TYPES OF NOVEL – SCIENCE FICTION

 

1.       Science fiction exemplifies a type of novel in which the central focus of the narrative revolves around a scientific phenomenon such as a new invention, discovery, concept or occurrence. The closing years of the 19^th century is generally recognized as the time when science fiction formally emerged as a genre proper. The British author H. G. Wells is widely identified as the pioneer of science fiction in English literature. Noteworthy works by him that helped establish this genre include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898).

At The heart of the narrative in a science fiction is what is known as novum, a machine or invention that disrupts our rote perception of aspects in the real world. Classic instances of novum include the time machine in the novel of that name by H. G. Wells and the ship that travels under water in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. An important point to note about the novum is that it would be invariably presented in the plot as a product of scientific thought or logic and not magic. The disparity between the time machine and the time turner that one comes across in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Rowling bears out the difference most succinctly. Though both the devices essentially assist in travelling through time, the former is presented as a rational product of scientific reasoning, while the latter is done so as basically an instrument of magic.

 

2.       The plots of science fictions are for the most part set in alternative temporal and spatial domains. This is to say, they are located many years into the past or the future, and in such locales as other planets, the moon, or a city situated at the bottom of the sea. The fundamental aim behind doing so is to impart a sense of bizarreness on the sensibility of the readers, so as to capture their imagination and get them hooked into the narrative, while simultaneously heightening the scientific aura of the work.

 

3.       In a science fiction, unlike in any other type of novel, the idea takes precedence over plot or characterization. The scientific concept that lies at the core of any science fiction’s plot is the be all and end all, with events and emotional states of individuals being attributed a relatively minor significance. What the characters do or the fate that befalls them are tellingly insignificant compared to the idea in question. Characters might die but the idea lives on. This is why science fictions are never entitled after the characters but the concept they grapple with. Sometimes characters themselves are named after the idea such as the time traveler or the invisible man, which reinforces the notion that characters mostly in a science fiction are essentially portrayed as cardboard figures rendered significant by the idea they supposedly personify.

4.       Science fictions do not deal with the intricacies of interpersonal relationships as most varieties of mainstream novels tend to do. The main focus of a science fiction is not so much the relationship between individuals, but the relation between humanity and the world. This is to say, they are primarily concerned with the question of how through science the human race tackles the various elements and challenges posed by the way things exist in the universe at large. It is not human intimacy but great events such as war, landing on the moon, interplanetary travel, alien invasion and other events of the like that is foregrounded in a science fiction.