Science fiction

Cover of Imagination, an American science fiction and fantasy pulp magazine (1952)

Template:Speculative fiction sidebarTemplate:Literature Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is the genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic scientific or technological progress. The elements of science fiction have evolved over time: from space exploration, extraterrestrial life, time travel, and robotics; to parallel universes, dystopian societies, and biological manipulations; and, most lately, to information technology, transhumanism (and posthumanism), and environmental challenges. Science fiction often specifically explores human responses to the consequences of these types of projected or imagined scientific advances.

The precise definition of science fiction has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. It contains many subgenres, including hard science fiction, which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction, which focuses on social sciences. Other notable subgenres are cyberpunk, which explores the interface between technology and society; climate fiction, which addresses environmental issues; and space opera, which emphasizes pure adventure in a universe in which space travel is common.

Precedents for science fiction are claimed to exist as far back as antiquity. Some books written in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment Age were considered early science-fantasy stories. The modern genre arose primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when popular writers began looking to technological progress for inspiration and speculation. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, written in 1818, is often credited as the first true science fiction novel. Jules Verne and H. G. Wells are pivotal figures in the genre's development. In the 20th century, the genre grew during the Golden Age of Science Fiction; it expanded with the introduction of space operas, dystopian literature, and pulp magazines.

Science fiction has come to influence not only literature, but also film, television, and culture at large. Science fiction can criticize present-day society and explore alternatives, as well as provide entertainment and inspire a sense of wonder.

Definitions

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls in 1993, contains an extensive discussion of the problem of defining the genre.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Explain

American writer and professor of biochemistry Isaac Asimov wrote, "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology."<ref name="IANH">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein wrote, "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."<ref name="heinlein def"/>

American science fiction author and editor Lester del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and no "full satisfactory definition" exists because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction."<ref name="The World of Science Fiction 1926–1976" />

Another definition is provided in The Literature Book by the publisher DK: "scenarios that are at the time of writing technologically impossible, extrapolating from present-day science...[,]...or that deal with some form of speculative science-based conceit, such as a society (on Earth or another planet) that has developed in wholly different ways from our own."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts to be their own arbiters in deciding what constitutes science fiction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> David Seed says that it may be more useful to talk about science fiction as the intersection of other more concrete subgenres.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> American science fiction author, editor, and critic Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "Science fiction is what we point to when we say it."<ref name="In Search of Wonder: Essays on Modern Science Fiction"/>

Alternative terms

Template:Further American magazine editor, science fiction writer, and literary agent Forrest J Ackerman has been credited with first using the term sci-fi (reminiscent of the then-trendy term hi-fi) in about 1954.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first known use in print was a description of Donovan's Brain by movie critic Jesse Zunser in January 1954.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As science fiction entered popular culture, writers and fans in the field came to associate the term with low-quality pulp science fiction and with low-budget, low-tech B movies.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Full citation needed</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the 1970s, critics in the field, such as Damon Knight and Terry Carr, were using sci fi to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction.<ref name="wood skiffy"/>

Australian literary scholar and critic Peter Nicholls writes that SF (or sf) is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers."<ref name="nicholls sf"/>

Robert Heinlein found the term science fiction insufficient to describe certain types of works in this genre, and he suggested that the term speculative fiction be used instead for works that are more "serious" or "thoughtful".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Literature

18th century and earlier

New Atlantis (1626) by Francis Bacon

Some scholars assert that science fiction had its beginnings in ancient times, when the distinction between myth and fact was blurred.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Written in the 2nd century CE by the satirist Lucian, the novel A True Story contains many themes and tropes that are characteristic of modern science fiction, including travel to other worlds, extraterrestrial lifeforms, interplanetary warfare, and artificial life. Some consider it to be the first science fiction novel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some stories from the folktale collection The Arabian Nights,<ref name="The Arabian Nights: A Companion"/><ref name="Richardson" /> along with the 10th-century fiction The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter<ref name="Richardson"/> and Ibn al-Nafis's 13th-century novel Theologus Autodidactus,<ref name="Roubi"/> are also argued to contain elements of science fiction.

Several books written during the Scientific Revolution and later the Age of Enlightenment are considered true works of science-fantasy. Francis Bacon's New Atlantis (1627),<ref name="The Harmony of the Worlds" /> Johannes Kepler's Somnium (1634), Athanasius Kircher's Itinerarium extaticum (1656),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Cyrano de Bergerac's Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and The States and Empires of the Sun (1662), Margaret Cavendish's "The Blazing World" (1666),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Ludvig Holberg's Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum (1741) and Voltaire's Micromégas (1752).<ref>Khanna, Lee Cullen. "The Subject of Utopia: Margaret Cavendish and Her Blazing-World". Utopian and Science Fiction by Women: World of Difference. Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 1994. 15–34.</ref>

Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Johannes Kepler's 1634 novel Somnium to be the first science fiction story; it depicts a journey to the Moon and how the Earth's motion is seen from there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kepler has been called the "father of science fiction".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

