Science Fiction subgenres
79 ways into science fiction. Each guide explains what defines the subgenre, what sets it apart from its neighbours and which books to start with.
A
- Age Regression Science Fiction Age Regression stories revolve around the actual physical reversal of the aging of the body—grandpa becomes a teenager again. Usually age…
- Alien Conspiracy Science Fiction Alien Conspiracy Science Fiction is embodied in the television series The X-Files where a single man seeks “the truth” wherever it may…
- Alternate History Science Fiction Alternate History is more Speculative Fiction than Science Fiction and is more often focused on the "What If?" question than on the…
- Apocalyptic Science Fiction An apocalypse may come in several ways—it can be natural or alien or self-inflicted—Apocalyptic Science Fiction is about the end of the…
- Astrobiology SF Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe, here on Earth and out among the stars. Astrobiologists study the conditions that led to…
- Astrosociobiology SF Alien life! Astrosociobiology is all about alien life—not always intelligent or advanced technologically, but life out there among the…
B
C
- Christian Science Fiction Christian literature and Science Fiction may seem like opposing genres, and the sub-genre is certainly more obscure than others, but it is…
- Clerical Science Fiction Clerical Science Fiction is a sub-genre that takes up the church or religious ideas as story topics and often feature characters who are…
- Colonization Science Fiction The pioneer spirit is celebrated in Science Fiction across all sub-genres, but is perhaps most pronounced in a sub-genre of exploration…
- Comic Science Fiction Like a good comedian, Comic Science Fiction mocks, satirizes, and otherwise exploits the conventions of Science Fiction for comedic effect.…
- Cozy Catastrophe SF The Cosy Catastrophe, or Cozy Catastrophe depending on where you learned English, is a narrowly defined sub-genre that was hugely popular…
- Cybernetic Revolt Science Fiction The robots are advancing! Skynet has fallen! You're part of the Matrix!
- Cyberpunk Cyperpunk Science Fiction is a sub-genre that has gown out of the Sci Fi community and spawned more sub-genres in popular culture.…
D
- Detective Science Fiction These stories are often set in a near-future and feature where technology aids law enforcement and criminals. Detective stories lend…
- Dying Astronaut Science Fiction Astronauts make awesome characters in Sci FI stories because they have had a real impact on our actual world and they are a part of…
- Dying Earth The Earth is doomed, but it's going to take awhile to die so let's sit back and watch what happens. These stories tend to take place at the…
- Dystopian Science Fiction Dystopian Science Fiction can be summed up as the opposite of Utopia—imperfect societies in the near-future. In actuality, Dystopian Sci Fi…
E
- Ecological Science Fiction >What is Ecological Science Fiction?
- Erotica Science Fiction cience Fiction as a genre was not originally sexual—in fact, by some standards it was a bit puritanical. And, Sci Fi was definitely…
- ESP Science Fiction ESP Science Fiction features characters with Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP). The core ESP powers are: clairvoyance, telepathy, and…
- Exotic Ecosystems SF Exotic Ecosystems is all about unusual lifeforms and worlds—creatures and places that are truly alien. Much of sci fi populates its…
F
- Firm Science SF Firm Science Sci Fi is almost always crossing sub-genres because it can so easily be applied to them. In sci fi books are often categorized…
- First Contact Science Fiction First Contact Science Fiction has a simple definition, it is a story about the initial meeting between humans and an alien species. These…
- First Landings Science Fiction First Landings Science Fiction is very straightforward in terms of definition (the story itself may present many complications and…
- Frontier Science Fiction In the famous words of James T. Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise, “Space: the final frontier,” is the phrase that comes to mind to…
G
- Gay Science Fiction Science Fiction as a genre was not originally sexual—in fact, by some standards it was a bit puritanical. And, Sci Fi was definitely…
- Generation Ship Science Fiction When a space voyage would take a thousand years to make and there is no faster-than-light travel or time-bending technology a generation…
- Gothic Science Fiction Gothic Science Fiction is a macabre sub-genre that crosses Sci Fi and Gothic literatures. Gothic Sci Fi tends to have the same atmospheric…
H
- Hard Boiled Science Fiction Bladerunner is the quintessential visual example of Hardboiled/Future Noir Science Fiction.
