I don't know about you but I get very confused when it comes to Science Fiction Romance! What is it exactly and how do I find it? To help explain, I invited Heather Massey of Galaxy Express to Love Romance Passion to share her thoughts and perceptions of this very complicated (romance) genre. Please extend a warm welcome to her! Feel free to ask any questions you might have and she'll do her best to answer them!
Bio: Heather Massey is a blogger who travels the sea of stars searching for science fiction romance adventures aboard The Galaxy Express. Additionally, she pens a science fiction romance column for LoveLetter, Germany’s premier romance magazine.
Defining the Genre: Science Fiction Romance
by Heather Massey, guest blogger
Simply put, science fiction describes stories set in an alternative reality that are technology driven, (as opposed to fantasy, which is magic-driven). Romance, of course, is about the emotional journey of the hero and heroine as they discover true love.
Opposites attract, and science fiction (SF) and romance are no exception. And when they decided to get it on, they had not one baby, but triplets!
What do we know about these fine offspring? The answer: plenty. Below I’ve listed the most common labels for blends of romance and SF followed by a description of the stories frequently associated with them:
Romantic Science Fiction is SF with a romantic subplot. The speculative elements drive the plot. Take away the subplot and the story marches on just fine. Romantic SF falls under the SF umbrella since a Happily Ever After is not guaranteed.
Science Fiction Romance (or Sci-Fi Romance) tends to be a 50-50 split between the SF and the romance. Both interweave to drive the plot forward. Take away one or the other and you’re left with only half of a story. A Happily Ever After of some kind is guaranteed.
Futuristic Romance typically describes stories wherein the romance drives the plot. Romance with science fiction elements, as it were. Take away the speculative elements and the story survives just fine.
Basically, it comes down to this: How much of the speculative elements drive the story vs. how much of the romance drives the story?
Where It Gets Tricky
No wonder readers can become confused about blends of SF and romance. There are many terms floating about. Some are reader/author coined. Others were developed by publishers as marketing labels. The difference is important to note because marketing labels change for the same type of books. Publishers have described them on the spine as “Romance,” Futuristic Romance,” and “Paranormal Romance.”
It also gets tricky depending on the time period in which they were written. Historically, romance was a dirty word in the SF community (still is in some circles). So readers relied exclusively on word of mouth to learn which books contained romantic elements. The term “Futuristic Romance” gained a tarnished reputation in the eighties and nineties for some mangling of the science fictional elements. Frequently, the speculative elements were sometimes little more than backdrop. But it’s still the primary marketing label used by publishers today, and for very smart and sophisticated books.
But even if the speculative elements only take up 1% of the plot, the onus is on authors these days to execute them well. Either they should contain some degree of accuracy or they should be depicted in such a way that the reader can willingly suspend her disbelief despite the presence of elements that defy the laws of science. Otherwise, why bother setting the story in the future?
Science fiction romance is a reader/author generated term. It’s been used concurrently with futuristic romance and also as a way to describe stories blending SF and Romance that weren’t a rehash of archaic, MARS NEEDS WOMEN type plots and substandard worldbuilding. Regardless, readers tend to use all of the labels interchangeably.
Another factor that impacts definition of the genre is reader expectation. One’s reading experiences and preferences impact what one expects to gain from a story. In any given book, some will feel that the romance has enough development; others will crave far more. A few lines describing the means of interstellar travel might overwhelm some readers; others won’t even bat an eyelash.
Finally, there’s no umbrella term for *all* stories blending SF and romance, or at least one that covers “science fiction romance,” “futuristic romance,” and everything in between those two. If one catches on, terrific, but right now it’s a challenge to create the ideal term.
The relevancy of subdivisions based on content, as noted above, lets readers know what to expect from a story. But publishers aren’t going to alternate between labels just to suit our whims. Reader subjectivity alone will make that a nigh-impossible endeavor.
That’s why communities of readers are crucial for cross-genres like science fiction romance. We rely on word-of-mouth to ferret out which particular blend suits our individual tastes.