19th century

Following the 17th-century development of the novel as a literary form, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped to define the form of the science fiction novel. Brian Aldiss has argued that Frankenstein was the first work of science fiction.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories considered to be science fiction, including "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" (1835) about a trip to the Moon.<ref>Tresch, John (2002). "Extra! Extra! Poe invents science fiction". In Hayes, Kevin J. The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 113–132. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name="poe moon" />

Jules Verne was noted for his attention to detail and scientific accuracy, especially in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870).<ref name="Roberts48">Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="thomas196112">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1887, the novel El anacronópete by Spanish author Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau introduced the first time machine.<ref>La obra narrativa de Enrique Gaspar: El Anacronópete (1887), María de los Ángeles Ayala, Universidad de Alicante. Del Romanticismo al Realismo : Actas del I Coloquio de la S. L. E. S. XIX, Barcelona, 24–26 October 1996 / edited by Luis F. Díaz Larios, Enrique Miralles.</ref><ref>El anacronópete, English translation (2014), www.storypilot.com, Michael Main, accessed 13 April 2016</ref> An early French/Belgian science fiction writer was J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940). Rosny's masterpiece is Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (The Navigators of Infinity) (1925) in which the word astronaut (astronautique in French) was used for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Arthur B. Evans (1988). Science Fiction vs. Scientific Fiction in France: From Jules Verne to J.-H. Rosny Aîné (La science-fiction contre la fiction scientifique en France; De Jules Verne à J.-H. Rosny aìné) Template:Webarchive. In: Science fiction studies, vol. 15, no. 1, p. 1-11.</ref>

Alien invasion featured in the novel The War of the Worlds (1897) by H. G. Wells, illustrated by Henrique Alvim Corrêa in 1906

Many critics consider H. G. Wells to be one of science fiction's most important authors,<ref name="Roberts48" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or even "the Shakespeare of science fiction".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His novels include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). His science fiction imagined alien invasion, biological engineering, invisibility, and time travel. In his non-fiction futurologist works, he predicted the advent of airplanes, military tanks, nuclear weapons, satellite television, space travel, and something like the World Wide Web.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

20th century

Edgar Rice Burroughs's novel A Princess of Mars, published in 1912, was the first of his thirty-year planetary romance series about the fictional Barsoom; the novels were set on Mars and featured John Carter as the hero.<ref>Porges, Irwin (1975). Edgar Rice Burroughs. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">Template:Cite web</ref>

One of the first dystopian novels, We, was written by the Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin and published in 1924.<ref>Brown, p. xi, citing Shane, gives 1921. Russell, p. 3, dates the first draft to 1919.</ref> It describes a world of harmony and conformity within a united totalitarian state.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1926, Hugo Gernsback published the first American science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. In its first issue, he provided the following definition:

In 1928, E. E. "Doc" Smith's first published novel, The Skylark of Space (co-authored with Lee Hawkins Garby), appeared in Amazing Stories. It is often described as the first great space opera.<ref name="Dozois">Template:Cite book</ref> That same year, Philip Francis Nowlan's original story about Buck Rogers, Armageddon 2419, also appeared in Amazing Stories. This story was followed by a Buck Rogers comic strip, the first serious science fiction comic.<ref name="guide">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a future history novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of innovative scale in the science fiction genre, it describes the fictional history of humanity from the present forward across two billion years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1937, John W. Campbell became the editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine; this event is sometimes considered the beginning of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, which was characterized by stories celebrating scientific achievement and progress.<ref name="sf history nvcc" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The "Golden Age" is often said to have ended in 1946, but sometimes the late 1940s and the 1950s are included in this period.<ref>Nicholls, Peter (1981) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Granada, p. 258</ref>

In 1942, Isaac Asimov began the Foundation series of novels, which chronicles the rise and fall of galactic empires, and also introduces the concept of psychohistory.<ref name="From Robots to Foundations" >Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The series was later awarded a one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Theodore Sturgeon's novel More Than Human (1953) explored possible future human evolution.<ref>"Time and Space", Hartford Courant, 7 February 1954, p.SM19</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Aldiss & Wingrove, Trillion Year Spree, Victor Gollancz, 1986, p.237</ref> In 1957, the novel Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by the Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Yefremov presented a view of a future interstellar communist civilization; it is considered one of the most important Soviet science fiction novels.<ref name="sps">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1959, Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers marked a departure from his earlier juvenile stories and novels.<ref name="gale196010">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It is one of the first and most influential examples of military science fiction,<ref name="Mcmilllan">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Liptak">Template:Cite news</ref> and it introduced the concept of powered armor exoskeletons.<ref name="Intersections">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The German space opera series Perry Rhodan, written by various authors, started in 1961 with an account of the first Moon landing;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the series has since expanded in space to multiple universes and in time by billions of years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has become the most popular book series in science fiction to date.<ref>Mike Ashley (14 May 2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970–1980. Liverpool University Press. p. 218. Template:ISBN.</ref>

