Spec Fic

[idling]

After flicking through ASiF! I was wondering about the definition of "speculative fiction." I know what I think it means, but I don't read much[1] and wouldn't understand the boundaries if you explained them to me

Comments

[girliejones]

The way exp_err once explained the definition to me, the boundaries are blurry

[calla_s]

A definition I like (because it seems to be true, not because it's all that useful) is that sf is something that sf fans point to and say "that's sf".

It's mostly a catch-all so we don't have to argue about what counts as science-fiction as opposed to fantasy (although we still do).

It occurred to me that the PM's claims about how well-off working Australians will be under his new laws are both speculative and fictional

I totally agree. It wouldn't count as near-future science fiction, as the definition of science fiction tends to include words like "plausible" and "consistent" extrapolation, neither of which apply, but I reckon it counts as fantasy.

(Greg Egan wrote a short story set in near-future Australia which had become intensely racist and isolationist, with groups like "Fortress Australia" popping up. I think he was more accurate in his predictions than I would have preferred).

[idling]

I think it's Escheran politics. There are different ways to make sense of it, depending on how you choose to look at the situation. Some examples:

"It doesn't work"
"It makes sense if there's a twist in space-time"
"It makes sense if you redefine 'better off' halfway through"
"It seems to work if you look at it from a certain angle"
"It looks like it works, but it's an illusion"
"Gosh, that's clever the way it sucks you in"
"It's rubbish"

sf is something that sf fans point to and say "that's sf"

That makes sense, and it doesn't matter if I can't pick it because I'm not the target audience (either for the fiction or for ASiF).

[calla_s]

There are different ways to make sense of it, depending on how you choose to look at the situation

Can we work in Bernard's irregular nouns, too? I have an independent mind...

Re sf fans - it's at least easier to pick sf fans than sf works, because the fans self-identify. And while there are still nitpicky arguments about what gets to count as sf, I think it's less rubbish than the non-sf-fan definition of "It's not sf if it's *good*", about which I'm not really exaggerating.