Soft science fiction stories take ideas from social sciences such as psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Some important writers in this category include Ursula K. Le Guin and Philip K. Dick. Soft SF can be mostly about character and emotion. Ray Bradbury won a prize called the SFWA Grand Master and writes in this style. The Soviet Union produced social science fiction too. Some examples are Strugatsky brothers, Kir Bulychov and Ivan Yefremov.
Some Social SF and Soft SF can be types of speculative fiction, for example utopian or dystopian stories. George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four", Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", are examples. Some people think that satirical novels in fantastic settings (places) such as "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift are speculative fiction.
Within Hard or Soft SF, there are different types, or subgenres, of science fiction. Each subgenre is a group of stories that uses similar ideas or styles of writing. Publishing companies and critics put works of SF into different subgenres to help describe the work to help readers choose which books to read or movies to watch. Assigning genres is not simple. Some stories can be in two or more genres at the same time. Other stories may not fit any genre.
In Alternate (or alternative) history stories, writers imagine how the past might have been different. These stories may use time travel to change the past. Some set a story in a universe with a different history from our own. These are some important alternate history books:
The Sidewise Award is for the best works in this subgenre. The name Sidewise is taken from Murray Leinster's 1934 story "Sidewise in Time." Harry Turtledove is one of the most famous writers in the subgenre. He is often called the "master of alternate history".
Apocalyptic fiction is about the end of civilization. There are several types: through war ("On The Beach"), pandemic ("The Last Man"), astronomic impact ("When Worlds Collide"), ecological disaster ("The Wind From Nowhere"), or mankind's self-destruction ("Oryx and Crake"), or some other general disaster. Apocalyptic SF may also be about world or civilization after a disaster.
Cyberpunk began in the early 1980s. Bruce Bethke used this word as the title for a short story in 1980 by putting together two words: "cybernetics" and "punk". Soon, people used this word to describe William Gibson's book, "Neuromancer". Cyberpunk authors can put their stories in different settings. Stories usually take place in the near-future and the settings are often dystopian (characterized by misery). These are often societies with very advanced technology. A few huge corporations usually control the society. Another early cyberpunk novel that has become a classic is "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson.
Military science fiction stories happen during wars. These wars can be between different countries, different planets, or between different species. The stories are told by characters who are soldiers. They include detail about military technology, rules, and history. Some Military SF may be similar to real historical conflicts. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" is an early example. Another is the Dorsai novels of Gordon Dickson. Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" is a response to the World War II–style stories of earlier military SF authors. Haldeman was a soldier in the Vietnam War. Important military SF authors include John Ringo, David Drake, David Weber, and S. M. Stirling. Baen Books is known for cultivating military science fiction authors.
Maritime science fiction is science fiction that features a maritime or marine environment and technology and/or marine lifeforms mixed with science fiction. The probably earliest form of maritime science fiction literature is "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
Superhuman stories are about humans who get special abilities that are not normal. Maybe the new powers come from nature. Two examples of this type are Olaf Stapledon's novel "Odd John" and Theodore Sturgeon's "More Than Human". Sometimes scientists give people special powers on purpose. one example is A.E. van Vogt's novel "Slan". Frederik Pohl's novel "Man Plus" is another good example from this category. In that book, government scientists make a man into a powerful cyborg (part human, part machine).
These stories usually have two main points. One is the feeling of loneliness and separation that these superhuman people feel. The other is society's reaction to them.
Space opera is adventure science fiction in outer space or on distant planets. Action is more important than the science or characters. There is usually a strong hero and a very big conflict. The action often moves to many different places. Edward E. (Doc) Smith was an early Space opera writer. Flash Gordon and Star Wars are also popular examples.
Space Western takes ideas from books and movies about exploring the American Old West and moves them to space in the future. These stories are often on "frontier" colony worlds (colonies that have only recently been terraformed and/or settled) serving as stand-ins for the backdrop of lawlessness and economic expansion that were predominant in the American west. Some examples are "Firefly" and the movie "Serenity" by Joss Whedon. Anime programs like "Cowboy Bebop" and "Outlaw Star" are also Space Westerns. Han Solo from "Star Wars" is an important Space Western character.
The first important time travel novel was Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". The most famous is H. G. Wells's 1895 novel "The Time Machine". Well's book uses a machine that allows an operator to travel to an exact time. Twain's time traveler is struck in the head and wakes up in the past. The term ""time machine"" was invented by Wells. Now it is the name for any vehicle that can take a rider to another time. Ray Bradbury's 1952 short story called "A Sound of Thunder" is a more recent and very famous example of this genre. Time travel stories can be complicated. They have logical problems such as the grandfather paradox. Time travel is a popular subject in modern science fiction, in print, movies, and television.
Science fiction fandom is the "community of the literature of ideas... the culture in which new ideas emerge and grow before being released into society at large". Members of this community, "fans", are in contact with each other at conventions or clubs, through print or online fanzines, or on the Internet using web sites, mailing lists, and other resources.
SF fandom emerged from the letters column in "Amazing Stories" magazine. Soon fans began writing letters to each other, and then grouping their comments together in informal publications that became known as fanzines. Once they were in regular contact, fans wanted to meet each other, and they organized local clubs. In the 1930s, the first science fiction conventions gathered fans from a wider area. Conventions, clubs, and fanzines were the main fan activities, or "fanac", for decades, until the Internet improved communication among a much larger population of interested people.
There are two very important science fiction awards: the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. The Hugo is presented by the World Science Fiction Society at Worldcon each year. The Nebula is presented by SFWA and voted on by the community of authors. One important award for science fiction movies is the Saturn Award. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror movies gives this award each year..
There are national awards, like Canada's Aurora Award and the UK Arthur C. Clarke Award, regional awards, like the Endeavour Award presented at Orycon for works from the Pacific Northwest, special interest or subgenre awards like the Chesley Award for art or the World Fantasy Award for fantasy. Magazines may organize reader polls, notably the Locus Award.