During the 1960s and 1970s, New Wave science fiction was known for embracing a high degree of experimentation (in both form and content), as well as a highbrow and self-consciously "literary" or "artistic" sensibility.<ref name="McGuirk">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1961, Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris was published in Poland.<ref>Peter Swirski (ed), The Art and Science of Stanislaw Lem, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008, Template:ISBN</ref> The novel dealt with the theme of human limitations, as its characters attempted to study a seemingly intelligent ocean on a newly discovered planet.<ref>Stanislaw Lem, Fantastyka i Futuriologia, Wedawnictwo Literackie, 1989, vol. 2, p. 365</ref><ref>Benét's Reader's Encyclopedia, fourth edition (1996), p. 590.</ref> Lem's work anticipated the creation of microrobots and micromachinery, nanotechnology, smartdust, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence (including swarm intelligence); his work also developed the ideas of necroevolution and artificial worlds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1965, the novel Dune by Frank Herbert imagined a more complex and detailed future society than had most previous science fiction.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1967 Anne McCaffrey, began a science fantasy series called Dragonriders of Pern .<ref>Dragonriders of Pern, ISFDB.</ref> Two novellas included in the series' first novel, Dragonflight, led McCaffrey to win the first Hugo or Nebula award given to a female author.<ref name="first">Publishers Weekly review of Robin Roberts, Anne McCaffrey: A Life with Dragons (2007). Quoted by Amazon.com Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 16 July 2011.</ref>

In 1968, Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published. It is the literary source of the Blade Runner movie franchise.<ref name="Sammon">Sammon, Paul M. (1996). Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner. London: Orion Media. p. 49. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Published in 1969, the novel The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is set on a planet where the inhabitants have no fixed gender. The novel is one of the most influential examples of social, feminist, or anthropological science fiction.<ref>Stover, Leon E. "Anthropology and Science Fiction" Current Anthropology, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct. 1973)</ref><ref>Reid, Suzanne Elizabeth (1997). Presenting Ursula Le Guin. New York, New York, USA: Twayne. Template:ISBN, pp=9, 120</ref><ref>Spivack, Charlotte (1984). Ursula K. Le Guin (1st ed.). Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Twayne Publishers. Template:ISBN., pp=44–50</ref>

In 1979, Science Fiction World magazine began publication in the People's Republic of China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It dominates the Chinese science fiction magazine market, at one time claiming a circulation of 300,000 copies per issue and an estimated 3–5 readers per copy, giving it a total readership of at least 1 million people—making it the world's most popular science fiction periodical.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1984, William Gibson's first novel, Neuromancer, helped to popularize cyberpunk and the word cyberspace, a term he originally coined in the 1982 short story Burning Chrome.<ref>Fitting, Peter (July 1991). "The Lessons of Cyberpunk". In Penley, C.; Ross, A. Technoculture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 295–315</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="gibson cyber" /> In the same year, Octavia Butler's short story "Speech Sounds" won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. She went on to explore themes of racial injustice, global warming, women's rights, and political conflict.<ref>Pfeiffer, John R. "Butler, Octavia Estelle (b. 1947)." in Richard Bleiler (ed.), Science Fiction Writers: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, 2nd edn. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. 147–158.</ref> In 1995, she became the first science fiction author to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1986, the novel Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold began her Vorkosigan Saga science opera.<ref name="Tor Shards">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Kelso">Template:Cite web</ref> 1992's novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson predicted immense social upheaval due to the information revolution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

21st century

In 2007, Liu Cixin's novel The Three-Body Problem was published in China. It was translated into English by Ken Liu and published by Tor Books in 2014;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making Liu the first Asian writer to win the award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emerging themes in late 20th- and early 21st-century science fiction include environmental issues, the implications of the Internet and the expanding information universe, questions about biotechnology, nanotechnology, and post-scarcity societies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Recent trends and subgenres include steampunk,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> biopunk,<ref name="Pulver 1998">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and mundane science fiction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="dwalter">Template:Cite news</ref>

Film

The Maschinenmensch (or machine-human) from Metropolis (1927)

One of the first recorded science fiction films is A Trip to the Moon from 1902, directed by French filmmaker Georges Méliès.<ref name=Dixon12>Template:Citation</ref> It influenced later filmmakers, offering a different kind of creativity and fantasy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Méliès's innovative editing and special effects techniques were widely imitated, and they became important elements of the cinematic medium.<ref name=1001Movies>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The 1927 film Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, is the first feature-length science fiction film.<ref>SciFi Film History – Metropolis (1927) Template:Webarchive – Though most agree that the first science fiction film was Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902), Metropolis (1926) is the first feature length outing of the genre. (scififilmhistory.com, retrieved 15 May 2013)</ref> Though not well received in its time,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it is now ranked as one of the best films ever made.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bfi">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1954, Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda, started the kaiju subgenre of science fiction film; this subgenre features large creatures in any form, usually attacking a major city or engaging other monsters in battle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, was directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. The film improved on the largely B-movie offerings to date in both scope and quality, and it influenced later science fiction films.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>In Focus on the Science Fiction Film, edited by William Johnson. Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The original Planet of the Apes movie, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle, was also released in 1968. The film vividly depicts a post-apocalyptic world in which intelligent apes dominate humans.<ref>Russo, Joe; Landsman, Larry; Gross, Edward (2001). Planet of the Apes Revisited: The Behind-The Scenes Story of the Classic Science Fiction Saga (1st ed.). New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin. Template:ISBN.</ref> The film received both popular and critical acclaim.

