speculative fiction
English
Noun
speculative fiction (countable and uncountable, plural speculative fictions)
- (uncountable) A class of fiction involving fantastic, supernatural or futuristic elements, including fantasy, horror, and science fiction, dealing with worlds, themes, and characters not part of everyday life. [from 20th c.]
- 1947, Robert A. Heinlein, ‘On the Writing of Speculative Fiction’:
- There are at least two principal ways to write speculative fiction—write about people, or write about gadgets.
- 1987, Angela Carter, ‘Bruce Chatwin: The Songlines’, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage 2013, p. 588:
- And the speculation shows signs of turning into very sophisticated science fiction – science fiction in the purest sense; speculative fiction about science.
- 2021 November 16, Omar El Akkad, “Neal Stephenson’s Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- Stephenson is one of speculative fiction’s most meticulous architects, and here he’s got sheets and sheets of blueprint.
- 1947, Robert A. Heinlein, ‘On the Writing of Speculative Fiction’:
- (countable) A particular work belonging to this class.
Usage notes
- Sometimes seen as being more literary or serious than terms such as science fiction or fantasy.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:speculative fiction
Hyponyms
- alternate history
- apocalyptic
- dystopian
- fantasy
- horror
- post-apocalyptic
- science fiction
- superhero
- supernatural
- utopian
Translations
class of fiction involving fantastic, supernatural or futuristic elements
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