MYSTERY
and
SPECULATIVE
What is Mystery?
- Mystery is a genre of literature whose stories focus on a puzzling crime,
situation, or circumstance that needs to be solved.
The term comes from the Latin mysterium, meaning “a secret thing.” stories
can be either fictional or nonfictional, and can focus on both supernatural
and non-supernatural topics.
Types of Mystery
Mysteries are defined as either nonfictional or fictional
a. Fictional mysteries
are stories that can be realistic or fantastic in nature, but are not specifically
based on true events. They overlap with other literary genres, such as fantasy
(most commonly to create gothic fiction)
b. Nonfiction Mysteries
Nonfiction mystery books cover a wide range of topics that address true
events, often involving mysteries of history, science, religion, magic, the
supernatural, or the afterlife.
Over the years, the mystery genre has been divided into a few sub genres.
• Hardboiled mysteries are those that are gritty and violent.
• Soft-boiled mysteries are just as realistic as hardboiled, yet more
optimistic and humorous, and without the gory details.
• Cozy mysteries are light and less violent, with amateur crime solvers in
small or tight-knit towns.
• Police Procedural mysteries always follow a professional detective or
police officer who solves crimes.
• Locked Room mysteries are those whose crimes seem impossible to
have been committed.
• thriller, or compelling mysteries where the protagonist is put up against
extraordinary odds (sometimes by supernatural means) that keep
viewers on the edge of their seats.
Take Note:
In any mystery story, however, just remember that there are three
basic questions to be answered: 'What happened? How did it
happen? Who did it?'
What Is Speculative Fiction?
Speculative fiction is a literary “super genre,” which encompasses a
number of different genres of fiction, each with speculative elements
that are based on conjecture and do not exist in the real world.
Sometimes called “what-if” books, speculative literature changes the
laws of what’s real or possible.
- The term “speculative fiction” was used for the first time by Robert
Heinlein in 1947. The terms was largely associated with only the science
fiction genre in the late twentieth century, as science fiction is a widely-
read genre that contains speculative elements. The term expanded in the
twenty-first century to encompass more subgenres beyond just science
fiction, like fantasy and dystopian literature. Today, speculative fiction is
a blanket term for the stories that take place beyond our known world.
Sub-genres of Speculative Fiction
• Science fiction: stories with imagined technologies that don’t exist in the
real world, like time travel, aliens, and robots.
• Sci-fi fantasy fiction: sci-fi stories inspired by mythology, folklore, and fairy
tales that combine imagined technologies with elements of magical
realism.
• Supernatural fiction: sci-fi stories about secret knowledge or hidden
abilities including witchcraft, spiritualism, and psychic abilities.
• Space opera fiction: a play on the term “soap opera,” sci-fi stories that
take place in outer space and center around conflict, romance, and
adventure.
• Dystopian fiction: stories about societies deemed problematic within the
world of the novel, often satirizing government rules, poverty, and
oppression.
• Apocalyptic fiction: stories that take place before and during a huge
disaster that wipes out a significant portion of the world’s population.
The stories center around characters doing everything they can to stay
alive—for example, running from zombies or trying to avoid a deadly
plague.
• Post-apocalyptic fiction: stories that take place after an apocalyptic
event and focus on the survivors figuring out how to navigate their new
circumstances—for example, emerging after a global nuclear holocaust
or surviving a total breakdown of society.
• Alternate history fiction: stories that focus on true historical events but
are written as if they unfolded with different outcomes.
• Superhero fiction: stories about superheroes and how they use their
abilities to fight supervillains.
• Urban fantasy fiction: fantasy stories that take place in an urban
setting in the real world but operate under magical rules.
• Utopian fiction: stories about civilizations the authors deem to be
perfect, ideal societies
Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction encompassing genres with
certain elements that are nonexistent in terms of reality, recorded history, or
nature and the present universe, covering various themes in the context of
the supernatural, futuristic, and many other imaginative topics.