In 1977, George Lucas began the Star Wars series with the film later called "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope."<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The series, often called a space opera,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> became a worldwide popular culture phenomenon<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the third-highest-grossing film series of all time.<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Since the 1980s, science fiction films, along with fantasy, horror, and superhero films, have dominated Hollywood's big-budget productions.<ref> Escape Velocity: American Science Fiction Film, 1950–1982, Bradley Schauer, Wesleyan University Press, 3 January 2017, page 7</ref><ref name="boxofficemojo.com" /> Science fiction films often cross over with other genres. Some examples include film noir (Blade Runner, 1982), family (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982), war (Enemy Mine, 1985), comedy (Spaceballs , 1987; Galaxy Quest, 1999), animation (WALL-E, 2008; Big Hero 6, 2014), Western (Serenity, 2005), action (Edge of Tomorrow, 2014; The Matrix, 1999), adventure (Jupiter Ascending, 2015; Interstellar, 2014), mystery (Minority Report, 2002), thriller (Ex Machina, 2014), drama (Melancholia, 2011; Predestination, 2014), and romance (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004; Her, 2013).<ref name="JohnsonSFF">Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction, Keith M. Johnston, Berg, 9 May 2013, pages 24–25. Some of the examples are given by this book.</ref>

Television

Don Hastings (left) and Al Hodge (right) in Captain Video and His Video Rangers

Science fiction and television have consistently had a close relationship. Television or similar technology often appeared in science fiction long before television itself became widely available in the late 1940s and early 1950s.<ref name = Telotte> Science Fiction TV, J. P. Telotte, Routledge, 26 March 2014, pages 112, 179</ref>

The first known science fiction television program was a 35-minute adapted excerpt of the play RUR, written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, broadcast live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios on 11 February 1938.<ref name="r.u.r.">Template:Cite book</ref> The first popular science fiction program on American television was the children's adventure serial Captain Video and His Video Rangers, which ran from June 1949 to April 1955.<ref name="cpt video">Template:Cite web</ref>

The original The Twilight Zone series, produced and narrated by Rod Serling, ran from 1959 to 1964. (Serling also wrote or co-wrote most of the episodes.) The series featured fantasy, suspense, and horror as well as science fiction, with each episode being a complete story.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Critics have ranked it as one of the best TV programs of any genre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The animated series The Jetsons, while intended as comedy and only running for one season (1962–1963), predicted many inventions now in common use: flat-screen televisions, newspapers on a computer-like screen, computer viruses, video chat, tanning beds, home treadmills, and more.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>

In 1963, the series Doctor Who premiered on BBC Television with a time-travel theme.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The original series ran until 1989 and was revived in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It has been popular globally and has significantly influenced later science fiction TV.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Moran">Template:Cite news</ref>

Other British sci-fi dramas which are broadcast in the 1970s are UFO (1970–1971), The Tomorrow People (1973–1979), Space: 1999 (1975–1977) and Blake's 7 (1978–1981). Other notable programs during the 1960s included The Outer Limits (1963–1965),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Lost in Space (1965–1968), and The Prisoner (1967).<ref>British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide, John R. Cook, Peter Wright, I.B.Tauris, 6 January 2006, page 9</ref><ref>Gowran, Clay. "Nielsen Ratings Are Dim on New Shows". Chicago Tribune. 11 October 1966: B10.</ref><ref>Gould, Jack. "How Does Your Favorite Rate? Maybe Higher Than You Think." New York Times. 16 October 1966: 129.</ref>

