture the essence of its dominant aesthetic—that is, speculating on what is, has been, or what could be—you're sure to find yourself penning a compelling work of speculative fiction!

What is Speculative Fiction: A Complete Guide to the Encompassing Genre

By Jason Boyd

Published July 5, 2021

You might be asking yourself what is speculative fiction? 

Speculative Fiction is a super-genre of fiction. In essence, it encompasses other genres of fiction . Namely, those containing elements that don’t exist in reality, recorded history, nature, or the present universe. The speculative genre also encompasses myriad themes, including supernatural, futuristic, and many other imaginative topics.

Under this umbrella category, sub-genres include science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction, superhero power story, and more. Many attribute the term to Robert A. Heinlein , who wrote in 1949 , “Speculative fiction (I prefer that term to science fiction) is also concerned with sociology, psychology, esoteric aspects of biology, the impact of terrestrial culture on the other cultures we may encounter when we conquer space, etc., without end.”

Table of Contents

Disagreements in usage, today’s usage, how does speculative fiction differ from other genres, themes, tropes, archetypes, and commonalities found in speculative fiction stories, common misconceptions about speculative fiction, science fiction, superhero fiction, utopian/dystopian fiction, alternative history, biographical alternate history, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction, challenges and limitations for speculative fiction authors, how to read speculative fiction, do androids dream of electric sheep by philip k. dick, the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood, animal farm by george orwell, stories of your life and others by ted chiang, civilwarland in bad decline by george saunders, trail of lightning by rebecca roanhorse, what’s next for speculative fiction, conclusion: speculative fiction, a brief history of speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction has been around for centuries; one could even consider Homer ’s epic poems The Odyssey and The Iliad speculative works. After all, they involve fantastical creatures, like the cyclops, which do not exist. Similarly, William Shakespeare ’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream could also be considered an early example of speculative fiction. The famous play features a reality where characters move freely through time, space, and fairyland.

As far the origins of the term “speculative fiction” goes, while he is often given the credit, it’s debatable whether Robert A. Heinlein coined the phrase in his 1947 essay , “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction.” 

Why the doubt? Because the first use of “speculative fiction” can be traced to 1887. That’s when the term first appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine from the pen of M. F. Egan , who wrote, “Edward Bellamy, in ‘Looking Backward,’ and George Parsons Lathrop, in a short story, ‘The New Poverty,’ have followed the example of Anthony Trollope and Bulwer in speculative fiction put in the future tense.”

Interestingly enough, although the term today is often considered inclusive of fantasy, Heinlein disagreed in 1949 . He wrote, “Speculative fiction is not fantasy fiction, as it rules out the use of anything as material which violates established scientific fact, laws of nature, call it what you will, i.e., it must [be] possible to the universe as we know it. Thus, Wind in the Willows is fantasy, but the much more incredible extravaganzas of Dr. Olaf Stapledon are speculative fiction—science fiction.”

Within In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination , Margaret Atwood says she considers speculative fiction and science fiction nearly interchangeable. In the book, Atwood cites fellow author Ursula K. Le Guin ‘s opinion, saying that science fiction becomes speculative fiction when the story’s contents could happen. Those that couldn’t happen, Le Guin considers “fantasy.”

Today, the term is considered a “super genre.”

Similarly, the Speculative Literature Foundation considers the genre a “catch-all” term . It writes, “Speculative literature is a catch-all term meant to inclusively span the breadth of fantastic literature, encompassing literature ranging from hard science fiction to epic fantasy to ghost stories to horror to folk and fairy tales to slipstream to magical realism to modern myth-making — and more. Any piece of literature containing a fabulist or speculative element would fall under our aegis, and would potentially be work that we would be interested in supporting.”

Modern literary scholars have written on the evolving term and subject. One essayist, Marek Oziewicz , wrote in 2017 , “A collection of genres and culturally situated practices, speculative fiction is effectively what Pierre Bourdieu has called a cultural field: a domain of activity defined by its own field-specific rules of functioning, agents, and institutions.”

The genre of speculative fiction includes science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian theory (ranging from Gulliver’s Travels to Ayn Rand ‘s Anthem ) as well as apocalyptic/postapocalyptic work such as Cormac McCarthy ’s The Road . Alternate histories also fall under speculative fiction, including Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell .

There may be some overlap between other categories depending on the perspective; for example, horror fiction may overlap with supernatural fiction and psychological thriller.

Speculative fiction overlaps with other broad categories of literature. These include science fantasy and sword and sorcery. One can read the other side of the spectrum as well. Such as gothic novels like Frankenstein by Mary Shelley , dark or macabre tales from Edgar Allan Poe such as “The Black Cat”, ghost stories such as The Turn Of the Screw by Henry James ; and folktales about witches for children called fairy tales.

It’s difficult to convincingly define what falls into this category of literature. Because many aspects can be found in any number of genres. It is similarly difficult to define what makes speculative fiction different from other genres; they are not all mutually exclusive.

For example, J.K. Rowling ‘s Harry Potter series falls into both fantasy and science fiction categories. One might balk at the idea of Harry Potter being science fiction. But look at its many present themes of dystopian/utopian theories, which fall under science fiction.

Stories focused on speculative elements present a theme in which one can suspend disbelief for entertainment purposes. Similarly, speculative fiction stories often contain common themes and tropes, such as the use of magic or advanced technology. 

For example, some stories explore speculative elements like artificial intelligence or genetic modification. Others may center around vampires, werewolves, ghosts, which represent supernatural forces at play (or not playing) in our world.

There is also a wide variety of genres with different themes and tropes present within them. For example, dystopian novels that examine what could happen if we continue down the same trail we’re currently on; alternate history pieces where events turn out differently than what happened; and horror stories, which focus primarily on fear and its effects on people’s psyches. Just to name but a few.

Each of these sub-genres has its own unique set of themes, elements, plots, and characters. For example, alternate history is a genre that focuses on the “what if?” questions. What would happen today if something had changed in the past?

Fantasy literature typically deals with magic or supernatural events while horror fiction often includes topics such as ghosts or monsters.

One can view science fiction through many lenses. This includes utopias and dystopias where societies have been significantly transformed by science. Themes may also include time travel to the future to see how society will evolve or journeys into outer space.

The most common misconceptions about speculative fiction are that it is simply science fiction or fantasy.

The truth is that there are many other subgenres of speculative fiction beyond sci-fi and fantasy. 

One reason for the spectrum being so broad? Modern definitions of speculative fiction do not include any limitations of what it can be about. The term’s definition is simply that it involves “ideas and stories based on someone’s imagination.”

Different Subgenres Under the Umbrella Term “Speculative Fiction”

There are almost too many to count. Except, we tried to count them in another article. Go check out our guide to fiction genres for a more complete list.

Popular Sub-Genres

Go check our resource linked above for a more exhaustive take, but let’s cover some popular sub-genres.

Editor Hugo Gernsback , who believed he could create new markets, coined the term “science fiction.” He championed stories centered around the scientific advancements of the time.

Science fiction is a vast speculative genre that usually has no connection to reality as it is today. Science fiction touches upon a vast array of topics, including ecological disaster, time travel, and the future.

Essentially, science fiction features an imaginary world. One where people and things can have bizarre properties not present in our present galaxy (think Star Wars ). Some authors label their work as science fiction as a broad descriptor. Why? They may want to explore concepts such as time travel, space exploration, robotics, or artificial intelligence without attributing specific sub-genres.

Superhero fiction’s setting is an alternate universe where superheroes exist, sometimes due to advanced science (think Superman ). The superhero genre can include stories about ordinary people who possess extraordinary abilities; these individuals don’t always use their powers for good as some might choose to become villains, such as Dr. Doom . 

Utopian fiction assumes that there will be perfect societies in the future. Ones that offer happiness and satisfaction for everyone. Conversely, dystopian fiction represents nightmarish futures where absolute power has corrupted society into an oppressive regime. These two genres often explore how we got from good to bad.

Alternative history is a genre of fiction dealing with what might have happened had one historic event gone differently. For example, a story may depict a society where Nazi Germany won World War II. Another may see Cleopatra escape an early death and rule Egypt as queen until her death at 80 years old. It also includes those who explore events that may have been more peaceful without any major change to society. Examples include the Roman Empire never falling. 

Some authors include novels about real-life individuals. For example, a reality where someone assassinates Abraham Lincoln before he became president of the United States. One would call this type of story a biographical alternate history. Why? Because it has some connection with reality but differs by exploring an event that didn’t happen. Specifically, an event that centers around a single prominent historic figure.

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction features a setting post-disaster. One that wiped out nearly everything, such as nuclear war, pandemic, or asteroid impact. The civilization might lay in ruin with no hope of rebuilding ( Mad Max ). Or the survivors got by on meager resources and must fight to stay alive ( War of the Worlds ). 

Writing speculative fiction is not for the faint of heart; it requires a lot more than coming up with imaginative characters, settings, and encounters. The author must create an alternate world that can stand on its own merits as something believable to their readership

Authors need to be mindful of how they depict different cultures in speculative fiction. Are any aspects offensive? Is there cultural appropriation or misrepresentation? These issues have come into greater focus in recent years. Partly due to authors writing about other cultures without doing enough research.

Writers also need to consider whether they are using too much jargon. Too many made-up words may make reading difficult. Even though some readers enjoy this element

The speculative fiction genre is broad and encompassing. So, it’s important to know what you like to enjoy the best of what this category can offer.

Two questions that may help: 

• Is there something supernatural happening? 
• Does my imagination run wild with possibilities?

If your answer was “yes” to either question, you may be interested in imaginative stories set against different backgrounds/scenarios. This includes horror fiction, dystopian novels, and science fiction. Basically, any story where anything seems possible because we are entering new territory within its universe.

Speculative genres often include strong themes. These include hope for better futures or fear of uncertain ones, depending on the writer’s point of view.

To read speculative fiction well, it can be helpful to know what genre you’re reading. When figuring this out, look for clues such as a strong sense of place or setting. An ominous mood that sets itself apart from other genres. And unusual behavior. This might manifest as people who don’t seem human, advanced technology with no explanation given, etc.

You might also notice that the dialogue in these stories is often pointedly odd. People are not behaving quite how they do in real life. At times, made-up languages may appear. The prose can sometimes be poetic but yet somehow off compared to regular speech we hear all day long.

Works of Speculative Fiction Worth Reading or Watching

While by no means an exhaustive list, these works of speculative fiction are standouts. Together, they show off the multifaceted nature of this umbrella genre.

Classic Examples

A novel considered by many a science fiction landmark, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? depicts a post-apocalyptic world where autonomous androids are slaves to humans. Many know the movie adapted from the source, Blade Runner . But the literary equivalent is even more potent with questions of reality, identity, and more.

The Handmaid’s Tale ‘s setting is the near-future United States of America. In this future, extremists conquered and renamed the area The Republic of Gilead. The hit Hulu series of the same name takes the story past the novel.

Animal Farm is a satirical novella set on an English farm where animals behave like humans. It resembles a fantasy story merged with dystopia. Some theorize it may even have other elements of science fiction. For instance, perhaps it depicts a future where humans have died off due to war.

Modern Examples

A collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others contains tales that run the gamut of speculative fiction. The short story “The Story of Your Life” is better known as its movie version, Arrival .

The stories in the short story collection CivilWarLand in Bad Decline don’t even feel like speculative fiction. They’re much closer to literary absurdism, which itself is arguably closely tied to speculative fiction. Nevertheless, there are elements of fantasy and science fiction that abound, as much of Saunders’ work. 

Taking place after a climate apocalypse, Trail of Lightning features gods, monsters, and a monster hunter endowed with supernatural abilities. There are so many elements from across speculative fiction, all in one story.

As our world and society continue their advancement, the digital age will only serve as inspiration for speculative fiction.

The future of reading, in general, is unknown. Some believe that our culture will be more interactive on screens than with printed books while others see ebooks becoming a thing of the past due to increasing environmental concerns over paper usage.

Yet, more dystopian novels are being written now than at any other time in history. As always, they reflect what many feel about today’s society. These types of stories may become even more popular if predictions come true, such as climate change.

Future children might have an easier time building an idea from their virtual worlds in other ways. For instance, they might prefer to explore speculative concepts in physical models or drawings. This could create new forms of storytelling.

Many expect virtual reality will play a major role in the future of immersive entertainment. This alone may lead to new ways of delivering speculative fiction.

At this point, you should have a sound understanding of speculative fiction.

One can summarize speculative fiction as fictional works set outside known reality. Instead, they explore imaginative topics like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and many more. Underneath these broad categories are sub-genres that cover everything from utopian and dystopian, to apocalyptic stories with alternate histories.

Regardless of where you turn, something new will await your ponderous imagination!

We hope you found this article helpful. Now, it’s your turn. How do you describe Speculative Fiction? Drop a comment below!

Jason Boyd is a science fiction author, geek enthusiast, and former cubicle owner. When not working on his MA in Creative Writing, he's trying to figure out how magnets work.

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Speculative Fiction: Everything You Need To Know About This Genre {Definitions + Tips + Examples + Opportunities.}

Speculative fiction is becoming more and more popular. many budding and professional writers are constantly trying to break into this fantastic genre. if you’re new to specfic, you’re probably wondering, what is speculative fiction or what are the best examples of speculative fiction .

Horror, science fiction, alternate history, and black speculative fiction all fall under the genre of speculative fiction. But do they sometimes converge and diverge in some stories? Where can one find such examples of speculative fiction?

If you’re seeking answers to these questions, you’ve come to the right place. Here, prolific speculative fiction writer, Simbiat Harouni addresses frequently asked questions like:

• What is speculative fiction?

What’s the difference between science fiction and speculative fiction?

Simbiat’s comprehensive definitions of speculative fiction, will be followed excellent examples, a deep analysis of the genre and tips on how to write. Ready? Let’s read on.  

Everything You Need To Know About Speculative Fiction: Definitions, Tips And Examples.

Books (and stories) can do so much more than provide an experience for the reader. They can immerse you into a whole new life and a completely new experience. They can transport you to a new world, showing you perspectives that you never considered. 

One typical genre of such beautiful stories is the speculative fiction genre. It consists of so many sub-genres that it is hard to properly assess and categorize them all. When people ask about examples, they’re often referring to the subgenres. Rarely story samples.

The sub-genres or examples are so many. They include but are not limited to:

Science fiction.

Science fiction is a sub-genre that often takes place in a dystopian setting with marked technological advancements interwoven into the story. In many cases, science fiction cases take place many years in the future.

“ Adjustment Team ” is an example of a science fiction short story. It was written by American writer Philip K. Dick. The award-winning movie, The Adjustment Bureau, was based on this science fiction short story.

More examples of science fiction novels:. 

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, 
• The Martian by Andy Weir; 
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov; and 
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

One common example of a fantasy novel is St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Written   by Karen Russell, this fantasy short story about children who were born to werewolf ancestors. Her novel  Swamplandia! was a 2012 Pulitzer prize finalist .  

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is another example of a horror novel and film. ;English author, Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein in the 19th century. It was published in 1818.

Superhero fiction.  

Superman, wonder woman, batman and black panther are examples of superhero fiction comics, books and films.

Alternate history.  

This is another interesting sub-genre. Common examples of alternate history novels include:

• Mallory Blackman’s 2001 novel, Noughts and Crosses.
• Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel Man In The High Castle.

This genre explores ideal worlds in which the rules of engagement are different from those of the real world’s.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel Always Coming Home, Is a good example of a Utopian novel.

Dystopian fiction,

This sub-genre features stories that portray human misery. George Orwell’s 1984 is arguably the most popular dystopian science fiction novel.

Lesley Nneka Arimah’s dystopian fiction short story Skinned won the Caine Prize in 2019.

Supernatural fiction, 

In this genre of, supernatural themes are explored in creative ways. Most of these stories explore themes that go against naturalist laws.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot are good examples of supernatural fiction.

  Science fantasy.

This is a combination of two speculative fiction genres. Stories under this subgenre mix elements of science fiction and fantasy. Star Wars is a good example of a science fantasy story.

Of all these examples, fantasy is the oldest sub-genre, going back thousands of years. A look back at the earliest civilizations such as the Greek civilizations finds that they told stories in the form of fantasy even then. 

After fantasy became popular, other sub-genres slowly came into the limelight. This happened with science fiction leading the way. Science fiction has gained popularity in recent centuries. 

As the speculative fiction genre is growing, writers such as myself have found ourselves wondering, what the right definition is.

Also, what exactly does it take to write good speculative fiction stories and excel in this exciting climate. 

So What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction. It’s used for work that doesn’t qualify as literary fiction and also doesn’t completely fit into the science fiction or fantasy genre. 

Because of the sheer broadness of the speculative fiction genre, some people have even taken to calling it the “super genre” .

Speculative fiction can accommodate literary fiction with elements of fantastical events. It can include the aforementioned sub-genres.

However, there are some writers that don’t consider horror to be a good example of speculative fiction. To properly understand this, let’s explore the history of this genre.

A Brief History Of Speculative Fiction.

Speculative fiction started a long time ago when poets and writers started to reimagine reality for their art. According to the Oxford Research Encyclopedias article on speculative fiction , the term Speculative Fiction was coined by the writer, Robert Heinlein in 1941.

 It wasn’t until 1947 though, that he popularized the term in his essay, ‘On the Writing of Speculative Fiction’. In this essay, he defined Speculative Fiction as,

[N]arratives concerned not so much with science or technology as with human actions in response to a new situation created by science or technology, speculative fiction highlights a human rather than technological problem.

Now, the term has been expanded to capture the true meaning more accurately. 

Wikipedia gives another apt definition of speculative fiction as,

a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.

Here’s my definition of speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction is a genre of literature where a writer explores real-world situations through a fantastical or speculative lens. It is basically asking, “What if?”

Because writers are constantly willing to ask these important questions, several aspects of speculative fiction have been born. These include:

• Science fiction,
• Horror and so many more genres. Some of which are not as well known as others. 

Speculative fiction has spread to so many areas of life and literature. So wide is its appeal that it cannot be classified as a mere medium. It has now graduated into a group.

A testament to its popularity is the fact that it’s being used across a wide range of media including:

• Short stories
• comic books, 
• and other forms of storytelling and entertainment.

In the article, will share my time-tested tips for writing great speculative fiction. But first, I’d like to discuss the most common reasons why people, like me, write speculative fiction.

3 Good Reasons To Write Speculative Fiction?

People write speculative fiction for so many reasons. Just like any other career path, more than one road can lead to your destination. 

Here are good reasons to write speculative fiction. 

You Are Inspired By Folklores You Once Heard.  

My journey to speculative fiction was sparked by popular folktales. I particularly recall those about the Tortoise’s adventures in the animal kingdom. 

Myself and my siblings – sometimes cousins too – would sit in a semicircle in front of my grandma. And she would regale us with tales of these beings. Of course, we knew that these animals could never climb up to heaven. 

And of course, we know they couldn’t make special sweets with which they tricked each other. But the stories did a good job of opening up our minds to the possibility of more.

Perhaps, you heard these mind-boggling stories . It’s one reason to consider writing speculative fiction.

You Are Inspired By The Examples Of Speculative Fiction You Read.

After grandma stopped telling these stories, I started reading about the old Yoruba kingdoms and about juju. I learned about the almost unbelievable things that happened in the past. 

These stories were fascinating and they led me to start writing my own short stories in the form of plays. This is how I started writing speculative fiction. 

Perhaps, you’ve read some fascinating fiction or non-fictional stories. And perhaps, these stories have inspired you to write yours. 

To Explore The Unknown, And The Strange Thoughts That Run Through Your Mind.

Occasionally, strange ideas cross my mind. And I do my best to put them to paper.

I succeed only a handful of times because speculative fiction is a special kind of fiction writing. Yes, it is. 

Didn’t I make this clear when I addressed the question, ’What is speculative fiction’?

A story in this genre needs to have all the elements of fiction while satisfying the demands of speculative fiction. 

The elements of fiction include: (characterization, language, theme, and all the rest). But the demands of specific include:

• Worldbuilding, 
• Factual storytelling, 
• Emotional triggers required to connect readers to the story. 

Seamlessly, combining both the elements of fiction and the demands of SpecFic requires some sort of expertise .

What Is The Difference Between Fantasy And Science Fiction?

What is the difference between fantasy and science fiction? I would say that this is a fairly simple question. And that it is as simple as what is speculative fiction. Except that it is really not a simple question. 

These two sub-genres of speculative fiction are nuanced and interwoven so that a more intimate look is required to properly assess their differences. On the surface, it is easy to classify and define them.

Science fiction is a sub-genre that often takes place in a dystopian setting with marked technological advancements interwoven into the story. In many cases, science fiction cases take place many years in the future. 

On the other hand, fantasy stories particularly feature mythical beings like ghosts and gods. And the characters in these stories display some sort of supernatural power. 

The writer, Orson Scott Card explained it best in his science fiction definition:

Science fiction is about what could be but isn’t while fantasy describes what couldn’t be.

However, these two share many differences in three areas:

• Their believability,
• Their settings, and
• Their characters. 

Believability:  

One major difference between science fiction and fantasy novels is their differing levels of plausibility.

In fantasy novels, it is generally understood by the writers and readers alike that no matter how much they may want it to be so, the characters and even the places described in the books can never be real.

I remember how I felt while reading Brandon Sanderson’s ‘The Emperor’s Soul’, and wished that I could somehow transport myself into the book.

I longed to see the wonderful description, live in that land by myself. But no matter how I wished for it to be so, it couldn’t happen.

 In fact, it will never happen. That’s because nobody can actually do the things that were described in that book. 

On the other hand, science fiction takes its roots from the real world. In a number of years, it could be possible for someone to develop and wield the lightsabers used in Star Wars. Maybe. 

Settings of science fiction and fantasy stories often differ a lot too. In science fiction, the stories are usually set in a dystopian, high technological setting. 

In fantasy stories, however, the story features a wide range of mythical beings, places, and settings.

In some situations, the settings can look like the real world. But they always have a twist or two, especially in high-grade fantasy stories. 

Characters  

Finally, the characters in fantasy and science fiction can be somewhat different too. From what I have read of science fiction, there is usually a wide array of characters .

They include aliens and more advanced species, in addition to some human characters which may be present in the story. After all, Aliens, robots, and the likes are what science fiction is made of. 

On the other hand, the characters in fantasy stories are mostly humans or close to being so. They can have a few distortions to their looks like dwarves or fairies.

They can be beings who look like Gollum from ‘Lord of the Rings’. These characters are rarely found in science fiction stories though. 

But, even with all of these differences, there are certain things that tie these two sub-genres together. These things can be divided into the following:

• The problems that their characters have to face
• The lessons that they learn. 

Certain things are common to all stories, whether they are speculative or not. Things like war, famine, racism, government, and family struggles are common to these stories. 

Examples Of Science Fiction Stories and Books.

Usually, people who ask what is speculative fiction often want examples. For more context, below are some examples of science fiction novels:. 

These are all examples of science fiction novels. And they’ve themes, settings, and characters that fit into the science fiction description. 

When considering fantasy novels, on the other hand, you can think of such books as:

•  The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkein, 
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, 
• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, 
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and 
• so many other books by other brilliant authors including Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Helen Oyeyemi, Ben Okri and others. 
• You can read recommended fantasy short stories by Simbiat Haroun and Pemi Aguda for free online. 

Many things set these stories and books apart from each other, like the very fabric that makes up the stories and the settings and such.

But at its root, they have similarities, like every other story that has ever been written, speculative or not. 

Understanding How To Write Speculative Fiction: A Detailed Guide.

Now that you understand everything there is to know what speculative fiction is. How can you succeed as a speculative fiction writer.

Is there a magic trick?

Reading will teach you the tips and essentials of writing speculative fiction. 

There is no special trick or magic potion to learning how to write speculative fiction.

However, yo improve your chances of excelling as a speculative fiction writer, if you:

• read, read, read a lot of speculative fiction. You can star with the read the recommended examples of speculative fiction on our list
• And you need to write a lot of work in this genre as well.

It’s not enough to have an answer to the question, ‘what is speculative fiction’. You have to put in the time.

Whether you are writing speculative fiction or regular literary fiction, these essentials remain the same, as far as I know. 

These speculative fiction writing essentials include:

Get Your Theme Right. 

Your story should have a central theme whether it is a fantasy or science fiction story. What does the story revolve around and what are its main themes?

In the Harry Potter series, we saw a boy grow up alongside his friend while facing off against an all-powerful enemy.

Themes in this series include coming of age, power, love, family, and many others. Consider this when you are writing your next story. 

