Science fiction explores the imagined consequences of scientific and technological change through settings, inventions or phenomena that extrapolate from real or plausible science. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), whose protagonist is a practicing man of science working with the era's advanced study of galvanic electricity, is widely credited as the genre's first novel, predating Jules Verne's Extraordinary Voyages and H. G. Wells's scientific romances by decades. The genre's own name arrived later: the publisher and editor Hugo Gernsback coined scientifiction in 1923 and settled on science fiction by 1929, after founding Amazing Stories, the first magazine devoted to the genre, in 1926.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is widely credited as the genre's first novel, but some scholars date science fiction proper only from Jules Verne and H. G. Wells's later, more technologically explicit work, reading Frankenstein instead as Gothic or proto-science-fiction.
Facts
Place of Origin19th-century England; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped define the form, and Brian Aldiss has argued Frankenstein was the first true work of science fiction. 1 Notable ExampleJules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), noted for its attention to detail and scientific accuracy. 1 Defining TraitA genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge or biological systems. 1 Defining Trait Science Fiction
Filter Results23 entries
FAQs
What separates science fiction from fantasy and earlier speculative writing?
Plausible science and technology set it apart from earlier speculative writing and from fantasy and horror.
Scientific and technological plausibility. Britannica notes that writers in antiquity sometimes dealt with themes common to modern science fiction, but their stories made no attempt at scientific and technological plausibility, and that this is the feature that distinguishes science fiction from earlier speculative writings and from contemporary speculative genres such as fantasy and horror.
Who is seen as the clearest forerunner of science fiction?
Britannica names Cyrano de Bergerac as the genre's clearest forerunner.
Britannica names the 17th-century writer Cyrano de Bergerac as the clearest forerunner of the genre. It adds that earlier flights of fancy, or fantastic tales, offered a popular format for satirizing government, society and religion while evading libel suits, censorship and persecution.
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Associated With
Mary Shelley, Authors Frankenstein (1818) is credited with helping define, and by some accounts originate, the science fiction novel.
Source Science Fiction (Wikipedia)
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Source Wikipedia: The Time Machine
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Source Wikipedia: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
Source Wikipedia: Ursula K. Le Guin
Source Wikipedia: We (novel)
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Source Wikipedia: Pastoral science fiction
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1. Science Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDefinitions section
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is the genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge, or biological systems.
Literature, 19th century section
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. Jules Verne was noted for his attention to detail and scientific accuracy, especially in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870).
Lead paragraph, defining sentence
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is the genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge, or biological systems.
Associated With: Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped to define the form of the science fiction novel.
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- s.v. science fiction
- Associated With: Utopian and Dystopian Fiction, s.v. Utopian and dystopian fiction
View the Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
W. W. Norton & Company- Features Author: Mary Shelley
- Features Author: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Slaughterhouse-Five (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Slaughterhouse-Five, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Slaughterhouse-Five, Lead section, genre
is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut
Gulliver's Travels (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Gulliver's Travels, Lead section, genre (science fiction)Quote, Features Author: Gulliver's Travels, Lead section, genre (science fiction)
Satire, fantasy, Science fiction, traveller's tale
Blindness (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Blindness, Wikipedia categoriesQuote, Features Author: Blindness, Wikipedia categories
1995 science fiction novels; Social science fiction
Naked Lunch (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Naked Lunch, Infobox, Genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Naked Lunch, Infobox, Genre field
Science fiction
Louis L'Amour (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Louis L'Amour, Lead section [in-genre 3]Quote, Features Author: Louis L'Amour, Lead section [in-genre 3]
science fiction (The Haunted Mesa)
Michael Crichton (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Michael Crichton, Lead section [in-genre]Quote, Features Author: Michael Crichton, Lead section [in-genre]
within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres
Arthur C. Clarke (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Arthur C. Clarke, English Wikipedia, lead [in-genre]Quote, Features Author: Arthur C. Clarke, English Wikipedia, lead [in-genre]
was an English science fiction writer
Bruce Sterling (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Bruce Sterling, LeadQuote, Features Author: Bruce Sterling, Lead
is an American science fiction author
Bruce Bethke (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Bruce Bethke, Lead sentence [in-genre 2]Quote, Features Author: Bruce Bethke, Lead sentence [in-genre 2]
the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction
Robert A. Heinlein (Open Library)
Features Author: Robert A. Heinlein, Open Library author record, bioQuote, Features Author: Robert A. Heinlein, Open Library author record, bio
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer.