The original Star Trek series, created by Gene Roddenberry, premiered in 1966 on NBC Television and ran for three seasons.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It combined elements of space opera and Space Western.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Only mildly successful at first, the series gained popularity through syndication and strong fan interest. It became a popular and influential franchise with many films, television shows, novels, and other works and products.<ref name="STPitch1">Roddenberry, Gene (11 March 1964). Star Trek Pitch Template:Webarchive, first draft. Accessed at LeeThomson.myzen.co.uk.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> The series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) led to six additional live action Star Trek shows: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), Voyager (1995–2001), Enterprise (2001–2005), Discovery (2017–2024), Picard (2020–2023), and Strange New Worlds (2022–present); additional shows are in some stage of development.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The miniseries V premiered in 1983 on NBC.<ref>Bedell, Sally (4 May 1983). "'V' SERIES AN NBC HIT". The New York Times. p. 27</ref> It depicted an attempted conquest of Earth by reptilian aliens.<ref name="EW 2005">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Red Dwarf, a comic science fiction series, aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The X-Files, which featured UFOs and conspiracy theories, was created by Chris Carter and broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company from 1993 to 2002,<ref name="BehindTheXFiles">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and again from 2016 to 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Stargate, a film about ancient astronauts and interstellar teleportation, was released in 1994. The series Stargate SG-1 premiered in 1997 and ran for 10 seasons (1997–2007). Spin-off series included Stargate Infinity (2002–2003), Stargate Atlantis (2004–2009), and Stargate Universe (2009–2011).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other 1990s series included Quantum Leap (1989–1993) and Babylon 5 (1994–1999).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Syfy channel, launched in 1992 as The Sci-Fi Channel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> specializes in science fiction, supernatural horror, and fantasy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The space-Western series Firefly premiered in 2002 on Fox. It is set in the year 2517, after humans arrive in a new star system, and it follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship.<ref name="torontosun">Template:Cite web</ref> The series Orphan Black began a five-season run in 2013, focusing on a woman who takes on the identity of one of her genetically identical clones. In late 2015, Syfy premiered the series The Expanse to great critical acclaim—an American show about humanity's colonization of the Solar System. Its later seasons were aired through Amazon Prime Video.

Social influence

Space exploration was predicted in August 1958 by the science fiction magazine Imagination.

Science fiction's rapid increase in popularity during the first half of the 20th century was closely tied to public respect for science during that era, as well as the rapid pace of technological innovation and new inventions.<ref name = "AWonder">Astounding Wonder: Imagining Science and Science Fiction in Interwar America, John Cheng, University of Pennsylvania Press, 19 March 2012 pages 1–12.</ref> Science fiction has often predicted scientific and technological progress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some works imagine that this progress will tend to improve human life and society, for instance, the stories of Arthur C. Clarke and Star Trek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other works, such as H.G. Wells's The Time Machine and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, warn of possible negative consequences.<ref name="Greenwood">The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders, Volume 2, Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2001 the National Science Foundation conducted a survey of "Public Attitudes and Public Understanding: Science Fiction and Pseudoscience".<ref name="NSF"/> The survey found that people who read or prefer science fiction may think about or relate to science differently than other people. Such people also tend to support the space program and efforts to contact extraterrestrial civilizations.<ref name="NSF" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Carl Sagan wrote that "Many scientists deeply involved in the exploration of the solar system (myself among them) were first turned in that direction by science fiction."<ref name = growing>Template:Cite news</ref>

Science fiction has predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> robots,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and borazon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2020 TV series Away, astronauts use a Mars rover called InSight to listen for a landing on Mars. In 2022, scientists actually used InSight to listen for the landing of a spacecraft.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Science fiction can act as a vehicle for analyzing and recognizing a society's past, present, and potential future social relationships with the other. Science fiction offers a medium for and a representation of alterity and differences in social identity.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Brian Aldiss described science fiction as "cultural wallpaper".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

This broad influence can be seen in the trend for writers to use science fiction as a tool for advocacy and generating cultural insights, as well as for educators who teach across a range of academic disciplines beyond the natural sciences.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Scholar and science fiction critic George Edgar Slusser said that science fiction "is the one real international literary form we have today, and as such has branched out to visual media, interactive media and on to whatever new media the world will invent in the 21st century. Crossover issues between the sciences and the humanities are crucial for the century to come."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As protest literature

"Happy 1984" in Spanish or Portuguese, referencing George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, on a standing piece of the Berlin Wall (sometime after 1998)

Science fiction has sometimes been used as a means of social protest. George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) is an important work of dystopian science fiction.<ref name="BenetReader">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="aaron">Template:Cite news</ref> The novel is often invoked in protests against governments and leaders who are seen as totalitarian.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> James Cameron's film Avatar (2009) was intended as a protest against imperialism, specifically the European colonization of the Americas.<ref name=npr>Template:Cite web</ref> Science fiction in Latin America and Spain explores the concept of authoritarianism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Robots, artificial humans, human clones, intelligent computers, and their possible conflicts with human society have all been major themes of science fiction since the publication of Shelly's novel Frankenstein (or earlier). Some critics have seen this tendency as reflecting authors' concerns over the social alienation seen in modern society.<ref name = "Schelde1994">Androids, Humanoids, and Other Science Fiction Monsters: Science and Soul in Science Fiction Films, Per Schelde, NYU Press, 1994, pages 1–10</ref>

