Speculative Fiction's Sub-sub-genres

[frankcreed]

Y'all--
I’m compiling the most complete list of spec-fic sub-sub-genres for posting in a Web article. If anyone can think of one I don’t yet have, pretty-please wing it my way, kay?
Thanks!

Anatomy of Speculative Fiction

A.Spec Fic
1. fantasy
2. sci-fi
3. horror
4. crossover sub-genres
1. fantasy
Alternative History
Bangsian
Contemporary or Urban
Dark Fantasy
Fairytale
High
Historical fantasy: Celtic Fantasy, Wuxia, Historical high fantasy, Medieval fantasy
Light Fantasy
Low
magic realism
traditional Fantasy
supernatural fiction
superhero
sword and sorcery
western




2. sci-fi
AI
alien invasion
alternate history
apocalyptic
Apocalypse or Holocaust
astrobiology
Biopunk
biorobotics
Clockpunk
Communalness
Cybernetic revolt
Cyberspace
cyborg
Coming of Age
Cosy catastrophe
Cyberpunk
Cyberprep
Dieselpunk
Edisonade
Extraterrestrial life
First Contact
Genetic Enginering
Hard Science Fiction
Hollow Earth
Hyperspace
Light
Military
Multiverse
Mundane
New-wave
Parallel universe
Post-Apocalyptic
Post-cyberpunk
Post-Holocaust
Retro-futurism
robotic
Social
soft
Space Opera
steampunk
spy-fi
superhero
Time travel
Voyages Extraordinaires
Wetware computer

3. horror
Big monsters
creepy kid
classic monsters: Devil/ demons, ghost, lycanthropic, mummy, vampire, zombie
extreme (or gore or splatterpunk)
gothic
Haunting
Insanity
Lovecraftian
Noir
Quiet
psychological
Satanic or occult
slasher
Surreal
Suspense
Visceral
Witches or Warlocks

D. crossover (Sub-sub-genres: subgenres that can be used by more than one spec-fic subgenre.)
Alternate history
Comic
Dark
Dwarfpunk
Dystopian
Elfpunk
Erotic
Gothic
Heroic
High
Immortality
Japanese
Juvenile
Low
Lycanthropic
Mannerpunk
Mythic
Philosophical
Psychic or mind control
Religious
Romantic
Science-fantasy: sword & planet, dying Earth
Superhero
Supernatural
Utopian
Weird or Pulp



Faith,
Frank Creed--award winning novelist and founder of the Lost Genre Guild

http://lostgenreguild.com/
http://frankcreed.com/
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http://afrankreview.blogspot.com/

War of Attrition: Book Two of the Underground
Into the Underground: The Role Playing Game
_________________
Faith,
f

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http://frankcreed.com

[Loriendil]

I don't see sword and planet listed under science fiction...
_________________
~Lee S. King
Overlord, Ray Gun Revival
Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck Now in print!
A bereaved cowboy and cynical space pirate are forced to work together for their own survival.

[frankcreed]

Thank you!
Egad, Sword & Planet self-destructed!
Sword & Planet, sword opera, who-done-it, added, and big-monsters moved to crossover.

Anatomy of Speculative Fiction

A.Spec Fic
1. fantasy
2. sci-fi
3. horror
4. crossover sub-genres


1. fantasy

Bangsian
Contemporary or Urban
Dark Fantasy
Fairytale
High
Historical fantasy: Celtic Fantasy, Wuxia, Historical high fantasy, Medieval fantasy
Light Fantasy
Low
magic realism
traditional Fantasy
sword and sorcery
Sword opera


2. sci-fi

AI
alien invasion
apocalyptic
Apocalypse or Holocaust
astrobiology
Biopunk
biorobotics
Clockpunk
Communalness
Cybernetic revolt
Cyberspace
cyborg
Coming of Age
Cosy catastrophe
Cyberpunk
Cyberprep
Dieselpunk
Edisonade
Extraterrestrial life
First Contact
Genetic Engineering
Hard Science Fiction
Hollow Earth
Hyperspace
Light
Military
Multiverse
Mundane
New-wave
Parallel universe
Post-Apocalyptic
Post-cyberpunk
Post-Holocaust
Retro-futurism
robotic
Social
soft
Space Opera
steampunk
spy-fi
sword & Planet
Time travel
Voyages Extraordinaires
Wetware computer


