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This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became a genre. Definitions of related terms such as "science fantasy", "speculative fiction", and "fabulation" are included where they are intended as definitions of aspects of science fiction or because they ...
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 the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." [3] Another definition comes from The Literature Book by DK and ...
Science fiction genre – 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 ...
The vocabulary includes words used in science fiction books, TV and film. A second category rises from discussion and criticism of science fiction, and a third category comes from the subculture of fandom. It describes itself as "the first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction", tracing how science fiction terms have developed over time.
Many of the most enduring science fiction tropes were established in Golden Age literature. Space opera came to prominence with the works of E. E. "Doc" Smith; Isaac Asimov established the canonical Three Laws of Robotics beginning with the 1941 short story "Runaround"; the same period saw the writing of genre classics such as the Asimov's Foundation and Smith's Lensman series.
The dictionary is a useful resource for both fans of science fiction and "for scholars interested in the history of science and technology", according to Elizabeth Swanstrom, co-editor of the journal Science Fiction Studies and an English scholar at the University of Utah.
Novum (Latin for new thing) is a term used by science fiction scholar Darko Suvin and others to describe the scientifically plausible innovations used by science fiction narratives. [1] Frequently used science fictional nova include aliens, time travel, the technological singularity, artificial intelligence, and psychic powers. [2]
Ursula K. Le Guin first used the word ansible in her 1966 novel Rocannon's World. [1] [4] Etymologically, the word was a contraction of answerable, as the device allowed its users to receive answers to their messages in a reasonable amount of time, even over interstellar distances.