Create Rounded Characters 

If your story does not have interesting characters, then it will not be very interesting to your readers.

It is usually the interesting characters that draw readers into the story . And they do this even before the writing or the conflict has a chance to draw them in.

Ensure that your characters are nuanced and interesting. Nobody wants to read about cliche characters or one-dimensional characters that are hard to connect with. 

An important example is the characters in the Harry Potter series. They are multi-dimensional and interesting enough so that years later, people continue to connect with the characters. Sometimes even more than the story.

Be Creative With Your Setting

This is one of the most important parts of your story and will make or break its believability.

Whether you are writing fantasy or science fiction, the settings in your story must be flawless and beautifully described. 

Before you start writing your story , try to plan the special features of your setting in order to spare yourself the headache while editing .

Highlight You Character’s Conflict

 The key to every great story, more than nuanced characters and a wonderful setting is conflict.

Explore inner conflict within your main character, small scale conflict between characters, as well as large scale conflict in the story itself. 

Define The End Goal Of Your SpecFic Story 

What is the end goal of your story? What is the whole thing working towards? And, what are your characters fighting for? Answer these questions and you have yourself a wonderful story. 

Opportunities Available For Speculative Fiction Writers

There are several opportunities available for speculative fiction writers. 

Online magazines that publish and promote speculative fiction stories include 

• Omenana magazine, 
• Fireside Fiction magazine, 
• FIYAH Magazine,
• The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, 
• Asimov’s Science Fiction, 
• Clarkesworld Magazine, among others. 

 You can also subscribe to Creative Writing New s and submittable. This will grant you access to calls for submissions as soon as they are issued. 

Speculative fiction writers can also take advantage of:

• MFA degrees (some programs are tailored to speculative fiction writers), 
• Fellowships, 
• Prizes, and other opportunities. 

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Speculative Fiction.

If you’re asking the question, what is speculative fiction, you’ll probably want to know common mistakes to avoid. Common mistakes to avoid when writing a specific story.

There are several mistakes that you can make as a beginning speculative writer. But the majority of these mistakes lie in your craft. Some of them are:

Writing cliche stories and characters  

There is a reason why nobody wants to read cliche stories anymore. No one wants stories that have been over flogged and boring.

Don’t kill your story with overdone ideas. Think of fresh and exciting stories and your reader will appreciate that.

Speculative fiction podcasts will spark your imagination just as much as books will. Writing Excuses and Unexplained Mysteries are good examples of such podcasts.

Not properly planning your story setting.  

Your story setting is one of the most important things in your spec-fic story. 

If there are places and things that are not properly explained, your reader will definitely notice. Ensure that your story setting is as flawless as it can possibly be. Ensure that the reader is not thrown out of your story. 

Going overboard with story description

Many definitions of speculative fiction emphasize the description. This often gives writers the false impression that spec-fic is all about descriptions.

Avoid this mistake. No matter how clearly the story comes to you, you must be able to identify which part of the description makes it to the page and which part stays in your head.

You don’t want your reader to get bored. 

Letting your style take over your story  

This is something that I learned during a writing workshop . Let your writing skills shine through without letting it take over your story.

Chances are high that the readers are there more for the story than for your writing. Even so, you can wow the reader with your writing without necessarily detracting from the story.

Choosing overly complicated names for your characters

Resist the temptation to give your characters names that are too complicated. It is hard to keep track of characters when you can’t even remember their names. Remember that. 

Wrap Up On What Is Speculative Fiction? Examples and Tips For Writing SpecFic.

Stories are the foundation on which a lot of things in life are built on. There’s hardly anything you can get away with doing in today’s world without being told to ‘tell a story’

.  One of the most interesting branches of storytelling is speculative fiction. I hope you understand what speculative fiction is. I also hope you learned everything you need to know to excel in the speculative fiction genre. 

Don’t forget to use your imagination, don’t burden your reader with pages of description. Also, read the stories and books recommended in this resource. Feel free to suggest more examples of speculative fiction stories and books.

Have you ever asked the question, What Is Speculative Fiction? What kind of answers did you get?

And have you tried to write speculative fiction? What has your experience been? How have you overcome the challenges you faced while trying to break into the SpecFic genre.

Also feel to share other examples of speculative fiction you absolutely loved. We’re looking forward to hearing examples we forgot to mention.

Author’s Bio:

Simbiat Haroun lives in her head and when she is not writing, she is silently watching, thinking about what next she will turn into a story. She is a graduate of Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Trust Workshop.

We’ll be publishing more feature stories from other writers. Keep visiting CWN. Or better still, subscribe for our newsletter and you’ll get updates right in your inbox.

Want to write for us? Great! Read the submissions guidelines on our  Write for Us Page

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15 comments.

Timothy ngundi

Jul 29, 2020 at 3:30 am

Thanks for the lecture .I have learned alot and hope for more, foreword. Keep up the spirit. Timothy

Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam

Aug 3, 2020 at 7:54 pm

You’re welcome, Timothy. I am glad you found it helpful.

Jul 29, 2020 at 10:58 am

Excellent! .Good work per excellence.

Sep 26, 2020 at 6:01 am

This is the most amazing blog I’ve come across. Such fine details and learning all at a go. Such broad expanses and opportunities. Thank you so much Chioma-Iwunze Ibiam and to others who contribute to this.

Sep 26, 2020 at 3:58 pm

Hey Jessica, It’s a pleasure to read this wonderful feedback from you. Comments like yours make us want to write more.I wish you all the best in your literary career. And please let us know if there are other aspects of creative writing you’ll like us to cover on the blog.

I look forward to hearing from from you.

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Speculative fiction.

• Marek Oziewicz Marek Oziewicz University of Minnesota
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.78
• Published online: 29 March 2017

The term “speculative fiction” has three historically located meanings: a subgenre of science fiction that deals with human rather than technological problems, a genre distinct from and opposite to science fiction in its exclusive focus on possible futures, and 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. Rather than seeking a rigorous definition, a better approach is to theorize “speculative fiction” as a term whose semantic register has continued to expand. While “speculative fiction” was initially proposed as a name of a subgenre of science fiction, the term has recently been used in reference to a meta-generic fuzzy set supercategory—one defined not by clear boundaries but by resemblance to prototypical examples—and a field of cultural production. Like other cultural fields, speculative fiction is a domain of activity that exists not merely through texts but through their production and reception in multiple contexts. The field of speculative fiction groups together extremely diverse forms of non-mimetic fiction operating across different media for the purpose of reflecting on their cultural role, especially as opposed to the work performed by mimetic, or realist narratives.

The fuzzy set field understanding of speculative fiction arose in response to the need for a blanket term for a broad range of narrative forms that subvert the post-Enlightenment mindset: one that had long excluded from “Literature” stories that departed from consensus reality or embraced a different version of reality than the empirical-materialist one. Situated against the claims of this paradigm, speculative fiction emerges as a tool to dismantle the traditional Western cultural bias in favor of literature imitating reality, and as a quest for the recovery of the sense of awe and wonder. Some of the forces that contributed to the rise of speculative fiction include accelerating genre hybridization that balkanized the field previously mapped with a few large generic categories; the expansion of the global literary landscape brought about by mainstream culture’s increasing acceptance of non-mimetic genres; the proliferation of indigenous, minority, and postcolonial narrative forms that subvert dominant Western notions of the real; and the need for new conceptual categories to accommodate diverse and hybridic types of storytelling that oppose a stifling vision of reality imposed by exploitative global capitalism. An inherently plural category, speculative fiction is a mode of thought-experimenting that includes narratives addressed to young people and adults and operates in a variety of formats. The term accommodates the non-mimetic genres of Western but also non-Western and indigenous literatures—especially stories narrated from the minority or alternative perspective. In all these ways, speculative fiction represents a global reaction of human creative imagination struggling to envision a possible future at the time of a major transition from local to global humanity.

• science fiction
• genre criticism
• the fantastic
• indigenous literature
• globalization
• speculation

When it comes to speculative fiction, there are more questions than answers. While somewhat frustrating, this is also advantageous, for the ongoing discussion about the what and why of speculative fiction has generated more insights than any single definition ever could. Thus, rather than looking for a conclusive statement, one may gain more from a diachronic overview of “speculative fiction” as a term whose semantic register continues to expand since it was coined as a name for a genre in the 1940s. By the late 1990s, “speculative fiction” acquired a number of historically located meanings. These are now being superseded by an emerging consensus, in which the term refers to a fuzzy set field of cultural production. First applied to genre studies by Brian Attebery, a fuzzy set is a category defined not by clear boundaries but by resemblance to prototypical examples and degrees of membership: from being exactly like to being somewhat or marginally like . Likewise, speculative fiction in its most recent understanding is a fuzzy set super category that houses all non-mimetic genres—genres that in one way or another depart from imitating consensus reality—from fantasy, science fiction, and horror to their derivatives, hybrids, and cognate genres, including the gothic, dystopia, zombie, vampire and post-apocalyptic fiction, ghost stories, weird fiction, superhero tales, alternate history, steampunk, slipstream, magic realism, retold or fractured fairy tales, and many more. A collection of genres and culturally situated practices, speculative fiction is effectively what Pierre Bourdieu has called a cultural field: a domain of activity defined by its own field-specific rules of functioning, agents, and institutions.

The distinction between mimetic and non-mimetic art forms—however ambiguous these terms may be—is critical for understanding speculative fiction, both as a genre cluster and as a field. In its broadest sense, mimesis signifies the desire to imitate reality with such verisimilitude that the audience can share the artist’s experience. This has been the aspiration of much Western art since Plato and Aristotle, whose pronouncements considered literature valuable when it seeks direct correspondence to life. Of course, as Erich Auerbach demonstrated in Mimesis ( 1946 ), literary renditions of reality have always been subject to stylization and conventions. Nevertheless, it was the mimetic standard that became the Western norm. Reinforced by the now-untenable assumption that reality is objective and unambiguous, it deflected attention away from the non-mimetic—deliberate departures from imitating consensus reality that have persisted in Western art since its beginnings. Only in the 20th century did critical thought expose the realist fallacy: the fact that all literature constructs models of reality rather than transcriptions of actuality. The mimetic and the non-mimetic have thus been redefined as twin responses to reality. Speculative fiction draws its creative sap from the non-mimetic impulse.

The rise of speculative fiction is a historically situated process. While there are rich traditions of non-Western speculative fiction, the current use of the term emerged within the Western literary-critical discourse, albeit from a convergence of oppositional strands including feminist, poststructuralist, and postcolonial thought. The understanding of speculative fiction as a label for a large cultural field began to take shape at the time of the first multicultural turn of the 1970s and in resistance to the specifically Western, post-Enlightenment, androcentric, and colonialist mindset that had long excluded from “Literature” stories that failed to imitate reality or embraced a different version of the real. Indeed, no other cultural formation had put such a premium on the distinction between the real and the unreal, or had so reductively defined the real as the post-Enlightenment West. This distorted perception generated a counter-reaction, one facet of which was the meteoric rise of non-mimetic genres, starting with the gothic, horror, fantasy, and science fiction in the 19th century , followed by a rapid diversification and hybridization of these and other non-mimetic forms throughout the 20th century . In hindsight, the trajectories and permutations of these genres may be traced as individual strands in the same larger process that combined to create the field of speculative fiction. In one sense, then, speculative fiction is a tool to dismantle the traditional Western cultural bias in favor of literature imitating reality. In another, it is a quest for the recovery of the sense of wonder across its semantic spectrum, from the celebration of human creative power and absolute freedom—which according to Fredric Jameson’s Archaeologies of the Future ( 2005 ) is the function of fantasy—through dramatizing our inability to imagine the future and thus contemplating our own absolute limits, which Jameson sees as the function of science fiction; and on to the “inextinguishable feeling of mixed wonder and oppression” in the face of “the vast and provocative abyss of the [horrifyingly inhuman] unknown,” which according to H. P. Lovecraft is the crux of horror and the weird tale. 1

Theorized as a field of cultural production rather than a genre, speculative fiction is not limited to any specific literary techniques. Nor can its development be traced through a linear chronology. The current understanding of speculative fiction reflects a quantum jump that connected several established and emerging traditions. Some of the forces that contributed to this cultural shift include accelerating genre hybridization that balkanized the field previously mapped with a few large generic categories; the expansion of the global literary landscape brought about by mainstream culture’s increasing acceptance of fantasy, science fiction, and horror; the proliferation of indigenous, minority, and postcolonial narrative forms that subvert dominant Western notions of reality or employ non-mimetic elements in different configurations than traditional Western genres; and finally the need for new conceptual categories to accommodate diverse and hybrid types of modern storytelling that oppose a stifling vision of reality—with its correlates of “truth,” “facts,” “power,” and others—imposed by exploitative global capitalism. An inherently plural category, speculative fiction is a mode of thought-experimenting that embraces an open-ended vision of the real.

History of Use and Main Approaches

There are at least three ways to define “speculative fiction.” The original, long-contested, and not wholly abandoned formulation takes it to be a subset of science fiction. This approach can be traced to Robert A. Heinlein, who coined the term “speculative fiction” in 1941 , popularized it through his 1947 essay “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction,” and advocated for it in his guest-of-honor speech at the 1951 World Science Fiction Convention. Speculative fiction, Heinlein proposed, captures the highest aspiration of science fiction and includes its top quality works. Defined as narratives concerned not so much with science or technology as with human actions in response to a new situation created by science or technology, speculative fiction highlights a human rather than technological problem. This focus sets it sharply apart from the popular and formulaic science fiction. At the receiving end of Heinlein’s critique was the type of science fiction, or scientifiction, popularized by the first American pulp science fiction magazine, Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing Stories (since 1926 ). Since Gernsback’s interest lay in amazing gadgets, the wonder of progress, and the marvels delivered by future technology—usually at the expense of scientific feasibility and human development—Heinlein sought to change the discourse around science fiction through advocating for a new term and then claiming for it the status of “Literature.”

The problem with Heinlein’s definition of speculative fiction was its proscriptive component, subjective and exclusivist at the same time. While successful, for some, in establishing parameters for quality science fiction, it created a counter-reaction against limiting science fiction to the kind of stories Heinlein appreciated. One of its most articulate critics, Samuel R. Delany, expressed delight in the “other” science fiction being named the enemy. In The Jewel-Hinged Jaw ( 1977 ), Delany argued that Heinlein’s criteria helped younger authors move away from Heinlein’s didactic methods and abandon the quasi-mystical search for the ultimate meaning of human life that informs not just Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land ( 1961 ) but other science fiction classics, such as Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than Human ( 1953 ) or Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End ( 1953 ). Heinlein’s use of speculative fiction was also restrictive, if not elitist: it excluded not just pulp science fiction and what later came to be known as hard science fiction, but also fantasy, horror, and other non-mimetic genres. In fact, it was effectively an attempt to replace the term “science fiction” on the taxonomical map. It failed to do so. This was, in part, because the quality markers Heinlein attributed to speculative fiction can arguably be found in much science fiction and other non-mimetic genres that fell outside of Heinlein’s purview. A more direct reason was that the understanding of what it means for science fiction, or literature in general, to be socially engaged had changed by the 1960s: from Heinlein’s projections of idealistic, morally unambiguous models of human behavior toward social criticism and contestation of the oppressive status quo. Although Heinlein’s definition fell into disuse by the late 1960s, the term itself was adopted by various protest traditions within the science fiction field. As championed by Judith Merril, for example, it helped create feminist speculative fiction of the 1970s and has remained a lasting influence on a number of female writers, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Doris Lessing, and Margaret Atwood. Also, Heinlein’s core notion—that “speculative fiction” is a synonym for “science fiction”—has largely gone unchallenged until quite recently. Most publishers, at least, still use it in this sense.

The second approach has been to theorize speculative fiction as a category not synonymous with but opposite to science fiction. Deriving in part from the tumultuous diversification of science fiction that began with the New Wave movements of the 1960s, and in part from the increasing cross-breeding of fantasy, science fiction, and horror that was well under way by the late 1970s, this position articulated concern over blurring the genre’s boundaries. The key proponent of this approach has been Margaret Atwood, who—expanding Merril’s earlier formulations—began using “speculative fiction” in the late 1980s as a term that best describes her dystopian novels starting from The Handmaid’s Tale ( 1986 ), through Oryx and Crake ( 2003 ), and The Year of the Flood ( 2009 ). The distinction Atwood adopts hinges on probability, although not necessarily constructed in scientific terms. Science fiction, she claims, includes stories about events that cannot possibly happen, such as the Martian invasion and similar scenarios in the tradition of H. G. Wells. Speculative fiction, instead, refers to narratives about things that can potentially take place, even though they have not yet happened at the time of the writing. As examples, Atwood evokes the tradition stretching from Verne to that part of her oeuvre that explores the not-yet- improbable futures of our planet.

The argument for speculative fiction as an ideologically different enterprise than science fiction has not been particularly convincing. James E. Gunn and Matthew Candelaria’s excellent collection Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction ( 2005 ) does not even engage this proposition. The only study that takes it seriously, Paul L. Thomas’s Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction ( 2013 ), merely reiterates Atwood’s position, assuming rather than demonstrating the validity of her distinction. The definition of “speculative fiction” to denote narratives that seek to map out a possible future has also been applied to late 19th- and early 20th-century utopias, most of which were concerned with social and political—rather than technological—speculation. It is not clear, though, how “speculative fiction,” when used so, is a better term than “utopia.” After all, the works it designates are subject to retrospective transformation into science fiction if their at-one-point possible futures do not become reality. This would be the case for classics from Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward ( 1887 ) and Una L. Silberrad’s The Affairs of John Bolsover ( 1911 ) to other novels in the large body of utopian works that emerged in the 1870s and by 1912 had produced over three hundred titles. A glance at what is perhaps the best overview of this robust tradition—the three-volume Political Future Fictions: Speculative and Counter-Factual Politics in Edwardian Britain ( 2013 ), edited by Kate Macdonald—confirms that the label “speculative fiction” fails to offer any significant critical edge. While Macdonald’s collection examines only six novels and does occasionally refer to them as (Edwardian) speculative fiction, she and her co-editors prefer the volume’s title term “political future fictions” for this entire body of works. Either set in the future or located in an alternate reality of timeless present, these diverse narratives are protracted engagements in political speculation. The majority do not employ science fictional devices, which sets them apart, albeit not absolutely, from science fiction. Nevertheless, in their blend of didacticism, warning, and entertainment, future fictions are best described as utopias rather than speculative fictions. According to Macdonald, they are “utopian by definition of their concern with social change, and the imaginative means by which change is effected.” 2 This goes some way to explain why Richard Bleiler’s introduction to Volume I, despite its title “On the Naming of Nineteenth-Century Speculative Fiction,” does not evoke the term “speculative fiction” even once.

The key weakness of Atwood’s restrictive strategy, then, appears to be the anchoring of the definition of “speculative fiction” in the story’s predictive value. By making possible futures the centerpiece of her approach, Atwood repeats—unknowingly perhaps—the same claims that were made about science fiction in the 1960s, when authors such as Isaac Asimov proclaimed that the American space program was a vindication of the stories published earlier in Astounding Tales . However, the predictive value of science fiction, or any other non-mimetic genre for that matter, has never been clearly demonstrated. Rather, the general consensus has been that the appeal of these genres lies elsewhere, most of all in their evocation of wonder: supernatural, technological, bone chilling—as in horror—or other. Nor is Atwood’s assumption that science fiction must inevitably treat impossible things a tenable one. It certainly flies in the face of most definitions of science fiction, based as they are on Darko Suvin’s “necessary and sufficient condition” of the narrative dominance of a novum that must be scientifically possible. 3 Finally, Atwood’s distinction between stories about events that could and could not really happen reiterates the most widely applied criterion for demarcating science fiction from fantasy rather than a criterion for distinguishing genres within science fiction. For all this arbitrariness, Atwood’s proposal does call attention to the important future-oriented potential of speculative fiction, which quality is central to most discussions today.

The third, more inclusive, less prescriptive, and increasingly widespread understanding of speculative fiction has been to adapt the term for the entire extremely diverse field of non-mimetic narrative fiction. Seen from this angle, speculative fiction does not denote a genre as it does for Heinlein, Merril, and Atwood. Nor is it confined to literature. It operates across the spectrum of narrative media, from print, to drama, radio, film, television, computer games, and their many hybrids. Within literature, it thrives in many formats—the novel, short story, picturebook, comic book, graphic novel, and poetry—and offers a blanket term for the supergenres of fantasy, science fiction, and other non-mimetic genres that may or may not be derivatives of these two, but either elude relational classification or have been established as distinct genre traditions. These include, but are not limited to, utopia, dystopia, eutopia, horror, the gothic, steampunk, slipstream, alternative history, cyberpunk, time slip, magic(al) realism, supernatural romance, weird fiction, the New Weird, (post)apocalyptic fiction, myth, legend, traditional, retold, and fractured fairy tale, folktale, ghost fiction, New Wave fabulation, and other interstitial genres as long as they are informed by the non-mimetic impulse—that is, by the broadly conceived departure from verisimilitude to consensus reality.

This understanding of speculative fiction has been increasingly topical since the 2000s, albeit mostly among readers, authors, and scholars who are either younger or speak from the minority perspective. It has not yet won much support among seasoned researchers. For some it feels too baggy, covering a range of texts that slip beyond fantasy and science fiction. One criticism has been that speculative fiction explodes genre boundaries of science fiction and fantasy in ways that are not productive—for example, by including counterfactual narratives with past and present settings, elements of which have often been taken to disqualify the text as science fiction, or by embracing texts without magic or the supernatural, which traditionally would place them outside the perimeters of fantasy. Other critics have observed that speculative fiction may refer to texts that are speculative socially, politically, or philosophically, but not scientifically. Or it may not employ any fantastic devices. Indeed, the ambiguous meaning of the term “speculation,” which in its broadest understanding may apply to all literature and, when narrowed, is not necessarily the same as the related key term “extrapolation,” has been the subject of much debate. Yet, to discuss speculation as a type of narrative protocol—as has been expertly done by Brooks Landon in “Extrapolation and Speculation” ( 2014 )—is not the same as exploring it as a supergenre. In that latter sense speculative fiction has not yet been defined in a rigorous way. This lack of taxonomic clarity, pointed out in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ( 2011 ), accounts for why speculative fiction has been seen as too nebulous a tool for literary analyses based on close reading, which usually involve a consideration of generic boundaries, say, between post-apocalyptic dystopia and ghost fantasy or supernatural romance. It may also explain why the term “speculative fiction” can only rarely be encountered in articles published in genre-centered journals such as Science Fiction Studies , Foundation , Extrapolation , Mythlore , Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts , Studies in the Fantastic , and others. Likewise, no entries on speculative fiction can be found in most genre-focused encyclopedias and companions. Besides, at best a reference in passing, the term is missing from John Clute and John Grant’s The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ( 1997 ); Jerrold E. Hoggle’s The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction ( 2002 ); Gunn and Candelaria’s Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction ( 2005 ); Mark Bould, Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint’s The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction ( 2009 ); Gregory Claeys’s The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature ( 2010 ); Mark Bould and Sherryl Vint’s The Routledge Concise History of Science Fiction ( 2011 ); and numerous others, including The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction ( 2014 ), which features Landon’s chapter on speculation.

An opposite view—expressed by one of the young voices, the editor of Foundation , Graham Sleight—projects “speculative fiction” as an indispensable term for contemporary works within the fantastic field, most of which blend genres to such a degree that they can no longer be adequately described with old tools and categorizations. A glance at the “Special Section” of the fiftieth-anniversary volume of Extrapolation ( 2009 ), in which twenty scholars were asked to contribute short pieces on the current state of scholarship and criticism in the field of speculative fiction, reveals that the debate about the usefulness of the term “speculative fiction” is generational and attitudinal. As Brian Attebery suggests in his opening contribution, it reflects an increasing gap between scholars extremely competent in fiction and criticism up to about the 1990s, and scholars more familiar with recent output but not necessarily aware of these works’ antecedents. 4 The latter group, Attebery notes, tends to examine literature armed with a wider range of theoretical approaches and critical terms. Speculative fiction, it seems, is one of these new labels, complete with its own unique set of questions, assumptions, and foci.

