Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is a term which has been used in multiple related but distinct ways. Speculative fiction is a type of fiction that asks the classic "What if?" question and attempts to answer it. In some contexts, it has been used as an inclusive term covering a group of fiction genre that speculate about worlds that are unlike the real world in various important ways. In these contexts, it generally includes science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, alternate history, and magic realism. The term is used this way in academic and ideological criticism of these genres, as well as by some readers, writers, and editors of these genres. In these contexts, the term does not imply an opinion about the relative merits of any of the genres it includes. For example, this is the sense in which the term is used in the name of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. In other contexts, the term has been used to express dissatisfaction with... full article at wikipedia