Sci-Fi or Thriller?

Biothriller

heyjude said:

Biothriller

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ding!

You'd probably need to bill it as speculative fiction. I'm a cross- genre writer myself -- contemporary fantasy/action-adventure thriller. One of the huge problems is that a lot of the agents who take Thriller don't take Sci-Fi. So the Sci-Fi aspects is automatically going to swing it in that direction.

BTW, I personally happen to think that JP is more thriller than SF. I read both, and it doesn't quite fit into either one, but slants more into thriller.

Designer viruses? I've seen much wilder SF ideas in Bond movies. I'd classify it as a (bio)thriller, unless you delve deep into the science of virus-making, and make these details plot relevant.

Eco-thriller (or eco-terrorist thriller) - A thriller where the weapon is nature.

-cb

I'd vote bio-thriller or eco-thriller here as well. I can understand the push to call it speculative fiction, but as a reader I think there's a difference between something set in the (more-or-less) current, real world with one science-based speculative element, and something more traditionally SF (aliens, magic, alternate history, etc.).

Linda Adams said:

You'd probably need to bill it as speculative fiction. I'm a cross- genre writer myself -- contemporary fantasy/action-adventure thriller. One of the huge problems is that a lot of the agents who take Thriller don't take Sci-Fi. So the Sci-Fi aspects is automatically going to swing it in that direction.

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On the other hand...this isn't the first time I've heard this. Anecdotally I've read in a number of places that MTS (from an agenting/publishing standpoint) isn't particularly SF friendly, but that the reverse is not true. My husband, a lifetime SF reader, agrees. He said, more or less, "We'll take any plot as long as there are enough spaceships."

Not to hijack, but I have a genre-spanning problem myself - I've got a murder mystery set in the future. My alpha reader is adamant that it's a mystery, first and foremost. I was thinking, when looking for representation, of trying agents on both sides of the fence; but I'm not sure that wouldn't be a waste of time.

I concur with bio-thriller.

lizmonster said:

Not to hijack, but I have a genre-spanning problem myself - I've got a murder mystery set in the future. My alpha reader is adamant that it's a mystery, first and foremost. I was thinking, when looking for representation, of trying agents on both sides of the fence; but I'm not sure that wouldn't be a waste of time.

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Am I right in thinking you've mentioned space ships before? That's sci fi. Mysterious sci fi!

I vote sci fi, too, liz. There are certain genres that get the nod very firmly, if that makes sense. Mystery and suspense--those could be inside any other genre (and I'd argue if you don't have suspense in any genre, it's not a good book). But sci fi doesn't fit into our genres as neatly.

Does that make sense to anyone but me?

It makes sense to me, hj.

Namatu said:

Am I right in thinking you've mentioned space ships before? That's sci fi. Mysterious sci fi!

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Yeah, there are space ships. I suppose I hesitate because most of the action takes place on a relatively ordinary little planet, and although the SF aspect feeds the political motivations of the crime, actual speculative technology doesn't enter into the plot much.

I think I'm second-guessing because I feel it's not sci-fi enough. I spent a lot of time early on trying to figure out why I set the story in the future, and really, it's because it gives me more control over events.

heyjude said:

There are certain genres that get the nod very firmly, if that makes sense. Mystery and suspense--those could be inside any other genre (and I'd argue if you don't have suspense in any genre, it's not a good book). But sci fi doesn't fit into our genres as neatly.

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I think you're saying, in professional terms, more or less what my husband was saying. SF is more about the universe, and less about what actual story takes place within that universe.

lizmonster said:

I think I'm second-guessing because I feel it's not sci-fi enough. I spent a lot of time early on trying to figure out why I set the story in the future, and really, it's because it gives me more control over events.

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This is why I didn't put my Elena in space. Are there certain elemental differences that help establish your world that help ground the reader in life on your planet?

I too have heard this opinion that you can add MTS elements into SF without anyone blinking, but not SF elements into MTS. I think it's as much reader expectations - if you pick it up expecting a detective mystery, then the baddie turns out to be an alien, then you might be a little surprised.

