by Marcelle Mccallum

Created on: March 12, 2009

Science Fiction is such a broad genre that you don't need to be a geek to enjoy it. In fact, some of my fellow Science Fiction followers are the least geeky people I know. Ranging from the oft-thought of hard science fiction to vast arcing space operas Sci-Fi offers up something for everyone. In fact, many of you will have already enjoyed some of the finest science fiction writing on screen. Philip K Dick has been an excellent source for Hollywood for a couple of years now.

Very little science fiction actually focuses on the science. With the exception of hard science fiction. the vast majority of the genre's sub-genres deal in something other than science. It may be a comment on culture and society past or present. It could be a soap opera set in space or the future. It could simply be a study of how our times may have been different had history taken a different course. The personal trials and tribulations of one or a gorup of heroes may be the focus. The range of different basic stories in science fiction is so broad that I couldn't reasonably list them here. For those who are curious, there is even romance and erotica written under the science fiction genre.

For a non-geek to enjoy science fiction purely requires an open mind and the right starting place. For that is the real downfall of science fiction. The sub-genre's are not well known and to the uninitiated it is a very confusing place. How to tell the difference between your Asimov's and your McCaffrey's; Your Bradbury's and your Pratchett's? Well a quick google will always help, and there are of course numerous resources out there for essenttial sci-fi reading, or good places to start. Ask around, chances are good that at least one of your friends or co-workers is a sci-fi fan.

There is no reason why a non-geek shouldn't be able to enjoy science fiction. It encompasses many other genres, whilst having a futuristic, scientific, alternative or space setting or component. The biggest requirement for a reader of sci-fi is to be able to suspend reality easily. This means that when you are reading, or watching a movie, you can step into that peice's world. Accept that there are aliens or that it is the wild west. If you an suspend reality and accept something different, you can read sci-fi. If you enjoy that feeling, then the genre is definitely for you. Although you are probably already reading it. If you aren't a geek, do yourself a favour and find a sci-fi sub-genre that encompasses your favourite, murder mystery, horror, romance, soap opera's, individual tales and more. It's all out there if you look.

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