To make sense of this most recent conceptualization of speculative fiction, it may be helpful to situate its arrival through the application of Raymond Williams’s concepts of dominant and emergent cultures framed within Pierre Bourdieu’s comments about the dynamics of social and cultural fields. According to Williams, any historical period is defined by its dominant patterns and informed by a specific “structure of feeling”—a notion Williams applied, in his essay “Science Fiction” ( 1988 ), to distinguish what he saw as three main types of modern science fiction: purtopia, doomsday, and space anthropology. 5 This structure of feeling is generationally specific and stems from a particular “community of experience,” 6 one instance of which would be the community of academic scholars with its ways of articulating difference and meaning. The dominant culture, however, is always challenged by the emergent culture, with its own structure of feeling based on a different set of lived experiences. As the Extrapolation example suggests, the dominant fantasy and science fiction culture, institutionalized in today’s academia, has shown no need for or interest in the term speculative fiction. The emerging culture, by contrast, has wholeheartedly owned the label of speculative fiction as a way to conceptualize its experience of new types of non-mimetic writing and to position them in a contiguous relation to older, ideologically loaded forms. Comprising younger readers, authors, scholars, grassroots initiatives, online resources, fanzines, and more, this emergent culture draws from a different structure of feeling. For this group, “speculative fiction” has become an accepted term to refer to the entire field in ways that challenge the dominant consensus about fault lines among various non-mimetic genres, canonical and upstart alike. While distinctions are the lifeblood of literary criticism, the appeal of the term “speculative fiction” lies in its inclusiveness and open-ended porousness.

If the growing acceptance of speculative fiction is a function of the emergent structure of feeling in the increasingly hybrid first decades of the 21st century , the very term “speculative fiction” in its broad modern use can best be thought of as a field of cultural production. In the model created by Pierre Bourdieu, field is a relatively autonomous domain of activity defined by its own field-specific rules of functioning, agents, and institutions. Like any other field, the literary field is structured externally in relation to the somewhat abstract field of power—the space of relations of force between agents and institutions that wield the economic or cultural capital that allows them to claim dominance in different fields—and internally in relation to the principles of heteronomy and autonomy. These indirectly correspond to the two poles in the field of power and may be thought of as the opposing ends on the spectrum of subordination of art to economic capital, as in the heteronomous principle, or rejecting it in favor of cultural capital, as in the autonomous principle. Despite the difference between economic and cultural capital, however, any practices within a field, even these seemingly disinterested, are effectively economic practices in that they aim to maximize material or symbolic profit. 7

Bourdieu’s framework allows positing speculative fiction as a field that implies a different mapping of the same territory. Before the advent of “speculative fiction” as a blanket term, roughly through the 1990s, the fields of fantasy, science fiction, horror, the gothic, and other non-mimetic genres had all been theorized as largely separate subfields of the literary field. They had little economic potential but growing cultural impact: in 1984 , for example, Wolfe’s Glossary listed twenty-one definitions of “fantasy” and thirty-four definitions of “science fiction.” Against the relentless push from mainstream institutions in the literary field that sought to exclude these genres from “Literature,” the main effort of agents operating in each subfield—readers, librarians, publishers, and especially scholars—was to demonstrate that fantasy, science fiction, horror, and related genres deserve to be studied as literature. This argument has lost much of its urgency in the 21st century but can still be found even in recent scholarship within genre fields, one example being Joan Gordon’s “Literary Science Fiction” chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction ( 2014 ). Nevertheless, it was central especially in the early period when each genre fought for its own recognition and maximizing its own power within the field. This was happening through establishing genre-specific journals, organizations, conferences, presses, awards, courses, scholarship, and other initiatives. There was little effort, however, to advocate for the collective empowerment of all non-mimetic genres within the field of literature. True, many scholars across the board used “the fantastic” 8 as a designation for this larger cluster, but their proposals were often handicapped by claims about genre seniority and the hierarchical taxonomies they entailed.

The change came in the early 2000s, when the term “speculative fiction” was adapted as a designator for the collective field of non-mimetic literature and art. This move redrew the map of the literature field and reframed the power struggle within it. First, it abandoned border wars among genres; their exclusivist definitions; and squabbles over claims to cognitive, artistic, or other primacy that have long been the feature of genre criticism. Second, it redefined the goal of the power struggle within the field from seeking to win the stamp of “literariness” for any particular genre to exploring how non-mimetic genres may be potentially more adequate than the so-called realist literature to address contemporary global challenges and reflect the diverse perspectives, traditions, and experiences of the multicultural world. Third, adopting speculative fiction as a blanket term opened up the field of literature to fruitful interaction with other fields, including drama, film, visual arts, music, computer games, even science itself. In this new “map,” speculative fiction emerges as a large subfield of literature, with links to other cultural fields, rather than a narrow subfield of science fiction. It is part of modern global culture in a way that the relatively isolated and largely Anglophone genre fields were not, at least not from the start. The field of speculative fiction resists stratification that was part of individual genre field dynamics, especially rankings from masterpieces to failures and the pitting of genre fiction against literary fiction. Put otherwise, it offers a new way of allocating value by giving primacy to the system of relations within the field rather than to individual works themselves.

Early Formulations about the Field of Speculative Fiction

There is little doubt that the “emergent culture” and “field” conceptualization of speculative fiction represents a new trend. Even so, this trend is not without antecedents. It owes much to historically located traditions of critical reflection, especially the pioneering work of Judith Merril, Robert Scholes, Diana Waggoner, and Kathryn Hume.

The “field” view of speculative fiction can first be traced to New Wave radical feminist authors of the 1960s and 1970s and was a spinoff of American feminism’s second wave. It was contemporaneous to the widely discussed shift from “hard” science fiction toward science fiction indebted to “soft” sciences of sociology, anthropology, linguistics, economics, and political philosophy—a narrative swerve that feminist authors theorized as indicating a rebellion against the constrains of patriarchal, androcentric structures of meaning. Feminists were perhaps the first to point out that conventional concepts of possibility and rationality used to define science fiction, fantasy, and other non-mimetic genres were limited and value laden. Moving beyond the purely formalist definitions, these authors and critics highlighted the sociopolitical contexts of these genres’ creation, academic legitimization, and subversive cultural impact. To project speculative fiction as a new space for articulating feminist theory and praxis was, of course, a political move. It linked the cognitive estrangement effect of speculative fiction to priming the audience for questioning the dominant status quo and its androcentric biases. It also invested works of speculative fiction with the power, even responsibility, to voice alternative views that can move the world in the direction of gender equality.

When in “Earthsea Revisioned” ( 1992 ) Ursula K. Le Guin reflected on having written her early fantasy and science fiction works “as an artificial man” 9 —that is, by gendering her writing male—she spoke to the concerns that animated many other female authors who turned to speculative fiction in the 1960s and 1970s: Lois Gould, Rhonda Lerman, Judith Merril, James Tiptree Jr., Angela Carter, Kate Wilhelm, Carol Emshwiller, Suzy McKee Charnas, Octavia Butler, Tanith Lee, Doris Lessing, Sally Miller Gearhart, Barbara Ehrenreich, and others. These authors used the textual power of speculative fiction to challenge the predominantly male literary establishment and patriarchal social reality—including the dominant androcentric traditions of science fiction. But speculative fiction for these feminist authors meant something more than science fiction. This broad use of the term was popularized by Judith Merril in the twelve Year’s Best SF anthologies she edited between 1959 and 1969 . While Merril’s definitions were always a work in progress, by 1967 she had arrived at an understanding of speculative fiction as a new mode of literature, at once indebted to the traditional scientific methods of hypothesis and extrapolation but freer than science in their use. Speculative fiction, in her words, constitutes “a special sort of contemporary writing which makes use of fantastic and inventive elements to comment on, or speculate about, society, humanity, life, the cosmos, reality [a]nd any other topic under the general heading of philosophy.” 10 Merril’s ideas about speculative fiction as a cluster of non-mimetic genres striving for social change rippled through a spate of other collections and monographs, including Kate Wilhelm’s Infinity Box: A Collection of Speculative Fiction ( 1975 ), Natalie M. Rosinsky’s Feminist Futures: Contemporary Women’s Speculative Fictions ( 1984 ), and Marleen Barr’s Alien to Femininity: Speculative Fiction and Feminist Theory ( 1987 ). Merril’s influence did not stop there: her “Spaced Out” collection donated to the Toronto Public Library in 1970 was peculiar enough to earn the description on the library website as containing “contemporary speculative literature including science fiction, certain aspects of fantasy fiction, satire, surrealist, and other speculative, future oriented, and conceptually experimental work, whether in fiction, poetry, drama, essay, or other forms as well as critical and bibliographic materials relating to science fiction and the associated areas of contemporary speculative writing.” 11 It grew to become a major resource for speculative fiction known, since 1991 , as the Judith Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy. More recently, Ritch Calvin’s The Merril Theory of Lit’ry Criticism ( 2016 ) provided the long-overdue, single volume overview of Merril’s own critical reflection.

Less than a decade after Merril’s search for a comprehensive definition came perhaps the most theoretically sustained exploration of speculative fiction to date: Robert Scholes’s Structural Fabulation: An Essay on the Fiction of the Future ( 1975 ). Writing about science fiction—which he defined in a way that applies to most non-mimetic literature: “works of fiction that insist on some radical discontinuity between the worlds they present to us and the world of our experience” 12 —Scholes envisions Western literature as an evolving system grounded in each period’s time-consciousness. The most socially transformative type of literature capable of capturing the modern, post-Einsteinian time-consciousness is, in his opinion, fiction set in the future that has a license to speculate about it. 13 When he avers that the future is the only lever to nudge the present in a better direction, 14 Scholes appears to speak in the same language as Merril. When he stresses that modern literature ought to be primarily concerned with fictional explorations of human situations arising from the implications of modern science—in order to help readers “break the circle of indifference and act in accordance with a structural perception of the universe” 15 —he seems to reiterate Heinlein’s position. His focus is different though. The literature Scholes advocates is first of all a means to move modern readers away from the “intensely materialistic and propertarian” 16 heritage of the dominant forms of life and fiction in the post-Enlightenment West.

Within this framework, realism has clearly been the voice of the dominant, materialist tradition. Fantasy, horror, science fiction, and non-mimetic genres, by contrast, emerge as strands of the subversive and diverse “fictional form that is both old and new, rooted in the past but distinctly modern, oriented to the future but not bounded by it.” 17 This form that addresses reality indirectly through patently fictional or non-mimetic devices Scholes calls fabulation. He then locates its development diachronically, identifying three historically staggered and ideologically distinct forms of fabulation. Dogmatic fabulation, going back to pre-modern fantastic voyages, through Dante’s The Divine Comedy ( 1320 ) and John Milton’s Paradise Lost ( 1667 ), is based on a closed system of belief, usually stemming from a religious dogma. Speculative fabulation that emerged with humanism—exemplified in Thomas More’s Utopia ( 1516 ), Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels ( 1726 ), Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas ( 1759 ), or Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus ( 1836 )—draws on more liberal and secular reflection but lacks a firm grounding in the modern scientific understanding of life and its processes. This was provided, Scholes continues, by the arrival of the Darwinian revolution, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and the discovery of the many complex structures that inform the cultural and biochemical systems in which human lives are lived. All these led to the emergence, sometime in the early 20th century , of structural fabulation. “A new mutation in the tradition of speculative fiction,” 18 as Scholes calls it, structural fabulation combines sublimation, estrangement, and cognition—the qualities that were later identified by Suvin as fundamental for science fiction. Yet, Scholes insists, it is “neither scientific in its methods nor a substitute for actual science.” 19 Instead, it draws equally from the human and the physical sciences, departing from what we know through philosophical, sociological, scientific, and other extrapolations about what modern humanity has due cause to hope for or fear. As this description suggests, the mutation of speculative fiction called structural fabulation transcends any single genre. Indeed, Scholes is careful to note that not all science fiction qualifies as structural fabulation and admits that certain works of modern fantasy share a structural perception of the universe in which magic, religion, and science become indistinguishable. Although he barely mentions other non-mimetic genres and implies that most fantasy may best be thought of as speculative rather than structural fabulation, Scholes deserves the credit for being the first to sketch out a spectrum of speculative fiction that encompasses three forms of fabulation across several genres and forms of time-consciousness.

If Merril’s and Scholes’s works exemplify a reflection on speculative fiction that emerged in the science fiction field, claims about speculative fiction were also articulated by fantasy scholars. Two early studies, especially, merit attention: Diana Waggoner’s The Hills of Faraway: A Guide to Fantasy ( 1978 ), and Kathryn Hume’s Fantasy and Mimesis ( 1984 ). Both monographs were subsequently displaced from mainstream fantasy criticism by a spate of genre-focused works, but then again, the same happened to Scholes’s Structural Fabulation . Within four years it was eclipsed by Suvin’s genre-oriented Metamorphoses of Science Fiction , which almost immediately established itself as the core critical approach to science fiction and has remained so until the present. If the argument for a larger field of speculative fiction was ahead of its time, Waggoner and Hume were among the first to theorize fantasy by placing it firmly within this broader tradition.

Where Scholes’s main criterion for defining an inflection of speculative fiction called structural fabulation was what we know about the world, Waggoner’s criterion was exactly the opposite: what we do not know and thereby can only speculate on. Somewhat like Scholes, though not limited to fabulation or non-mimetic traditions alone, Waggoner proposes a classification of all Western literature into four broad classes of fiction depending on their treatment of the supernatural: pre-realistic literature, realism, post-realistic fabulation, and speculative fiction. Drawing on the taxonomies introduced by Northrop Frye, Waggoner uses the label of pre-realistic literature for myth, romance, and Frye’s high mimetic modes—archaic and pre-modern literary forms that, other than in theological and religious senses, project no distinction between the natural and the supernatural phenomena. In these narratives the supernatural is real, as is the case in The Divine Comedy where the narrator experiences Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise as tangible places, not fundamentally divorced from ordinary reality. Over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries , Waggoner then argues, the worldview that informed pre-realistic literature was superseded by one based on scientific materialism and skeptical empiricism. This created conditions for the rise of literature based on the careful observation of life and a strict division of phenomena into real/natural versus unreal/supernatural. Since the supernatural was no longer accepted as part of the real world, it had no place in realistic fiction. Events that seemed supernatural were therefore explained away in realistic fiction as manipulation, coincidence, or illusion. The problem with this approach, Waggoner notes, was that the narrowly defined realism disregarded other faculties than reason, especially the irrational yet nonetheless very real phenomena of the unconscious mind. Realism thus offered a limited view of the human experience. The rise of sentimental fiction, the gothic, and other genres that began to move away from mimesis was a reaction to these restrictions. By the second part of the 19th century , this process led to the emergence of a class of fiction that Waggoner, employing Scholes’s term from The Fabulators ( 1967 ), has called “post-realistic fabulation.” Post-realistic fabulation broadened the scope of realism to include the irrational. Nevertheless, its treatment of the supernatural was limited to casting it as a form of madness—when resulting in outward behaviors as in Dickens’s Great Expectations ( 1861 )—or framing it as a form of dream or hallucination, as in Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ( 1865 ). Put otherwise, in post-realistic fabulation, the supernatural was granted qualified reality: it was acknowledged as something that is psychologically and subjectively real only for some people.

If post-realistic fabulation was thus able to handle descriptions of both everyday life and psychological phenomena in ways that realism was not, neither realism nor post-realistic fabulation considered the possibility that the supernatural might, in fact, be real. This seminal question, Waggoner asserts, “created modern speculative fiction.” 20 As she defines it, speculative fiction is a broad category of modern literature “that treats supernatural and/or nonexistent phenomena (such as the future) as a special class of objectively real things or events.” 21 After all, the idea that what is real must be perceptible or measurable is only an assumption. Consequently, to claim that the supernatural—including different dimensions, extrasensory perception, different forms of non-human intelligence, existence, or powers, some of these dubbed as magic—can only refer to mere projections of the human mind overlooks the possibility that at least some of these might be objectively real, though unprovable or unmeasurable phenomena. The emergence of speculative fiction, Waggoner concludes, was a development that provided a means by which otherwise realist texts can speculate on unprovable realities. And while speculative fiction comprises a number of non-mimetic genres, fantasy stands out among them, for in it the gap between the natural and the supernatural is the widest. According to Waggoner, fantasy must establish realistic credibility for the supernatural; if it does not, it fails not just formally but entirely, regardless of the quality of its writing. As the most visionary genre of speculative fiction, fantasy is less constrained by the limitations of physical reality than other genres, especially science fiction, which is bound by the ideas of scientific plausibility. 22

Positing fantasy as the ultimate expression of speculative fiction obviously reveals Waggoner’s personal preferences. Nonetheless, her theorization of speculative fiction as a broad, multi-genre category that emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in reaction to the representational limits of post-realist fabulation shares many affinities with the arguments made by Merril and Scholes. Waggoner’s book was thus the first clear articulation of a trend for conceptualizing fantasy as a strand in a larger tradition of speculative fiction that involves other non-mimetic genres. This claim sets it apart from the bulk of fantasy scholarship of the 1970s and 1980s, focused as it was on defining fantasy as a genre: Tzvetan Todorov’s The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to Literary Genre ( 1970 ), C. N. Manlove’s Modern Fantasy: Five Studies ( 1975 ), W. R. Irwin’s The Game of the Impossible: A Rhetoric of Fantasy ( 1976 ), Eric S. Rabkin’s The Fantastic in Literature ( 1976 ), Stephen Prickett’s Victorian Fantasy ( 1979 ), Roger C. Schlobin’s The Literature of Fantasy: A Comprehensive, Annotated Bibliography of Fantasy Fiction ( 1979 ), Eric S. Rabkin’s Fantastic Worlds ( 1979 ), Brian Attebery’s The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin ( 1980 ), and Christine Brooke-Rose’s A Rhetoric of the Unreal: Studies in Narrative and Structure, especially of the Fantastic ( 1981 ). Even though some of these authors acknowledged that fantasy cannot be absolutely separated from other non-mimetic genres—suggesting, as Schlobin does in The Aesthetics of Fantasy Literature and Art ( 1982 ), that fantasy “can be found in all types of fiction” 23 —their focus remained on fantasy as a genre, a mode of thought, a formal element of the narrative structure, or a reader’s response to the text. Often cited as foundational works of fantasy criticism, each of these studies sought to arrive at an exclusive definition of fantasy, usually through isolating its outstanding examples or operational modes rather than describing the field at large.

It is against this background that Kathryn Hume’s Fantasy and Mimesis ( 1984 ) stands out as one of the most ambitious attempts to describe the scope of fantastic literature without limiting it to any single genre. Written at a transitional cusp, when it became apparent that genre-focused approaches fail to capture the larger contours of fantasy’s entanglement with other non-mimetic genres, Hume’s study challenges taxonomies, in which fantasy is treated as a genre opposed to realism. Instead, Hume postulates that fantasy and mimesis are two impulses involved in the creation of all art. They are, she posits, two responses to reality and two epistemological orientations in any human activity. This approach projects fantasy as “an element in nearly all kinds of literature,” 24 but problematizes any sharp distinctions between mimetic and non-mimetic fiction. Suggesting instead that texts on each pole of the spectrum contain both realistic and nonrealistic elements, Hume proposes a synchronic taxonomy of literature based on its specific blends of mimetic and non-mimetic components: the literature of illusion that is primarily escapist; the literature of vision that engages the reader with new interpretations of reality; the literature of revision characterized by the dominance of the didactic component; and the literature of disillusion, in which reality is declared unknowable. Being “an impulse native to literature and manifested in innumerable variations,” 25 fantasy, like mimesis, appears in all of these categories, but is put to different uses across a range of genres and stylistic conventions. In each case, though, fantasy marks a deliberate departure from consensus reality; consequently, the works in which the fantastic impulse is dominant constitute a tradition of fiction opposed to that informed by the mimetic imperative. Although Hume prefers the term “fantasy” to “speculative fiction,” she consistently speaks of the field that encompasses many genres. As for Scholes, so too for Hume, the common aspiration of the works in this field is to wean the reader away from a limited perception of reality—whether for escape, education, enrichment, or sobering embarrassment.

Recent Formulations: Advantages and Limitations

Although insightful, the pioneering work on speculative fiction by Merril, Scholes, Waggoner, and Hume has been ignored by genre criticism to the extent that the re-emergence of the term in the early 2000s can hardly be attributed to their direct influence. Nevertheless, there were larger trends operating in literary reflection on non-mimetic genres that made their merger into a field of speculative fiction almost inevitable. The most important among these has been the variously articulated yet undeniable perception of family resemblance between fantasy and science fiction. The sense of empirical convergence of these genres, especially when set against mimetic fiction, has been shared by publishers, readers, and critics. Specialized magazines, starting with Astounding Tales (since 1930 ), would publish stories across the generic range of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Readers would intuit that their favorite genre’s achievement is a facet of a larger cultural phenomenon that includes works in related non-mimetic genres. Authors would publish award-winning works in different non-mimetic genres—the fact recognized in the creation of the Nebula Award (since 1966 ) curated by an organization called Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Scholars, finally, would often address fantasy and science fiction together, even though, as Gary K. Wolfe has noted in his Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Glossary and Guide to Scholarship ( 1986 ), fantasy and science fiction developed their own critical terminology largely apart from each other. Lloyd Arthur Eshbach’s Of Worlds Beyond ( 1947 ) and Everett F. Bleiler’s The Checklist of Modern Fantastic Literature ( 1948 ) were the earliest critical works in this tradition. But it was only in the 1970s—at the height of sustained definitional battles aimed at identifying genre boundaries—that a growing number of scholars would again take up the “fantastic” as a blanket term for the many forms of non-mimetic art. It was clear from its usage that the term included fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It was less clear what non-mimetic genres, if any, it excluded. Or on what grounds.

This open-ended use of the fantastic for a continuum of non-mimetic fiction was reflected in titles of such studies as Rabkin’s The Fantastic in Literature ( 1976 ) or Christine Brooke-Rose’s A Rhetoric of the Unreal: Studies in Narrative and Structure, especially of the Fantastic ( 1981 ), but also in professional events such as the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, an annual event since 1980 . Attracting scholars, authors, publishers, and fans of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other non-mimetic genres, the conference led to the founding, in 1982 , of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, and the establishment of its periodical, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (since 1990 ). The fantastic as a shared multi-genre space was also validated in several reference works, starting with the much-celebrated Gary K. Wolfe’s Glossary that included entries on forty-five genres related to, yet distinct from science fiction and fantasy. One argument in favor of the use of the fantastic has been that it enables discussing modern and historic forms of fantastic literature. The framework of the fantastic, for example, allows Richard Mathews in Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination ( 1997 ) to trace the literary history of the fantastic all the way to the Egyptian “Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” dated about 2000 BCE. Another advantage has been that the fantastic better captures the flows of fantastic motifs and themes across various media, including radio, film, drama, computer games, poetry, even fan culture—cross-pollinations that are multidirectional and circulate through rather than merely flow out of the literary fantastic. Examples of such studies are legion, from George Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin’s Flights of Fancy: Armed Conflict in Science Fiction and Fantasy ( 1993 ) to Judith B. Kerman and John Edgar Browning’s The Fantastic in Holocaust Literature and Film ( 2014 ).

Given all these advantages, the fantastic has been extensively used especially by fantasy scholars. Brian Attebery has drawn on it consistently. In Stories about Stories: Fantasy and the Remaking of Myth ( 2014 ), he defines the fantastic as “creative and disruptive play with representations of the real world.” 26 The term’s wide currency is likewise evoked in the titles of numerous journals, including the newly established Fantastika (since 2016 ). The fantastic has also been embraced by many science fiction scholars—or embraced more widely than other supergenre labels including L. Sprague de Camp’s “imaginative fiction,” Suvin’s “estranged fiction,” the politically problematic “magical realism,” or even the most recent “fantastika”—a Slavic term adopted into English by John Clute. In their co-edited 2002 issue of Historical Materialism , for example, Mark Bould takes the fantastic as a blanket term for a broad range of non-mimetic genres, 27 while China Miéville famously declares that science fiction “must be considered a subset of a broader fantastic mode—[in which] ‘scientism’ is just sf’s mode of expression of the fantastic (the impossible-but-true).” 28 Despite its apparent uses and scope, however, the fantastic has been weighed down by unfortunate semantic and etymological associations. For one, it has been opposed by many science fiction scholars, from Suvin through Jameson, whose insistence on the unique cognitive value, epistemological gravity, and peculiar estrangement offered by science fiction have made them exclude fantasy, horror, and other non-mimetic genres from the science fiction field. For another, it has been resented as supposedly suggesting the primacy of fantasy over science fiction—or fantasy encompassing science fiction as one among its subgenres—which is a contestable claim at its mildest and rather hard to accept for those who, like Jameson, see fantasy as “technically reactionary” 29 and thus the opposite of science fiction.