Feminist science fiction poses questions about social issues such as how society constructs gender roles, the role reproduction plays in defining gender, and the inequitable political or personal power of one gender over others. Some works have illustrated these themes using utopias in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue.<ref name="encyclopedia3"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Climate fiction (or cli-fi) deals with issues of climate change and global warming.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="DanBloom">Template:Cite news</ref> University courses on literature and environmental issues may include climate change fiction in their syllabi,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and these issues are often discussed by other media beyond science fiction fandom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Libertarian science fiction focuses on the politics and social order implied by right libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private property, and in some cases anti-statism.<ref name="Raymond">Template:Cite web</ref> Robert A. Heinlein is one of the most popular authors of this subgenre, including his novels The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Stranger in a Strange Land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Science fiction comedy often satirizes and criticizes present-day society, and it sometimes makes fun of the conventions and clichés of more serious science fiction.<ref name="Fantasy, Bruce Shaw 2010, page 19">The Animal Fable in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Bruce Shaw, McFarland, 2010, page 19</ref><ref name="Comedy Science Fiction">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sense of wonder

1894 illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for Lucian's novel A True Story

Science fiction is often said to inspire a sense of wonder. Science fiction editor, publisher, and critic David Hartwell wrote that "Science fiction's appeal lies in combination of the rational, the believable, with the miraculous. It is an appeal to the sense of wonder."<ref>Hartwell, David. Age of Wonders (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985, page 42)</ref>

Carl Sagan wrote about growing up with science fiction:<ref name = growing/> Template:Quote

In 1967, Isaac Asimov commented on changes occurring in the science fiction community:<ref>Asimov, Isaac. 'Forward 1 – The Second Revolution' in Ellison, Harlan (ed.). Dangerous Visions (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987)</ref> Template:Quote

Study

The centrepiece of the university estate, the Victoria Building, University of Liverpool, as a science fiction degree-granting program.

The field of science fiction studies involves the critical assessment, interpretation, and discussion of science fiction literature, film, TV shows, new media, fandom, and fan fiction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Science fiction scholars study the genre to better understand it and its relationship to science, technology, politics, other genres, and culture at large.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Science fiction studies began around the turn of the 20th century, but it was not until later that science fiction studies solidified as a discipline with the publication of the academic journals Extrapolation (1959), Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction (1972), and Science Fiction Studies (1973),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the establishment of the oldest organizations devoted to the study of science fiction in 1970, the Science Fiction Research Association and the Science Fiction Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The field has grown considerably since the 1970s with the establishment of more journals, organizations, and conferences, as well as science fiction degree-granting programs such as those offered by the University of Liverpool.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Classification

Template:Further Science fiction has historically been subdivided into hard and soft categories, with the division centering on the feasibility of the science.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, this distinction has come under increased scrutiny in the 21st century. Some authors, such as Tade Thompson and Jeff VanderMeer, have observed that stories focusing explicitly on physics, astronomy, mathematics, and engineering tend to be considered hard science fiction, while stories focusing on botany, mycology, zoology, and the social sciences tend to be considered soft science fiction (regardless of the relative rigor of the science).<ref name="tor.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Max Gladstone defined hard science fiction as stories "where the math works", but he pointed out that this definition identifies stories that often seem "weirdly dated", as scientific paradigms shift over time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Michael Swanwick dismissed the traditional definition of hard science fiction altogether, instead stating that it was defined by characters striving to solve problems "in the right way–with determination, a touch of stoicism, and the consciousness that the universe is not on his or her side."<ref name="tor.com"/>

Ursula K. Le Guin also criticized the traditional contrast between hard and soft science fiction: "The 'hard' science fiction writers dismiss everything except, well, physics, astronomy, and maybe chemistry. Biology, sociology, anthropology—that's not science to them, that's soft stuff. They're not that interested in what human beings do, really. But I am. I draw on the social sciences a great deal."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Literary merit

Illustration by Theodor von Holst for the 1831 edition of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>

Many critics remain skeptical of the literary value of science fiction and other forms of genre fiction, though some mainstream authors have written works claimed by opponents to be science fiction. Mary Shelley wrote a number of scientific romance novels in the Gothic literature tradition, including Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818).<ref name="introduction"/> Kurt Vonnegut was a respected American author whose works have been argued by some to contain science fiction premises or themes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other science fiction authors whose works are widely considered to be "serious" literature include Ray Bradbury (especially Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles),<ref name="NYT-20120606">Template:Cite news</ref> Arthur C. Clarke (especially Childhood's End),<ref>Barlowe, Wayne Douglas (1987). Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. Workman Publishing Company. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>Baxter, John (1997). "Kubrick Beyond the Infinite". Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. Basic Books. pp. 199–230. Template:ISBN.</ref> and Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (using the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith).<ref>Gary K. Wolfe and Carol T. Williams, "The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith", Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers, Volume 3, Thomas D. Clareson editor, Popular Press, 1983, pages 53–72.</ref> Doris Lessing, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote a series of five science fiction novels, Canopus in Argos: Archives (1979–1983); these novels depict the efforts of more advanced species and civilizations to influence less advanced ones, including humans on Earth.<ref name="Hazelton">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Galin">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Donoghue">Template:Cite news</ref>

