The best genre-blending novels take the best part of each genre and make something fascinating and new out of it (I would count SEVERANCE among this group). I've also read some (which I'll leave nameless) that I thought took the worst part of each genre, like they were both bad scifi and bad literary fiction. These are, to me, some of the most frustrating novels to read.
I'd say the genre shift, such as there has been, came more with Justin Cronin's vampire trilogy starting with THE PASSAGE, for which he got $3.75M in 2007, then sold the movie rights for more than $1.75M.
Also THE ROAD isn't so much post-apocalyptic as a zombie novel without the zombies. That said, it could take place several years after the zombie uprising, after the zombie had all inevitably decayed into non-existence.
What frustrates me about literary spec fic novels is that, well, the spec fic often isn't very good, often tentative and poorly thought out, perhaps because the novels don't see the need to care and their target readers don't know any better. Look at Ishiguro. His spec fic novels are designed for an emotional effect, but their worlds are utterly ridiculous. Klara, for instance, wouldn't end up in a junk yard (just as the helperbots in MAYBE HAPPY ENDING wouldn't end up in a retirement home); she'd either be scrapped as obsolete and picked over for parts like any other computer, made inoperable by their companies due to no updates and/or greater processing needs, or, most likely, continually resold to poorer and poorer people. And you wouldn't spend a fortune to educate or even clothe clones created for parts; you probably wouldn't need them at all if the US changed the laws about buying organs, then rich people would prey on poor people and Republicans would probably pass a law saying you couldn't get assistance until after you'd give up your superfluous organs, such as your other kidney, eye and lung. And don't get me started on LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND, which hints at some catastrophe and could be more like THE SOUTHERN REACH, but just descends into a flaccid story about rich white people unable to navigate Long Island (literally, because GPS is down). Note: At first I thought it unlikely that the Trump-loving locals would crap on them, given that their livelihoods depended on them, but during covid that's exactly what happened. So more realistically, the locals should have captured and eaten the main characters. Now that would've made for a helluva book.
Also, I'd argue that the great literary sf writer of the late 20th Century was Kurt Vonnegut. And the best literary spec novel of this century is TENDER IS THE FLESH, which pulls no punches.
Well to be fair to Ishiguro, he is British so there's a British class element to his novel not present in Republican-led US government. I don't disagree with you that a lot of literary spec novels are overpraised for spec elements that aren't as original or well-thought out as many critics say. I mentioned and enjoyed Severance, but I also remember critics acting like it was the first novel to have zombies as a metaphor for capitalism and consumerism and... that's an old move in the horror world. (Not that I blame the author for what critics say.)
Agree Vonnegut is very literary. And just an excellent stylist.
I generally like Ishiguro, but I sometimes feel like the only person in the world who thought "Never Let Me Go" was unbelievable and ridiculous, so thanks for that. BTW I found a comment that lays out everything that's wrong with the book in one place; you may enjoy it:
I've been blending genres for all of my career (9 published novels), something I learned from certain French writers I discovered in the late 1970s, such as René Belletto, Jean Echenoz, Patrick Modiano and, yes, Marcel Proust, whose 7-volume novel can be read as both a a spy story and a detective narrative. In my case, I've blended literary fiction with thriller elements.
You’re right—autofiction’s commercial footprint in America was modest and major awards rare. Yet its legacy—reshaping workshop pedagogy, influencing MFA syllabi, and provoking radical self-scrutiny, ethical reflection, and reader empathy—catalyzed first-person narrative innovation. Literary trends should be judged by their educational, critical, and moral impact within the creative writing community, not solely by bestseller lists. This perspective ignites discussion and inspires authors to explore hybrid forms
I don't think I'm judging by bestseller lists. As I mentioned, the shift toward speculative work has been felt across academia especially in creative writing classes.
But FWIW I was quite serious in saying I love all those autofiction writers mentioned. My next novel is in a way autofictional.
While I admire your celebration of genre-bending fiction’s rise, declaring it the century’s defining literary trend feels overstated—autofiction’s raw introspection arguably reshaped narrative conventions more profoundly. Blurring speculative boundaries is thrilling, but prioritizing it risks undervaluing the craft of domestic realism that still drives bestsellers and awards. Nonetheless, your perspective ignites important creative writing debate and inspires authors to experiment with hybrid forms. What criteria—awards, sales figures, or university syllabi—should determine a trend’s true impact on modern literature?
Obviously we can disagree here. But I will note that autofiction really didn't "drive bestsellers and awards." Strangely, actually. It received outside critical attention in America but the sales were always modest and basically none of the big autofiction writers won any American awards. Ben Lerner's worst novel was a Pulitzer finalist. But that's about it.
