Speculative Fiction Defined... Again

As a writer of speculative fiction—and a reader of even more—I'm regularly rethinking about what defines this genre (or super-genre, if you will) that I enjoy so much. A couple of years ago, I posted what I believed made up the genre. (You're welcome to revisit that blog article here, but please finish this one first—and don't hold that old one against me!)

I still agree with my original thought that speculative fiction is generally recognized as an “umbrella genre” that encompasses several others, most notably science fiction, fantasy, and horror. But there is also so much more that fits under this umbrella. There are also aspects of some of those genres that are not speculative and shouldn't be considered speculative fiction.

As illustrated in the accompanying graphic, I've tried to organize my thoughts into something visual. Others have engaged in similar exercises, and I applaud the efforts of Annie Neugebauer and Adam Heine who influenced my own. It is a difficult concept to cleanly define, and of course, writers are continuing to increasingly blend genres with reckless abandon (as they should), making categorization of works into a single genre all the more difficult.

The Basics

First and foremost, and achingly obvious, is that speculative fiction needs to be fiction, i.e. not real or true. Memoirs, history, or any other type of non-fiction are not included.

Secondly, there absolutely must be a speculative element to the story, i.e. something that does not exist in the world today. These speculative elements may be as obvious as aliens or space travel, magic or dragons, or monsters of the night. But they may also be a single, simple “what if” like, what if dogs could talk, or what if men birthed babies?

The key is that these speculative elements not be possible with today's technology. Entire sub-genres consist of certain speculative elements, like what if we could change the past (time travel), or what if our technology was still based on steam (steampunk).

The Overlaps

In some genres, the line defining speculative fiction is ever changing, particularly in science fiction where regular advancements in science and technology transform fiction into fact. Horror also includes sub-genres, like psychological horror and serial killers, that are not necessarily speculative as these things exist in today’s society.

Conversely, there are wildly imaginative stories that may include several speculative elements, blurring the lines between genres or mashing them together. Additionally, there are stories considered speculative fiction that do not belong to any other genre. 

Outside the speculative fiction umbrella, other popular genres often overlap with speculative fiction stories, such as mysteries, thrillers, romances, or historical fiction among others.

The Definitions

A. Speculative Fiction (standalone): Stories with a speculative element, i.e. something that does not exist as part of today’s society. Most speculative fiction stories belong to one of the big three genres (science fiction, fantasy, or horror) and are explained separately, but there are other stories that do not fall into other genres, like dystopian/utopian or time travel.

B. Science Fiction (speculative): The first major genre of speculative fiction, science fiction stories may include alien civilizations, space travel or sentient robots, or anything where the speculative element is based on science, technology, or the proven laws of the universe. This large genre includes the sub-genres of space opera, cyberpunk, and solarpunk. 

C. Science Fiction (non-speculative): Stories that could occur today with modern science and technologies. 

D. Horror (speculative): Another main speculative fiction genre with stories meant to explore darker emotions and provide feelings of fear or despair, usually with monsters or supernatural elements. Not many happy endings. Included sub-genres are monster stories, ghost stories, and the supernatural.

E. Horror (non-speculative): Stories of fear, terror, and despair without a speculative element. This includes sub-genres like psychological horror, serial killers, and splatterpunk. 

F. Horror + Science Fiction: Blending these two genres results in stories based in science and technology that generate fear and anxiety. 

G. Fantasy: The third main speculative fiction genre, these stories often include magic, dragons, or fantastical creatures. There are several fantasy sub-genres, the most famous being high fantasy, but urban fantasy and magical realism are also popular. 

H. Science Fiction + Fantasy (Sci-Fantasy): Blending these genres result in stories that include elements of both magic and technology. Includes the sub-genres of slipstream and surreal, which focus on cognitive dissonance, and superhero stories.

I. Fantasy + Horror: Fantasy stories containing elements of dread or fear. Popular sub-genres are dark fantasy, weird west, and faerie tales.

J. Fantasy + Science Fiction + Horror: The trifecta of combining elements from all three major genres.

K. Fantasy + Romance (Romantasy): Fantasy stories with strong romantic elements.

L. Historical Fiction (speculative): Stories based in the past with speculative elements. Includes alternate history and steampunk. 

Note: I shared a version of this article with the Speculative Fiction Writers Association. Check it out if you'd also like to see specific example titles for each area defined above.

Conclusion

It is clear that speculative fiction includes a wide variety of books, and yet there are many more novels that continue to blur the lines between genres. In addition to every combination of genres we listed, there are many more that blend with other core genres, such as fantasy crime stories or horror thrillers or literary science fiction and many more. 

And many of these genres, from science fiction to faerie tales, might either have a positive outlook (hopepunk) or be dark and foreboding (grimdark). Weird west might include magic or it might not. Even space operas could have mythological creatures. There is no limit on the imagination of authors.

The main thing is that speculative fiction contains a speculative element, and it is up to the imagination of the author to decide what that is.