The term speculative fiction, while essentially gesturing at the territory staked by the fantastic, is free from the legacy of genre wars and hostile taxonomies. How and when its recent rise began is hard to say, but something happened around 2000 —something that surged up against genre boundaries that 20th-century criticism erected around different modes of narrative speculation based on preferences for different sets of tools. This shift resists accurate description, and its significance will be contested. But it can be intuited if one looks at two events that happened at that time and attest to an expanding perception of non-mimetic narrative forms. The earlier of these tipping points was the publication of Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora ( 2000 ). Edited by Sheree R. Thomas, this landmark collection was the first to recognize an extremely rich tradition of speculative fiction by authors of color and challenged the perception of speculative genres as predominantly written by and addressed to the white audience. The collection includes twenty-nine stories accompanied by five critical essays by black scholars, including Delany’s seminal 1999 “Racism and Science Fiction.” In her introduction, “Looking for the Invisible,” Thomas employs the metaphors of the “invisible” and the “Black Matter” to stand, at once, for the speculative fiction of black writers, for the long tradition of their marginalization, and for these stories’ generic hybridity. 30 This last aspect is represented in the volume by eleven stories that fall into science fiction; eleven in fantasy; and seven in horror, slipstream, and other designations. It is telling that despite its wide generic range, Dark Matter won the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.

The other event happened in 2001 , when the World Science Fiction Society, which for over four decades chose its Hugo Awards on genre-specific criteria derived from Suvin, opened a new chapter by selecting J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ( 2000 ) and Ang Lee’s film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( 2000 ) as its Hugo Award winners. These were followed in subsequent years by several other awards given to novels and films outside of science fiction proper, yet no argument was raised about these works’ ineligibility for recognition by the World Science Fiction Society. Both of these events were historic in acknowledging not just the rapprochement between fantasy and science fiction, but a de facto expansion of non-mimetic genres’ authorship, diverse cultural roots, and storytelling modes—all of which imply their new positioning within a larger field of the genres of alternative thought that comprise speculative fiction.

Besides circumventing the problematic semantic legacy of the fantastic, the term “speculative fiction” brought other advantages as well. It has directed attention away from interminable taxonomic debates that had so far preoccupied scholars of non-mimetic fiction. Instead of asking what works belong or should be excluded from particular genres, critics in the field of speculative fiction are apt to identify the criteria of inclusion, irrespective of whether the text represents a generic hybrid or a more unambiguous articulation of a single genre. This lens, in turn, allows for exploring the nature of the text’s speculative performance with the reader. A switch to using the term “speculative fiction” may also account for the dwindling of the inherently unsolvable discussions about hierarchical relationships among various non-mimetic genres. Within this new framework, scholars may investigate, for example, whether utopia is a subgenre of science fiction or rather science fiction emerged as a node in the developmental trajectory of utopia, but all these conversations and their various outcomes can be accommodated as strands in the exploration of speculative fiction without entailing claims about these foci’s central importance for the field. Most of all, speculative fiction has proven a useful term to deflect the historically-loaded emotional charge that has accrued around debates on the relationship between science fiction and fantasy. Historically, each of these supergenres has claimed a number of subgenres, some of which have been treated as border outposts that imply territorial claims. For example, The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction ( 2009 ) features entries on twelve subgenres of science fiction—alternate history, apocalyptic science fiction, arthouse science fiction film, blockbuster science fiction film, dystopia, eutopia, feminist science fiction, future history, hard science fiction, slipstream, space opera, and weird fiction—but since many among these have also been called by alternative names, the effective range of genre labels within science fiction is much broader. Likewise, in its many theorizations, fantasy has been broken down into taxonomies ranging from as little as two—high versus low fantasy—to proposals spanning over a dozen subgenres, including, yes, science fiction, science fantasy, animal fantasy, toy fantasy, mythopoeic fantasy, heroic fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, gritty fantasy, postcolonial fantasy, magic realism, fantastic fabulation, fabulist fiction, colonial fantasy, urban fantasy, feminist fantasy, ghost fantasy, time-slip fantasy, situated fantasy, organic fantasy, and more. One also has to contend with the historical attempts by each supercategory to colonize related genres—fantasy claiming myth and the fairy tale, or science fiction claiming horror and utopia—as if other non-mimetic genres were unthinkable outside of the perimeter of either fantasy or science fiction. Well, they are. For example, the rise and decline of the American female gothic described by Jeffrey A. Weinstock in Scare Tactics ( 2008 ) occurred largely independently of the trajectories of fantasy and science fiction, and was fueled by the social usefulness of the supernatural tale “to express the specifically female anxieties and desires” experienced by women in the patriarchal culture of the 1850s through the 1930s. 31 Likewise, the history of horror, although often intersecting with fantasy and science fiction, reveals a unique trajectory of this third major genre cluster which may flout scientific speculation and the supernatural alike to produce ever new, genre-transgressive offshoots such as the New Weird. Within the larger framework of speculative fiction, each of these genres enjoys more autonomy and agency in identifying its alliances, inspirations, and predecessors.

This inherent valuing of diversity is another force that accounts for the growing popularity of the term “speculative fiction.” Unlike fantasy, science fiction, horror and other genre labels, which are culturally situated designations that arose to describe European and North American developments in the Western literature field, speculative fiction opens a new discursive space for the voice of minorities and ethnic others within non-mimetic narrative forms without relegating them to the ghetto of “ethnic” literatures. Historically, fantasy was an inflection on the (Western) novel form that developed within (Western) literature as a reaction to the dominant (Western) mindset that banned the supernatural: it was a response to the limiting of reality to the palpable and explainable that never occurred in other cultures. Likewise, science fiction—if traced to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein ( 1818 )—emerged as a questioning of the (Western) narrative of scientific progress and has continued to interrogate (Western) technological advances, both of which were foundational to the (Western) colonial expansion that had led to the crippling of non-Western cultures and the near erasure of their science and technologies.

But if “fantasy” and “science fiction” have historically been oppositional terms, “speculative fiction,” in its modern use, is even more so. A truly global phenomenon that arose in the modern multicultural world, speculative fiction rejects the “science for the West, myth for the rest” mindset informing traditional Western non-mimetic genres—especially fantasy and science fiction, with their often colonialist and imperialist visions of spiritual or technological (con)quests. Today’s speculative fiction affirms not merely the existence of ethnic traditions of science and spirituality but the cognitive value of speculative visions of the world formulated from a postcolonial or minority perspective. The creation of the James Tiptree Jr. Award for speculative fiction that explores gender (since 1991 ) and of the Carl Brandon Society—aiming to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction (since 1999 )—are just two of the many indicators about how well the term “speculative fiction” has served the much-needed minority voices. Dark Matter was quickly followed by other collections of diasporic speculative fictions: Nalo Hopkinson’s Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction ( 2000 ); Sheree R. Thomas’s Dark Matter: Reading the Bones ( 2004 ); Nalo Hopkinson and Mehan Uppinder’s So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy ( 2004 ); Derwin Mak and Eric Choi’s The Dragon and the Stars ( 2010 ); Sandra Jackson and Judy Moody-Freeman’s The Black Imagination: Science Fiction, Futurism and The Speculative ( 2011 ); Grace Dillon’s Walking the Clouds ( 2012 ), as well as the Kickstarter-funded grassroots anthologies by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History ( 2014 ) and its sequel Hidden Youth (forthcoming).

Informing all these works is a conviction that forms of ethnic cultural expression must be recognized on their own terms, especially in how they subvert the Western dichotomy between the real and unreal, natural and supernatural, scientific and unscientific. As Hopkinson argues in So Long Been Dreaming , speculative fiction written from the context of blackness and Caribbeanness is substantially different from mainstream science fiction and fantasy in that it subverts these genres’ Westernized tropes and codes. “In my hands,” Hopkinson declares, “massa’s tools don’t dismantle massa’s house—and in fact, I don’t want to destroy it so much as I want to undertake massive renovations—they build me a house of my own.” 32 That house has its own space within the field of speculative fiction. Neither excluding nor privileging traditional Western genres, speculative fiction accommodates international works written in languages other than English, bifocal cultural forms such as Ingrid Thaler’s eponymous Black Atlantic Speculative Fictions ( 2014 ), and speculative fiction informed by Latin@, Asian American, Indigenous, and other non-Western traditions, all of which share a legacy of marginalization. In other words, speculative fiction today refers to a global phenomenon of non-mimetic traditions from around the world, whose contemporary ethnic examples often articulate multicultural reality better than the historically white and predominantly Anglophone non-mimetic genres.

That last quality implies another much appreciated advantage of speculative fiction: its inclusive open-endedness. Invariably, authors, scholars, editors, and online resources that evoke speculative fiction explain that the term encompasses science fiction, fantasy, horror and/or more genres. These, however, are always cited as examples rather than a closed list. Instead of defining “speculative fiction” through boundaries, its advocates suggest that the term’s wide scope is especially welcoming to texts from the margins: generic, cultural, ethnic, or others. This has been the case at least since the establishment of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database ( 1995 ), which declares the project to be “a community effort to catalog works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror,” 33 but includes entries on narratives that hybridize and go beyond these three. It is likewise true of many recent initiatives, for example, the Current Research in Speculative Fiction conference (since 2011 ) that aims to “promote the research of speculative fictions including, but not limited to, science fiction, fantasy and horror.” 34 The lens of speculative fiction, finally, ignores the distinction between literary and popular articulations of non-mimetic genres. These are noted merely as historically located markers in the evolution of speculative fiction. If Scholes considered solely the evolution of mainstream Western literature, and if Waggoner’s list of speculative fiction—filtered into a timeline of fantasy—included seventy-six titles written by white authors, today’s speculative fiction is a much wider and diverse category.

Contrary to what Heinlein, Merril, Scholes, or Atwood might have wished, “speculative fiction” has not replaced the term “science fiction.” Instead, it has claimed a different, much larger space in the cultural imagination. Today, a search of “speculative fiction” in the Full Text box of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database yields over thirty thousand items. The works of speculative fiction range from the gothic surreal, unicorn bedtime tales, and varieties of Shojo fan fiction, through post-apocalyptic zombie romance, Afrofuturist eco-dystopia, and posthuman urban fantasy, to steampunk animal superhero tales, alternate history magic realism, and postmodern fractured fairy tales. With works appealing to all age groups and across a range of subculture audiences; operating in printed, electronic, and hybrid formats; and available in all visual media, contemporary speculative fiction spans anything from Spongebob to Avengers , Thor , the Ice Age movies and The Hunger Games to a Southpark spoof of The Game of Thrones . For those who value the term, it is the largest, the most diverse, and the most dynamic category of modern storytelling.

Despite its perplexing heterogeneity, speculative fiction across the board shares two qualities. First, it interrogates normative notions about reality and challenges the materialist complacency that nothing exists beyond the phenomenal world. This, incidentally, aligns it with science, which posits that all of the known kinds of matter and energy make up, at best, only about 4 percent of the universe, whereas the nature and properties of the remaining 96 percent remain anybody’s guess. Given that dark matter and dark energy are now assumed to be a mathematical necessity, speculative fiction may well be theorized as an imaginative necessity: a mode of critical inquiry that celebrates human creative power. Second, speculative fiction offers no pretense of being factual or accurate. This denial endows it with a potential for challenging consensus reality, besides making speculative fiction politically scrappy, cognitively empowering, and affectively stimulating. With all its borderless messiness, the field of speculative fiction can thus be considered the unlimited cloud space for our multicultural world’s non-mimetic traditions that help us share and reclaim forgotten or marginalized modes of engagement with reality.

Further Reading

• Attebery, Brian . Stories about Stories: Fantasy and the Remaking of Myth . New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Atwood, Margaret . In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination . New York: Nan A. Talese, 2011.
• Bleiler, Richard , ed. The Empire of the Future . In Political Future Fictions: Speculative and Counter-Factual Politics in Edwardian Britain . vol. 1. Edited by Kate Macdonald . London: Pickering and Chatto, 2013.
• Bould, Mark , and China Miéville , eds. Historical Materialism 10.4 (2002).
• Calvin, Ritch , ed. The Merril Theory of Lit’ry Criticism: Judith Merril’s Nonfiction . Seattle, WA: Aqueduct Press, 2016.
• Current Research in Speculative Fiction . Conference blogspace. Web.
• Delany, Samuel R. The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction . Rev. ed. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2009.
• Dillon, Grace L , ed. Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction . Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012.
• Donovan, Stephen , ed. Speculative Fiction and Imperialism in Africa . In Political Future Fictions: Speculative and Counter-Factual Politics in Edwardian Britain . vol. 3. Edited by Kate Macdonald . London: Pickering and Chatto, 2013.
• Fowler, Karen J. , Pat Murphy , Debbie Notkin , and Jeffrey Smith , eds. The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 . San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2006.
• Fox, Rose , and Daniel José Older , eds. Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History . Framingham, MA: Crossed Genres Publications, 2014.
• Gunn, James , and Matthew Candelaria , eds. Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction . Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005.
• Hopkinson, Nalo , ed. Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction . Montpelier, VT: Invisible Cities Press, 2000.
• Hopkinson, Nalo , and Mehan Uppinder , eds. So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy . Vancouver, CA: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004.
• Hume, Kathryn . Fantasy and Mimesis: Responses to Reality in Western Literature . New York and London: Methuen, 1984.
• The Internet Speculative Fiction Database .
• Jackson, Sandra , and Judy Moody-Freeman , eds. The Black Imagination: Science Fiction, Futurism and The Speculative . New York: Peter Lang, 2011.
• Jameson, Fredric . Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions . London and New York: Verso, 2005.
• Le Guin , Ursula K. Where on Earth . In The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin . vol. 1. Easthampton, MA: Small Beer Press, 2012.
• Le Guin , Ursula K. Outer Space, Inner Lands . In The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin . vol. 2. Easthampton, MA: Small Beer Press, 2012.
• Lovecraft, H. P. “ Supernatural Horror in Literature .”
• Macdonald, Kate , ed. Fictions of the Feminist Future . In Political Future Fictions: Speculative and Counter-Factual Politics in Edwardian Britain . vol. 2. London: Pickering and Chatto, 2013.
• Mak, Derwin , and Eric Choi , eds. The Dragon and the Stars . New York: Daw Books, 2010.
• Oziewicz, Marek . Justice in Young Adult Speculative Fiction: A Cognitive Reading . New York: Routledge, 2015.
• Scholes, Robert . Structural Fabulation: An Essay on the Fiction of the Future . Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975.
• Sederholm, Carl H. , and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock , eds. The Age of Lovecraft . Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2016.
• “Special Section.” Extrapolation 50.1 (2009): 7–32.
• Thaler, Ingrid . Black Atlantic Speculative Fictions . New York: Routledge, 2014.
• Thomas, Paul L , ed. Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction: Challenging Genres . Rotterdam, Boston, Taipei: Sense Publishers, 2013.
• Thomas, Sheree R. , ed. Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora . New York: Warner Books, 2000.
• Waggoner, Diana . The Hills of Faraway: A Guide to Fantasy . New York: Atheneum, 1978.

1. H. P. Lovecraft , Selected Letters , vol. 3, in The Weird Tale: Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James, Ambrose Bierce, H.P. Lovecraft , 178–179, ed., S. C. Joshi , (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990). While Lovecraft’s most oft-quoted creative statement is Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927), the most incisive recent overview of the relevance of horror to our contemporary culture—with its intimations of Apocalypse, decentering of human meaning in the universe, posthumanist questionings, and ironic disavowals—can be found in Carl H. Sederholm and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock’s “Introduction” to The Age of Lovecraft (2016).

2. Kate Macdonald , “General Introduction: Utopian Ideals in Edwardian Political Future Fiction,” in The Empire of the Future , ed. Richard Bleiler (London: Pickering and Chatto, 2013), vii.

3. Darko Suvin , Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979), 7–8, 63.

4. Brian Attebery , “Special Section,” Extrapolation 50.1 (2009): 7–9.

5. Raymond Williams , “Science Fiction,” in Tenses of Imagination: Raymond Williams on Science Fiction, Utopia and Dystopia , ed. Andrew Milner (Oxford and Bern: Peter Lang, 2010), 15.

6. Raymond Williams , The Long Revolution (Cardigan, U.K.: Parthian, 2011), 68.

7. Pierre Bourdieu , The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 38–41.

8. One of the first to use this term was Tzvetan Todorov in The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to Literary Genre , trans. Richard Howard (Cleveland, OH: Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1973). For Todorov’s definition of the fantastic as an effect, see 33.

9. Ursula K. Le Guin , “Earthsea Revisioned,” (Cambridge, U.K.: Children’s Literature New England and Green Bay Publications, 1993), 7.

10. Judith Merril , “Introduction,” in SF: The Best of the Best (New York: Delacorte Press, 1967), 3.

11. Judith Merril, Agreement between Judith Merril and the Board of the Toronto Public Library, in “History of the Merril Collection,” Available at http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/merril/history.jsp .

12. Robert Scholes , Structural Fabulation: An Essay on the Fiction of the Future (Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975), 1.

13. Ibid. , 18.

14. Ibid. , 75.

15. Ibid. , 74–75.

16. Ibid. , 25.

17. Ibid. , 27.

18. Ibid. , 39.

19. Ibid. , 41.

20. Diana Waggoner , The Hills of Faraway: A Guide to Fantasy (New York: Atheneum, 1978), 8.

21. Ibid. , 9.

22. Ibid. , 20.

23. Roger Schlobin , The Aesthetics of Fantasy Literature and Art (Notre Dame, IN: University of Indiana Press, 1982), x.

24. Kathryn Hume , Fantasy and Mimesis: Responses to Reality in Western Literature (New York and London: Methuen, 1984), xii.

25. Ibid. , 21.

26. Brian Attebery , Stories about Stories: Fantasy and the Remaking of Myth (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).

27. Mark Bould , “The Dreadful Credibility of Absurd Things : A Tendency in Fantasy Theory,” Historical Materialism 10.4 (2002): 52, note 4.

28. China Miéville , “Editorial Introduction,” Historical Materialism 10.4 (2002): 43.

29. Fredric Jameson , Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions (London and New York: Verso, 2005), 60.

30. Sheree Thomas , Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (New York: Warner Books, 2000), ix–x.

31. Jeffrey A. Weinstock , Scare Tactics: Supernatural Fiction by American Women (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008), 194.

32. Nalo Hopkinson , “Introduction,” in So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (Vancouver, CA: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004), 8.

33. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database .

34. Current Research in Speculative Fiction Blogpost .

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What is speculative fiction? Take a look at objective reality. Now, change something about that reality—put it on Mars, in the year 3,000, add some magical mayhem, etc. Speculative fiction is all about extraordinary circumstances, where characters have to navigate conflicts that don’t exist in our reality.

Many types of genre fiction fall under the category of speculative fiction: fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, dystopian fiction, and so on. But, other genres, like romance and mystery, are firmly outside of the speculative realm, so it’s important not to conflate “genre fiction” with “speculative fiction.” We’ll clarify the distinction in this article!

Why should we turn our attention to other worlds? This article answers that question, with speculative fiction examples and tips on how to write speculative fiction. Along the way, we’ll examine how supernatural elements create complex themes and metaphors for the reader to uncover.

But first, let’s tackle what this genre is and isn’t. What is speculative fiction?

What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction describes any piece of fiction that has non-realistic elements. By non-realistic, we mean the following:

• Non-real or extraterrestrial settings.
• Magical elements, creatures, or powers.
• Futuristic elements, including imagined dystopias/utopias or apocalypses.
• Alternate histories or mythologies.
• Fictional elements in nature, such as made up plants or monsters.
• Characters with special or unusual powers.

Speculative Fiction definition: any piece of fiction that has non-realistic elements.

So, this doesn’t describe all types of genre fiction. A murder mystery, for example, would not be speculative fiction on its own. Unless , of course, the victim was a famous historical figure who was not murdered in real life. If you wrote a murder mystery about the fictional assassination of President Gerald Ford, then that would be an alternate history, which makes it speculative fiction.

Genres Associated with Speculative Fiction

Literary theorists typically separate literary fiction and genre fiction into two distinct categories.

Literary fiction aims to resemble real life without the use of tropes, conventional plot structures, or supernatural elements. A piece of lit fic should feel as though it actually happened in real life, and it should drive the plot forward with a focus on character flaws and character development .

Genre fiction, of course, can resemble real life too, and it should have characters that develop as a result of their flaws and blindspots. The key difference is that different fiction genres have their own tropes, conventions, and plot structures , at least some of which the writer will use by writing in genre.

Neither one is inherently better than the other: both categories can produce surprising, moving, and necessary works of fiction.

Speculative fiction falls under the category of genre fiction, but not every genre of genre fiction is speculative. The below genres can be classified as speculative:

• Science Fiction
• Fantasy (including Urban Fantasy )
• Supernatural Horror (not, necessarily, Psychological Horror)
• Dystopian Fiction
• (Post) Apocalyptic Fiction
• Magical Realism
• Alternate History
• Superhero Stories
• Fairy Tales

Other genres, like mystery, romance, and thriller, aren’t speculative, unless the story also rewrites history or incorporates supernatural elements.

Speculative Fiction Vs Science Fiction & Fantasy

It’s easy to conflate speculative fiction with sci-fi and fantasy, but these two genres are only categories that fall under the realm of speculative.

Science fiction is a genre in which fictional science and technology plays an important role in society. By exploring how these futuristic technologies shape human behavior, those technologies become metaphors for our own social predicaments.

Fantasy, by contrast, describes stories that involve some form of magic. These could be magical worlds, magical powers, or magical creatures. The world being developed must be clearly fantastical, even if it’s set somewhere on Earth; these fantasy elements also drive the story forward, and can also be metaphors for real human conflict .

[Speculative fiction vs science fiction and fantasy: Speculative fiction is a category of genres where unnatural, futuristic, or supernatural elements drive the story forward. Science fiction and fantasy are types of spec fic.]

Speculative fiction encompasses these genres, but it also encompasses any genre where unnatural, futuristic, or supernatural elements exist within and are essential to the story.

Speculative Fiction Examples

The following speculative fiction examples demonstrate the many possibilities of spec fic. Let’s look at four distinct speculative fiction short stories from different genres, with careful attention to the storytelling elements that make these stories work.

1. “I Sing the Body Electric” by Ray Bradbury

Retrieved here.

Speculative Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi and Futuristic Fiction

Premise: Bereaving the death of their mother, a family hesitantly replaces their lost parent with a robot Grandmother.

This piece of speculative fiction actually imagines a world in which technology serves the needs of society. The story even addresses this—the robot Grandmother says that much of human history has been a reaction to technology, and her purpose is to guide people towards their best selves. (No wonder most sci-fi is about tech going wrong!)

In the story, a family of three kids and a father decide to buy a robot Grandmother to replace the kids’ recently deceased mother. Two of the kids warm up to her quickly, but Agatha, the only daughter, remains ambivalent about Grandmother for most of the story.

The narrator, Tom, marvels at Grandmother’s mystery, and continues to do so at the story’s climax. Agatha runs into the street when she confronts Grandmother, because Agatha is still grappling with the trauma of her mother’s death. If parents can leave without warning, why wouldn’t Grandmother, too?

Grandmother then realizes that this is why Agatha won’t trust her. Thus, Grandmother’s response to this is the crux of the story: that wisdom comes from learning how to love one another. In this story, the speculative fiction genre is the vehicle for this wisdom, reflecting on life’s many twists and turns and our ability, through all of it, to be good and loving towards one another.

2. “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado

Retrieved here. 

Speculative Fiction Genre: Romance and Magical Realism

Premise: A woman’s relationship runs its course, symbolized by her husband’s strange attraction to the ribbon around her neck—which no one, not even he, is allowed to touch.

This haunting story doesn’t seem like speculative fiction until the very end. For most of it, we simply observe a woman’s relationship start and slowly disintegrate. She commands the attention of a boy as a teenager; they marry young, have a child, and settle into their new home. The story is characterized by the narrator’s strong sense of self, her curiosity about desire, and the mysterious ribbon tied around her neck.

Her lover, who later becomes her husband, wants to untie this ribbon. For what reason? Perhaps because he can’t—it is the one thing about her body that is off limits, and he is face to face with a curiosity even more arousing than his wife herself. When she finally lets him untie it, she has come to terms with the end of her relationship, and willingly lets her husband face the consequences of his own insatiable want.

This story is a perfect example of the magical realism genre. The story is set in the real world, with real life characters and actions. Only a dash of the fantastic is used as a metaphor—in this case, that metaphor is the ribbon.