3. horror

creepy kid
classic monsters: Devil/ demons, ghost, lycanthropic, mummy, vampire, zombie
extreme or gore or splatterpunk
gothic
Haunting
Insanity
Lovecraftian
Noir
Quiet
psychological
Satanic or occult
slasher
Surreal
Suspense
Visceral
Witches or Warlocks

4. crossover (Sub-sub-genres: subgenres that can be used by more than one spec-fic subgenre.)

Alternate history
Big monsters
Comic
Dark
Dwarfpunk
Dystopian
Elfpunk
Erotic
Gothic
Heroic
High
Immortality
Japanese
Juvenile
Low
Lycanthropic
Mannerpunk
Mythic
Philosophical
Psychic or mind control
Religious
Romantic
Science-fantasy: sword & planet, dying Earth
Superhero
Supernatural
Utopian
Weird or Pulp
Western
Who-done-it
_________________
Faith,
f

http://thefinishers.biz
http://lostgenreguild.com
http://frankcreed.com

[Alice]

Um, furry?
_________________
Raxicoricofallapatorius

[Phy]

[Alice]

Well, I was told on an email group that something I'd written was "furry." And it was definitely not fetishy (which was what I thought that term meant, too). I was told it just means 'aliens with fur.'
_________________
Raxicoricofallapatorius

[frankcreed]

I've heard furry called fuzzy too. Hey, sword and planet was under crossover--does it belong in sci-fi?

A touch up:

Anatomy of Speculative Fiction
A.Spec Fic
1. fantasy
2. sci-fi
3. horror
4. crossover sub-genres


1. fantasy

Arthurian
Bangsian
Contemporary or Urban
Dark Fantasy
Fairytale
High
Historical fantasy: Celtic Fantasy, Wuxia, Historical high fantasy, Medieval fantasy
Light Fantasy
Low
magic realism
traditional Fantasy
sword and sorcery
Sword opera


2. sci-fi

AI
alien invasion
apocalyptic
Apocalypse or Holocaust
astrobiology
Biopunk
biorobotics
Clockpunk
Cybernetic revolt
Cyberspace
cyborg
Cosy catastrophe
Cyberpunk
Cyberprep
Dieselpunk
Edisonade
Extraterrestrial life
First Contact
Genetic Engineering
Hard
Hollow Earth
Hyperspace
Light
Military
Multiverse
Mundane
New-wave
Parallel universe
Post-Apocalyptic
Post-cyberpunk
Post-Holocaust
Retro-futurism
robotic
soft
Space Opera
steampunk
spy-fi
Time travel
Voyages Extraordinaires
Wetware computer


3. horror

creepy kid
classic monsters: Devil/ demons, ghost, lycanthropic, mummy, vampire, zombie
extreme or gore or splatterpunk
gothic
Haunting
Insanity
Lovecraftian
Noir
Quiet
psychological
Satanic or occult
slasher
Surreal
Suspense
Visceral
Witches or Warlocks

D. crossover (Sub-sub-genres: subgenres that can be used by more than one spec-fic subgenre—usually because one can use magic to do tech things.)

Alternate history
Big monsters
Comic
Coming of Age
Communalness
Dark
Dwarfpunk
Dystopian
Elfpunk
Erotic
Furry or fuzzy
Gothic
Heroic
High
Immortality
Japanese
Juvenile
Low
Lycanthropic
Mannerpunk
Mythic
Paranormal
Philosophical
Psychic or mind control
Religious
Romantic
Science-fantasy: sword & planet, dying Earth
Social
Superhero
Supernatural
Utopian
Weird or Pulp
Western
Who-done-it

Faith,
f

frankcreed.com
_________________
Faith,
f

http://thefinishers.biz
http://lostgenreguild.com
http://frankcreed.com

[rimworlder]

I'm going to be crabby.

