Gothic science fiction is a subgenre of
science fiction that, as the name suggests, also involves
gothic conventions.
Some of the more obvious examples of the subgenre feature
vampires explained in a science fiction context, commonly that vampires are
alien or those infected by a disease as in (
Richard Matheson's novel
I Am Legend), or products of parallel evolution (
George R. R. Martin's novel
Fevre Dream) or in (
Kate Nevermore's novel
Blood of the Living). Some feature entire planets of vampires, or vampire-like creatures (such as the comic book
Vampirella).
In his history of science fiction,
Billion Year Spree,
Brian Aldiss contends that science fiction itself is an outgrowth of gothic fiction-- pointing to
Mary Shelley's novel
Frankenstein as an example."cience fiction is the search for a definition of man and his status in the universe which will stand in our advanced but confused state of knowledge (science) and is characteristically cast in the Gothic or post-Gothic mode."Originally published in
Billion Year Spree (1973); The blend can also be detected quite explicitly in
Jules Verne's novel
Le Château des Carpathes.
Other examples of the subgenre feature other traditionally gothic tropes in new settings, such as:
- Damsels in distress in faraway future
- Gothic planetary romance
- Gothic futuristic romance
References
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