What is Speculative Fiction?

When I think of Speculative Fiction, I think of science fiction and fantasy, and all the genres that fall under those umbrellas. Everything from paranormal romance to dystopias to cyberpunk. Things that don’t fall under the rules of our world. I’ve been asked about the fiction I write recently by a couple of different sources. The novel I’m working on right now is gothic fiction, but the novel I’m querying is epic fantasy. Both fall under speculative fiction, so I thought I’d try to define it; find out what it means to me and maybe what it means to others.

I like the definition I found from Southern New Hampshire University: “With subgenres like fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history and more, speculative fiction is an encompassing genre that freely explores possibility and impossibility alike.”

Pretty much what I thought, right?

My question then becomes: is all “fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history…” speculative fiction? After some searching on the internet (a very dangerous pastime), I saw that any alternate history, even one without fantastical elements, can be considered speculative. But not all historical fiction is not speculative. Not all science fiction or horror is speculative. All fantasy is, though. As I searched, I came across this simple, yet fantastic diagram by Annie Neugebauer.

Does it answer my question? Yes. I write speculative fiction. Generally speaking, I write fantasy, horror (gothic) and a little sci-fi. They all have some sort of element that is not bound to the rules of our world, whether or not those rules are explicitly stated. There has to be some sort of “world-building”, but not necessarily the epic fantasy, Lord of the Rings style. There should be an explanation (hopefully woven well into the story) about how the story’s world is different from the real world. The definition that Annie Neugebauer comes up with excludes science fiction and horror that doesn’t “speculate”. Basically, science fiction that is based on current technology isn’t speculative, and horror without any supernatural elements isn’t speculative.

This also means that speculative fiction can change over time, as technology and our understanding of the world changes. Genres have been changing for ages. New subgenres are added all the time, (some of which I plan on exploring in my Substack/newsletter – What is Gaslamp?)

Did you know there is a “MasterClass” article on speculative fiction? They call it a “super genre”, which I think is pretty accurate. They cite Margaret Atwood, J. R. R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, and Euripides as speculative fiction writers.

A few speculative books I’ve enjoyed recently:

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen
• Network Effect, by Marta Wells
• Under the Whispering Door, by T.J. Klune
• An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
• Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh
• Wayward Son, by Rainbow Rowell
• Dragons Don’t Eat Meat, by Kim McDougall
• Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree

I could go on, but I won’t. Network Effect is very different from Under the Whispering Door, but they were both AMAZING. They were all great books, all with something speculative.

 I hope this helps anyone who was hoping to better understand Speculative Fiction. Do you write/read speculative fiction? Do you have any questions about it?

Resources:

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/speculative-fiction 

https://annieneugebauer.com/2014/03/24/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-speculative-fiction-defining-and-understanding-the-different-genres-of-speculative-fiction 

https://bookriot.com/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction 

Let's Reflect

In my last post, I was reflecting on interracial romances where neither of the main characters are white. I totally forgot about Alyssa Cole's Can't Escape Love, part of her Reluctant Royals series. I haven't read it yet, but since finishing Take a Hint, Dani Brown, I think it might be my next romance. Luckily it's available at my local eLibrary.

I also read The Prince and the Dressmaker. It is sweet, interesting, loving and just tugged at my heartstrings. Frances and Sebastian are so cute. I highly recommend it. I want my children to read it too.

Egyptian Steampunk also might be my new favourite genre. At least one I need to explore more. I read the short story/novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and it was so good. I love, LOVE, Fatma el-Sha'arawi. I checked, and P. Djèli Clark has two more stories set in this world. It seems like the second one doesn't have Agent Fatma as the main character, but I'm fine with that. She's back by the third (yet to be published) story.

I watched some good TV/movies too. After seeing Regé-Jean Page on Saturday Night Live, I decided it was time to watch Bridgerton. Since it's so popular, I didn't expect it to be bad, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I will admit that I watched is all in one day. Also, I could listen to Julie Andrews' voice all day long.... wait, I practically did that. 

I also decided it was time to watch the things languishing in my Netflix queue. I scrolled with my eyes closed and watched what my finger landed on. The first was Warrior Nun. With a title like that, I knew I had to at least try it out. I thoroughly enjoyed Ada and Mary. I also really want to know what happens and if there will be another season.

Next, I landed on Howl's Moving Castle, an anime movie from 2004. I liked the idea of the girl turning into an old woman and getting to know Howl from that perspective. I don't know how I feel about her befriending the witch who cursed her though. I'm three episodes into Dragon's Dogma, an anime series. I think I'm liking the random choices on Netflix. I know there have been two animes in the last week, but the stories are very different. Howl's Moving Castle has a sweetness to it. Dragon's Dogma is messed up.

This post is definitely not as deep as the last one. Maybe it's less "thinking about books" and more "Netflix queue", but sometimes, that's what you need.

