Science fiction, or speculative fiction, involves imagined advances in science and technology and their effects on human life and society. It became popular in the 20th century and has its own industry, including conventions and magazines. Some writers prefer the term speculative fiction to include fantasy and horror elements. The genre has been associated with aliens and ray guns, but other writers, such as Orwell and Atwood, have used science fiction techniques to tell different stories. The term speculative science fiction was coined by Heinlein in 1948 and includes any fiction with fantastical elements, such as magical realism.
Speculative fiction is an alternate term for the literary genre known as science fiction. Science fiction is any work of fiction in which the plot involves imagined advances in science and technology and their effects on human life and society. Science fiction became a very popular subset of literature, film and television in the 20th century. Some writers and fans prefer the term science fiction to distinguish certain works from the mainstream science fiction market. Others use speculative fiction to mean any fiction that includes fantasy elements, including horror fiction, magical realism, and the works of many contemporary authors.
Writers have used flights of fancy since the dawn of written literature. Early fictional works such as The Iliad and Beowulf contain references to gods, monsters and superhuman beings. Novelists of the 1800s such as Jules Verne and HG Wells specialized in stories involving futuristic machines, alien races, and the like. In the early 20th century, editor Hugo Gernsback coined the term scientifiction for his influential magazine Amazing Stories. He also coined the term science fiction, which has enjoyed widespread use and remains the common term for this genre of fiction.
During the 20th century, science fiction books, films and TV series became popular all over the world. The genre has essentially become its own industry, as fans have launched conventions and magazines devoted to its characters, series, and worlds. The realm of science fiction and science fiction fandom was more specialized than other genre novels and soon developed a reputation among outsiders. Science fiction fans were often seen as underground and obsessive, with a high interest in science and technology but poor social skills. Science fiction has been associated with aliens and ray guns, key elements of films and TV series such as Buck Rogers, Star Trek and Star Wars.
Meanwhile, other writers used science fiction techniques to tell stories of different kinds. In his novel 1984, George Orwell creates a fictional future society to examine the dangers of totalitarian rule. Canadian writer Margaret Atwood uses similar methods in her 1985 book The Handmaid’s Tale. Writers such as Atwood and Harlan Ellison preferred the term speculative fiction to describe their works. This was intended to distinguish them in the minds of readers from the well-established format of science fiction.
The phrase speculative science fiction was coined by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in 1948. Since that time, it has come into use as an all-encompassing phrase for any fiction that includes fantastical elements. This includes fantasy and horror, which don’t require a scientific element to the plot; examples include Harry Potter, Salem’s Lot and The Last Unicorn. Magical realism, such as Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate, also sometimes falls under this banner. In magical realism and other forms of speculative fiction, the effects of extraordinary or paranormal events on characters in a story are often more important than explaining how those events came about.
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