The acid test for any SF or fantasy (in my eyes) is whether the fantastic elements contribute to the plot. If you could transplant the story to present day without having to change anything about the plot, then perhaps it's not SF enough to really work.

Namatu said:

Are there certain elemental differences that help establish your world that help ground the reader in life on your planet?

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onesecondglance said:

The acid test for any SF or fantasy (in my eyes) is whether the fantastic elements contribute to the plot. If you could transplant the story to present day without having to change anything about the plot, then perhaps it's not SF enough to really work.

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These are both important points to ponder, and I do ponder them. Fundamentally, though - the story just does not work as a present-day real-world story, at least not for me. Everyone's motivations are based on a different reality. Not that the motivations are all that unusual for a crime story - love, sex, money, power, the usual - but the underlying social structure that led to the crime is just not our present-day world (except maybe in a loosely allegorical way, but if so that's only by accident).

The sequel is much more grounded in sci-fi tradition (I am afraid I am leveraging that old cliche, the wormhole); but this one is more of a what-happens-when-you-take-people-away-from-what-they-know kind of a thing. Whether or not it will ultimately work as SF...I don't know.

lizmonster said:

Fundamentally, though - the story just does not work as a present-day real-world story, at least not for me. Everyone's motivations are based on a different reality. Not that the motivations are all that unusual for a crime story - love, sex, money, power, the usual - but the underlying social structure that led to the crime is just not our present-day world (except maybe in a loosely allegorical way, but if so that's only by accident).

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That's enough for me.

onesecondglance said:

That's enough for me.

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HAH! Read it first.

the present = thriller

Anything based in the current time, current settings, would be classified as a thriller in my opinion (unless it's really extreme, like aliens landing in NYC and new superweapons.)

Transformers (the movie) isn't really SF in my opinion. It's a thriller. Spider Man (the movie) is a thriller. I can think of a few exceptions, but not many. The SF element has to take over the modern world, totally dominate the story.

Conversely, a story about a low tech colony on a far away planet is always SF, even if the conflicts are all human made.

It's not the technology, it's the setting.

I disagree - but then I would class CSI Miami as SF due to all the made up tech...

I think debates of this sort are why the label "speculative fiction" came about. There are an awful lot of gray areas. I wouldn't expect to see CSI Miami next to Battlestar Galactica at the video store; but neither would I expect to see Crichton in the SF section at the bookstore. (He may be there. I haven't looked.)

From a marketing perspective - if you don't fall squarely into one category or another, it's tough to know what to say in a query letter. I think greenpower's summary screams "thriller," regardless of any potential speculative aspects - the story may venture in other directions, but I'd be surprised to see a story like that marketed as straight science fiction.

Which I guess is my answer for my own novel - I would never expect a book like this to be marketed as a mystery (despite the fact that historical mysteries seem popular, and accepted within the genre - the past is not the future, I guess).

I think I'm back to "space opera."

Okay, I have a Crichton-esque book that uses present day genome/DNA manipulation to create a hybrid. The science pretty much stays within the realm of today's parameters.

It's a Thriller.

And yes, JP was more thriller than anything. I also happen to believe that King Kong was always action/adventure.

I write crossover material, too. My current WIP is a fantasy thriller, although I will probably market it solely as a fantasy piece as this is a stronger element. It's okay to bend genres, but when you are trying to find a market niche, you need to be a bit more specific.

I think the publisher, Crossed Genres, does indeed encourage submissions of genre-bending manuscripts, or something that would not fit into ordinary genre parameters.

tri

I know I'm a bit late to this thread, but it's great to see at least a few others who are also doing cross-genre work. My mystery (http://www.facebook.com/slaininthespirit?fref=ts) takes place in the near future as well, but - it is first and foremost a mystery with some science-fiction elements.

I think they call this sci-fi noir.

http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/2011/03/25/science-fiction-noir/
http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Sci-fi_noir

Not sure if this tag applies to your present day DNA computer virus thriller, and biotechnical thriller seems to have paid off - congrats. hope they go to press with it.