K. W. Jeter (Open Library)
Features Author: K. W. Jeter, Author page biographyQuote, Features Author: K. W. Jeter, Author page biography
is an American science fiction and horror author
Carl Sagan (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Carl Sagan, Lead, third paragraphQuote, Features Author: Carl Sagan, Lead, third paragraph
A lifelong science fiction fan, Sagan entered the genre with Contact
Tim Powers (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Tim Powers, English Wikipedia article, lead section [in-genre]Quote, Features Author: Tim Powers, English Wikipedia article, lead section [in-genre]
is an American science fiction and fantasy author
Alfred Döblin (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Alfred Döblin, English Wikipedia article, lead section [in-genre]Quote, Features Author: Alfred Döblin, English Wikipedia article, lead section [in-genre]
ranging in genre from historical novels to science fiction
Sergei Lukyanenko (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Sergei Lukyanenko, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Author: Sergei Lukyanenko, Lead paragraph
is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian
M. John Harrison (Wikipedia)
Features Author: M. John Harrison, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Author: M. John Harrison, Lead paragraph
one of the major stylists of modern fantasy and science fiction
Barrington J. Bayley (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Barrington J. Bayley, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Author: Barrington J. Bayley, Lead paragraph
was an English science fiction writer
Naomi_Mitchison (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Naomi Mitchison, Lead, worksQuote, Features Author: Naomi Mitchison, Lead, works
historical and science fiction
Space Opera (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Space Opera, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Space Opera, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction and science fantasy
Cyberpunk (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Cyberpunk, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Cyberpunk, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Steampunk (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Steampunk, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Steampunk, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Biopunk (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Biopunk, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Biopunk, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Dieselpunk (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Dieselpunk, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Dieselpunk, Lead paragraph
is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction
Hard Science Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Subgenres: Hard Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Hard Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a category of science fiction
Military Science Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Subgenres: Military Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Military Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Techno-horror - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Techno-Horror, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Techno-Horror, Lead paragraph
is a sub-genre of science fiction and horror
Planetary romance, Wikipedia
Subgenres: Planetary Romance, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Planetary Romance, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Feminist science fiction (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: Feminist Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Feminist Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Christian science fiction (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: Christian Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Christian Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of both Christian literature and science fiction
Mundane science fiction (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: Mundane Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Mundane Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
as its own subgenre of science fiction
Social science fiction (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: Social Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Social Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Soft science fiction - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Soft Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Soft Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a category of science fiction
Science fiction comedy - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Science Fiction Comedy, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Science Fiction Comedy, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy
Wikipedia: Space Western
Subgenres: Space Western, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Space Western, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Libertarian science fiction - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Libertarian Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Libertarian Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Anthropological science fiction - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Anthropological Science Fiction, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Anthropological Science Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Nanopunk - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Nanopunk, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Nanopunk, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction
Speculative evolution - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Speculative Evolution, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Speculative Evolution, Lead paragraph
is a subgenre of science fiction and an artistic movement
Widescreen baroque - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Widescreen Baroque, Lead paragraphQuote, Subgenres: Widescreen Baroque, Lead paragraph
is a style of science fiction writing
Wikipedia: Pastoral science fiction
Subgenres: Pastoral Science Fiction, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genreQuote, Subgenres: Pastoral Science Fiction, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genre
Pastoral science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction which uses bucolic, rural settings, like other forms of pastoral literature.