Clockwork Princess

I'm not sure how I feel about Clockwork Princess.  I enjoyed it, but I feel like the book was written to make everyone happy.  (If you've read it, you know what I mean and please feel free to discuss in the comments.)  I was excited, entertained, riveted throughout the story.  I love that Tessa comes into her own. I do like that her end and Jem's wasn't as "neat" as Cassandra Clare could have written it.  I loved all the connections to The Mortal Instruments series.  I loved that a man took a woman's name.  There were so many good things about Clockwork Princess.  I may wonder about the end, but I loved it too. So, even if Clare did write it to please as many people as possible, I think it was successful.  Or maybe I'm just jaded because I've read several series where central characters are killed off.... 

The Infernal Devices is a great series.  I can see myself reading it years down the road when I needs something fun and exciting.  I also think it was a lot of fun to read it staggered with the last three books of The Mortal Instruments.  I wonder what the connections will be when I read City of Heavenly Fire.  I can't really say anything else without giving away the whole book.  I feel spoilery even mentioning Henry's red hair!  I'm hoping though, that we'll see Tessa again one day.

Clockwork Angel

Cassandra Clare apparently likes to write the main male character as a huge jerk (I had considered swearing, but I'm trying to keep it clean.)  Will definitely surpasses Jace in his jerkiness though. Maybe it's a Herondale thing? I get that something bad happened to Will as a child, but does he have to be so unbelievably mean to everyone? He was so awful to Tessa at the end, even if he does fix whatever his problem is, I don't know how she could forgive him.

I really enjoyed Clockwork Angel, the first book in Clare's Infernal Devices trilogy. The Infernal Devices are the prequel to her popular The Mortal Instruments series (the first book, City of Bones is now a movie being released on August 21.) I really enjoyed the first three Mortal Instruments books, so when I saw Clockwork Angel on sale on day, I thought I'd like it too.  Later I purchased (also on sale) Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. I have all the books and after reading Clockwork Angel, I can't wait to read them

Tessa has had the worst time if it in Clockwork Angel.  Her kidnapping, her brother, her ability. She doesn't know anything about herself until all this badness starts happening.  Not that it's been easy going for everyone. Charlotte has to struggle to hold on to power. I quite enjoyed Tessa's preconceptions of men's and women's roles changing as the story progressed. Women Shadowhunters were just as valuable in battle as the men, they could be in charge, there are just as intelligent.

I also have to mention that I love Jem.  He's on the cover of Clockwork Prince, so I'm hoping there's more of him in the second book.  He's sweet and intelligent and has an interesting back story.  Having read Clare's previous series and having read a lot books where the lead has two possible matches, though I think Tessa will eventually end up with Will, at this point I'd pick Jem.  

I've read across a lot of blogs that many people preferred The Infernal Devices over The Mortal Instruments. After reading the first book, I don't really see why that opinion is so prevalent.  I enjoyed Clockwork Angel, a lot. Would I say that it was better than City of Bones? No. Honestly, I think they're about the same. Maybe my opinion will change once I've read the whole series, we will see. 

I'm excited to read the rest of the series, all of which I'm glad I own. It's going to be delayed a little though. I finally got my copy of this novel that's been out for a few months, by this new author named Robert Galbraith. Anyone heard of him?

Android Karenina

I’m not sure where to begin with Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters’ Android Karenina. Forty pages from the end, there was a big twist and I thought I knew what I was going to say, where the rest of the story was going and how it would all end. That twist was just the beginning. I don’t want to give away the ending. The whole story comes together, unravels and come together again in these final pages. I want to say so much, but it wouldn’t be fair to everyone who hasn’t read it.

I do think everyone should read it. Unlike its Quick Classics predecessors, I haven’t read Anna Karenina. I decided that this time I would follow my own advice. I read first, to see if it would spark my interest in reading the Tolstoy original. It definitely has; it’s on my bookshelf waiting. I enjoyed Android Karenina. I think Winters did a great job of melding the past with robots, aliens and mad scientists. The story has a “what if” feel. “What if” this Miracle Metal, groznium was discovered? Is this what Russia in the 19th century would have been like? It takes the Industrial Revolution to a whole new level.

I also think Winters is an Isaac Asimov fan. Early on in the story, the characters talk about the “Iron Laws” which govern the behaviour of robots. Princess Betsy even puts them to a horrible test (in this scene you can see Anna leaning more towards robots than humans). About halfway through the novel, the characters finally bring up “Osimov”, a machine theorist, whose ideas brought about the Iron Laws. I found myself thinking of I, Robot occasionally.

For me, it’s Levin who is the hero. He begins as a shy man, turned down by the woman he loves. He grows, marries that woman and turns into a leader. His ideas and strength are a force upon this story. I know Anna and Vronsky are supposed to be the couple at the centre of everything, but Levin and Kitty steal their spotlight. Anna is a tool and Vronsky is selfish. Levin is the man, who in the end has everything, Vronsky has nothing. If you look closely, it’s even Levin who has Android Karenina. Not Vronsky, not even really Anna. I come out of the novel really disliking Vronsky, though I wonder, what is wrong with his tooth? If you like Russian literature or robots or both, you should pick up Android Karenina and find out what happens to these four characters.

Check out Android Karenina at Quirk Classics.  They have a sample chapter up.  Comment on the chapter, blog posts and let them know you read about the book here.