Alternate History...rambling musings.

[temporus]

Alternate History is traditionally a subgenre of Science Fiction.  But there seems to be something about that particular subset that it can really fall into several other genres as well.   I mean, if you don't change enough history, at least not enough to be obvious to the common reader, you end up in the Historical genre.  If you go the route of time travel, certainly you are in the realm of science fiction, especially if it's scientifically explained.   But what it the travel isn't scientifically explained, but magical?  Then you have a fantasy?  What about something like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court?

Aside from the alternate histories where things were changed by a strange happenstance, and the future meets the past, such as the 1632 series, do you still place alternate histories, where it is nothing more than changing a few key occurences in the past so that they happen differently as science fiction?  Cryptonomicon as an example.  Yet that's somewhat different from Stephenson's follow up (or is it a prequel? certainly appears to be the intent to further explain that same time-line.) The Baroque Cycle which have mystical, if not outright magical/fantasy elements.  Does this slide those books into fantasy?  What about Cryptonomicon too?  They are ostensibly in the same history, so if one set goes, shouldn't both? 

I would say that clearly fantastical works, such as Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norell merit being placed in Fantasy, despite grounding in a mostly historical world.  

I'm hardly pointing out anything new.  Just my mind sort of got stuck on it.  I think though, it shows just how bizarre the whole concept of genre really is.  It's all in the eye of the reader.

Comments

[dqg-neal.livejournal.com]

Actually I think more and more the old subgenres are shifting to fantasy. I think there are fewer publishers buying science-fiction, only because they are purposely moving the subgenres to fantasy. I mean, many of the Urban Fantasy of the past few years involves technology opening to other universes, instead of just magic. Where does the line get drawn on any of it?

[temporus.livejournal.com]

Well, I think that might be because the concept of a science fantasy is considered old fashioned. Take Flash Gordon, both the original and the modern. Is it really based upon science? Or is it fantasy with science fiction trappings? I think its the latter. But the concept of science fantasy as a kind of blended genre has been around for a long time. It just sort of gets shunted aside, because it seems to have been a bastard child that neither group wanted to truly claim. Now-a-days, I think fantasy is trying to embrace whatever it can get. Just to keep the genre broad. But that could be a skewed perspective.