Sf/f Genres

"Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"--Kelvin Throop III

Introduction

Genres. What do I mean by genres?

In my English classes, "genres" were presented to me as something like: short story, novel, play...

In sf/f (science fiction and fantasy), many use a different definition, meaning what the writing is about and what assumptions it uses, not the form in which it's presented. Science fiction and fantasy are genres in this sense. So are horror, romance, mystery, and "mainstream" (sort of a catchall for the stuff that's left). Thus, a poem about galaxy formation, a novel about aliens, and a play about spaceships would usually fall under sf.

Here I will focus on sf/f, since those are the fields I know best. Both fields can branch into each other and into horror (but horror's more a mood than anything else, and someone else can handle it).

Quick & Dirty Rundown of Sf/f Subgenres

This is not definitive, and the topic has been known to start flamewars. Consider it a starting point, not a straitjacket. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and Diana Wynne Jones's Tough Guide to Fantasyland are other good starting points for the curious.

adult or untypical fairytales - Fairytales rewritten with a new slant, or sometimes "new" fairytales created by authors in that tradition, e.g. "Bite Me Not" by Tanith Lee or Deerskin by Robin McKinley.
alien sf - Deals specifically or extensively with (usually living) alien cultures and/or human (or other alien) contact with alien cultures, e.g. 40,000 in Gehenna by C.J. Cherryh or "The Dance of the Changer and the Three" by Terry Carr.
bildungsroman or coming-of-age - A literary classification for stories where the focus is on the main character's coming-of-age, mix-and-matchable with most of the other subgenres here, e.g. The Still (a fantasy) by David Feintuch or Orbital Resonance by John Barnes.
dark fantasy - Often a euphemism for horror with supernatural or fantastic elements, or else fantasy with disturbing or horrific elements, e.g. "Moths" by John Brunner. Some people dislike this term.
hard sf - Sf dealing (more-or-less accurately, or at least plausibly) with the scientific and technological, e.g. "Amateurs" by Tom Ligon or Queen of Angels by Greg Bear.
heroic fantasy - The good-vs.-evil, heroically-oriented version of high fantasy (see below), e.g. THE BELGARIAD by David Eddings or THE WHEEL OF TIME by Robert Jordan.
high fantasy - Lyrical fantasy with traditional magic in the vein of many European fairytales and J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, e.g. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley or The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip.
historical fantasy - Alternate history, usually involving magic or some element of the fantastic, e.g. Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson (an alternate "Earth," Midgard, with magical "technology") or The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (the Reconquista, sort of).
historical sf - Alternate history, usually but not necessarily with some science at the focus, e.g. "Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream" by James Alan Gardner.
military fantasy fantasy centering around military exploits, e.g. THE BLACK COMPANY by Glen Cook.
military sf - Sf centering around military exploits, often with an emphasis on hardware, e.g. On Basilisk Station by David Weber or HAMMER'S SLAMMERS by David Drake.
mystery sf/f - Mystery that happens to be sf/f or vice versa, e.g. "Naught for Hire" by John E. Stith, HAWK AND FISHER by Simon R. Green.
psychoanalytic fantasy - My own category, inspired by authors whose characters have emotional crises, relationship troubles, and group counseling look-alikes in stories with poorly-worked out, idealistic backgrounds, poorly-defined villains whose only purpose is to give the characters more to have angst about, and no plot (as you can guess, I'm not a fan of this kind of writing, though I don't mind a low dose now and then when I want to read something requiring no intellectual effort)...no examples for reasons that should be obvious.
science fantasy - Fiction that treats scientific elements in a "fantastic" manner, or vice versa, often but not always a catchall for borderline cases, e.g. The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick (which really deserves a subgenre of its own, and which someone I know calls "elfpunk").
soft sf - Either sf centering around the "soft" sciences or social disciplines (I prefer to classify these as hard sf on the grounds that a discipline is a discipline), e.g. Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh; or sf with few overt scientific elements, e.g. "Spice Pogrom" by Connie Willis; sometimes used derogatorily.
space opera - Nominal, adventuresome sf with technological trappings but usually little science (which often works more like magic), e.g. DEATHSTALKER SAGA by Simon R. Green; or with a fair amount of science content, e.g. THE VORKOSIGAN SAGA by Lois McMaster Bujold
sword and sorcery (s&s) - The swashbuckling variant of heroic fantasy often involving mercenaries/adventurers/heroes-for-hire, surviving by their wits, spells and blades, e.g. FAFHRD AND THE GREY MOUSER by Fritz Leiber, Saber and Shadow by S.M. Stirling & Shirley Meier, or VOWS AND HONOR by Mercedes Lackey.
urban fantasy - "Modern" fantasy set in the city, often dealing with Faerie, werewolves, vampires, shamanism, the New Age, and/or Amerind (or other minority) cultures in today's world, e.g. War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, or almost anything by Charles de Lint.
world sf/f - Sf/f dealing with a world and its denizens, often in a series, e.g. THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN by Anne McCaffrey or DARKOVER by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
young adult (YA) sf/f - A catchall for sf/f oriented toward the younger reader, which may or may not have simpler language and/or themes, e.g. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley or THE LAST LEGIONARY by Douglas Hill.

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