Tag: genre

‘Gangsters in Space,’ or, What even Is Science Fiction?

An author among my mutuals recently made a comment on Twitter with which I disagreed, and only too late, after expressing my disagreement, I realized I was diving back into the endless debate over what defines a genre.

So, here is the original comment from Misha Burnett:


And this was my reply:


My further discussion on this subject follows after the break:

Continue reading “‘Gangsters in Space,’ or, What even Is Science Fiction?”

A Tale of Two Genres

And why the argument is stupid.

Recently, my Twitter timeline blew up with a rancorous debate between pulp-rev and indie authors over the question of whether science fiction and fantasy are the same genre or separate ones.

We have some writers claiming that the two are distinct, and appealing to the obvious differences between books such as The Martian and Sword of Shannara for evidence. Then we have others claiming they are the same, or that science fiction is a subgenre of fantasy, and taking Star Wars for evidence.

This is another iteration of a recurring debate throughout the history of science fiction. It is, like the Plato-Aristotle debate in philosophy, a conflict that appears repeatedly in different forms. As the argument takes shape, it reveals itself to be more or less another version of the Campbellian vs. New Wave argument, between those who want their science fiction pure and rigorously scientific, and those who … well, don’t.

Continue reading “A Tale of Two Genres”