What does the ribbon represent? It’s up to the reader’s interpretation. Perhaps it represents gendered inequalities in heterosexual relationships: the man—who, the narrator admits, is not a bad man—believes his marriage gives him claim over his wife, which includes claim over the ribbon that he’s not allowed to touch. The years of coercion and marital ennui finally break the wife down into letting him untie the ribbon, even though she knows the consequences. There is much to be analyzed about how this dynamic rings true for many unhappy married couples, and, perhaps, how this dynamic is rooted in gendered differences.

3. “A Shinagawa Monkey” by Haruki Murakami

Speculative Fiction Genre: Magical Realism

Premise: A man meets a talking monkey who has the ability to steal the names of women he loves.

This story is peak Murakami, a Japanese author who often infuses elements of magical realism, absurdism, and/or Japanese folklore into his work.

In it, a nameless narrator stays at a shabby inn and meets a talking monkey. After they share a few drinks, the monkey reveals that, aside from speaking human language, he has the ability to steal the names of women he loves. By procuring an ID or some other physical object with the woman’s name on it, he can concentrate really hard and absorb her name into his heart. When he does this, the woman often forgets her own name; he has stolen 7 names from women he’s fallen in love with, but has vowed to never do it again.

Years later, the narrator meets a woman for a work meeting. She has to take a call, and she asks the narrator what her full name is. After the narrator asks her a few questions, it becomes very clear that the Shinagawa monkey has returned to his old ways and stolen this woman’s name.

What does it mean? What does it all mean?! Murakami is an author who both entertains and baffles in equal measure. There’s something striking to be analyzed in the monkey’s ability to steal peoples’ names—but, why a monkey?

Perhaps the monkey lets us think about love more objectively. Perhaps we are all just as lonely as that monkey, unable to relate to people of our own species, desperate to kindle some small flame that keeps our hearts warm. However you interpret the monkey’s actions, it might reflect something intrinsic about yourself—thus being the magic and beauty of the metaphor, and showcasing the possibilities of speculative fiction.

4. “Warm Up” by V. E. Schwab

Speculative Fiction Genre: Fantasy

Premise: After he dies and is revived from a freak avalanche, David Lane wakes up with the ability to burn things just by touching them. Almost 300 days after this incident, and after breaking off from his wife and child, he decides, hesitantly, to step out into the real world again.

This story almost reads as magical realism, until the ending cements this piece of speculative fiction firmly as fantasy. David’s ability to burn things is a strong metaphor for the self-protective behaviors some people use to keep their loved ones at bay. David’s personality is one of an ascetic loner, so his newly acquired ability is hardly surprising, considering he’s always kept people at a distance.

On the day this story takes place, David has reached a point where he’s ready to start a new life, which means taking the first steps outside. He does this, then walks through his city and ends up flirting with a woman at a bar. He’s drunk and feels good and, for once, thinks he can actually live a normal life.

The end of the story is what moves this story beyond the realm of realism. A man claiming to be a representative of Heaven attacks David. The man’s flesh heals itself from David’s burning touch, and the story ends with David dying on the ground, cold and quiet.

Was David’s assassin really from Heaven? An angel? Or something else? We’ve certainly moved into a mysterious realm of magical creatures, and although the story doesn’t explain these elements, they work to drive forward and conclude the plot.

Contemporary Speculative Fiction Authors

If you’re interested in writing and publishing spec fic, knowing who’s writing in this genre will help you learn how to write speculative fiction for a contemporary audience.

This list certainly isn’t exhaustive, but they’re authors that I’ve read and recommend for their creativity, style , and skill. Read these writers like a writer yourself!

Whether you plan on following the rules or breaking them, pay attention to how these contemporary speculative fiction authors approach the genre:

Sci-Fi Speculative Fiction authors:

• Elisa Bonnin
• Indrapramit Das
• Nancy Kress
• Ursula K. Le Guin
• Helen Oyeyemi
• Kazuo Ishiguro
• Kim Stanley Robinson

Fantasy Speculative Fiction authors:

• V. E. Schwab
• Briana McGuckin
• Micah Dean Hicks
• N. K. Jemisin
• Madeline Miller

Magical Realism Speculative Fiction authors:

• Carmen Maria Machado
• Haruki Murakami
• Aimee Bender
• Amy Bonnaffons
• Ploi Pirapokin
• Brenda Peynado

Dystopian Speculative Fiction authors:

• Margaret Atwood
• Hilary Leichter
• Jacqueline Stolos
• Jean Hegland
• Dave Eggers

Supernatural Horror Speculative Fiction authors:

• Stephen King
• Ramsey Campbell
• Neil Gaiman
• Samanta Schweblin

Alternate History Speculative Fiction authors:

• Colson Whitehead
• Philip Roth
• Hanya Yanagihara
• Stephen Fry

5 Tips on How to Write Speculative Fiction

Because speculative fiction varies widely by genre, many of the rules for writing good stories depend on the genre you’re writing in. Nonetheless, the following 5 tips on how to write speculative fiction apply to writers of all genres and backgrounds.

How to Write Speculative Fiction: Know Your Genre’s Tropes

Genre fiction tends to use certain tropes in order to tell a story. These tropes are agreed upon rules in plot, setting , and character development that set a story up for success, while making the story familiar to avid readers of the genre.

This, of course, varies widely. Science Fiction and Fantasy will have a lot more tropes than, say, Magical Realism. But, where genres like Magical Realism are lacking in tropes, they still have rules that make a story successful, such as the use of the fantastical as metaphor, as well as the focus on realism and the world we actually live in.

In this article, we’ve included contemporary speculative fiction authors, and below this section, we’ve included a list of where to submit speculative fiction. Read the authors and journals in your genre, and you’ll see what tropes show up again and again.

You can also find common tropes in all genres of fiction at this site: https://tvtropes.org/

You certainly don’t need to use your genre’s tropes—but it’s best to know the rules before you break them.

How to Write Speculative Fiction: Use Genre as Metaphor

The tropes and conventions of different speculative fiction genres allow writers to construct metaphors for the world we live in. Science Fiction tropes might build metaphors about our relationships to technology. Alternate History plots can be metaphors for contemporary social issues, taken to their logical extremes. Whatever the case, don’t just use genre for the sake of genre—it’s metaphor that makes meaning.

Take, for example, Murakami’s “A Shinagawa Monkey,” listed in the speculative fiction examples we shared. The fantastical element of the story is a talking monkey who steals the names of women he falls in love with. What is that a metaphor for? And did Murakami write this story with metaphor in mind?

There are many ways to analyze the meaning of the monkey—including that the monkey has no meaning, which leans into the absurdist genre that Murakami also loves. Nonetheless, the monkey might be a metaphor for loneliness: stuck between two species and with no way to satisfy his own needs, the monkey tries to create as little damage as possible in keeping his heart warm. How might that resonate with the reader?

Of course, it might be a metaphor for something completely different. How you interpret the monkey’s place in the story might teach you something about yourself as the reader, too.

Metaphor is something that happens at both the sentence level and the structural. Storytelling elements, like plot and setting, can act as metaphors themselves. Indeed, as Jeff Lyons explains , all stories, including speculative ones, are metaphors for the human experience.

To learn more about employing metaphor in your work, read our article on similes, metaphors, and analogies .

How to Write Speculative Fiction: Write Towards Complex Themes

The use of genre tropes and metaphors allow speculative fiction authors to write towards complex themes.

What is theme? Theme tells us what the story is “about.” In other words, it describes the deeper ideas, social issues, and philosophical arguments put forth in the story.

Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fiction is a perfect example of how tropes and metaphors lend themselves to themes. In her novel Oryx & Crake , a mad scientist develops a drug called BlyssPluss, which promises health and happiness, but secretly sterilizes its consumers, before later killing them in a manufactured pandemic. This story is told through the eyes of Snowman, a survivor of the apocalypse who knew intimately the person responsible for this drug.

The novel itself is a cautionary tale about technology, genetic engineering, and the climate. This drug in particular, however, represents our ambivalent relationships to things which feel good in the short term, but destroy us in the long term, and are perhaps even engineered that way. What could we compare BlyssPluss to in the modern day? Perhaps social media, disinformation, vapes and e-cigs, or even broader social issues and ideas. No, TikTok probably won’t be the end of society, but it might not be helping us, either.

Regardless, Atwood’s dystopias employ metaphors that apply to the world around us. When we analyze these societal parallels, we come across themes that concern modern society and our relationships to science and ideology. Atwood is only one example of the many ways we can use speculative fiction to write about the real world.

How to Write Speculative Fiction: Create Rules for Your Fictional World

A fictional world needs fictional rules. Whether your protagonists are jumping into spirit worlds, navigating underground monster dens, or surviving in post-apocalyptic wastelands, there needs to be a structure to the world you’re building—a set of do’s and don’t’s, causes and effects.

In short stories, these rules don’t need to be complicated. Bradbury’s “I Sing the Body Electric” sets pretty straightforward rules. The story is set in the future, where robots have achieved a likeness to human intelligence and learning, and people might be transported in private helicopters from their own suburban homes. Additionally, this world is not dystopian—technology is being used for good here. Simple, straightforward, and allows the story to happen.

In longer works of speculative fiction, these rules might be more complicated. Take, for example, the novel Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks. The novel is set in Swine Hill, a dying small town that’s been overrun by ghosts. As a result, the town becomes possessed: sometimes, houses and abandoned buildings are infested with ghosts, and sometimes it’s the people themselves who get infested.

These ghosts sometimes confer special abilities to their hosts. One protagonist gains the ability to read other people’s thoughts; the other protagonist blacks out and can build highly technical contraptions and biological machines—including a frankensteined pig man.

Finally, these ghosts have no intention of leaving Swine Hill. In fact, they can’t. If a possessed person tries to leave, the ghost will make it as hard as possible; once that person goes past a certain point, they are disconnected from their ghost, and will probably never come back to Swine Hill ever again.

These rules guide the story forward, with the threat of possession and the ghosts’ strange powers constantly looming over a townsfolk too scared (and, often, too poor) to leave. Swine Hill’s haunting becomes a metaphor for the literal ghost town. More importantly, it represents the challenges of small town America, overrun with poverty, corporate strangulation, and an “Us Vs. Them” mentality.

The rules of the novel allow these metaphors to move towards complex themes. In other words, don’t just create rules willy-nilly, but use them as a tool for moving towards theme, constructing complex meanings for the reader to interpret and disentangle.

This advice applies less to genres like Alternate History and Magical Realism, which are more concerned with representing the world and its people as true to the real world as possible. Nonetheless, fictional rules apply. What are the politics of this new alternate world? Or, how do people react to the element of fantasy inserting itself into everyday life?

How to Write Speculative Fiction: Lean Into the Unknown

The above being said, don’t reveal the rules of your world all at once. Mystery is an essential force in building tension and intrigue as the story moves forward.

Let readers grapple with what they do and don’t know. We know that there’s a spirit world—but how do you get in and out? Who’s chasing you? Or, we know that robots are assisting humankind—but who built those robots? What are they capable of? Do they have morals, feelings, agendas?

Hint at these details, particularly the ones that relate to your story’s metaphors and themes. Use foreshadowing , but don’t reveal these facets all at once. Keep the reader guessing at what’s to come, and let your world surprise, delight, horrify, captivate, mystify.

Where to Submit Speculative Fiction

The following journals are great places to submit your speculative fiction short stories to:

• Strange Horizons
• The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
• Uncanny Magazine
• Abyss & Apex
• Luna Station Quarterly
• Grimdark Magazine
• The Gateway Review
• Clarkesworld
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies
• Unfit Magazine
• Augur Magazine
• Metaphorosis
• Unreal Magazine
• Three-Lobed Burning Eye
• Through the Gate (Fantastical Poetry)
• Freeze Ray (for Speculative Poetry)

Be sure to read these journals before you submit to them—you’ll get a sense of whether your story will fit on their pages, and also get a sense of the speculative fiction people are writing these days. For more fiction journals to submit to, check out our article !

Learn How to Write Speculative Fiction at Writers.com

The classes at Writers.com will help you master the art of writing speculative fiction. Whether you’re learning the ropes of Sci-Fi and Fantasy or building fantastical worlds , our upcoming fiction courses are sure to help you write the story you’ve dreamed about.

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Blogs / For Writers / Speculative Fiction: Definition and Examples

Speculative Fiction: Definition and Examples

When I first started writing with the intent to publish, I called myself a speculative fiction author because my story ideas didn’t all fit into one neat little genre box. The problem with that, I soon discovered, was that very few people seemed to understand what speculative fiction is.

As a result, I now write under two pen names, each focusing on separate marketing genres underneath the ‘speculative fiction’ umbrella.

So let’s clarify, then, what speculative fiction is, and why it seems so difficult for readers—and even authors and editors—to understand what the term means.

What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction is a term that encompasses any fiction that delves into the realm of the unknown. It can use realistic, known possibilities, but will then combine them with elements of the unknown, or known impossibilities. In other words, as its name suggest, it’s the realm of speculation: of “what ifs,” of possibilities, of the imagination.

It’s because the term ‘speculative fiction’ encompasses any genre that uses the unknown, impossibilities, and the imagination.

This is also where the difficulty in understanding the genre likely lies.

Speculative Fiction Background

Speculative Fiction is a term that was first used in the 1940s by  author Robert A. Heinlein. Heinlein used the term for science fiction. Over the years, however, the term has come to include many other genres and subgenres as well.

Though the term ‘speculative fiction’ was coined in the 1940s, the genre itself can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, whose mythologies often explained the unexplainable by creating gods and giving them supernatural powers. It can be seen in all those tragedies and epic poems where the hero has to stand against gods, fate, and monsters, such as Homer’s two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey .

Speculative Fiction Definition

While the majority of people may use ‘speculative fiction’ as a sweeping, all-encompassing term for stories that involve world-building, lore, and so on, there have notably been some authors who argue that the definition should be a little more restrictive.

For example Margaret Atwood uses the term to refer to fiction that describes “things that could happen but hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the book.” Atwood’s own, well-known story The Handmaid’s Tale fits into this category.

The Importance of Speculative Fiction

In the past, many people used speculative fiction to try and explain what they didn’t then have the knowledge to explain.

An example of this is the TV series, Star Trek. Communicators—the flip kind in the original Star Trek and the badges in The Next Generation—existed long before cell phones and wireless Bluetooth devices. Lieutenant Uhura wore a wireless headset long before they existed. And the characters spoke to their ships’ computers in the same way that we now talk to Siri, Alexa, or Google Home.

The same article I quoted above gives another reason why speculative fiction is so important: it “can also be an ideal way to explore problems in the modern world that are made safe by being dressed in fantastical trappings . . . By creating a made-up world, writers can address what may be controversial themes in a way that is less personal or less threatening to readers.”

Speculative Fiction Examples by Subgenre

Speculative fiction in urban fantasy.

Cassandra Claire’s The Mortal Instruments series is set in modern-day New York City. The story starts out in the ‘normal world’, with the kinds of places, people, objects, etc. that one would expect to see if they visited “The Big Apple”.

Very soon, however, we discover there is this whole other world—hidden behind ‘glamours’ that keep it hidden from ‘mundanes,’—that exists right alongside our own. It is this whole, imaginary world that leaves us with the question, “What if there was an invisible world that existed with ours that we just can’t see?”

Speculative Science Fiction

In Andy Weir’s The Martian , the author takes a look at the possibility of sending a crew to Mars to check its viability as a future colony. This is a topic that is presently being explored in the real world. Current concerns such as pollution, overpopulation, and global warming lead to many wondering if the Earth will no longer being able to sustain us in the future.

It looks at both the possibilities and dangers of sending a crew to Mars, and asks a number of ‘what if’s.’ What if the crew has to abandon the site on Mars due to a sand storm? What if a crew member is stranded after being left behind for dead? How can a human survive the harsh conditions on Mars when everything seems to go wrong?

Speculative Fiction in Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is set in the post-apocalyptic world of Panem, which exists on what used to be North America after a series of disasters.

We don’t learn what those disasters were, exactly, but we are left wondering what life would be like if a disaster (or disasters) destroyed the world as we know it—including the political, economic, and social systems.

Tips for Speculative Writing

• Ask yourself ‘what if’ questions. This is good advice for any fiction story in any genre, but it is especially important for speculative fiction. As the genre’s title suggests, it requires us to speculate, and ‘what if’ is a central question to ask in order to do that.
• Explore real-world problems. Watch the evening news. Check out online news sites. Speculate on what the future might look like if certain issues are not satisfactorily resolved.
• Look at past events. This is especially relevant if you write alternate-history or time-travel stories, but past events can inspire stories set in the present or future as well.
• Do your research. Even if your story is exploring something that is considered an impossibility, researching the topic can give you enough knowledge to make it plausible.
• Read extensively. Some classics of the speculative fiction genre are 1984 by George Orwell, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, and Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Blade Runner by Ridley Scott, The Matrix by the Wachowskis, and the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins are some well-known contemporary examples.

The term ‘speculative fiction’ can be applied to many different genres and sub-genres and includes some of the best-known stories out there. If you like the idea of writing imaginative stories that answer ‘what if” questions and make the impossible possible, then speculative fiction may be for you.

Friday essay: how speculative fiction gained literary respectability

Lecturer, Writing & Publishing, RMIT University

Disclosure statement

Rose Michael does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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I count myself lucky. Weird, I know, in this day and age when all around us the natural and political world is going to hell in a handbasket. But that, in fact, may be part of it.

Back when I started writing, realism had such a stranglehold on publishing that there was little room for speculative writers and readers. (I didn’t know that’s what I was until I read it in a reader’s report for my first novel. And even then I didn’t know what it was, until I realised that it was what I read, and had always been reading; what I wrote, and wanted to write.) Outside of the convention rooms, that is, which were packed with less-literary-leaning science-fiction and fantasy producers and consumers.

Realism was the rule, even for those writing non-realist stories, such as popular crime and commercial romance. Perhaps this dominance was because of a culture heavily influenced by an Anglo-Saxon heritage. Richard Lea has written in The Guardian of “non-fiction” as a construct of English literature, arguing other cultures do not distinguish so obsessively between stories on the basis of whether or not they are “real”.

Regardless of the reason, this conception of literary fiction has been widely accepted – leading self-described “weird fiction” novelist China Miéville to identify the Booker as a genre prize for specifically realist literary fiction ; a category he calls “litfic”. The best writers Australia is famous for producing aren’t only a product of this environment, but also role models who perpetuate it: Tim Winton and Helen Garner write similarly realistically, albeit generally fiction for one and non-fiction for the other.

Today, realism remains the most popular literary mode. Our education system trains us to appreciate literatures of verisimilitude; or, rather, literature we identify as “real”, charting interior landscapes and emotional journeys that generally represent a quite particular version of middle-class life. It’s one that may not have much in common these days with many people’s experiences – middle-class, Anglo or otherwise – or even our exterior world(s).

Like other kinds of biases, realism has been normalised, but there is now a growing recognition – a re-evaluation – of different kinds of “un-real” storytelling: “speculative” fiction, so-called for its obviously invented and inventive aspects.

Feminist science-fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin has described this diversification as:

a much larger collective conviction about who’s entitled to tell stories, what stories are worth telling, and who among the storytellers gets taken seriously … not only in terms of race and gender, but in terms of what has long been labelled “genre” fiction.

Closer to home, author Jane Rawson – who has written short stories and novels and co-authored a non-fiction handbook on “surviving” climate change – has described the stranglehold realistic writing has on Australian stories in an article for Overland , yet her own work evidences a new appreciation for alternative, novel modes.

Rawson’s latest book, From the Wreck, intertwines the story of her ancestor George Hills, who was shipwrecked off the coast of South Australia and survived eight days at sea, with the tale of a shape-shifting alien seeking refuge on Earth. In an Australian first, it was long-listed for the Miles Franklin, our most prestigious literary award, after having won the niche Aurealis Award for Speculative Fiction.

The Aurealis awards were established in 1995 by the publishers of Australia’s longest-running, small-press science-fiction and fantasy magazine of the same name. As well as recognising the achievements of Australian science-fiction, fantasy and horror writers, they were designed to distinguish between those speculative subgenres.

Last year, five of the six finalists for the Aurealis awards were published, promoted and shelved as literary fiction.

A broad church

Perhaps what counts as speculative fiction is also changing. The term is certainly not new; it was first used in an 1889 review, but came into more common usage after genre author Robert Heinlein’s 1947 essay On the Writing of Speculative Fiction .

Whereas science fiction generally engages with technological developments and their potential consequences, speculative fiction is a far broader, vaguer term. It can be seen as an offshoot of the popular science-fiction genre, or a more neutral umbrella category that simply describes all non-realist forms, including fantasy and fairytales – from the epic of Gilgamesh through to The Handmaid’s Tale.

Read more: Guide to the classics: the Epic of Gilgamesh

While critic James Wood argues that “everything flows from the real … it is realism that allows surrealism, magic realism, fantasy, dream and so on”, others, such as author Doris Lessing, believe that everything flows from the fantastic; that all fiction has always been speculative. I am not as interested in which came first (or which has more cultural, or commercial, value) as I am in the fact that speculative fiction – “spec-fic” – seems to be gaining literary respectability. (Next step, surely, mainstream popularity! After all, millions of moviegoers and television viewers have binge-watched the rise of fantastic forms, and audiences are well versed in unreal onscreen worlds.)

One reason for this new interest in an old but evolving form has been well articulated by author and critic James Bradley: climate change. Writers, and publishers, are embracing speculative fiction as an apt form to interrogate what it means to be human, to be humane, in the current climate – and to engage with ideas of posthumanism too.

These are the sorts of existential questions that have historically driven realist literature.

According to the World Wildlife Fund’s 2018 Living Planet Report , 60% of the world’s wildlife disappeared between 1970 and 2012. The year 2016 was declared the hottest on record, echoing the previous year and the one before that . People under 30 have never experienced a month in which average temperatures are below the long-term mean. Hurricanes register on the Richter scale and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has added a colour to temperature maps as the heat keeps on climbing.

Science fiction? Science fact.

What are we to do about this? Well, according to writer and geographer Samuel Miller-McDonald , “If you’re a writer, then you have to write about this.”

There is an infographic doing the rounds on Facebook that shows sister countries with comparable climates to (warming) regions of Australia. But it doesn’t reflect the real issue. Associate Professor Michael Kearney, Research Fellow in Biosciences at the University of Melbourne, points out that no-one anywhere in the world has any experience of our current CO 2 levels. The changed environment is, he says – using a word that is particularly appropriate for my argument – a “novel” situation.

Elsewhere, biologists are gathering evidence of algae that carbon dioxide has made carbohydrate-rich but less nutritious. So the plankton that rely on them to survive might eat more and more and yet still starve.

Fiction focused on the inner lives of a limited cross-section of people no longer seems the best literary form to reflect, or reflect on, our brave new outer world – if, indeed, it ever was.

Whether it’s a creative response to catastrophic climate change, or an empathic, philosophical attempt to express cultural, economic, neurological – or even species – diversification, the recognition works such as Rawson’s are receiving surely shows we have left Modernism behind and entered the era of Anthropocene literature.

And her book is not alone. Other wild titles achieving similar success include Krissy Kneen’s An Uncertain Grace, shortlisted for the Aurealis, the Stella prize and the Norma K. Hemming award – given to mark excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class or disability in a speculative fiction work.

Kneen’s book connects five stories spanning a century, navigating themes of sexuality – including erotic explorations of transgression and transmutation – against the backdrop of a changing ocean.

Earlier, more realist but still speculative titles (from 2015) include Mireille Juchau’s The World Without Us and Bradley’s Clade . These novels fit better with Miéville’s description of “litfic”, employing realistic literary techniques that would not be out of place in Winton’s books, but they have been called “cli-fi” for the way they put climate change squarely at the forefront of their stories (though their authors tend to resist such generic categorisation ).

Both novels, told across time and from multiple points of view, are concerned with radically changed and catastrophically changing environments, and how the negative consequences of our one-world experiment might well – or, rather, ill – play out.

Catherine McKinnnon’s Storyland is a more recent example that similarly has a fantastic aspect. The author describes her different chapters set in different times, culminating – Cloud Atlas–like, in one futuristic episode – as “timeslips” or “time shifts” rather than time travel. Yet it has been received as speculative – and not in a pejorative way, despite how some “high-art” literary authors may feel about “low-brow” genre associations.

Kazuo Ishiguro, for instance, told The New York Times when The Buried Giant was released in 2015 that he was fearful readers would not “follow him” into Arthurian Britain. Le Guin was quick to call him out on his obvious attempt to distance himself from the fantasy category. Michel Faber, around the same time, told a Wheeler Centre audience that his Book of Strange New Things , where a missionary is sent to convert an alien race, was “not about aliens” but alienation. Of course it is the latter, but it is also about the other.