- Hard Science Fiction To put it simply … well, it’s science fiction so we won’t really be able to put it simply; however, hard sci-fi is a science fiction…
- Hollow Earth Science Fiction The concept of a hollow Earth—a spherical shell with a habitable interior—is a significant motif used in science fiction. It has roots in…
- Hyperspace Science Fiction Hyperspace is one of the answers Sci Fi writers have come up with to combat the challenge of interstellar travel—that is, astronomical…
L
- Literary Science Fiction Exciting and well-written Science Fiction stories that can be recognized outside of the Science Fiction world as great literary works.…
- Lost Worlds Lost Worlds Science Fiction are stories of adventure with voyages to lost worlds (islands, continents, jungles, and even races). The voyage…
M
- Microbiology Science Fiction Tiny lifeforms! Little itty bitty organisms feature prominently in Microbiological Sci Fi. The tiny organisms might be from Earth or they…
- Mind Transfer Science Fiction The transference of a mind into another body, a computer, a mechanical object, or an alien body is a popular theme in Science Fiction. The…
- Multiverse Science Fiction “Jewelled, the multiverse spread around him, awash with life, rich with pulsating energy,” (Moorcock). Indeed, Multiverse Science Fiction…
- Mundane Science Fiction A core value of movement seeks to reinvent Sci Fi. Mundane Science Fiction seeks to abandon the wondrous, and now nearly mythical, elements…
- Mythological Science Fiction Stories within this sub-genre are rooted in, or draw from fables, mythology, folklore, or fairy tales. The story may retell the myth…
P
- Parallel Worlds Science Fiction Parallel Worlds Science Fiction are stories about traveling to parallel worlds or universes. The parallel world can be vastly different…
- Planetary Romance You might think of Planetary Romance as a cross pollination of a number of other literary genres and science fiction ones, these being…
- Political Science Fiction Political Science Fiction is not so much a sub-genre of its own as it is a theme well suited to Science Fiction stories. Sci Fi is about…
- Pulp Science Fiction Pulp Science Fiction is a term that describes a period of publishing in the 1930s-1950s when science fiction magazines were published on…
R
- Recursive Science Fiction Recursive Science Fiction is the most metafictional of all Science Fiction sub-genres; it is Science Fiction about Science Fiction. That is…
- Religious Science Fiction Religion and Science Fiction may seem unlikely partners, but there are aspects of Sci Fi that lend itself well to the exploration of big…
- Restored Eden Science Fiction Taking place on Earth in a near or far future, Restored Eden Science Fiction depicts an Earth where most of humanity has moved on and the…
- Retro Futurism “The tomorrow that never was.” (Gibson, “The Gernsback Continuum”) Retro Futurism is a trend in the arts that prizes futuristic visions…
- Robot Science Fiction Robot Science Fiction is, as its name indicates, Science Fiction that has a central theme of robotics. Robots, Androids, and Artificial…
S
- Sci Fi Sci Fi is an abbreviation for Science Fiction that was introduced in 1954 by Forrest J. Ackerman and influenced by the popularity of…
- Science Fantasy Science Fiction has long tried to separate itself Fantasy with a division between magic and science. However, Science Fantasy is a hybrid…
- Scientific Romance Scientific Romance sounds like love birds in space—but that couldn't be further from the truth. It is a term applied to primarily British…
- Shapeshifting Science Fiction Shapeshifting is a popular and ancient trope in the speculative fiction genres. It has a history going back to epic poems such as the Iliad…
- Slipstream Sci Fi has been accused of having little literary significance. Slipstream can be seen as a response to this accusation, but rarely do…
- Social Science Fiction Science Fiction (Sci Fi) is epic, it is varied, it is imaginative, it is rational, and it has something for everyone. Sci Fi, while itself…
- Soft Science Fiction An imprecise term that is used analogously with Hard Science Fiction. This term is applied liberally to Sci Fi that deals with the soft…
- Space Opera Space Opera is a science fiction subgenre that is known for having large-scale, often over-the-top characters, themes, and plots. The…
- Space Western Science Fiction Yee-haw! Space Western Science Fiction incorporates elements of the American West in a future where humans live in the frontiers of space.…
- Speculative Fiction Speculative Fiction is an umbrella term that incorporates Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Speculative Fiction is also a friendly term…
- Sports Science Fiction Little green men making the run around a baseball diamond or trying to understand what it means to be a fan.
- Spunky Heroine Spunky Heroine Science Fiction is categorized by its protagonist, who is a spunky female character, rather than its plot or other…
- SpyFi A sub-genre of Science Fiction about spies and espionage in the future. A key feature of Spyfi is the effects of technology on the…
- Steampunk Steampunk is an imaginative and fun sub-genre that gets its name from the technology it features: steam powered machinery. This sub-genre…
- Sword and Planet Science Fiction Sword and Planet Science Fiction merges the medieval with the cosmos. These are action filled stories of adventure taking place on distant…
- Synthetic Biology Science Fiction Synthetic Biology Science Fiction is a small and still emerging sub-genre. The stories feature artificial life forms and biological…
T
- Terraforming Science Fiction Terraforming means Earth-shaping and refers to the process of engineering a planet, or other body like the moon, to sustain human life. It…
- Time Travel Simply, Time Travel Science Fiction are stories in which travelling to the past or future is possible. Time travel is a natural complement…
- Transhumanism Science Fiction Transhumanism Science Fiction takes the ideas and questions of Transhumanism philosophy and gives it a story. The stories offer…
U
- Undersea Science Fiction Space offers infinite possibilities for our imaginations, but so too does the ocean. A self-describing sub-genre, Undersea Science Fiction…
- Utopian Science Fiction A utopia is paradise, it is a place that embodies perfection. Utopian Science Fiction asks the question what would a utopia look like?…
W
- Wetware Wetware Science Fiction is a small sub-genre that features the use of biological technology and is very much a part of the Cyberpunk…
- World Building Science Fiction World-Building is both its own sub-genre and a term used in the writing world to describe the task of creating a complete fictional world.…
- World Government SF World Government Sci Fi describes a world, usually Earth but not always, that is governed by a unified body. Generally, it is utilized in…