will expand on this definition. Of course, each reader will bring his or her own definition to any discussion of books that fall within the Science Fiction genre
— especially in this genre in which readers are vocal and opinionated.
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2. Science Fiction and Dystopian Fiction Genre’s Characteristics
a. Science Fiction Genre’s Characteristics
a. Story Line
Science Fiction is speculative fiction that appeals to the reader’s intellect. As Betty Rosenberg suggested in the first edition of Genreflecting,
“Science fiction has been labeled a fiction of questions such as: What if ...?, If only...?, If this goes on...?. Questions such as these characterize the premise
behind these books. As speculative fiction, these books consider moral, social, and ethical issues while exploring philosophical, technical, and intellectual
questions. Science Fiction is a fertile ground for the discussion of challenging and often controversial issues and ideas, and authors use it expressly for that purpose.
Science Fiction introduces an almost overwhelming richness of concepts and ideas. Other fiction genres may also raise difficult questions, but in Science
Fiction, authors take a precept, perception, or idea and explore it, often in a setting outside our own world or in a future time, but certainly out of everyday contexts.
A further level requires the reader to consider philosophical issues, such as moral and social questions about society, as well as more general questions about power
and authority.
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17
Joyce G. Saricks. 2009. The Readers Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction 2
nd
ed. Chicago: American Library Association, p. 244-245
18
Joyce G. Saricks. 2009, op.cit. p. 245-246
Although telling a good story is clearly the aim of most books in all genres, here the authors emphasize creating inviting stories in which to make the
ideas they promote interesting and accessible. Some titles are cinematic, and readers can readily imagine these books as movies or television series, as, in fact,
some of them are. Look at Lois McMaster Bujold’s series featuring Miles
Vorkosigan, physically weak and deformed, who must continually prove his military prowess and acumen to keep his position as a rising military leader on
Barrayar. This ongoing series features Bujold’s characteristic wit and even
romantic touches, as we follow Miles’s exploits, always confident that he will survive threats to his reputation as well as his life.
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Removing readers from what is safe and known forces them to think differently when considering the available possibilities, to see things as they might
be to consider “what if,” not just what is or what they know. This otherness of
time, place, or reality is crucial to the appeal of Science Fiction. The reader is taken from the known world to the unknown, to another world or time..
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b. Frame Setting
