Horizon - Near Future / Contemporary / Urban

Images of the near future differ markedly from those of the far future in both content and attitude. The near future is a world which is imminently real - one of which we can have no definite knowledge, which exists only imaginatively and hypothetically, but which is nevertheless a world in which (or something like it) we may one day have to live, and towards which our present plans and ambitions must be directed. It is doubtful whether many people, even today, have really activated a genuine appreciation of the scope of the change that might overtake the world in the space of their own lifetimes. The near future is implicitly threatening; whatever innovations it produces must invalidate - however temporarily - the past experience on which our present consciousness is based. In today's world change is so rapid we cannot fail to perceive it, despite our most fervent efforts to ignore it. Contemporary fiction sets the mundanity of the present day in clear opposition to the fantasy premise. A contemporary fiction is thus a cross-hatch in which radically different realms co-exist, or a portal fantasy in which transition between two realms occurs regularly. With urban fiction it may be difficult to determine the extent and nature of the surrounding reality. Urban fictions are normally texts where fantasy and the mundane world intersect and interweave throughout a tale which is significantly about a real city - the city may be located in a secondary world, but in such a case it has been created not just as a backdrop but as an environment.

Heresy - Vampire / Gothic / Dark Fantasy

Literary vampires have roots in two distinct folkloristic traditions: the Greek notion of the seductive Lamia (demons disguising themselves as young women in order to beguile men before sapping their blood) and the various East European superstitions regarding cannibalistically inclined reanimated corpses - Dracula becoming the archetype of the vampire of occult fiction. More recently, tales of vampirism have become integrated with Urban Legends giving the stories a more contemporary feel. Classic Gothic fiction usually takes place in an ancient castle or abbey whose owner discovers his noble line is doomed, usually because some past misdemeanour has caused the family to be cursed. All fate seems against him as he strives to overcome massive odds (frequently of either genuine or fabricated supernatural origin), and he usually fails. The story may be told from the viewpoint of another character, one dispossessed of his inheritance, who may regain it. All gothic fiction is therefore tragedy. Pure or High Gothic aims to terrify, although the supernatural may appear in Low Gothic without the need to terrify. More recently, writers have used the Gothic setting for atmosphere and as a device to simplify explanations to readers well versed in the material. Dark Fantasy is sometimes used interchangeably with Gothic although it is generally used to describe an emotional effect certain stories may have on readers, rather like "horror" itself. Dark fantasy therefore describes a tale which incorporates a sense of horror, but which is clearly fantasy rather than supernatural.

Lucid Dreams - Feminist / Lesbian

There are obviously different interpretations of what comprises feminist science fiction and fantasy. But all feminism is based upon a profound scepticism: of the 'naturalness' of the patriarchal world and the belief in male superiority on which it is founded. Therefore, one of the most obvious attractions of science fiction and fantasy is the possibilities it offers for the creation of a female hero - the creation of worlds were women wield swords, pilot spaceships or simply lead lives from which the threat of male violence and oppression is absent. Lucid Dreams is Sci-rotica's series line were women can obtain new strengths, goals, and ways of being equal to, and even surpassing men.

Immortal - Heroic / Mythology / Sword and Sorcery

A central thread of heroic fantasy is the simple premise that it features a (usually muscular) hero in violent conflict with a variety of villains; chiefly wizards, witches, evil spirits and other creatures whose powers - unlike the hero's - are supernatural in origin. Sword and sorcery is a descriptive term commonly considered synonymous with heroic fantasy. A myth is something we like to believe in but know is false or is anything once believed in and subsequently proved false. The term "myth" is most often applied to ancient beliefs or events and is thereby closely allied to folklore and legend. Elements of mythology are often employed as a backdrop to many heroic fantasy stories. Immortal is sci-rotica's series line incorporating this type of fiction.

