Cory Doctorow recently wrote, “science fiction is not a topic, it is an approach”. This was in his review of the recent Neal Stephenson novel, Polostan, which contains no fantastic elements at all, but which is written in the style of a science fiction novel.
However, this is not a new phenomena - I am sure that there are many classic works of fiction which are technically not science fiction, space opera, or fantasy, but which are structurally and narratively similar to science fiction.
An example that comes to mind is the Horatio Hornblower novels, which:
- Take place in an “alien” culture
- Feature travel to exotic locales
- Frequently hinge upon some technical detail of chemistry or physics (In other words, not that much different from the typical Eric Frank Russel story in Astounding, other than the fact that it takes place on Earth.)
- Are appealing to readers who are fascinated by the details of how things work - in other words, geeks.
What are some other examples of novels which would fit within this category? More broadly, for an intellectual reader who is looking to broaden their literary diet beyond science fiction, what books would you recommend?