All these more-and-less-speculative fictions – these not-traditionally-realist literatures – analyse the world in a way that it is not usually analysed, to echo Tim Parks’s criterion for the best novels . Interestingly, this sounds suspiciously like science-fiction critic Darko Suvin’s famous conception of the genre as a literature of “cognitive estrangement”, which inspires readers to re-view their own world, think in new ways, and – most importantly – take appropriate action.

A new party

Perhaps better case studies of what local spec-fic is or does – when considering questions of diversity – are Charlotte Wood’s The Natural Way of Things and Claire Coleman’s Terra Nullius.

The first is a distinctly Aussie Handmaid’s Tale for our times, where “girls” guilty by association with some unspecified sexual scenario are drugged, abducted and held captive in a remote outback location.

The latter is another idea whose time has come: an apocalyptic act of colonisation. Not such an imagined scenario for Noongar woman Coleman. It’s a tricky plot to tell without giving away spoilers – the book opens on an alternative history, or is it a futuristic Australia? Again, the story is told through different points of view, which prioritises collective storytelling over the authority of a single voice.

Read more: Friday essay: science fiction's women problem

“The entire purpose of writing Terra Nullius,” Coleman has said , “was to provoke empathy in people who had none.”

This connection of reading with empathy is a case Neil Gaiman made in a 2013 lecture when he told of how China’s first party-approved science-fiction and fantasy convention had come about five years earlier.

The Chinese had sent delegates to Apple and Google etc to try to work out why America was inventing the future, he said. And they had discovered that all the programmers, all the entrepreneurs, had read science fiction when they were children.

“Fiction can show you a different world,” said Gaiman. “It can take you somewhere you’ve never been.”

And when you come back, you see things differently. And you might decide to do something about that: you might change the future.

Perhaps the key to why speculative fiction is on the rise is the ways in which it is not “hard” science fiction. Rather than focusing on technology and world-building to the point of potential fetishism, as our “real” world seems to be doing, what we are reading today is a sophisticated literature engaging with contemporary cultural, social and political matters – through the lens of an “un-real” idea, which may be little more than a metaphor or errant speculation.

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A Guide to Speculative Fiction at Gustavus Library: Tropes & Themes

• Beginnings to 1926
• 1926-1950 : The Pulp Era and the Golden Age
• 1950 to 1965 : The Rise of the SF Paperback
• 1965-1980 : The New Wave
• 1980-2010 : SF Goes "Punk"
• 2010 - Present : The Expanding Universe of SF
• Tropes & Themes
• Fairy Tales
• Ghost Stories
• Weird Tales
• Research, Awards, and Societies
• Africa & the African Diaspora
• Asian & AAPI
• Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean
• MENA & Middle Eastern-American
• Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
• Eastern Europe and Russia
• Children & Young Adult
• Minnesota SF Authors

Tropes & Themes in Speculative Fiction

In this section.

• General History and Reference
• 1926 to 1950 - Pulp Era & Golden Age
• 1950 to 1965 - Rise of the SF Paperback
• 1965 to 1980 - The New Wave
• 1980 to 2010 - SF Goes "Punk"
• 2010 to Present - The Expanding Universe
• Tropes & Themes in Science Fiction

On this Page

Lost race / forerunners, space exploration.

• Encounters with Aliens / the Other

Planetary Romance

Space opera, time travel, alternate history, the future war / military science fiction.

• Robots, Cyborgs, Androids, and Artificial Intelligence

Nuclear Disaster / Holocaust

Post-apocalyptic, eco-pessimism / environmental disaster, eco-optimism / solarpunk, genetic engineering.

• Virtual Worlds

Dinosaurs (and other ancient fauna)

Generation ships, speculative fiction with religious themes.

Background Reading

Anthologies

Individual authors and books.

Encounters with Aliens / Extraterrestrials / the Other

Individual Authors

Individual Books and Authors

Individual Authors & Books

Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, and Artificial Intelligence

Background reading on robots.

Background Reading on Cyborgs and Androids (machine-human hybridity)

Background Reading on Artificial Intelligence

In the Reference Collection

✷ "Blowups Happen" (1940) and "Solution Unsatisfactory" (1941) by Robert Heinlein (writing as Anson MacDonald), in The Worlds of Robert Heinlein

✷ "Deadline" (1944) by Cleve Cartmill, in The Best of Science Fiction

✷ "Terminal Beach" (1964) by J.G. Ballard, in Chronopolis and Other Stories

Librarian's note: See the Biopunk / Genetic Engineering box on the SF Goes "Punk" page of this section.

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Essay: fairy tales of the future — a quest for speculative fiction

With the dawn of a new year, I always like to do a quick search for the “best books” of the past year and the most anticipated book releases of the new year. Most major publications have their own carefully curated lists, some longer than others, with many overlapping titles in literary fiction and memoirs. As much as I love numerous books from these genres, it always puzzles me how rarely speculative fiction books make it onto these lists. At the very least, lists will include new releases by renowned speculative fiction authors, but most, if not all, of their featured author debuts fall under literary fiction. The general consensus of our reading community is that realism is peak fiction, even though realism in literature is relatively young. In the United States, we praise and advertise literary fiction to an overwhelming degree, handing out all of our major awards to these stories and the occasional genre fiction if it passes for good literature. It is almost as if we’ve forgotten that the stories we’ve been telling and passing down for hundreds of years, all over the world, are speculative!

First of all, what is the difference between literary and speculative? Literary fiction, or lit fic, describes stories that are deliberately artistic in writing, style, and theme. They often focus on the human condition, universal struggles, and deeper meanings found in mundane moments. On the flip side, speculative fiction encompasses stories that take place in an alternate reality, and the degree to which this reality deviates from our own is limited only by the imagination. Anything from science fiction to fantasy to magical realism to horror falls under the speculative umbrella. Much of literary, contemporary, and historical fiction never strays too far from real life. In this way, lit fic is typically more character-driven, while speculative fiction can be a mix of character, plot, and world elements.

Speculative fiction is self-defining: the author speculates and shares thoughts, theories, and worlds for readers to muse over for themselves. Prominent titles like “1984,” “Brave New World,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” provoked readers during the already tumultuous times they were written. Good speculative fiction, like lit fic, can spark wondrous questions about human nature and societal norms. However, while lit fic often boxes readers into a singular perspective on conflict, speculative fiction encourages us to expand our views by probing our individual imaginations and values. In a fictitious world designed to contrast our own, what is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? What kind of person would you be, or what role would you fill? The dystopian novel “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia. E. Butler echoes these kinds of questions. We follow Lauren Olamina, a young Black girl wise beyond her years and gifted with hyperempathy, an ability to physically feel the joy and pain of others. As she watches her family collapse and her community crumble to the outside anarchy, she forms a new religion named Earthseed that helps her cope with and explain these devastating experiences. Butler writes striking, philosophical dialogue between her characters that burrows deep into readers’ minds and leaves them thinking about Lauren’s story long after it closes.

At the same time, much speculative fiction tampers with technological advancement or the lack thereof. Every stage of civilization has hinged on innovation, and many speculative stories explore how technological progress alters human behavior and beliefs over time. Two excellent modern science fiction novels with these themes are Cixin Liu’s “The Three-Body Problem” and Jeff Vandermeer’s “Annihilation.” The former is a fascinating, scientific vision of humanity preparing for an alien invasion set to take place in four centuries. It is a story of immense scope, observing the geopolitical consequences of scientific breakthroughs alongside trauma’s echoing effects on individual worldviews. “Annihilation,” on the other hand, is the speculative steeped in suspense. In the present day, on the Floridian coast, a military corporation sends research expeditions into Area X, a mysterious environmental anomaly that is self-sustaining and bordered off from the surrounding land. Through eerie, biological horror, Vandermeer creatively questions the objectivity of our observations and the extent of our knowledge of the world around us. The queries and visions of science fiction authors such as Liu and Vandermeer promote multifaceted discussions around the evolving purposes of technology and its unforeseen consequences.

Unfortunately, there is much stigma surrounding categories within speculative fiction, and many readers who pride themselves on good taste steer clear of anything that hints at the weird. Critics and fellow authors often use condescending tones in the media to dismiss science fiction authors, namely women, and relegate their works to genre fiction, or fiction solely for entertainment. This elitism maintained by “widely read” sources bars multitudes of readers from potentially expanding their taste into the speculative. A new favorite book, author, or genre could be lying in wait for so many people, and only a leap of faith away! Sure, not everyone wants to read about dragons, aliens, or robots, and I fully support people simply reading what they like. However, I do believe that perpetuating unfair stereotypes of such expansive genres like science fiction or fantasy does a disservice to their literary merit. 

Above all, speculative fiction, by nature, is a boundless source of escapism. Lewis Carroll once wrote, “Some day, you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again,” but why wait until then? What kind of stories made us fall in love with reading in the first place or can enchant us at any age? While we typically gravitate toward stories that resonate with us, there is also beauty in those that transcend relevance to our lives. Stepping away from reality every so often to get lost in novel experiences, bookish or not, restores our sense of self outside of our immediate purpose in life. Our capacity to imagine and appreciate what lies beyond existence is what makes us human, and the speculative speaks to this part of our nature. In many ways, we are born to speculate, to create and consume it, to live and surpass it, over and over again, just as we have always done.

Image courtesy of Robert McCall

• speculative fiction

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Introduction to History and Speculative Fiction: Essays in Honor of Gunlög Fur

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• First Online: 15 December 2023

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This introductory chapter makes the case that despite different epistemological starting points, history and speculative fiction are both arguably “literatures of cognitive estrangement.” Both can help expose invisible problematic aspects of their authors’ and readers’ societies and suggest possible solutions or futures. Summarizing relevant existing literature and theoretical perspectives, the chapter suggests the usefulness of the postcolonial concept of concurrences for both modes and different possible ways to define the two. It also investigates the relationship that history and speculative fiction have to colonial ideology and ecocriticism, as well as presenting the structure of the book.

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Fiction and history: conflicts over an invisible border in early modern period

Françoise Lavocat

Posthumanism and Speculative Fiction

Anyone can identify what seems odd or false in the mental habits of an alien “somewhere.” But if something is the very texture of any insider’s thought, anywhere, it is the work of genius, not of ordinary men and women, to think that one’s thought is wrong. That is why I suggest that it is important to complement… [the] strategy of making the strange familiar, with the opposite one of making the familiar strange. (Fields and Fields 2012 , 223)

History and speculative fiction have different epistemological starting points; simply put, history is based on fact and speculative fiction, as manifested by both parts of its name, is not. Nevertheless, when at their best, the two perform similar work in “making the strange familiar” and “making the familiar strange” by taking their readers on journeys through space and time. Excellent history, like excellent speculative fiction, should cause us to reconsider crucial aspects of our society that we normally overlook or else help us to break free of such discursive constraints through the process of familiarizing ourselves with radically different forms of social organization, whether in the factual past or the fictional future (or past or present). This applies especially to the subtle structures of power that organize our own societies, whether through notions of gender, race, coloniality, or others that we do not so readily imagine. These structures become most apparent in liminal spaces between cultures or in contacts between societies, a phenomenon that Gunlög Fur has explored through the concept of concurrences . As will be described in more detail below, concurrences describes separate, parallel worlds or cultures that operate according to different internal logics, but come into contact, generating complicated relations of agreement and/or competition (Brydon et al. 2017a ).

How varied can the organization of human society be, and what are the common denominators between different cultures and lifeways? How do we define the “human” and imagine its relationship to what we accordingly define as “non-human”? Are the different societies imagined by the authors of speculative fiction viable in real life (whatever that means) or too “inhuman” to be plausible? To what extent are historians able to immerse themselves in and understand the world of past individuals who lived in vastly different social arrangements, and to what extent are they limited in this endeavor by their own cultural baggage?

These questions pose great challenges, but working through them also holds the promise of exposing unjust and discriminatory power structures within societies, promoting understanding between societies and maybe even preparing humanity to cope with crises, whether pandemics, climate change, or currently unimaginable future issues. In this, history and speculative fiction, which have hitherto seldom been considered together (at least from the history side), may be able to learn from each other and even become allies. Despite their different premises, is the knowledge generated by each somehow compatible or complementary? How might historians become better equipped to study the past through a consideration of fictional societies, and how might authors of speculative fiction write better works with more nuanced understandings of history? How might a more profound understanding of historical approaches help literary scholars in their work?

With contributions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives that consider diverse examples of speculative fiction and historical encounters, this volume provides a robust opening to a serious discussion of these questions. At a time that the discipline of history has been described as being in deep crisis even as historical claims are increasingly mobilized in the service of political battles and identity creation (Bessner 2023 ), a productive engagement with speculative fiction may provide one avenue for reinvigorating the discipline and creatively addressing future challenges. The authors of this volume hope in any case that this book will be a fitting tribute to 30 years of groundbreaking scholarship and conscientious teaching by our colleague, mentor, and friend Gunlög Fur, not least through new applications of the concept of concurrences .

Concurrences

To see and name emergent patterns of globalization, and to look again at the histories that have brought the world to this place, requires experimental methodologies that proceed from fresh assumptions about modes of knowing and value. (Brydon et al. 2017a , 30)

The present volume shares the same overarching concern expressed here by Diana Brydon, Peter Forsgren, and Gunlög Fur in finding creative new methods to understand human societies. The method that these two literary scholars and one historian argue for in the anthology from which this quote is taken, Concurrent Imaginaries, Postcolonial Worlds: Toward Revised Histories ( 2017b ), is Gunlög Fur’s postcolonial concept/methodology of concurrences . One of the key aims of History and Speculative Fiction , both here and in the chapters that follow, is to demonstrate that concurrences and speculative fiction are especially productive in combination, in several different ways. Both center around the meeting and evaluation of different cultures, languages, and ways of life. As described in more detail below, science fiction has strong ties to historical colonialism and, like the postcolonial concept of concurrences, is unusually well-suited to critique its legacies. Moreover, history and speculative fiction can be understood as concurrent modes of exploring the human condition and shaping our view of possible futures. Perhaps most importantly, speculative fiction is an especially apt tool for helping us to understand the meaning and significance of concurrences and explore its potential, while concurrences as a critical historical method offers the possibility of enriching and overcoming the colonial tropes that still shape much science fiction.

But first it is necessary to better explain what concurrences is. As Brydon, Forsgren, and Fur themselves admit ( 2017b , 15), concurrences can be challenging to understand abstractly. The concept was developed to better explain the meeting of two different cultures, epistemologies, or value systems, a situation that frequently arose historically in the context of colonialism. Such meetings were particularly frequent and important in the early modern contact between Europeans and Native Americans, Fur’s primary area of expertise. As Fur herself explains,

“Concurrences”… refers to disparate spheres of existence and meaning that are interlinked but do not necessarily overlap and are not organized hierarchically—even though asymmetrical power-nexuses will influence these relations. The nature and evolution of these power-relations, however, are questions of historical study and context, not an organic or essential (or theoretically predictable, or even predestined) aspect of these relations. (2017, 54)

Concurrences seeks to understand this contact between different “spheres of existence and meaning” without privileging one or the other, but also without naïvely ignoring the presence of the very real unequal power relations that such meetings often involve. As an approach, it does not view these inequalities as inevitable or reflecting the essence of either sphere, however; to do so would risk perpetuating colonial tropes like that of the “dying race” (see, for example, Brantlinger 2003 ) or the superiority of certain forms of “civilization.” “To think in terms of concurrences is to reject both binary models of opposition and absolute models of relativism,” as Brydon, Forsgren, and Fur put it ( 2017b , 11). Concurrences aims therefore to complicate our view of the world by bringing in multiple perspectives, while not falling victim to either absolute relativism or conceiving of these meetings on an idealistic plane outside of real-life power differentials on the one hand, or oversimplified, stereotypical, or Manichean views of cultural difference on the other.

Concurrences is not about a meeting on “neutral ground,” but often involves competing claims, or what Fur frequently refers to as “jurisdictions”:

It is not the multiplicity of histories per se that interests me but the way in which they become entangled, ensnared by their competing jurisdictions. Concurrences points to those zones of entanglement where simultaneous presence in time and space reveals not only separate claims on jurisdiction but also how people deal with difference and similarity, closeness and distance, in ways that belie simplistic categorizations and predetermined hierarchies. (Fur 2017 , 46)

As such, the notion of place or spatiality is central to concurrences, both in terms of the real-world situatedness of such encounters and in the importance of the place from which the scholar is researching and writing. Like many postcolonial approaches, concurrences argues that researchers should pay especially close attention to their own specific baggage and remain humble to the fact that they will only be able to see an incomplete picture of the phenomena they are studying (Fur 2017 , 40). This applies to all of the different epistemological positions, “worlds,” or “cultures” involved in concurrent meetings; echoing Donna Haraway, Fur makes sure to point out that it is a mistake to romanticize “the other” or succumb to the temptation of “uncritically favouring subjugated or subaltern perspectives” (2017, 49).

Fur chose the term concurrences because it contained a richness of meaning, with different connotations that capture the different perspectives and approaches described above. Besides the most common present-day meaning of “simultaneous,” concurrence can signify both agreement or (in its archaic English form or current Swedish form) competition, reflecting the different possible results of contact between different worlds.

A term such as concurrences , then, contains in its bag of meanings both agreement and competition, entanglement and incompatibility as it slides uneasily across time (“archaic” noun-forms) and space (different languages). It signals contestations over interpretations and harbours different, diverging, and at times competing claims that will inflect studies of things such as home, travelling, subjectivity-identity, voice, and space. (Fur 2017 , 40)

Like much speculative fiction, Fur’s concept of concurrences suggests that understanding other cultures, lifeways, languages, and epistemologies that one comes into contact with is difficult, but possible (within certain limits set by one’s own cultural baggage), and above all, important.

Many works of speculative fiction dramatize the meeting of mutually incomprehensible societies or worlds described by concurrences . In science fiction, difference is typically represented by alien species, as effectively demonstrated by Ella Andrén in her chapter on Star Trek . Even if Babel fish or universal translators are a frequent convenience in science fiction that allows authors to circumvent, instead of exploring, the difficulties of translation and epistemology involved in concurrent encounters, there are still countless examples in which these very difficulties form the crux of the story. This is a central theme in Charlie Jane Anders’ novel The City in the Middle of the Night ( 2019 ), explored in Karen Ordahl Kupperman’s chapter, which draws insightful parallels between the regimented colonial society of the planet January, that depicted in Harry Martinson’s Aniara (1956) and that of colonial Jamestown. Children of Time ( 2015 ) and Children of Ruin ( 2019 ) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the Binti stories by Nnedi Okorafor ( 2015 ), and A Memory Called Empire ( 2019 ) and A Desolation Called Peace ( 2021 ) by Arkady Martine are only a few other recent examples that come to mind. Even Star Trek: The Next Generation , with its heavy reliance on universal translators, dramatized the difficulty of understanding a completely different way of communication (however implausible) in the episode Darmok (1991) . These examples mostly have happy endings in which some form of mutual understanding is established, but there is also a tradition in science fiction that emphasizes the impossibility of understanding alien others. This is true of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris ( 1961 ), Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama ( 1973 ; at least before the sequels were written), and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic (1972) [ 2012 ]), all of which involve encounters with extremely powerful, but completely inscrutable aliens.

I would argue that one of the best dramatizations of concurrences in speculative fiction, and one that can help us to better understand and reflect on the term itself, is Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life ( 2002 , originally published in 1998). This award-winning novella was the basis of the film Arrival ( 2016 ), but the original story has certain key differences. In a few dozen pages, the story richly connects profound reflections on linguistics, parenthood, the nature of time, and epistemology. But it is the contact between two previously isolated species or civilizations and their worldviews that is the most relevant for a discussion of concurrences. In the story, humanity is unexpectedly visited by an advanced alien race, which they call “heptopods.” The heptopods remain in orbit around Earth but send down 112 “looking glasses”—a kind of two-way audiovisual communication device through which they come into contact with humanity. The story centers on the narrator, Louise Banks, a linguist, and Gary Donnelly, a physicist with whom she is paired in order to establish communication with and study the heptopods, under the command of the U.S. Military. The military officers and other representatives of the U.S. Federal Government represent a narrow-minded, binary approach to otherness. They are completely flummoxed by the intentions of the heptopods, whom they perceive first as a military threat and later, greedily, as a potential source of advanced technology. Frustrated by the government’s lack of flexibility and creativity in this first human contact with an alien species, the researchers, who are driven primarily by a will to understand the heptopods, come to a far deeper, though still incomplete, understanding of these visitors.

As Louise slowly comes to comprehend the heptopods’ significantly different language, one of Gary’s physicist colleagues finally makes a breakthrough after weeks of being unable to communicate about physics concepts when the heptopods react with understanding to a description of Fermat’s principle. The resulting physics discussion is (predictably) omitted in the Hollywood movie but is arguably essential to the plot of the story. In discussing Fermat’s principle, which describes how light always “chooses” the fastest path between two points, even when traveling through different, refracting, mediums, a key difference between human and heptopod epistemology comes to light. Donnelly explains that laws of physics are typically expressed in causal terms, but that mathematically, it is just as correct to describe them in other terms, as variational principles: “The thing is, while the common formulation of physical laws is causal, a variational principle like Fermat’s is purposive, almost teleological” (124). As stated even more clearly later,

The physical universe was a language with a perfectly ambiguous grammar. Every physical event was an utterance that could be parsed in two entirely different ways, one causal and the other teleological, both valid, neither one disqualifiable no matter how much context was available. (133)

It dawns on Louise that the heptopods’ language and physics reflect an entirely different epistemology and way of relating to time: humans have a “sequential mode of awareness” and heptopods a “simultaneous mode of awareness” (134).

As Louise increasingly masters their written language, she begins to think like the heptopods and suddenly has access to her own “memories” from the future. Unlike in the movie, however, Louise realizes that she cannot use her knowledge of future events to affect them:

Freedom isn’t an illusion; it’s perfectly real in the context of sequential consciousness. Within the context of simultaneous consciousness, freedom is not meaningful, but neither is coercion; it’s simply a different context, no more or less valid than the other… But you can’t see both at the same time. Similarly, knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will. What made it possible for me to exercise freedom of choice also made it impossible for me to know the future. Conversely, now that I know the future, I would never act contrary to that future… (137)

In the story, this is not a “gift” from the heptopods, per se, but a result of Louise understanding their worldview, albeit one that she cannot completely share. A mutual exchange does play a role in the story, however. At the insistence of the researchers, the government decides to eschew attempts at trade and instead engage in mutual “gift-giving” with the heptopods. In the movie, the heptopods intentionally “gift” humans the ability to see into the future as a kind of quid pro quo arrangement (so that humanity will be able to help the heptopods in the future), but in the story, the gift giving is much freer, more whimsical, and of less perceived value to the U.S. government. In the end, the heptopods leave as mysteriously as they arrived; Louise has gained new perspectives on the universe but still does not fully understand the heptopods or their motives.

In many ways, Chiang’s story demonstrates the concept of concurrences . The heptopods consistently resist human governments’ attempts to place them into predefined categories or understand them according to human cultural logic; it is only through curiosity, openness, and a cognizance of their own subject positions and cultural embodiments that researchers like Louise are able to come to a greater understanding of them. The gift-giving paradigm that the heptopods positively respond to is also emphasized in the theorization of concurrences. Based on calls from indigenous scholars, gift-giving is highlighted as “a proper stance for academic intercourse”—the free exchange of stories and knowledge (Fur 2017 , 41). Most interestingly, Chiang’s story, like much of his work, can be characterized as “hard science fiction,” engaging in an informed way with physics, linguistics, and mathematics. And yet, Story of Your Life still embraces the possibility of multiple but equally “true” worldviews, even when it comes to fundamental scientific principles. The story therefore not only illustrates concurrences in a particularly nuanced and striking way but also demonstrates how multiple epistemologies or worldviews need not be merely the fantasies of “soft” subjects within the humanities and social sciences but that the social construction of even the “reality” of the universe may be mathematically plausible. Explicitly or implicitly, the rest of the chapters of this volume explore the productive synergies between history and speculative fiction through the lens of concurrences.

