I propose a new genre: “Extra-Ordinary”
When people ask me what kind of book CANDOR is, my first answer is “it’s a novel for ages twelve and up”. But I know they want more. Is it realistic fiction? Well, no, unless brainwashing is a reality (that’s another post for another day!). Is it fantasy? Mmmm, I guess not, since it’s set in our modern everyday world and there’s a distinct lack of magical or supernatural elements. Well then. It must be science fiction, right? Yes, indeed: Wikipedia defines science fiction as “a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations on current or future science or technology”, which definitely fits CANDOR.
But sometimes the label of sci-fi feels like an itchy fit for books like CANDOR--stories that are set in a world with one imagined technology element but otherwise don’t dwell on the mechanics or history of that technology. Maybe it’s because sci-fi makes a lot of people think of only robots and space ships. I worry about readers who don’t regularly delve into science fiction getting turned off. Don’t get me wrong: I am not ashamed to be called a sci-fi writer. I’ve been a sci-fi fan since my father and I spent a summer eating TV dinners in front of Star Trek re-runs (perhaps an unfortunate example, give that ST is replete with both robots and space ships!). And if I spent my entire career being called a sci-fi writer, that’s fine by me. Talk about being in fantastic company.
I wonder if some fantasy authors have a similar issue. A lot of people think the fantasy books all have dragons and dudes wearing long robes, bearing wands. And that is just as narrow a view of the genre as the aforementioned robots and space ships. That’s probably why the sub-genre name “urban fantasy” emerged.
I’d like to propose a new genre name: extra-ordinary.
Extra-ordinary books have at least one element that doesn’t exist in our mundane world. Sure, it could be robots. But it could be a moon that’s moved closer to the earth, as in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s LIFE AS WE KNEW IT. Or it could be a virus that turns New Yorkers into vampires, a la Scott Westerfeld’s PEEPS. Some fantasy books fit in here. So do some sci-fi. But they’re about the normal world, twisted by forces that (supposedly) don’t exist.
Do we really need a new genre name? Shouldn’t we instead hope that readers come to see that sci-fi and fantasy are broad homes for all sorts of cool ideas? Maybe so. But I think this type of book is only going to grow in popularity and hopefully it will attract a broader cut of readers. And darn it, if paranormal romances-which now, I notice, are often just called “paranormals”-can get their own special name, why not extra-ordinary books too?