I've been going back and forth on this question: If it takes place in the future is it automatically SF? Particularly if the future is fairly near.
My latest book is only ten years out. I was inspired by Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, made into a movie starring Sean Connery. It's a trilogy that leads up to a war with China. It has broken into three parts, and one of the "New Chinas" decides to shore up its citizens' shaky allegiance by focusing attention on an external threat.
I'm an aerospace engineer who's worked at the forefront of industry, so I made some modest projections of future tech development. Some of them are in aerospace, such as a one-stage-to-orbit spaceplane. It is based loosely on a project I worked on just before I retired from Boeing.
Other developments are in popular computer tech, such as VR/AR headsets. These are based my experience with current models. I'm guessing that in ten years they will become so light weight, cheap, and convenient that many people will routine wear one, the same way many people nowadays carry smartphones.
Overall, however, the tone and focus of the book is on life little different from now, so is it really SF? Should it be marketed as contemporary literature or SF?
My latest book is only ten years out. I was inspired by Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, made into a movie starring Sean Connery. It's a trilogy that leads up to a war with China. It has broken into three parts, and one of the "New Chinas" decides to shore up its citizens' shaky allegiance by focusing attention on an external threat.
I'm an aerospace engineer who's worked at the forefront of industry, so I made some modest projections of future tech development. Some of them are in aerospace, such as a one-stage-to-orbit spaceplane. It is based loosely on a project I worked on just before I retired from Boeing.
Other developments are in popular computer tech, such as VR/AR headsets. These are based my experience with current models. I'm guessing that in ten years they will become so light weight, cheap, and convenient that many people will routine wear one, the same way many people nowadays carry smartphones.
Overall, however, the tone and focus of the book is on life little different from now, so is it really SF? Should it be marketed as contemporary literature or SF?