Distinguishing Between “History” and “Speculative Fiction”

Concurrences , then, is arguably a productive way of conceiving of the relationship between history and speculative fiction, but implies that they are separate logics or fields that can intersect in complex ways. Such a sharp distinction, however, is not uncontroversial. The difference between history and fiction has been the subject of debate for centuries, although the attempt to make history a more “scientific” discipline in the nineteenth century is generally seen as a turning point, with the creation of a sharper boundary between the two (see, for example, Burke 2012 ). More recently, the debate flared up and became the subject of countless articles and books in the final decades of the twentieth century, with Hayden White as a major figure of controversy. As David Carr has pointed out, both the positivist defenders of historical “objectivity” and many critics, like White, who argue that history is inherently more literary than these positivists would like to admit, share the same assumption that “creative” or “literary” elements in historical studies are suspect and that fiction is analogous to falsification or deception ( 2004 ). In fact, as Carr astutely argues, novelists are hardly deceptive, as it is clear from the context in which their works are read that they are not intended to be taken as “true.” Nor does the use of literary elements automatically invalidate historical research; the distinction is rather one of the intentions. Both history and fiction can use similar techniques, but history is characterized by its production of “assertions, theories, predictions, and in some cases narratives, about how the world really is, or will be, or was,” while fiction is not—a distinction which, according to Carr, nearly all readers understand ( 2004 , 255).

Despite the massive literature on the relationship between history and literature, or fiction, in general, speculative fiction or related categorizations such as science fiction and fantasy have received virtually no consideration in the context of historical methodology or epistemology. Since speculative fiction cannot be mistaken for a factual account of the world, it has been overlooked in the aforementioned discussions of history and literature (for a rare exception, see Liedl 2015 ). Nevertheless, as Carr contends, such discussions have largely missed the point of how both history and literature can shed light on the human experience in different, often complementary, ways. Speculative fiction’s unrealistic nature can actually make it particularly useful for understanding the nature of historical truth and why scholars believe in certain facts. As Brian Attebery has argued for the fantasy genre, “Because fantasy has those irreducible elements of the impossible, the unreal, the extremely extraordinary, it helps us understand better what’s the possible, what’s the real, what’s the true” ( 2022 ). The essays in this volume provide clear examples of the productive synergies between academic history and speculative fiction that can enhance historians’ research and teaching.

Speculative fiction can be broadly defined as literature of the fantastic, using clearly unrealistic elements to explore hypothetical scenarios or bring aspects of the reader’s world into sharp relief. It overlaps to a great degree with science fiction but can also be considered a broader, umbrella category that includes fantasy literature, which does not have the same focus on technology that typically characterizes science fiction. Science is often, but not always, the main focus of speculative fiction, and many creative stories take place in low-technology societies in the distant past or future that are at least as thought-provoking as literature involving high technology. In her exploration of postcolonialism and science fiction, Jessica Langer argues against the term “speculative fiction” in favor of “science fiction,” which she feels better highlights the dark sides of scientific “progress” and its “conflict” with indigenous epistemologies that are often criticized in postcolonial scholarship ( 2011 , 9). This is a valid point in the context of Langer’s book, but even though much of the present anthology discusses colonialism, it is not limited to this topic, and I contend that “speculative fiction” is more useful when discussing synergies between this kind of literature and history-writing in general.

The emphasis on literature that is speculative highlights the intellectual, contemplative dimension of the best of this literature. In my view, “science fiction” is too-closely associated in everyday speech with space opera. I find it difficult to categorize works like Star Wars as “speculative” or engaging with important questions of how society is organized. For such “science fiction,” spaceships, lasers, robots, and other high technology are mostly exotic scenery that could easily be swapped for sailing ships, castles, and horses. In speculative fiction, however, the fantastic elements form a crucial part of the plot and its raison d’être , making it perhaps a more serious (though not always less fun) type of fiction. For these reasons, this book will use both “speculative fiction” and “science fiction,” but the former is preferred when discussing this kind of literature and its relationship to history in a more general way. In addition, the diverse chapters that follow are not limited to print literature, but explore different media used to convey creative speculation.

Reflecting the close affinity between these genres or modes of writing, two literary critics’ explanations of what science fiction is apply equally well to speculative fiction. David Seed describes science fiction as “an embodied thought experiment whereby aspects of our familiar reality are transformed or suspended” ( 2011 , 2). Darko Suvin has similarly characterized science fiction as “literature of cognitive estrangement,” in which rigorous coherence in world-building according to fantastic premises is paramount (Suvin 1979, quoted in Rieder 2011, 62). This last definition of science fiction is particularly useful for the present discussion of science- or speculative fiction’s connections to history, for cannot history also be described as a “literature of cognitive estrangement”? The great challenge for historians is becoming so immersed in the language and culture of the “foreign country” of the past as to be able to understand its obscure references and oblique jokes. Failure to properly do so could have disastrous consequences, with historians completely misunderstanding and misconstruing key texts, events, and processes.

I often try to explain to my students that the people of the past were not stupider than we are, even if they were ignorant of later developments and even though their worldviews can seem laughably wrong in our eyes. The deeply engrained narrative of explosive technological progress on which our modern identity rests tends to obscure the many things that the people of the past knew but that have now largely been lost. Myriad philosophical and religious ideas, once-canonical texts, social norms, and even basic knowledge of agriculture, nature, or the uses of various tools that were common knowledge in specific times and places have now fallen into obscurity.

Though this insight can be gained through the detailed study of a historical period, it is quickly and usefully dramatized in a great many time travel stories within science fiction. The time traveler, wary of being uncovered as an imposter and burned as a witch, or worse, must become extremely well-versed in the local language and culture, almost like a spy. This is particularly skillfully executed in the time-travel novels and short stories of Connie Willis, in whose universe time travel is the domain of academic historians conducting fieldwork, since the inability to alter the timeline has made it unprofitable and therefore uninteresting to commercial actors. In Willis’ different stories, the theme of past alterity is depicted in varying registers, whether in the somber account of the struggles of a time traveler stuck in the Bubonic Plague in Doomsday Book ( 1992 ) or the comedy of errors that ensues from the protagonist’s inadequate preparation for his mission to Victorian England in To Say Nothing of the Dog ( 1997 ). Infiltrating the society of the past in time travel narratives like Willis’ not only forms an exciting narrative but also exposes the richness of the past and all that has been lost in a particularly vivid way. Even later historians’ (or archaeologists’) errors of interpretation are the subject of works like A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller 1959 ) or Motel of the Mysteries (Macaulay 1979 ). In the former, a twentieth-century mechanic’s shopping list becomes venerated centuries later as a holy relic. In the latter, a lampoon of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, a future archaeologist completely misunderstands the purpose of the everyday objects he excavates from a twentieth-century motel room.

The confusing mix of familiarity and radical alterity in the past in many ways mirrors the construction of fantastical worlds in speculative fiction. In both historical sources and speculative fiction, the present-day reader can be lured into a sense of security by familiar cultural or material elements that both their own society and the society they are reading about hold in common before being jarred by an unexpected difference that reveals the similarities to be mostly superficial. Insight into the complexity and distinct internal logic of other societies and the ability to convey some of this through a richness of detail in world-excavation or world-building are what mark both high-quality history and speculative fiction. History aspires to the analysis and interpretation of the past made possible by a deep knowledge of its innumerable contextual minutiae, whereas speculative fiction attempts the creation of an imaginary world that involves fantastic elements, but with a consistency and complexity that makes it seem plausible. Both involve a large degree of “cognitive estrangement” from their author’s internalized assumptions about how the world and society are.

After the postmodern turn, most historians have been increasingly wary of their ability to set aside their own cultural biases when evaluating source material and writing history. The historian’s attempt at “cognitive estrangement” will always be imperfect, limited by their own culturally- and linguistically-determined cognition. Similarly, virtually all works of speculative fiction can be criticized for logical or internal inconsistencies, or the seeming implausibility of the world that they create, distracting from their intended message. But as incomplete or imperfect as they inevitably are, history and speculative fiction still both offer unique possibilities to question the seeming inevitability of aspects of our current society, our current world.

Counterfactual Speculation

There is little research into the possible creative synergies between history and speculative fiction in general, but a great deal has been written about more specific types of speculative fiction or from other perspectives that shed light on this topic in useful ways. There are naturally many literary histories of science or speculative fiction, which often provide useful insights into the origins of certain conventions that have shaped these overlapping modes (see, for example, Seed 2011 ; Luckhurst 2018 ). This is particularly true of colonialism, whose special relationship to science fiction requires its own section later on.

More directly, although it only represents one subcategory of speculative fiction, a body of literature has arisen around the study of counterfactual history. This has become an increasingly popular and influential literary subgenre and one with clear implications for the study of history (see, for example, Rosenfeld 2005 ; Evans 2013 ). In one of the most important recent studies of the counterfactual, Catherine Gallagher argues that although counterfactual history has existed for centuries, it has become widespread and a significant political tool only comparatively recently. Starting in the 1970s, counterfactual methodologies became the object of serious discussion in both the historical and legal professions, the latter to address issues of restitution for historical crimes. In literature, Gallagher contends that counterfactual history went from being a science fiction subgenre to a mainstream literary mode in the first decade of the twenty-first century, in part thanks to the popularity of simulated historical battles in the gaming world whose outcome was open to change ( 2018 , 1). Indeed, as this book demonstrates, especially Piia Posti’s and Cecilia Trenter’s chapters on romance fiction, this development has not been limited to realistic historical fiction, but counterfactual, fantastic, or speculative elements that were previously limited to science fiction have increasingly been used within other genres, further transgressing the already blurry boundaries of speculative fiction.

Gallagher’s timeline demonstrates that interest in counterfactual speculation grew concurrently in different fields, including academic history, law, and literature. Historians have a long history of skepticism towards counterfactual speculation, but as Gallagher notes, many have come to see this as a possible supplementary tool for the profession. The counterfactual is a useful tool for considering issues such as “the role of human agency and responsibility in history, the possibilities of historical justice and repair, and the coherence of identity—of individuals, nations, and peoples—through time” ( 2018 , 4). Just as this anthology argues for speculative fiction in general, counterfactuals can provide a useful means for reflecting on some of the core issues that make history meaningful.

While counterfactual history is of obvious relevance to the historical profession, it is only one of many types of speculative fiction. As I discuss in my chapter on what I label counterphysical fiction, the dominant form of merely changing the outcome of a battle or other historical turning point does not go very far in challenging our established ways of thinking about the world or how society could be. This anthology seeks to move beyond this narrow focus of much existing research and explore how other fantastic or speculative elements can enrich the writing of history and vice versa.

Colonialism and Postcolonialism

It should be apparent to anyone familiar with the pervasive science fiction tropes of galactic empires, (alien) race warfare, and the settlement of other worlds that science fiction has a close relationship to and is often directly inspired by real-life colonialism. This has been the subject of several major studies that, while not having the same focus on history-writing as this volume, discuss many of the same issues and theories explored here. Perhaps the most important study of the relationship between science fiction and colonial ideology is John Rieder’s Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction ( 2008 ). Rieder, like a majority of literary scholars, argues that the height of European colonial expansionism in the late nineteenth century was also, not coincidentally, the formative period for the most familiar aspects of modern science fiction (2). As a result, early science fiction is deeply infused with colonial themes and ideology, characteristics which have tended to persist over time. As Janne Lahti’s chapter in this volume demonstrates, even recent science fiction blockbuster films in many ways reflect and perpetuate settler colonial ideology.

Rieder identifies several “powerful ideological fantasies” that characterize both colonialism and much science fiction. The first of these is the “discoverer’s fantasy” of the terra nullius that is actually inhabited by indigenous peoples. Rieder defines a “missionary fantasy” as the attitude that “Although we know that our arrival disrupts and destroys the traditional way of life here, we believe that it fulfills the deep needs and desires of all right-thinking natives.” The “anthropologist’s fantasy” temporally displaces contemporaneous indigenous peoples by considering them as living in the past, “in fact, to be our own past” (31–32). Finally, there is the colonial fantasy that limited natural resources are actually unlimited, highlighting the close relationship between colonialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction (37). While not discussed explicitly by Rieder, his very use of the term “fantasy” points to yet another telling link between colonial history and speculative fiction: colonial ventures were in many ways based on speculation (in both senses of the term) about the profitability or usefulness of foreign lands, speculation that was very often inflated by a lack of reliable information and greed-induced delusions (Varnava 2015 ). In this way, a great deal of real-life colonial history was in fact based on fantasy and speculation more than reality, even though the terrible consequences of colonial expansionism were very real.

Rieder’s ideological fantasies of colonialism and science fiction reflect many of the main colonial ideologies exposed by leading postcolonial theorists. Mary Louise Pratt’s classic Imperial Eyes ( 1992 ), for example, presents a detailed analysis of the “discoverer’s fantasy,” which she describes in terms of the titular “imperial eyes” that see what they want to see and envision a concrete domination of the colonized landscape. The “anthropologist’s fantasy,” as the core of the colonial worldview, is discussed by a great deal of postcolonial scholarship, but perhaps most notably in Dipesh Chakrabarty’s Provincializing Europe (2000), with its insightful discussions of the use of historical time by colonial ideology. Chakrabarty famously argues that European colonial ideology “consigned Indians, Africans, and other ‘rude’ nations to an imaginary waiting room of history” (8) while attacking the strange, atemporal “universalism” claimed by Europeans.

For Rieder, the centrality of time to colonial ideology is strongly related to its prevalence and importance as a motif in science fiction. This is particularly true of the common time travel motif. For those who accepted colonial notions of “civilization” and progress, travel in space was often understood as a kind of time travel (76). Early European travelers to Japan, for example, saw in Japanese society a mirror of Europe’s Middle Ages. Those who visited a variety of so-called “primitive” cultures around the world frequently described them as “Stone Age people.” Indeed, the idea that we can learn about, or from, “our primitive ancestors” by studying present-day human groups who have been isolated from globalized modern culture is still extremely prevalent today. The leap from spatial to time travel in science fiction, therefore, was not so great in the late nineteenth century and arguably facilitated by colonial ideology.

Since colonized “Others” were often considered to be not only culturally different but the colonial explorer’s own past , both anthropology and science fiction often investigate “to what extent the limitations and weaknesses of contemporary humankind are effects of social organization rather than qualities intrinsic to the species” (Rieder 2008 , 77). In my view, this is exactly the kind of difficult question that both history and speculative fiction should be jointly contributing to answering. Both types of writing remain unavoidably bound to their authors’ preexisting worldview but can to some extent break out of these constraints, albeit in different ways: history by exploring the artifacts of different cultures and modes of social organization that actually existed in the past, and speculative fiction by using or constructing a rationally operating, consistent, but unreal, world in which to test such ideas. Despite its colonial legacies, then, (and, perhaps, despite history’s Eurocentric and nationalist legacies) speculative fiction has the potential to productively challenge existing hegemonic ways of seeing the world in ways that can help to address current and future problems.

Indeed, while emphasizing science fiction’s colonial origins, Rieder points out that from its very beginnings in the late nineteenth century, it was used both to reinforce and to question, critique, and destabilize colonial ideology (10). Nineteenth-century protagonists of science fiction stories were often the weaker party in a cross-cultural/cross-temporal colonial encounter, as travelers to the distant future were awed by its awesome technology in much the same way as colonial subjects visiting the metropole were supposed to be. As in many other contemporaneous empires, Japanese colonial authorities, for example, arranged “sightseeing tours” of Japanese cities for leaders of anti-colonial resistance in Japan’s empire in an attempt to overwhelm and intimidate them into submission (Matsuda 2003 , 48–49; Hennessey 2018 , 228). Even more dramatically, the recurrent trope of the invasion of Earth by technologically superior aliens closely mirrored actual (and often contemporaneous) colonial conquest but placed familiar, “modern,” or “civilized” characters in the position of the victim with whom the reader was intended to sympathize.

Catastrophes are indeed often central to speculative fiction, which frequently makes use of the related mode of dystopia. Kristín Loftsdóttir’s chapter astutely discusses different ways that such imaginative works are linked to real-world “crisis-talk,” intervening in current political debates. Discussing the motif of catastrophe in science fiction that undermines technological and civilizational optimism, Rieder importantly argues that

such logical or emotional inversion of the fantasies of appropriation is not just an imaginary effect. Environmental devastation, species extinction, enslavement, plague, and genocide following in the wake of invasion by an alien civilization with vastly superior technology—all of these are not merely nightmares morbidly fixed upon by science fiction writers and readers, but are rather the bare historical record of what happened to non-European people and lands after being “discovered” by Europeans and integrated into Europe’s economic and political arrangements from the fifteenth century to the present. (124)

In this way, the “fantastic” or “speculative” elements of literature involving futuristic alien invasions or similar plots are actually startlingly real. This is in fact the very theme of the research project “Surviving the Unthinkable: Ecological Destruction and Indigenous Survivance in North America and the Nordic Countries, 1600–2022,” initiated by Gunlög Fur shortly before this book went to press. The project will study whether humanity as a whole can learn from the experience of resilience after devastation experienced by a great many indigenous peoples around the world to be able to better cope with the devastation wreaked by climate change (Olsson 2022 ).

Based on Rieder’s observation, much early science fiction could be said to reflect colonialists’ fears of falling victim to their own methods or perhaps even, in some cases, their guilty conscience. Indeed, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were characterized by an obsession with alien invasion and other forms of race warfare not only in science fiction but in non-fictional and even “scientific” works warning of a decline in white manliness or virility as a result of “over-civilization” (the Eloi in H. G. Wells’ 1895 The Time Machine come to mind) or even outright “race suicide” in the face of an invasion by non-white masses (Bederman 1995 ; Painter 2010 ). This particular discourse has in fact recently been reinvigorated by the anti-immigration extreme-right in many European and European-settler countries, who use the language of “invasion” or “replacement” and, explicitly or not, fear that non-whites will in some way repeat the colonial crimes historically committed by Europeans (Bracke and Aguilar 2020 ). Adopting the position of the colonized victim in science fiction, then, does not necessarily lead to greater empathy with the historical victims of colonialism, but such fantasies can actually strengthen an “eat or be eaten” sense of being threatened by the Other and provide a more socially acceptable setting in which to explore such fears.

Besides the colonial origins of many classic science fiction tropes, the genre is also frequently criticized for its strong links to Eurocentrism and normative “whiteness” (see, for example, Carrington 2016 ). Ashleigh Harris’ chapter explores how globally circulating views of science and science fiction produced in Europe and America could reinforce notions of whiteness in apartheid South Africa. Fortunately, the last several years have witnessed an upsurge of interest in postcolonial speculative fiction that uses the mode’s various tools to creatively undermine persistent colonial ideology. In the afterword to a pioneering collection from 2004 , So Long Been Dreaming , Uppinder Mehan argues that speculative fiction is a necessary complement to critical history in order to complete the work of decolonization:

postcolonial writing has for the most part been intensely focused on examining contemporary reality as a legacy of a crippling colonial past but rarely has it pondered that strange land of the future. Visions of the future imagine how life might be otherwise. If we do not imagine our futures, postcolonial peoples risk being condemned to be spoken about and for again. (270)

This is likewise the focus of the increasingly salient literary movement Afrofuturism, which seeks to ensure that Black people have a prominent place in imagined futures that have long been predominantly white and reflect a homogenized Western culture (Carrington 2016 ; Lavender 2019 ). Such postcolonial speculative fiction contests persistent colonial tropes of the “inevitable” extinction or assimilation of non-dominant languages, cultures, and peoples.

In her 2011 book Postcolonialism and Science Fiction , Jessica Langer argues that science fiction need not necessarily be colonial, in spite of its origins, but in fact has characteristics that can be especially useful for overcoming the corrosive legacies of colonialism in postcolonial societies. One such characteristic is the capacity of science fiction to explore and dramatize otherness in particularly striking ways, whether through alien encounters or, as Rieder notes, cyborgs (Langer 2011 , 85; Rieder 2008 , 111). “In science fiction,” Langer points out, “otherness is often conceptualized corporeally, as a physical difference that either signposts or causes an essential difference, in a constant echo of zero-world [real world] racialization” (82). As discussed above, tropes of alien invasion can, in their simplest forms, simply be a thin veneer for racist fears of immigration and “replacement,” but they can also problematize real-world stereotypes through their critical examination of what the “human” consists of in contrast to actual aliens. Langer sees postcolonial science fiction’s subversive potential to lie in a productive use of the hybridity theorized by postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha:

Rather than shying away from these colonial tropes [of the Stranger and the Strange Land]… postcolonial science fiction hybridizes them, parodies them and/or mimics them against the grain in a play of Bhabhaian masquerade… Their very power, their situation at the centre of the colonial imagination as simultaneous desire and nightmare, is turned back in on itself. (4)

The violence of the colonial encounter cannot be undone, but science fiction is one way to turn its own tropes against it and expose its injustices.

Langer also makes the important point that the study of science fiction needs to move away from the dominance of Euro-American and English-language works by highlighting literature from other languages and cultures (11). Langer does so in her book by discussing Japanese science fiction, much of which has never been translated and therefore has received little attention in English-language scholarship. As she points out, even postcolonial studies’ predominant focus on the former British and French Empires, particularly India, “fails utterly to take into account the diversity of postcolonial experiences” (11). While this volume also does not completely overcome this bias, Martin van der Linden’s, Anna Höglund’s, and Cecilia Trenter’s chapters treat Japanese, Korean, and Nordic speculative fiction, respectively, and, importantly, Hans Hägerdal’s chapter takes up “the inclusion of Europeans in legendary and even fantastic contexts” by historical Southeast Asians, reversing the colonial gaze. That chapter in particular can hopefully serve as inspiration for future studies of speculative fiction from non-Western perspectives.

Eco-criticism

As one of the defining issues of our time, climate change has naturally been the subject of a great deal of recent speculative fiction and related literary scholarship. Speculative fiction was something of a forerunner in this regard, and Johan Höglund’s chapter in this volume argues that Ursula LeGuin’s 1971 novel The Lathe of Heaven presciently registers the violence done to ecology by colonial/capitalist society. Science fiction has been especially well-suited to exploring a future climate calamity, not only because of its focus on the future but because it has a long tradition of focusing on catastrophes and post-apocalyptic worlds. As Johan Höglund’s chapter shows especially clearly, climate change is inextricably linked to both colonialism and capitalism (themselves closely intertwined), a connection that much critical speculative fiction has dramatized in particularly striking ways. Climate change or ecological devastation are therefore not separate phenomena but ones that are closely related to other forms of colonial destruction. The obliteration of people, ecosystems, lifeways, and epistemologies go hand in hand in the totalizing, chauvinist logic of colonialism.

As we have already seen, Rieder argues that colonial “history haunts science fiction’s visions of catastrophe,” which often works through the actual destruction of cultures and peoples in a futuristic, exotic setting ( 2008 , 124). This not only reflects subconscious processes but often involves a deliberate identification between colonial and speculative genocide and other crimes. As Rieder points out, H. G. Wells quite explicitly draws parallels between the Martian invasion and the Tasmanian genocide in The War of the Worlds , for example ( 1898 ; Rieder 2008 , 132). With catastrophe being as strong a motif in classic science fiction as technological optimism, Rieder argues that

visions of catastrophe appear in large part to be the symmetrical opposites of colonial ideology’s fantasies of appropriation, so much so that the lexicon of science-fictional catastrophes might be considered profitably as the obverse of the celebratory narratives of exploration and discovery, the progress of civilization, the advance of science, and the unfolding of racial destiny that formed the Official Story of colonialism. (123–124)

Science fiction, then, from its nineteenth-century beginnings was at least as frequently characterized by technological skepticism as enthusiasm, reflecting the major reconsideration of technology driven by present-day climate change.

Though science fiction is typically associated with shiny spaceships and complex machinery, a great many modern examples of eco-critical speculative fiction use more of a natural idiom. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s 2019 novel This is How You Lose the Time War takes place amidst a temporal war across history between two sides with different visions of the future that they fiercely defend. The two sides or futures can be seen as metaphors or perhaps actual embodiments of the nature-technology (or perhaps, more fundamentally, nature-culture) divide, with one being characterized by a mechanical/cyborg/networked intelligence style while the other, Garden, is characterized by natural imagery (though equally ferocious as its opponent and able to manipulate time and genetics in staggeringly advanced ways). The latter, with its depiction of natural elements as both immensely powerful and open to a different kind of high technology than the nuts-and-bolts kind most associated with science fiction, has become an increasingly common mode as genetics has taken a more prominent place at the forefront of humanity’s scientific imagination. Monsters, instead of invading from other worlds, increasingly are the result of twisted genetic experiments or else come to symbolize the reaction of a personified Nature against human overexploitation. Two of the essays in this collection, by Anna Höglund and Martin van der Linden, take up these themes, both coincidentally involving boars as symbolic, destructive forces in Asian cinema.

