Science Fiction subgenres
79 ways into science fiction, from space opera and cyberpunk to hard and social 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…