For the purposes of my blog, The Galaxy Express, I made “science fiction romance” an umbrella term for my blog. More than any other label, it clearly conveyed the content. Plus, I wanted to blog about everything from Romantic SF to stories that were heavily romance driven. When it comes to blends of science fiction and romance, I love it all.
Photo Credits: c@rljones
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Defining the Genre, Guest Blogger, Science Fiction
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13 comments ↓
What a great and concise way to put it, Heather. And thanks Love Romance Passion for hosting SFR!
I say it all the time. I’ll repeat it here and anywhere there’s someone to listen: love and rivets are not mutually excluding.
I love reading stories with both of these elements in vast supplies. Bring ON the science fiction, bring ON the romantic discovery.
Dashing space pirates, living machines, exotic planets, kickass characters, haunted spaceships…what’s not to like, eh?
Thank you Heather for reviewing the most common labels for SF. I’ve read some (bestiary) stories that were named paranormal & thought isn’t bestiary a science fiction subgenre?
I’ve also read alot of paranormal romance where charcters have (ESP powers) yet couldn’t that also fall under a SF subgenre?
It seems to me that paranormal & science fiction are two big umbrellas ever growing subgenres.
Way to go, Heather!
Thanks, Heather, for spelling it all out! It does get confusing at times. I just entered the opening of my SFR in two contests and had to figure out which label mine best fell into, because it was different for each one.
But it was a breath of relief to find my entry wouldn’t be lumped in with the paranormals.
Bestiary, Susan?
Yep. Science Fiction Romance? Confusing. Try EROTIC science fiction romance.
I love writing it however. And reading it.
I think you’ve summed up the different nuances to the genre. Thank you, Heather!
Thanks again for having me, Keira! Those images are cool–I feel like I received such a red carpet treatment!
Nat, I love the idea of “romantic discovery.” I’ve always thought romance among the stars was some of the most exciting kind to discover.
Susan S., thanks for reading. You’re right–ESP/psi concepts can fall under SF or paranormal. The setting plays a huge factor in determining category.
Thanks, Kimber An!
Susan, best of luck with your contests!
Bestiary:
1. A medieval collection of stories providing physical and allegorical descriptions of real or imaginary animals along with an interpretation of the moral significance each animal was thought to embody. A number of common misconceptions relating to natural history were preserved in these popular accounts.
2. A modern version of such a collection.
Keira, I believe it’s a term also applied to paranormal romances, or the collection thereof. I could be wrong, but that’s the only context I know of.
I had fun selecting the images. They’re done in the star-trail style! I thought that would fit in perfectly with SFR.
Fantastic! Concise and right on with everything I’ve learned about the terms, the nuances, etc.
I love them all, futuristic all the way to romantic sci-fi (though I have to admit, I still prefer the happy not just “satisfying” ending)
Bestiary for example cat-people or humans who turn into bears.
[...] should know…and don’t. Jump to Comments I was clicking around the web and found THIS POST about Science Fiction Romance. Now, right on the heels of Dear Author’s DEFINITION OF EROTIC [...]
I love this:
**Simply put, science fiction describes stories set in an alternative reality that are technology driven, (as opposed to fantasy, which is magic-driven).**
Wish I’d thought of it. I intend to use it. Ka-ching to Heather!
The only minor nit I’d pick is:
**Otherwise, why bother setting the story in the future?**
My books are not anyone’s future (except for THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES but I needed an exception to prove the rule). They’re my characters’ present day. A LOT of SFR/RSF isn’t “future Earth.” It’s a technologically advanced society with star travel. That has nothing to do with “future” other than the fact we may (or may not) wish that to be out future society.
If you think about it, a reader in 1820 reading a contemporary romance by Carly Phillips or Suzanne Brockman or Nora Roberts (if that was possible) would consider those books “futuristic.” Just a thought… ~Linnea with deadline brain
I have wrote a sci-fi romance called Eden. I thought I was the first and only person to like this mixed genre! My book is like marmite – love it or hate it. I’m certainly going to follow and read more of Heather!
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