New Wave (science fiction) (Wikipedia)
Subgenres: New Wave (Science Fiction), Lead sentenceQuote, Subgenres: New Wave (Science Fiction), Lead sentence
was a science fiction movement
Wikipedia: Brave New World
WikipediaFeatures Author: Brave New World, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Brave New World, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, dystopian fiction
Wikipedia: Solaris (novel)
Features Author: Solaris, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Solaris, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: We (novel)
Features Author: We, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: We, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Dystopian novel, science fiction
Wikipedia: Roadside Picnic
WikipediaFeatures Author: Roadside Picnic, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Roadside Picnic, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: The War of the Worlds
WikipediaFeatures Author: The War of the Worlds, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The War of the Worlds, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
WikipediaFeatures Author: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Adventure, Science fiction
Wikipedia: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
WikipediaFeatures Author: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Post-apocalyptic fiction, science fiction, dystopia
Wikipedia: Neuromancer
WikipediaFeatures Author: Neuromancer, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Neuromancer, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction (cyberpunk)
Wikipedia: Erewhon
WikipediaFeatures Author: Erewhon, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Erewhon, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Utopian fiction, Satire, Science fiction
Wikipedia: Cat's Cradle
WikipediaFeatures Author: Cat's Cradle, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Cat's Cradle, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Satire, science fiction
Dune (novel) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Dune, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Dune, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, Philosophical fiction
Wikipedia: The Time Machine
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Time Machine, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Time Machine, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: The Invisible Man
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Invisible Man, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Invisible Man, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction novel
A Clockwork Orange (novel) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: A Clockwork Orange, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: A Clockwork Orange, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, dystopian fiction, satire, black comedy
Foundation (Asimov novel) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Foundation, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Foundation, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, political drama
Wikipedia: The Left Hand of Darkness
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Left Hand of Darkness, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Left Hand of Darkness, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: Flowers for Algernon
WikipediaFeatures Author: Flowers for Algernon, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Flowers for Algernon, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, Tragedy
Who Goes There? (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Who Goes There?, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Who Goes There?, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, horror
The First Men in the Moon (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The First Men in the Moon, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The First Men in the Moon, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, Scientific romance
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (Wikipedia)
Features Author: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Second Variety (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Second Variety, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Second Variety, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Story of Your Life (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Story of Your Life, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Story of Your Life, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
The Whisperer in Darkness (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Whisperer in Darkness, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Whisperer in Darkness, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Horror, science fiction
Wikipedia: Daniel Keyes
Features Author: Daniel Keyes, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Daniel Keyes, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: David Pringle
Features Author: David Pringle, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: David Pringle, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, horror
Wikipedia: Emilio Salgari
Features Author: Emilio Salgari, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Emilio Salgari, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Adventure, Westerns, Historical fiction, Science fiction
Wikipedia: Frank Herbert
Features Author: Frank Herbert, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Frank Herbert, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
H. P. Lovecraft (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: H. P. Lovecraft, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: H. P. Lovecraft, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Lovecraftian horror, dark fantasy, weird fiction, horror fiction, mythopoeia, science fiction, fantasy
Wikipedia: Harry Bates (writer)
Features Author: Harry Bates, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Harry Bates, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: John W. Campbell
Features Author: John W. Campbell, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: John W. Campbell, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: Liu Cixin
Features Author: Liu Cixin, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Liu Cixin, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: Maurice Leblanc
Features Author: Maurice Leblanc, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Maurice Leblanc, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Detective fiction, science fiction, psychological novel
Wikipedia: Octavia E. Butler
Features Author: Octavia E. Butler, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Octavia E. Butler, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction
Wikipedia: Philip K. Dick
Features Author: Philip K. Dick, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Philip K. Dick, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, paranoid fiction, philosophical fiction
Wikipedia: Ray Bradbury
Features Author: Ray Bradbury, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Ray Bradbury, Infobox, genre field
Genre:
Wikipedia: Ted Chiang
Features Author: Ted Chiang, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Ted Chiang, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy
Wikipedia: Ursula K. Le Guin
Features Author: Ursula K. Le Guin, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Ursula K. Le Guin, Infobox, genre field
Genre:
Wikipedia: William Gibson
Features Author: William Gibson, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: William Gibson, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Speculative fiction, science fiction
Wikipedia: Yevgeny Zamyatin
Features Author: Yevgeny Zamyatin, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Yevgeny Zamyatin, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, satire
Wikipedia: Frank Schätzing
Features Author: Frank Schätzing, Infobox: genreQuote, Features Author: Frank Schätzing, Infobox: genre
Science fiction, Horror, Thriller
Wikipedia: Metropolis (novel)
WikipediaFeatures Author: Metropolis (novel), Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Metropolis (novel), Lead section
Metropolis is a 1925 science fiction novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou.
The Swarm (Schätzing novel) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Swarm, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Swarm, Lead section
The Swarm (German: Der Schwarm) is a science fiction novel by German author Frank Schätzing.
Farewell to the Master (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Farewell to the Master, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Farewell to the Master, Lead section
"Farewell to the Master" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Harry Bates.
The Minority Report (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Minority Report, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Minority Report, Lead section
"The Minority Report" is a 1956 science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K.
Killdozer! (novella) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Killdozer!, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Killdozer!, Lead section
"Killdozer!" is a science fiction/horror novella by American writer Theodore Sturgeon, originally published in the magazine Astounding (November 1944) and revised for the 1959 collection Aliens 4.
Wikipedia: Theodore Sturgeon
Features Author: Theodore Sturgeon, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Theodore Sturgeon, Lead section
Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918, May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy, science fiction, and horror, as well as a critic.
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