The problem isn't that calling it SF makes me think of "hard science", the problem is that the query as it stands makes me wonder how integral the SF elements actually are to the plot, or whether the story could be lifted right out of its SF context and plopped into a secondary-world fantasy without changing a significant thing.
For instance, if the novel is about some particular scientific discovery or the ramifications thereof -- if the same or very similar story could not take place in a world without advanced science and technology -- then it's obvious the book has to be SF. You can't write a book about the first exploration of Mars, or encountering an alien race that switches gender every couple of weeks, or developing a serum to cure Altzheimer's and discovering that it turns nice elderly people into ravening zombies, in any other genre but SF.
But if it looks like you could change "alien planet" to "far-off country" and "spaceships" to "sailing ships and/or horses" without substantially altering the main plot (which as it stands in the query goes something like "teen boy risks everything to save brother from terrible fate at the hands of cruel lord; is outcast by his family and society as a result") then it begs the question, why is this an SF book in particular, and not a fantasy or an alt-historical? Are the SF elements critical to the plot, or are they just set dressing?
I hasten to add that I am not saying your book isn't legitimate SF; I have no reason to believe it isn't. I'm just saying that without a line somewhere in the query mentioning how the high-tech stuff is crucial to the plot, it makes me wonder a little what makes the book SF. Is there somewhere that you can drop in a quick mention of how computer hacking and/or holoscreens play a vital role in Kiril's dilemma or the resolution thereof?
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Date: 2010-08-02 05:47 pm (UTC)For instance, if the novel is about some particular scientific discovery or the ramifications thereof -- if the same or very similar story could not take place in a world without advanced science and technology -- then it's obvious the book has to be SF. You can't write a book about the first exploration of Mars, or encountering an alien race that switches gender every couple of weeks, or developing a serum to cure Altzheimer's and discovering that it turns nice elderly people into ravening zombies, in any other genre but SF.
But if it looks like you could change "alien planet" to "far-off country" and "spaceships" to "sailing ships and/or horses" without substantially altering the main plot (which as it stands in the query goes something like "teen boy risks everything to save brother from terrible fate at the hands of cruel lord; is outcast by his family and society as a result") then it begs the question, why is this an SF book in particular, and not a fantasy or an alt-historical? Are the SF elements critical to the plot, or are they just set dressing?
I hasten to add that I am not saying your book isn't legitimate SF; I have no reason to believe it isn't. I'm just saying that without a line somewhere in the query mentioning how the high-tech stuff is crucial to the plot, it makes me wonder a little what makes the book SF. Is there somewhere that you can drop in a quick mention of how computer hacking and/or holoscreens play a vital role in Kiril's dilemma or the resolution thereof?