Beyond - Hard-Edged Technology / Cyberspac

Hard science fiction or hardcore science fiction is the terminology used to describe the form of imaginative literature that uses either established or carefully extrapolated science as its backbone. The commonly used distinction between hard and soft science fiction runs parallel to that between hard and soft sciences and include, but are not restricted to, Astronomy, Black Holes, Computer, Cosmology, Cybernetics, Faster than Light, Gravity, Mathematics, Nuclear Power, Physics, Power Sources, Rockets, Space Flight, Space Ships, Technology and Weapons. All but the most puristic reader would probable accept also Biology, Genetic Engineering and Terraforming as appropriate material for hard science fiction. But it is possible to write a kind of hard science fiction about almost anything. Hard science fiction should not, however, wilfully ignore or break known scientific principles. While a rigorous definition of hard science fiction may be impossible, perhaps the most important thing about it is, not that it should include real science in any great detail, but that it should respect the scientific spirit; it should seek to provide natural rather than supernatural or transcendental explanations for the events and phenomena it describes. The term cyberspace refers to an imaginary but not wholly impossible special case of Virtual Reality, which in our contemporary world a more commonly used term for machine-generated scenarios perceived, in varying degrees, as "real" by those who watch or "enter" them.

Infinity - Time Travel / Alternative Universe (History)

Time travel is the great literary convenience to be able to move a narrative viewpoint backwards or forwards in time, and it is possible to use many narrative devices for this purpose (too numerous to list.) A variant of the time travel story is time distortion or subjective time stories, where devices speed up, slow down or even stop time. An alternative history is an account of Earth as it might have become in consequence of some hypothetical alteration in history. In fantasy, an alternative universe is an account of our world as it might otherwise have been. The difference is simple but crucial. If a story presents the alteration of some specific event as a premise from which to argue an new version of history (such as Hitler victorious) then that story is likely to be science fiction (alternative history). If, however, a story presents a different version of the history of Earth without arguing the difference (i.e. the presence of magic), then that story is likely to be fantasy.

Encounter - Alien Worlds / Cross-Culture

Simply put, any story that involves accounts of sentient life on worlds other than our own, or sentient life visiting or invading our own is classified as an alien encounter. Although alien beings are frequently imagined as loathsome monsters, the term is more generally applied to any cultural and biological differences between human and alien, be they quasi-human, sentient plant or pure energy. The possibilities are so vast that it is difficult if not impossible to categorise this sub-genre with any degree of satisfaction, so we will not attempt to do so here. This is one of the great things about science fiction and fantasy - we leave it up to our authors to constantly challenge and redefine the genre in which we write.

Retro - Pulp / Stylised / Retrospective

If you prefer stories with a rugged hero, a desperate heroine (in either a metallic bikini or a dangerous state of dishabille) and a hideous alien menace, then Retro is the series line for you! Retro stories offer an element of nostalgia, are generally NOT politically correct and are often humorously written or at least written with tongue firmly in cheek. So join us as we dodge the Blob, avoid the fifty-foot woman and search once again for those devious Amazon Women on Mars.

Spectrum - Paranormal / Unexplained

In supernatural or paranormal fiction the natural world is considered the base reality, thus any story whose premises contradict the rules of the mundane world can be defined as supernatural. The supernatural world is other than the real world and is generally seen as signalling wrongness, though in much occult fantasy and in revisionist versions of vampire tales in particular, the signals may be reversed, so that the supernatural world represents a higher rightness. The supernatural exists, therefore, in a contingent relationship to base reality, even though the relationship may be one of parody. This contingency of the supernatural element distinguishes the form from the central line of fantasy - where the secondary or imaginary world exists in its own right. Stories described as supernatural fictions tend to invade or contradict the natural order to which they are ultimately bound. Usually narrated from the vantage-point situated in the real world, rather than from the vantage-point of the invading entity or influence, supernatural fictions generally reflect an initial disbelief in the incursion (or belief as a form of blasphemy), resistance to the violating supernatural element (or surrender to it, often sexual) or horror (or loathly wedlock). Wrongness accompanies threats to the world from elsewhere, through incursions or wellings up of the supernatural or as seduction with evil intent. Such stories are often loosely classified as Gothic, Ghost, Occult, Witchcraft, Daemonic Enthralment, Satanic Rites, Possession etc. The unexplained is merely a literary tag for stories in which the reader is unsure if they involve the supernatural or some other (possibly extraterrestrial) influence.