David Barnett has indicated that some novels use recognizable science fiction tropes, but they are not classified by their authors and publishers as science fiction; such novels include The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy, Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell, The Gone-Away World (2008) by Nick Harkaway, The Stone Gods (2007) by Jeanette Winterson, and Oryx and Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood.<ref name="guardian4"/> Atwood in particular argued against categorizing works such as the Handmaid's Tale as science fiction; instead she labeled this novel, Oryx and Crake, and The Testaments as speculative fiction,<ref name=Wilderness>Template:Cite web</ref> and she criticized science fiction as "talking squids in outer space."<ref name="langford">Langford, David, "Bits and Pieces", SFX magazine No. 107, August 2003. Template:Webarchive</ref>

In his book The Western Canon, literary critic Harold Bloom includes the novels Brave New World, Stanisław Lem's Solaris, Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and The Left Hand of Darkness as culturally and aesthetically significant works of Western literature, though Lem actively spurned the label science fiction.<ref name="SFWA">Template:Cite web in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America FAQ, "paraphrasing Jerry Pournelle" who was SFWA President 1973–74</ref>

In her 1976 essay "Science Fiction and Mrs Brown", Ursula K. Le Guin was asked, "Can a science fiction writer write a novel?" She answered that "I believe that all novels ... deal with character... The great novelists have brought us to see whatever they wish us to see through some character. Otherwise, they would not be novelists, but poets, historians, or pamphleteers."<ref name="harpercollins"/>

Orson Scott Card is best known for his 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game; he has postulated that in science fiction, the message and intellectual significance of the work are contained within the story itself—therefore the genre can omit accepted literary devices and techniques that he characterized as gimmicks or literary games.<ref name="google" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1998, Jonathan Lethem wrote an essay titled "Close Encounters: The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction" in the Village Voice. In this essay, he recalled the time in 1973 when Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow was nominated for the Nebula Award and was passed over in favor of Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama; Lethem suggests that this point stands as "a hidden tombstone marking the death of the hope that SF was about to merge with the mainstream."<ref name="encounters"/> In the same year, science fiction author and physicist Gregory Benford wrote that "SF is perhaps the defining genre of the twentieth century, although its conquering armies are still camped outside the Rome of the literary citadels."<ref name="september"/>

Community

Authors

Template:See also Science fiction has been written by authors from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds. Among submissions to the science fiction publisher Tor Books, men account for 78% and women account for 22% (according to 2013 statistics from the publisher).<ref>Template:Cite web (See full statistics)</ref> A controversy about voting slates for the 2015 Hugo Awards highlighted a tension in the science fiction community between two things: a trend toward increasingly diverse works and authors being honored by awards, and a reaction by groups of authors and fans who preferred more "traditional" science fiction.<ref name="The A.V. Club 6 April 2015">Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards

Among the most significant and well-known awards for science fiction are the Hugo Award for literature, presented by the World Science Fiction Society at Worldcon, and voted on by fans;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Nebula Award for literature, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and voted on by the community of authors;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, presented by a jury of writers;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for short fiction, presented by a jury.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One notable award for science fiction films and TV programs is the Saturn Award, which is presented annually by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are other national awards, like Canada's Prix Aurora Awards,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> regional awards, like the Endeavour Award presented at Orycon for works from the U.S. Pacific Northwest,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and special interest or subgenre awards such as the Chesley Award for art, presented by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or the World Fantasy Award for fantasy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Magazines may organize reader polls, notably the Locus Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Conventions

Writer Pamela Dean reading at the Minneapolis convention known as Minicon in 2006

Conventions (often abbreviated by fans as cons, such as Comic-con) are held in cities around the world; these cater to a local, regional, national, or international membership.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> General-interest conventions cover all aspects of science fiction, while others focus on a particular interest such as media fandom or filk music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most science fiction conventions are organized by volunteers in non-profit groups, though most media-oriented events are organized by commercial promoters.<ref>Mark A. Mandel (7–9 January 2010). Conomastics: The Naming of Science Fiction Conventions. Template:Webarchive</ref>

Fandom and fanzines

Cover of Imagination, a fanzine published by Forrest J. Ackerman, January 1938, drawn by Jim Mooney

Science fiction fandom emerged from the letters column in Amazing Stories magazine. Fans began writing letters to each other, and then assembling their comments in informal publications that became known as fanzines.<ref name="fanzine history"/> Once in regular communication, these fans wanted to meet in person, so they organized local clubs.<ref name="fanzine history" /><ref name="fancyclopedia con" /> During the 1930s, the first science fiction conventions gathered fans from a larger area.<ref name="fancyclopedia con"/>

The earliest organized online fandom was the SF Lovers Community, originally a mailing list in the late 1970s, with a text archive file that was updated regularly.<ref name="sf-lovers hist" /> In the 1980s, Usenet groups greatly expanded the circle of fans online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 1990s, the development of the World-Wide Web increased online fandom through websites devoted to science fiction and related genres in all media.<ref name="fan clubhouse" />Template:Not in source

