The Prose of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Science fiction is often thought of as a literature of ideas, but that gives it short shrift. Like any other genre, there's a wide range of writing styles and quality, and much of it overlaps with what is generally considered "literary" fiction. 

In A Love Letter to Imaginary Worlds: The Prose of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Christine Sandquist takes a long look at the prose style of modern SFF. 

If there’s one thing in science fiction and fantasy that irks me more than anything, it’s the tendency for it to be dismissed by non-readers of the genre as filled with pulp and fluff. Even those who have dipped their toes into SF&F may be unaware of the vast swathes of gorgeous writing waiting to be discovered, hovering just out of sight. Very often, SF&F works that are generally considered to be more “literary” such as Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell are shelved not with SF&F… but instead in fiction, solely because SF&F is not perceived as “serious.” Naturally, there’s nothing wrong with pulp and fluff – if that’s what you enjoy, fantastic! I support you! I love it too! It is, however, absolutely ridiculous to relegate an entire genre into the pulp press and is frankly offensively dismissive of the landmark works of literature within it. SF&F has room for all types of writing, from the experimentally ergodic to the pulpiest of pulp. 

SF&F has been filled with gorgeous, prosaic writing ever since its inception. To say otherwise is both myopic and factually incorrect. In the 1920s, we had Hope Mirlees. In the 40 and 50s, Mervyn Peake. In the 70s, we had Samuel R. Delany and Patricia McKillip. Janny Wurts entered the genre in the 80s. In more recent decades, voices such as Amal El-Mohtar and Sofia Samatar have made their debut. Today and throughout history, we have had multitudes of authors writing delightfully lyrical prose, every word, every phrase, every sentence forming a love letter to writing and the worlds we’ve created.

The authors and books discussed below are nowhere near exhaustive, but they will provide a wonderful starting point for anyone interested in science fiction and fantasy that takes joy and pleasure not just in plot or worldbuilding, but in the very act of writing itself. By the very nature of the beast, I’ll never be able to include everyone here. This is a beginning, an introduction, not a conclusive be-all and end-all list. The featured authors are featured not always because they are the very best around, but often because I am more familiar with them or have read them more recently. The authors suggested in addition to those discussed in depth are just as worth a look as the ones I dedicate a full paragraph to. 

When I was studying English Literature in university, I tried to get approval to doing a masters focusing on SFF. I got shot down in flames. As far as my professors were concerned, there were only two authors worth studying: Ray Bradbury and (oddly) H. P. Lovecraft. I don't think I'd have a problem now and Sandquist article shows why.