Deborah on the multiplicity of sub-genres

Over on Amazing Stories, the "Chain Mail" discussions with Book View Cafe authors tackled this question:

Recently there has been an uptick in the number of “sub-genres” related to the field. Where before there was just “science fiction”, that split into ‘space opera’, ‘hard’ and ‘new wave’ during the late 50s/early 60s, now there’s — science fiction romance, western sf, post-apocalyptic, slipstream, alternate reality — the list goes on. Is it helpful to have all of these sub-categorizations (allowing readers to find what they really want) or detrimental by pigeonholing work and placing impediments between a reader and the discovery of new types of works?



Here's my answer:



I have no idea if this is a good thing or a bad thing, and even if I
did, I would most likely be wrong. However, I do have some thoughts on
the tendency to make more and smaller sub-sub-sub genres. One pertains
to the desire on the part of many readers to find a book that is exactly
like the last one they loved in terms of reading experience. This
tendency explains why there are so many sequels-ad-nauseum in both
film/TV and books.




Years ago, I took over stewardship of the library at my daughter’s
elementary school, so I got to watch what books which kids were picking.
The big thing back then was Goosebumps. We parent librarians had high
hopes for the series, because the titles and covers appealed to boys who
were otherwise “reluctant readers.” With glee, we watched the boys
check out one after another of these books. I at least had my fingers
crossed that at some point, they’d branch out. Mostly, however, they
didn’t. They wanted that exact experience, and after reading three or
five or twenty books with basically the same plot, they’d get bored and
stop reading. As frustrating as this was to witness, I believe that some
reading is better than none, and those kids carried with them the
memory of first discovering that books can be cool. And picked up
another book some day. Maybe Harry Potter.




The other thing about sub-sub (etc.) genres is that so many of them
are crossovers. Science fiction mysteries. Westerns with magic.
Paranormal Romances. Steampunk vampires. There’s a playfulness in taking
elements we love and seeing how many new ways we can combine them. It
must drive the marketing people nuts.



This, I think, is a very good thing.



The photograph is by
Eva Watson-Schülze (1867-1935), public domain.