There is a reoccurring debate in the SF community as to what is Science Fiction and what exactly SF or SciFi or Syfy, etc mean. Much of the debate is trying to designate what is not Science Fiction. Heinlein proposed Speculative Fiction, a term that would cover classic Science Fiction, but include fantasy, horror, and weird tales. In the Days of Jules Vern, it was called Science Romance, a term that I like quite a bit. Bradbury said “Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.” Often, definitions of SF are either too restrictive or too inclusive.

There are writers who produce novels which appear to be SF in many ways, but who work hard to deny the SF label. (I think that this might be an economic issue). Michael Crichton wrote SF, but was not considered a Science Fiction writer, even though I once read that he wanted to be thought of that way. Dan Brown writes Science Fiction and is not considered an SF author. Robert J. Sawyer writes novels that are similar to Crichton’s and Brown’s, but he is considered a Science Fiction writer.

Bloggers like to quote Damon Knight’s definition: “Science Fiction is what we point to when we say it”. This is useless as a practical guide.

My own definition is that Science Fiction is what you find in the Science Fiction aisle in the bookstore, but bookstores are rapidly getting scarcer and the Science Fiction aisles are getting smaller. This really means that we are delegating the definition of SF to publishing houses.

I was reading a John Varley short story collection on the bus this morning that had an introduction by Algis Budrys, the great SF writer and editor. Budrys proposed that SF stands for “Somehow if Fits”, which is an interesting way to say that Science Fiction is defined by what could be included and not what should be included.