What Is Speculative Fiction?

Question

Many readers of Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, and the many subgenres which fall beneath these three main styles of literature refer to their reading material as Speculative Fiction. Who coined the term, and was this person a writer?

Answer 1

Ray Bradbury created a deeper genre of science fiction that questions the ironies of life, the purpose and meaning of life in a frightful world of war, existential Angst, nuclear holocaust, Nihilism, alienation, and the tropes of the "other." Ray Bradbury talks about seeing inanimate objects as being able to come alive as a wrier. He pictures a roller coaster as a huge monstrous dragon. Bradbury's keen imagination demonstrates a writer's special gift of transforming inanimate objects and to see it shape-shift into a horrible fiend. The author labeled the genre Speculative Fiction, a term found in literature, film, bizarre David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" or "Blue Velvet" or a Steven King's car becoming a jealous Harpy.

Answer 2

Speculative Fiction is any literature in which the narrator or characters speculate about life, mysteries, happenings, weird events, or anything else that causes fear, terror, awe, and wonder. Seminal writer Ray Bradbury coined the term, and to this day few writers find that they can achieve the levels of mystery, wonder, excitement, and awe that his writings continue to offer to readers of all ages.