Once in a century, a story is crafted in a way that defies genre conventions. These are called the genre-benders.
Ok, not once in a century; I exaggerated just a smudge for dramatic effects. But these unicorns do exist: stories so exquisite and unique they do not fall under the umbrella of a single genre.
Today, I will give five recommendations of stories that bend the conventions of what is expected from a science fiction narrative.
“Are these really sci-fi?” you may ask. To which I reply, “Yes! But also, no.” They’re Schrodinger’s science fiction.
Sci-fi is a tricky genre to define (trust me, I tried once), and it becomes even more challenging to do it when the conversation is about genre-benders. So, I’m not even going to try. Let’s put it like this: a story is a sci-fi-bender if no one would blame you for classifying it as science fiction, even though almost everyone would get it if one opposes this label.
The best thing about genre-benders is that these stories are good points of entry into the genre, so this is indirectly a list of sci-fi for beginners. Two birds!
Disclaimer: I will exclude any sci-fantasy from the list. Fantasy and science fiction are siblings, so their blending is not particularly unexpected. It deserves its own list. So no Star Wars here.
Sci-fi and romance: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Let’s start our list with a mash-up between the best book genre and the best-selling book genre of all time. Although the example I bring is not a novel, but a movie.
I could have chosen the movie Her to be the poster child of this blend of romance and science fiction, but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is such a perfect story! In my opinion, it is quite underrated by the science fiction community.
Directed by Michel Gondry and winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, this 2004 movie tells the story of a man (in a fantastic performance by Jim Carrey) who hires a company to delete the memories of his ex-lover (played by the always-fabulous Kate Winslet) from his mind. During the process of removing the memories of their time together, he revisits them in a dream-like state. The nostalgia and bittersweetness they bring make him regret his decision to erase her from his life.
It is a beautiful and painful exploration of a relationship, using the made-up memory-eraser technology as a foil. A great blend of romance and science fiction.
This combination of romance and science fiction could boost sci-fi’s popularity. With the rise in the Romantasy subgenre, I hope the RomantaSci also picks up momentum.
Sci-fi and thriller: Andromeda Strain
Jurassic Park might be his most recognizable work, but Michael Chichton’s first novel Andromeda Strain is one of the earliest examples of a blend between science fiction and thriller, popularizing the subgenre known as techno-thriller.
The plot of this 1969 novel revolves around an outbreak of an extraterrestrial microorganism and the efforts to understand and control this epidemic. The matter-of-fact writing style and the plausible scientific scenario create a suspense so realistic that it inspires real-life regulations on the growing field of bioengineering and space-travel contamination. (You can read about it here.)
Sci-fi doesn’t get harder than that. Or more thrilling.
Sci-fi and historical fiction: Kindred
The case of Kindred is fascinating. The story involves time travel, but how it works is never explained. It’s definitely not scientific. So why is Kindred often connected to science fiction, while other stories with unexplained time travel to historical periods are not?
Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred tells the story of a 20th-century woman repeatedly transported in time from his home in Los Angeles, California, to a Maryland plantation in the early 19th century. She is held as a slave and has to navigate the lack of freedom and face her ancestral lineage, all the while trying to go back home.
Kindred is such a powerful narrative!
As you may have noticed, there is not an explicit scientific plot. The connection to science fiction comes from a package: the use of time travel to explore complex social issues written by a renowned sci-fi author. That sells it.
Sci-fi and literary fiction: Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro has built a reputation for mastering literary prose within a sci-fi setting. Klara and The Sun deals with very human concerns through the lenses of an automated doll, subtly hinting at a dystopian environment.
Differently from Kindred, the main focus is not the structural issue surrounding the characters but the very personal experience of one family navigating the consequences of living in a shitty world. It is a slice-of-life story in which we follow a sick kid and her mother, each doing their best to be a kid and a mother in this unfortunate circumstance.
I have what appears to be the unpopular opinion of enjoying the ending. Don’t expand the following box if you don’t want SPOILERS!!!!
SPOILER FOR KLARA AND THE SUN
We get to experience the story through the eyes of an outsider, Klara. We are also intruders, witnessing the narrative and wishing we could do something to shed a ray of sunlight in their situation without the actual power to do so.
And, just like Klara, we are thrown away when the characters figure out life. That’s how it’s supposed to be. We were never meant to be a part of that family’s life, nor was Klara.
The most literary trait of Klara and the Sun is the slow pacing, the gradual unraveling of the situation without ever plunging into the full-blown world-building science fiction and fantasy fans love.
It’s quiet, introspective, and impactful. I recommend it.
Sci-fi and horror: Dan Da Dan
You saw this coming, right? Of course I would recommend an anime as well.
My most recent darling, Dan Da Dan, is so good! SO GOOD!!
Japanese horror is unique on its own, drawing from powerful aesthetics and particular storytelling elements that really set it apart from conventional horror. Dan Da Dan, written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu, takes the old Japanese high school setting and creates an addictive story filled with action, teen drama, and, naturally, evil spirits and aliens.
In this world, excentric aliens wish to invade the planet and experiment on humans, and what protects us is this barrier of evil ghosts that want to torment the Earth themselves. Very creative and hyper-stylistic, this fast-paced story has likable characters and an easy-to-follow plotline. It’s worth your time.
I actually thought about choosing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to represent this category. It is a gothic, science-based horror novel, after all. But I figure it would be kind of cheating. Can it be considered a genre-bender if it is regarded as the origin of the whole genre?
Let’s at least give it an honorable mention.
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Do you have any recommendations for genre-bending sci-fi stories? Let me know in the comments!
See you next post,
Ra.
Carla Ra is a scientist by day, sci-fi writer by night.
You can check out her anthology ARTIFICIAL REBELLION here.
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