The first science fiction fanzine, The Comet, was published in 1930 by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago, Illinois.<ref name="first fanzine" /><ref>Template:Citation</ref> As of 2025, one of the best known fanzines is Ansible, edited by David Langford, winner of numerous Hugo awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other notable fanzines to win one or more Hugo awards include File 770, Mimosa, and Plokta.<ref name="The Hugo Awards-2007">Template:Cite web</ref> Artists working for fanzines have often risen to prominence in the field, including Brad W. Foster, Teddy Harvia, and Joe Mayhew; the Hugo Awards include a category for Best Fan Artists.<ref name="The Hugo Awards-2007" />Template:Clear

Elements

Plaque in Riverside, Iowa, to honor the "future birth" of Star TrekTemplate:'s character James T. Kirk

Science fiction elements can include the following:

• Temporal settings in the future or in alternative histories;<ref name=counterfact>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Predicted or speculative technology such as brain-computer interface, bio-engineering, superintelligent computers, robots, ray guns, and advanced weapons;<ref name="GW"/><ref name="How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy"/>
• Space travel, or settings in outer space, on other worlds, in subterranean earth,<ref name="DK-2015">Template:Cite book</ref> or in parallel universes;<ref name="britannica"/>
• Fictional concepts in biology such as aliens, mutants, and enhanced humans;<ref name="GW">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Parker>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Undiscovered scientific possibilities such as teleportation, time travel, and faster-than-light travel or communication;<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• Social/political systems and situations that are new and different, including utopian,<ref name="DK-2015" /> dystopian, post-apocalyptic, or post-scarcity;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Future history and speculative evolution of humans on Earth or other planets;<ref name="Ashley">Ashley, M. (April 1989). The Immortal Professor, Astro Adventures No.7, p.6.</ref>
• Paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, and telekinesis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Subgenres

A climate fiction depiction of agriculture in India in 2500, with workers wearing protective suits to protect from extreme temperatures and unmanned surface vehicle tractors.

While science fiction is a genre of fiction, a science fiction genre is a subgenre within science fiction. Science fiction may be divided along any number of overlapping axes. Gary K. Wolfe's Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy identifies over 30 subdivisions of science fiction, not including science fantasy (which is a mixed genre).

See also

• Outline of science fiction
• History of science fiction
• Timeline of science fiction
• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• Extrasolar planets in fiction
• Fantastic art
• Fictional worlds
• Futures studies
• Hard science fiction
• List of fictional robots and androids
• List of science fiction comedy works
• List of science fiction and fantasy artists
• List of science fiction authors
• List of science fiction films
• List of science fiction literature with Messiah figures
• List of science fiction novels
• List of science fiction television programs
• List of science fiction themes
• List of science fiction universes
• Retrofuturism
• Science fiction comics
• Science fiction libraries and museums
• Science in science fiction
• Soft science fiction
• Time travel in fiction
• Transhumanism

General and cited sources

• Aldiss, Brian. Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction, 1973.
• Aldiss, Brian, and Wingrove, David. Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, revised and updated edition, 1986.
• Amis, Kingsley. New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction, 1958.
• Barron, Neil, ed. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction (5th ed.). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Template:ISBN.
• Broderick, Damien. Reading by Starlight: Postmodern Science Fiction. London: Routledge, 1995. Print.
• Clute, John Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. Template:ISBN.
• Clute, John and Peter Nicholls, eds., The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. St Albans, Herts, UK: Granada Publishing, 1979. Template:ISBN.
• Clute, John and Peter Nicholls, eds., The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin's Press, 1995. Template:ISBN.
• Disch, Thomas M. The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of. New York: The Free Press, 1998. Template:ISBN.
• Jameson, Fredric. Archaeologies of the Future: This Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions. London and New York: Verso, 2005.
• Milner, Andrew. Locating Science Fiction. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2012.
• Raja, Masood Ashraf, Jason W. Ellis and Swaralipi Nandi. eds., The Postnational Fantasy: Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction. McFarland 2011. Template:ISBN.
• Reginald, Robert. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991. Detroit, MI/Washington, D.C./London: Gale Research, 1992. Template:ISBN.
• Roy, Pinaki. "Science Fiction: Some Reflections". Shodh Sanchar Bulletin, 10.39 (July–September 2020): 138–42.
• Template:Cite book
• Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: on the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre, New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979.
• Weldes, Jutta, ed. To Seek Out New Worlds: Exploring Links between Science Fiction and World Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Template:ISBN.
• Westfahl, Gary, ed. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders (three volumes). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005.
• Wolfe, Gary K. Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Glossary and Guide to Scholarship. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986. Template:ISBN.

External links

• Science Fiction Bookshelf at Project Gutenberg
• Science fiction fanzines (current and historical) online
• SFWA "Suggested Reading" list
• Science fiction at standardebooks.org
• Science Fiction Research Association
• A selection of articles written by Mike Ashley, Iain Sinclair and others, exploring 19th-century visions of the future. Template:Webarchive from the British Library's Discovering Literature website.
• Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy at Toronto Public Library
• Science Fiction Studies' Chronological Bibliography of Science Fiction History, Theory, and Criticism
• Best 50 sci-fi novels of all time (Esquire; 21 March 2022)