PLEASE change 'sci fi' to Science Fiction, or give it a separate entry, since they are essentially two different things.

REALLY cranky:

Change your hierarchy to reflect the proper relationships:

A. Science Fiction
1. Sci Fi
2. Spec Fic
3. fantasy
4. horror

Unless you insist on believing that speculative fiction is NOT the literary equivalent of writing science fiction while not calling it that...

Seriously though:

Speculative Fiction as a 'genre' is a non-existent thing, a made-up category that attempts to corral a bunch of different literary forms into a greater whole and/or a term created by those who are trying to get SF 'accepted' as serious, mainstream literature.

My personal hiearchy would look something like the following:

Science Fiction
Hard
cyberpunk
steampunk
Space Opera
planetary
galactic
Science Fantasy
New Wave

and that's about it

If you're sticking with what you've got right now, I would not make 'cross-over' its own high-level entry, but would instead add a cross-over entry below each (as you have them) sub-genre type - for example

SF-horror crossover (below SF)
Horror-SF crossover (below horror)

which allows you to reflect the various emphasis

More than anything tho, I think you're listing 'themes' rather than genres

[frankcreed]

rimworlder--
A few points on your points:

1) I am using sci-fi as an abbreviation and synonym for science fiction. Please explain the difference or toss a link at me--my research does not bear out your claim.

2) While your hierarchy is correct in an historic sense, the reason I've roughly outlined as I have is the same reason my article won't bear genre definitions. Art is subjective, and constantly shifting. Add the religious, philosophic, and political of meaningful fiction, and few will agree on any definition. One will always do better to Google any particular sub-sub-genre to see the definition du-jour, especially in the newer less developed categories. Some modern literary perspectives refuse to even include horror in spec-fic, but overall, most agree that spec-fic is the umbrella term for the three sub-genres I've included.
I refuse to enter into a post-modern discussion of motives as to WHY spec-fic stands as an umbrella genre. The same 'legitimacy' motive could be said of horror or fantasy authors.

3. What I've pasted is a rough outline, and I intend on listing the crossovers in a separate group. I won't do so for each sub-sub-genre, because there are too many redundancies; some authors do with tech what can also be done with the magical or supernatural.

4. I agree that I'm listing themes, and I included some reluctantly. I chose to do so because this is one way a category is born; when a butt-load of novels appear in the same sub-genre, a sub-sub-genre is created.

I want this listing to be as inclusive as possible, where someone can add a few crossovers as descriptors, tack on the sub-genre, and Google away. Example: Christian who-done-it fantasy.

Faith,
f

P.S. I had no idea Oscar-the-Grouch's trash-can was a rimworld portal!
8D
_________________
Faith,
f

http://thefinishers.biz
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[bluewoad]

I'm not the Crotchety Old Fan, but I've played one on TV....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiffy <-- explanation of why 'sci-fi' is deemed derogatory by some SF fans.
_________________
matt

Never invoke the gods unless you really want them to appear. It annoys them very much.
-- G.K. Chesterton

[Loriendil]

[frankcreed]

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I cannot believe I've been a sci-fi fan my whole life and have never heard of this debate before now. I admit that I was thinkin' rimworlder must have been reading George MacDonald's works when they were new releases. 8D

When my daughter was about seven years old and began enjoying hockey, I told her it used to be televised when I was a kid, and I loved it too. When the NHL stopped airing games, they lost me as a fan. My daughter replied "Oh, get over it Dad!"

This is my sentiment on the skiffy debate. Even B-rate films have decent special effects these days!

Faith,
f
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Faith,
f

http://thefinishers.biz
http://lostgenreguild.com
http://frankcreed.com

[rimworlder]

"Oh get over it" is usually the rallying cry for someone who doesn't want to pay any attention to history.

Then the part that they're "doomed to repeat" comes back and bites them in the butt, really, really hard.

SciFi is rapidly becoming the term of choice for non-traditionally based 'spec fic' - the kind that appears mostly in bad movies, bad games and on bad websites that are usually trying to make some kind of appeal to the mass market.