Speculative fiction has played a crucial role in helping contemporary society imagine the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change in a near future. As the depth and seriousness of the situation becomes increasingly well-recognized, however, many commentators have questioned whether doomsday scenarios do more harm than good by sapping people of the hope and optimism that they require to effectively tackle the problem. In what could amount to a paradigm shift in the subgenre, Kim Stanley Robinson has attempted to restore some sense of optimism with his 2020 novel The Ministry of the Future . This novel depicts a potentially realistic (as in, not relying on “miracle” technologies) future in which humanity manages to bring down carbon emissions fast enough to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, even while suffering several massive catastrophes. It is unusual for speculative fiction to be so detailed and practically oriented, as a kind of a potential road map for overcoming climate change, blurring the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, but the success of Robinson’s novel may herald more such works in the near future. Though using more fantastic elements, this anthology’s final contribution, an original short story by David Belden, similarly explores how humanity can productively work towards a more hopeful future.

“Free Your Mind”?

The imperative to “free your mind,” as expressed by Morpheus in The Matrix ( 1999 ), is a common one in both critical academic history and speculative fiction. This introduction has argued that the two genres, fields, or modes of writing have much in common and stand to mutually profit through a deeper and more deliberate dialogue. Both offer the potential, using different strategies, to reach alternative understandings of human society through creatively engaging with the past and possible futures. How have humans lived before, and how might they live in the future? But the obvious related question, “How should humans live?” is a harder one, and one that academic history has often shied away from, in spite of the normative nature of much critical theory. In much the same way as envisioned by discourse theorists, examining the past and imagining the future can help us to break free of the epistemological, cultural, and cognitive limitations to which we all inevitably belong, if not completely so.

But what exactly is freedom? We live in an age often characterized as “neo-liberal,” literally of “new freedom,” and the well-off among us have unprecedented freedom to travel, consume, and mold our own identities. And yet, the unsustainability of our lifestyles has increasingly called into question the desirability of this form of freedom. Might it be that a knowledge of alternatives opens up for a new kind of freedom or desirable way of life? Just as Louise in Story of Your Life discovers that “knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will,” could such alternative ways of thinking involve new responsibilities or burdens? Acknowledging climate change and the evils of colonialism is indeed a burden, but perhaps an awareness of alternate lifeways, whether from human history or speculation, can provide us with some degree of agency in shaping a desirable future as our present form of social organization becomes increasingly untenable.

The remainder of this book is divided into four sections. The first, “Colonialism, Oppression and Concurrences,” directly addresses colonial and other forms of injustice as depicted or engaged with in speculative fiction, drawing heavily on the concept of concurrences . The second, “Alternative Histories, Alternative Realities,” looks at the particularly direct engagement between history and speculative fiction through the counterfactual, or counterphysical. The third, “Defining and Defying the Boundaries of Cultures and the Human,” investigates eco-critical speculative fiction with historical themes and the concurrent, uneasy relationship between the realms of nature and human culture, along with works that investigate the very nature and limits of what humanity is. The final section, “History, Speculative Fiction and Real-World Social Change,” investigates how history and speculative fiction can be tools of activism in the present-day, real world. The final chapter in that section, and the book, is an original short story by science fiction author David Belden, highlighting how both types of writing can productively engage with one another.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Gunlög Fur for her inspiration, generosity, and friendship over many years, and hope she will enjoy this book.

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Hennessey, J.L. (2024). Introduction to History and Speculative Fiction: Essays in Honor of Gunlög Fur. In: Hennessey, J.L. (eds) History and Speculative Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42235-5_1

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Types of Speculative Fiction Novels, With Examples for Each Subgenre

by Brandon Cornett | January 20, 2022

Most popular articles for January 2024:

• Post-apocalyptic scenarios and story ideas
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Are you a writer preparing to delve into speculative fiction? Or a reader looking to expand your horizons within the genre? You’ve come to the right blog! We’re about to take a deep dive into the different types of speculative fiction, with example novels for each genre.

What Is Speculative Fiction, Exactly?

Trying to define speculative fiction can be like opening a can of worms. People have argued about the definition for decades, for as long as the label has been used.

Years ago, the term “speculative fiction” was more of less synonymous with “science fiction.” But that’s no longer the case. Today, it’s an umbrella category that includes a wide range of sub-genres like horror, dystopia, sci-fi and more.

Definition: Speculative fiction is a category or genre of fiction that includes settings or elements that do not exist within our current reality. These stories often involve supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.

The verb “speculate” has several meanings that can help us understand the nature of speculative fiction. When you speculate on something, you ponder it and develop some kind of hypothesis or opinion about it. The same is true in fiction. Consider the following examples:

• The Children of Men : Author P.D. James speculated about what might happen if the entire human race became infertile.
• The Martian : Andy Weir speculated about how a man could survive on Mars after being stranded on the planet.
• Harry Potter : J.K. Rowling speculated about what life might be like for students at a school for witchcraft and wizardry.

So we have a broad definition of speculative fiction, as a kind of umbrella genre. Now, let’s drill down and talk about the different types or subgenres of speculative fiction available to readers.

Seven Popular Types of ‘Spec Fic’ Novels

And now for another can of worms. Readers and writers have long debated which types of stories or novels should fall under the “speculative fiction” umbrella. For instance, some people consider sci-fi one of the many types of speculative fiction, while others believe it should always stand alone.

But there’s also some agreement on this subject. Below, I’ve listed the common categories or types of speculative fiction that most people seem to agree on. This list is not all-inclusive, and it could probably be broken down even further. But it does the job.

1. Alternate History

Alternate history is a type of speculative fiction that offers an alternate (and fictional) version of a historical event or timeframe. What if the South won the U.S. Civil War? What if Hitler survived? What if the Titanic dodged the iceberg?

These stories and novels reshape historical events for the purposes of entertainment and/or social commentary. They combine history and fiction, often with fascinating results.

Example novels: 11/22/63 , by Stephen King. Dread Nation , by Justina Ireland. The Man in the High Castle , by Philip K. Dick. Noughts & Crosses , by Malorie Blackman.

2. Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic

The world is ending — or it already has. Yes, I’m talking about apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

If you’ve poked around my blog a bit, you probably already know I’m a huge fan of this subgenre . In these thrilling stories, the world is either ending or being transformed in some major way. Today, this is one of the most popular types of speculative fiction.

Example novels: The Road , by Cormac McCarthy. Swan Song , by Robert McCammon. Station Eleven , by Emily St. John Mandel. Oryx and Crake , by Margaret Atwood.

3. Dystopian

Dystopian fiction has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the past few years. The Hunger Games book series had a lot to do with that. Suddenly, everyone wanted to read books about frightening societies where individuals struggle against harsh regimes and systems.

Related: Dystopian vs. post-apocalyptic fiction

These stories often feature totalitarian regimes, strict government control, environmental devastation, and the loss of individualism.

Example novels: Brave New World , by Aldous Huxley. Fahrenheit 451 , by Ray Bradbury. The Farm , by Joanne Ramos. The Giver , by Lois Lowry. Jennifer Government , by Max Barry. The Handmaid’s Tale , by Margaret Atwood. The Hunger Games , by Suzanne Collins. Nineteen Eighty-Four , by George Orwell.

As a type of speculative fiction, fantasy includes elements that exist outside of reality. (Think dragons and magical powers.)

These stories and novels often take place within a fictional world or universe, and are sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. World-building is another hallmark of fantasy fiction.

Based on book sales, fantasy is arguably the most popular type of speculative fiction. Pull up a list of the best-selling books of all time, and you’ll find numerous fantasy titles, including The Hobbit and the Harry Potter books.

Example novels: The Fifth Season , by N.K. Jemisin. The Way of Kings , by Brandon Sanderson. A Game of Thrones , by George R.R. Martin. A Wizard of Earthsea , by Ursula K. Le Guin. The Hobbit , by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , by C.S. Lewis.

Some works of horror fall under the speculative fiction umbrella, while others do not. It depends on whether or not the story includes otherworldly or fantasy-based elements.

For instance, a horror novel featuring a vampire, ghost or six-legged monster could be considered a type of speculative fiction; while a story featuring a serial killer would not.

Example novels: Bird Box , by Josh Malerman. The Exorcist , by William Peter Blatty. The Haunting of Hill House , by Shirley Jackson. Interview with the Vampire , by Anne Rice. The Passage , by Justin Cronin.

6. Science Fiction

Along with fantasy, sci-fi is one of the most popular types of speculative fiction. And like the fantasy genre, science fiction allows authors to create new worlds unlike anything the reader has seen before. There are very few limits when it comes to writing sci-fi.

Science fiction stories and novels often feature elements like space travel, alien life, futuristic worlds, time travel, and advanced technologies.

Example novels: Ancillary Justice , by Ann Leckie. Dune , by Frank Herbert. The Left Hand of Darkness , by Ursula K. Le Guin. The Martian , by Andy Weir. Neuromancer , by William Gibson.

Utopian fiction represents the thematic opposite of the dystopian stories mentioned earlier. Where a dystopia shows us a terrible version of the world, utopias present a more ideal (or nearly perfect) existence.

And then we have the so-called “false utopia” genre of speculative fiction, in which a seemingly perfect world harbors a darker side.

Example novels: Childhood’s End , by Arthur C. Clarke. Ecotopia , by Ernest Callenbach. Enemies of the System , by Brian Aldiss. Island , by Alduous Huxley. Woman on the Edge of Time , by Marge Piercy.

Speculative fiction novels can challenge and entertain us. They deliver thrills, chills, big ideas, and exotic settings. They’re written by imaginative writers and well suited for imaginative readers. And you’ll find more than two-dozen of them listed above. Happy reading!

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“ no mere mortal ” by myranda marie.

Submitted to Contest #245

“The eclipse has come and gone, and I for one am so grateful.” “And why is that?” “People like me are often affected by celestial occurrences. This one was intense.” “How so?” “It started about a week ago; low energy and high anxiety battling for dominance. Have you ever wanted nothing more than to sleep, but couldn’t turn your thoughts off long enough to nod off? When I would finally pass out from sheer exhaustion, the vivid apocalyptic dreams would infiltrate like a jolt of frantic energy, causing me to awaken abruptly with no chance of fa...

“ Everything is Connected ” by Olivier Breuleux

Many people don't believe that everything is connected. It's strange. They believe in magnets, in electromagnetic waves, in quantum action at a distance. They believe that the force of gravity makes the Earth revolve around the Sun, and yet they do not believe that the same forces can influence the smaller details of our fate. They believe that it is all up to them. That they have free will. They say that Jupiter can gently pull the Sun, yet it cannot move our infinitely smaller souls.A paradox.The stars are difficult to read, for sure. The ...

“ The Interior Life of Ruck ” by Ajay Sabs

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #243

I backpack. Named Ruck. Store person put me on shelf. She say I “handsum”. I not know what it mean, but she make happy face when she say, so must be nice thing.  Nothing to do while I sit here but lots to look at. After I see sun come up from outside window two times, I feel little bored. I feel little empty, like I hungry. But I not wait long. Young man come, he look at me. He lift me from shelf, take me to store lady, who ask him if he want me “in a bag”, which make them both laugh. We go outside, he sling me on back. What a feeling! ...

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“ how would you spend your last day ” by m oakwood.

The world was going to end in twenty-four hours. There was no stopping it, no escaping it, no delaying it. The end was definite. Humanity's reign was finally coming to a close. We found out mere minutes ago. But it had been two hours since everyone had gathered to watch a comet pass by in the night sky. It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event and I suppose it still delivered that on that much, even when it all went wrong. The burning rock of dust and ice had appeared like a shooting star one thought only existed for wishers in fairy...

“ Lack of Soul to Lack of Light ” by Emily Venglar

My Aunt Doris was the storyteller of the family. No one knows where she learned it all, but she had an explanation for everything. Whether it be the seasons, the random chills that pass through the body, or the cause of the clouds of the sky, she had a fantastical myth for every question. Some of them were questionable, but the one I find hardest to shake is the cause of the eclipse. It all started in the kingdom of Selene. In ancient times, Selene was the picture of life and prosperity. There were fountains in every courtyard, murals on eve...

“ Writer's Block ” by Livia Owens

Sitting on the balcony of her 14th-floor apartment, Miriam Westlake has two options--euthanize the rest of the day by swallowing two Valium with a glass of wine or watch the solar eclipse sober. She decides to stay sober. She lets her fingertips hover over the laptop's keyboard, waiting for something to burst through the monastery-like emptiness of writer’s block lodged in her mind. She resigns herself to the fact that the only thought bouncing against the sides of her skull will concern how long it would take her to walk to the liquor store...

“ Starry Vigil ” by Ava Morgan

It’s been four years. 48 months, 208 weeks, and 1,460 days. It feels like I’ve hit a milestone that with each passing day, wrenches my heart and slowly begins to rip it in half. It’s been four years without her smile, without her laughter, without that gleam in her eyes that lit up a room brighter than any star could.  Four years and I miss the storyteller she was, laying down next to me, without a book, but instead she spoke words poured directly from her heart. I miss the adventurer she was, the way each night, she took...

“ Eclipse. The, Sun, the Moon , Humans and Beasts ” by Crystal Wexel

 Saturday, April 6th 2024“I came here to hide myself away. I have a new outlook on life… if that's what I can call this little world I have created for myself. I moved to Luna Pier Michigan fifteen years ago. With hopes to just … exist… without pressure to perform, or to exceed anyone’s expectations. To learn how to forgive myself, if there is such a thing, and to rediscover my innocence, if any remains. I hope to find mercy, both to give and receive. My life in New York City was fun and exciting at first, tantalizing eve...

“ A Tale for the Gods: Eos Lost ” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Artemis was bathing in her favourite pool with her dryad friends, when Apollo appeared. Though the temporarily blinding flash of light that came with his arrival was nothing new to Apollo's twin sister, or her nymphs, it still took them a moment to regain their sight. Recovering, they discovered Apollo already before them, shielding his eyes, as well as Aphrodite, who was looking oddly smug. Apollo's hand was over the eyes of young Hermes, his brother.Artemis sighed, and ushered the dryads out of the pool and into their respective trees. Ent...

“ Moon Eyes ” by Patrick H

Moon Eyes Mark gathered his equipment excitedly into.his leather bag, while his partner,  Andrea, grabbed the laptops, the telescope and other equipment and loaded the van. Both Mark and Andrea were grad students who had apparently stumbled upon something significant during their tracking duties at the observatory.  Unfortunately, when they reported the data to their supervisor, their conclusions were dismissed and they were reassigned to another project.  Mark was ready to let it go, but Andrea was far more headstrong and e...

“ Hypellaen ” by Linda Boden

The star assigned to Naija at birth wasn’t a particularly special star. It wasn’t one of the brightest, or attached to a fancy constellation. Her life would’ve been so much easier if she had an in with the Orion or Andromeda crowds, of course. But still, she couldn’t help but love the distant dim light of Hypellaen, the star that granted her a gentle spirit and positive attitude. She did feel lucky she had a star she could see all year, and every night she made sure to take time to look out her window and thank that sweet, faint light as it ...

“ Gen ” by Victoria Welter

She’s asking me about work. About how my young students are doing… if they’re learning Spanish as quickly as they are English. I tell her that they are. That they know how to count, recite the alphabet, and name shapes in both languages. I’m talking to her. And she is responding. I can see her. She is in front of me. With her short salt and peppered hair that’s more salt now than pepper. Her undeniably brown eyes. Her skin, always tanner than mine. Moles. Freckles. Slightly crooked nose. I’m looking down at her 4’11 stature to my 5’2. I grab...

“ The Unending Battle ” by Regina Khao

 At first, there was only darkness in the world. It covered the face of the entire planet and was unbroken. During this time, the Great Dragon alone inhabited the eternal night. But eventually, the Dragon grew lonely and decided to create herself a family. First, she gathered mud and leaves and sticks. She molded shapes out of them, imagining different kinds of strange animals, and gave them the spark of life. But the animals alone were not enough to keep her company, and so she thought of creating a special kind of animal, one that wou...

“ Always Nothing and Always Darkness ” by Hailey Chan

The thirtieth flame of the northeast. Fifty days and counting. Gone and guttered out. I continue to row. A coldness spreads over my skeleton of tissues, its veins branching and connecting and wrapping. It’s been a month and twenty days since I touched the oars, but the anchored tempo, its steady rhythm of fluid swish and swash, feels almost like second nature — a slicing all around me, wagging mottled shells and letters, billows sweeping over the shrouded mist and stars. These patterns are the true comfort, a hindrance in a state of utter da...

“ The Harmonic Eclipse ” by Cesar Puello

In a small town nestled between rolling hills and meandering rivers, excitement buzzed in the air like a swarm of bees. People of all ages had gathered in the town square, their eyes fixed on the sky above. It was a day they had been anticipating for months—a total solar eclipse, a rare celestial event that promised to paint the sky in shades of wonder and mystery.Among the crowd was Lily, a curious 10th-grade student with a passion for science and a love for exploring the unknown. She stood with her family, a pair of eclipse glasses perched...

“ The Mound Of Nu ” by Helen A Smith

Until air, moisture, earth and sky emerged out of the deep, a formless mass existed that looked a bit like a pyramidal mound. It was called Nu. At some point in the mists of time, the sun rose like a goose breaking through the still waters to spread its life-giving light to the earth. In ancient myths, Ra was the Egyptian sun god, the creator of all that followed.Without creation, we do not exist. If we do not exist, what is there?^^^As priests, everything we do, every act and speech we make, every ritual and spell we perform is designe...

“ Star's End ” by Paul Hellyer

Three camels trotted languidly across a sweeping red desert. Upon these peculiar beasts, sat three wizened men, with rich dark skin, dressed in flowing purple and gold robes. They were a solemn procession, tracking softly through the endless sands, and had travelled in silence for the last few hours.In the fullness of time, one of them spoke, his voice cutting into the meditative quiet.‘Asuma, do you think they will think us mad?’The man who had been addressed held his peace for a few moments, perhaps considering what been said, before reply...

The Best Speculative Fiction Short Stories

What is speculative fiction? Well, according to Margaret Atwood, it encompasses “plots that descend from Jules Verne’s books about submarines and balloon travel and such — things that really could happen but hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the book.” Today, the general definition of the genre can go even broader than that, covering everything from the futuristic to the supernatural. As diverse as they may be, all speculative fiction share one thing in common: they all test our imaginations and dare to create versions of reality beyond the one which we can see. 

Looking for some exciting speculative fiction stories?

Bring your best travelling attire, your curious mind, and your tireless spirit because our collection of speculative fiction stories will keep you occupied for light years. Compiled from submissions to our weekly writing contests , they’re based on years’ worth of prompts and are sure to galvanize your imagination. Check out the featured pieces at the top of the list if you’re short on time, and want to read only the best of the best. 

Don’t forget to follow your favorite writers to be notified whenever they publish their next short stories. And if you ever run out of speculative fiction stories to read here? Then it might be time to write your own, and perhaps even submit it to our weekly short story competition. They’re free to join, and you may even walk away with a cash prize — and the chance to appear in Prompted , our new literary magazine!

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Speculative Fiction Essays

Analysis of “the ones who walk away from omelas”, popular essay topics.

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Solarpunk started out as a speculative fiction genre. Now it informs sustainable architecture and design

Who knew the iconic Hills Hoist could be considered solarpunk?

Solarpunk is a futurist movement that began in speculative fiction and sci-fi films and has since spread to architecture and design. Practitioners envision a clean and green future built on principles of sustainability, social justice, and collective action.

The name spells it out. "Solar" signals optimism and a strong association with renewable energy, while "punk" reflects a DIY ethos and an anti-capitalist philosophy.

Jay Springett, a UK writer and podcaster, has been involved in the solarpunk community for 10 years.

He describes solarpunk as "a container for ideas about the future … whether it's a picture of a lean-to greenhouse or [street] curb cuts for … managing street runoff into basins for trees," he says.

Despite its futuristic ambitions, solarpunk design can be surprisingly low-tech, with people using everyday objects to make their homes and communities more sustainable.

"It's basins in your garden, it's water tanks, it's filters and making biochar [a form of charcoal], it's keeping chickens," Springett says.

He offers the "micro-example" of how someone transformed a disused red phone box in their UK village into a seed library, which he saw a blogger post about on a solarpunk forum during the pandemic.

"As the weeks go by, people start leaving pot plants there for [other] people to take and swap," he says.

Even using a clothesline to dry laundry — a radical idea for North Americans who tend to rely on clothes dryers year-round — can be considered solarpunk.

And Springett is particularly enthusiastic about the Hills Hoist. "Those things are awesome," he says.

"It seems so silly to say a clothesline is a solarpunk technology, but that's actually one of those examples."

Bending the rules for a brighter future

The solarpunk city features vertical forests, rooftop gardens, biodomes and wind turbines. It's an aesthetic that melds the urban with nature — think Wakanda in the Black Panther films or Disney's Strange World.

These futurist visions may call to mind advanced technology such as robotics and generative AI.

But solarpunk is all about using existing technology to create a brighter future, says Matthew Wizinksy.

The associate professor of Practice in Urban Technology at the University of Michigan, taught a course in solarpunk design for architecture students in 2023.

"[Solarpunk] is viewing design not so much as being responsible for novel or innovative techniques or forms, but really about taking existing knowledge, distributing that knowledge and encouraging broader participation in how we live our everyday lives," he tells ABC RN's Blueprint for Living .

Wizinksy runs public workshops where he introduces participants to solarpunk ideas before presenting them with a practical task that puts the theory into practice.

"We would build something like a top-loading updraft stove out of metal scrap to make biochar, which is itself a carbon sequestration process, or we would build a hydroponic system … for home use," he says.

"[We] then hope that we are also planting the seed of a community that would share knowledge and … materials — and even maybe share the harvest of whatever they were making in those workshops."

For Wizinsky, solarpunk offers an opportunity to solve some of humanity's most pressing problems.

"What's great about solarpunk … is it's not closed and dogmatic; it's open and inviting," he says.

"[Solarpunk is about] not waiting around for someone to tell us how we might make our everyday lives or worlds better."

And while solarpunk fans don't necessarily break the law, they are happy to bend the rules in their pursuit of a brighter future.

Many solarpunk practices hack systems of authority to achieve their aim, Wizinsky says.

A movement grounded in the present

Solarpunk may have its sights set on the future, but Springett believes it's a movement firmly grounded in present-day efforts to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

"We know things are going to be difficult," he says.

"Solarpunk is at its best when it's about people doing the things that need doing in the face of adversiy. The journey en route for me is what solarpunk is all about, rather than [what comes] after the new dawn."

Wizinsky isn't surprised the solarpunk movement is gaining traction at a time when people are growing increasingly concerned about social equity and the state of the planet.

"For young people who have grown up [against] the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Black Lives Matter movement … those of us in creative and design professions are really questioning what we're doing," he says.

"What solarpunk offers is a … positive view of the future amidst what otherwise feels like a lot of negativity."

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What’s Left of Left Speculative Fiction? Cixin Liu's "The Three-Body Problem" from Stage to Screen

This is a call for co-panelists in the Historical Materialism Conference scheduled to be held in Cluj, Romania, between August 29-31, 2024. 

Cixin Liu’s trilogy known as "The Three-Body Problem" became the source of two film adaptations: a Chinese production and an American Netflix-produced series. Our panel seeks to analyze current science fiction blockbusters (such as Liu Cixin’s trilogy) by critically investigating the form and the circulation of popular cultural products. Liu’s novel not only skillfully deploys Marxist themes of commodification but investigates the role of dialectics such as the importance of acting against one’s putative rational interests. We want to investigate the transformation of the novel into a TV series for a Chinese audience and into a Netflix show intended for a global audience, respectively. For example, we will contrast the way in which politics and ideology are articulated in Liu's novels versus their Chinese and Western adaptations. What has changed and what is the value of the critique in a Leftist product? Does it still preserve its critical edge? What is the surplus enjoyment that the cultural products produce in their actualization? In addition, we seek to bring in conversation and rethink theories of literary production in Fredrick Jameson, Joan Copjec and others while paying close attention to the adaptation process, seeking to understand critically the influence of ideology on such TV series and considering ways in which they relate to similar science fiction adaptations. We are finally interested in exploring whether previous theoretical ideas still work under new conditions of global capitalism.

Please send a 200-250 word abstract at [email protected] by April 26th, 2024. If our panel gets accepted, we will accept 2-4 co-panelists interested in joining us in Cluj, Romania, this summer. Please be advised that travel and accommodation have to be arranged by the participants. Thank you.