With its ability to transport readers to new worlds and not-so-distant futures, explore alternative versions of history, and pose important questions about the world we inhabit today, speculative fiction has remained a popular genre of writing for decades, if not centuries.
But conflicting definitions, and the sheer scope of books that fall under the category, can make the world of speculative fiction confusing. Here to help is our essential guide to speculative fiction, we explore the history, evolution and key examples of the genre.
What is speculative fiction?
The definition of speculative diction is a matter of some debate. To some, including stalwart of the genre Margaret Atwood, speculative fiction is a sub-genre where the narrative plays with the elements of what is possible in our world; a descriptor for “what if?” stories examining alternative histories, futures and societies that seem possible within the parameters of reality.
But to many others, including Ursula K. Le Guin, another literary powerhouse known for her fantasy and science fiction writing, speculative fiction is an umbrella term that encompasses genres such as fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, and horror – in other words, any fiction that speculates about life beyond the world we know.
Who coined the term speculative fiction?
Hypothetical stories that could be considered “speculative fiction” have existed for centuries, but science fiction writer Robert Heinlein is largely credited with popularising the term in his 1947 essay On the Writing of Speculative Fiction, which contained advice for writers with pithy statements such as: “There are two principal ways to write speculative fiction – write about people, or write about gadgets.”
However, speculative fiction encompasses a broad spectrum of tropes and writing styles, as this (by no means exhaustive) list of must-read books from the genre demonstrates.
9 key examples of speculative fiction
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003)
Margaret Atwood has an uncanny ability to write fiction with a prescient edge, from The Handmaid's Tale, which built its world around real-world events, to Oryx and Crake, a 2003 novel that depicted both a video-games-to-ultra-right-wing pipeline and a global pandemic. Jimmy, also known as “Snowman”, lives a sad and solitary life in a near-future world ravaged by disaster. Mourning the loss of his best friend “Crake” and beloved Oryx, he looks back on his past and the high-tech world Crake created as he pushes on with survival.