A Look At Science Fiction Books [sciencetechnology-center.blogspot.com]
Question by alfeebester: What qualities would a book have to have to be considered science fiction? I have heard the argument that some stories claim to be science fiction and are not. A popular example is Star Wars. It is set in the past rather than the future and has many fantasy elements. The technology level is not comparable to most other science fiction. I am curious because I have written something of similar situations. In my book, there are multiple planets and space travel. There are also ancient prophecies, 'magical' items and some worlds have little to no technology beyond modern means. Some have even less. Would this be considered science fiction, even though it is not futuristic and doesn't have common sci-fi elements like robots? Best answer for What qualities would a book have to have to be considered science fiction?:
Answer by dct1700d
I believe that a science fiction story is a writing within a backdrop of technology and is a work of fiction. Not certain what other requirements are needed.
Answer by Bolt
Robotics is not the one and only definition of all science fiction. There are subgenres of sci-fi and only one of them requires robotics as a central theme. I don't see how time period really matters (there are several sci-fi books and movies set in the past, and some fantasy books are set in the future). The speculatative "what if" still applies. How is it that space ships aren't comparable to other sci-fi technology? And what about the light sabers? It's more than what we have now. Just because many sci-fi stories mix fantasy elements like special powers (which in Star Wars had a scientific explanation I believe) and prophetic writings doesn't stop it from being sci-fi. Cross-over genre maybe, but what is magic to one group of people can be simple technology to others (imagine what cavemen would have thought about a BIC lighter). The different levels of technology of various worlds doesn't mean it isn't sci-fi either. There are areas of this world that exist with different levels of available technology, and some subcultures that actively reject it. We even work at preserving the natural state of some areas. Why couldn't an advanced empire do the same?
Answer by black snow
a story is only considered Sci Fi if it is heavy into explaining the science itself. Just because it mentions computers, doesn't make it sci fi. You have to explain how the machines actually work. Ever see the movie Event Horizon? Most people consider it sci fi when it is really horror. It was set on a spaceship, and there was a little talk of technology, but it was more like "we figured out how to bend space and poke holes in it" not actually explaining how they did it. Horror. Anne Mcaffreys stuff? Fantasy.
Answer by MavistheMaven
To be considered "science fiction," a book or story wou ld need to have the setting, background and/or some of the elements be based on science or technology. It doesn't matter at all whether it's set in the past or future. Another name for it is "speculative fiction" to emphasize that the science or technology is something we don't have yet. The author is speculating how things might be if we did have the technology. So anything with space travel is science fiction or speculative fiction, because we really can't do much more than get to the moon and back or orbit Earth in a stellite right now. And of course, people wrote of traveling to the moon before we could do it. "Hard science fiction" inlcudes more of the scientific details. A space travel story might not bother saying much more than that they use a spaceship and go to an Earth-like planet. In a hard SF story, there would be more about how the spaceship works or how warp speed works, or what makes another planet able to support life. Fantasy elements often do show up in SF books, which is why the genre is often referred to as "science fiction - fantasy." If you think about it, some of what we call "magic" might be forces we just don't know about yet. Fantasy creatures such as centaurs might really exist on other planets. You can go ahead and call your creation :science fiction" if you feel that's what it is. If it's set in space, it will likely be labeled SF anyway.
Answer by redunicorn
As a long time SF fan, there are many that call Star Wars science fantasy, space opera or sciffy. It is great adventure but the science is very sloppy. Many books blend lines between fantasy and science fiction. Just have good characters and a good story line and the readers will follow you.
Frogs!
Science fiction books have been my favorite reading since my childhood days. I was introduced to the world of science fiction at the good young age of eight, when I was introduced to a science fiction book club. We children enjoyed good time reading classics like 'The Time Machine', 'Invisible Man', Journey to the Center of the Earth', and a whole lot of science fiction books. The experience of reading them was so unique that I cant really forget the story line and characters in space operas like 'Citizen of the Galaxy' by Robert A. Heinlein, 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card, etc.
I always liked to anticipate the unpredictable, see the future. It is the epic scope of the science fiction books that attracted me. The books of a specific kind called speculative fiction try to tell today what the world looks like tomorrow. Space opera captured my childhood fantasy and still continues to. Whole galaxies lining up for a war, one party to establish supremacy and the o ther one defending their ground; there is suspense, thriller, unpredictability, and everything you need to unleash your fantasy. Alien races from a different dimension, prophecies, betrayal, love, honor, etc made science fiction books playing with my emotions for many years now.
Many that become sci-fi lovers asked me suggestions on science fiction books. My advice to them is to browse through collections. Science fiction books are the best categorized form of fiction writing. There come dozens of new collections every year. You can find them in different combinations. While making you choice from among the variety of available science fiction books, always make it a practice to skim through the content. At first read excerpts from all science fiction genre, and without much delay you will identify the science fiction books that are really suited for your taste. Just go with your heart - do you find it interesting to read a story? Pick it. Do you find the storyline tou gh? Drop it. It is that simple to make your choice.
Fantasy books sometimes overlap with science fiction books, although they are always not the same. If you have a taste of fantasy, chances are higher that you have a heart for sci-fi too and vice versa. You can clearly distinguish between fantasy and sci-fi in most cases, but there are no rules to distinguish them. Harry Potter series is pure fantasy while Time Machine is purely sci-fi. Fantasy books come with some magic, supernatural powers etc, while sci-fi characters are made more believable by defining technology, timelines and possibilities and the topics sci-fi writers choose generally will be of interest by common man.
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