Science Fiction and 'scifi' almost achieved parity, until the Sci Fi Channel and populist websites like IO9 came along. Now there clearly exists a very good reason for two different terms.

Science Fiction is the real deal that is comfortable with itself, its audience and is proud to be a part of a literary tradition that arguably goes back at least a thousand years. Sci Fi is the lite entertainment that feels free to mix and max tropes from a wide variety of genres, doesn't care that they often don't belong together, doesn't care about definition and absolutely does not want an audience that bothers to think about those kinds of things.

You purchase science fiction at the bookstore and sci fi out of a bubblegum machine.

Heinlein arguably coined the phrase speculative fiction. He most explicitly meant science fiction and not the non-science related fantasy genres.

It was then re-coined during the 60s as Speculative Literature so that the 'new wave' authors could justify what they were writing - even though it was not science fiction.

In both historical contexts, the phrase was intentionally used to distance the body of traditional science fiction from 'everything else', one in a positive sense, the other in a negative sense.

When the practioners themselves use the phrase in an exclusionary manner, it hardly matters what the academics natter on about. Spec Fic is a grab bag with no real meaning, an attemtp to create some kind of relationship when there really isn't any.

Horror is not science fiction, although there is science fiction with horror in it. Magic is not science fiction, although there is science fiction with things that might appear to be magical in it. They'd better not remain truly magical by the end of the story if the story wishes to remain science fiction. Fantasy is not science fiction and you can't mix the two without losing the science fiction.

Science Fiction is broad enough to contain elements from those other genres, but only in a carefully constrained manner. Once the 'other' elements become too strong, the work is no longer science fiction.

There's a strong, one-way gate between the genres. Subsuming them all under a single roof implies otherwise. I think the best real-world presentation would be to acknowledge that there is a "relationship" between these genres and to put science fiction in one column, with fantasy in another, with everything else underneath fantasy.

Take a look at the OED: Spec Fic is defined as Science Fiction.
In fact, take a look at its historical citations and you'll see that its used either to refer specifically to SF or specifically to avoid a connection to science fiction.

And if we're still talking academics, The Science Fiction Research Association which specializes in the academic side of the genre NEVER uses 'Sci Fi'

[Phy]

I think of Science Fiction on the one hand, Fantasy on the other, and Speculative Fiction as the overarching umbrella that encompasses both.

Whether you're talking about 'TrekkERs' or 'TrekkIES,' you're still talking about people with an appreciation for Star Trek, a franchise that simply doesn't appear on the radar for many other people. I'm inclined to think that I can speak with relatively equal ease to people of all three groups; those who know little-to-nothing about Star Trek, those who are fairly interested, and those who are fanatically interested. Personally, I adapt my language to my audience, but am most likely to use the terminology that most people have heard of and are familiar with, and if that means 'TrekkIES' and 'sci-fi,' I'd rather be understood than 'correct.'

I'll let the purists and the radicals (heh) argue over whether to segregate science fiction and sci-fi, but I'll tell you this much - if I go into any bookstore and ask where I can find the sci-fi, I will always find somebody who will point in a direction. When it comes right down to it, whatever you call it has a declining readership, and that bothers me far more than any quibbles over what to call it.
_________________
Johne (Phy) Cook | Overlord, Ray Gun Revival magazine |
| http://raygunrevival.com/ |

[rimworlder]

I'm not 'arguing' with Frank. I'm just letting my crotchety old position out into the sun.

Its Franks list and I certainly expect that he'll construct it any darned way he wants to.

To be entirely serious and non-curmudgeonly on SF vs Sci Fi: the popular culture has embraced SciFi and for about the past ten+ years, the two terms were entirely interchangeable except for absolute purists.

Now, however, I think there is actual utility in allowing each to acquire separate definitions, because the 'mainstream', popular entertainment version has gotten so far away from what SF really is, and I for one am glad when sci fi sites and shows announce themselves as such because it let's me know to stay away.

As far as spec fic vs SF goes - I'll stick with the original definition as provided by Grandmaster Heinlein.