(I'm stressing American because I think autofiction had a more profound impact in France and some other countries.)
Reading Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin in high school was a big "I didn't know you were allowed to do that" moment for me, the way it crams a sci-fi novel inside a historical novel. And then Lanark, which sort of does the opposite. Both formative. Also yeah, in my first college creative writing course, as late as 2013, we were expressly instructed not to write anything "genre". Unsurprisingly, everything I wrote in that class was really bad.
Your description of Elder Race made me think, "oh, that sounds like Gene Wolfe's story Trip, Trap", I should mention that as an early example of what Michel is talking about. I almost made a comment to that effect, but didn't bother. I then went to "look inside" the book, and read the dedication: "Dedicated to the memory of Gene Wolfe, one of the great masters, whose story "Trip, Trap" was a major inspiration for this book."
So I guess I'm not wrong when I say: Gene Wolfe's "Trip, Trap" is also an excellent example here!
I am curious if you've read/were influenced by other books about SF writers writing books. There's Malzberg's Galaxies, Spinrad's The Iron Dome, and a bunch of others, too.
I haven't read that specific Wolfe, but in general am a huge Wolfe fan. He's certainly a genre wizard. Your comment makes me a little embarrassed that I didn't include The Fifth Head of Cerberus here. The middle section of that book is in something akin to a fantasy style. I might have to edit the post to include that.
The best genre-blending novels take the best part of each genre and make something fascinating and new out of it (I would count SEVERANCE among this group). I've also read some (which I'll leave nameless) that I thought took the worst part of each genre, like they were both bad scifi and bad literary fiction. These are, to me, some of the most frustrating novels to read.
Oh please do name them. 😃
BOOOO. STOP BENDING THOSE GENRES. PUT THOSE GENRES BACK WHERE THEY BELONG.
(I enjoyed the mash-up of styles in Metallic Realms. It was very delightful).
As independent authorship grows I think we'll see a dismantling of genres altogether. It's a fascinating time to watch in publishing.
I'd say the genre shift, such as there has been, came more with Justin Cronin's vampire trilogy starting with THE PASSAGE, for which he got $3.75M in 2007, then sold the movie rights for more than $1.75M.
Also THE ROAD isn't so much post-apocalyptic as a zombie novel without the zombies. That said, it could take place several years after the zombie uprising, after the zombie had all inevitably decayed into non-existence.
What frustrates me about literary spec fic novels is that, well, the spec fic often isn't very good, often tentative and poorly thought out, perhaps because the novels don't see the need to care and their target readers don't know any better. Look at Ishiguro. His spec fic novels are designed for an emotional effect, but their worlds are utterly ridiculous. Klara, for instance, wouldn't end up in a junk yard (just as the helperbots in MAYBE HAPPY ENDING wouldn't end up in a retirement home); she'd either be scrapped as obsolete and picked over for parts like any other computer, made inoperable by their companies due to no updates and/or greater processing needs, or, most likely, continually resold to poorer and poorer people. And you wouldn't spend a fortune to educate or even clothe clones created for parts; you probably wouldn't need them at all if the US changed the laws about buying organs, then rich people would prey on poor people and Republicans would probably pass a law saying you couldn't get assistance until after you'd give up your superfluous organs, such as your other kidney, eye and lung. And don't get me started on LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND, which hints at some catastrophe and could be more like THE SOUTHERN REACH, but just descends into a flaccid story about rich white people unable to navigate Long Island (literally, because GPS is down). Note: At first I thought it unlikely that the Trump-loving locals would crap on them, given that their livelihoods depended on them, but during covid that's exactly what happened. So more realistically, the locals should have captured and eaten the main characters. Now that would've made for a helluva book.
Also, I'd argue that the great literary sf writer of the late 20th Century was Kurt Vonnegut. And the best literary spec novel of this century is TENDER IS THE FLESH, which pulls no punches.
Well to be fair to Ishiguro, he is British so there's a British class element to his novel not present in Republican-led US government. I don't disagree with you that a lot of literary spec novels are overpraised for spec elements that aren't as original or well-thought out as many critics say. I mentioned and enjoyed Severance, but I also remember critics acting like it was the first novel to have zombies as a metaphor for capitalism and consumerism and... that's an old move in the horror world. (Not that I blame the author for what critics say.)
Agree Vonnegut is very literary. And just an excellent stylist.
I generally like Ishiguro, but I sometimes feel like the only person in the world who thought "Never Let Me Go" was unbelievable and ridiculous, so thanks for that. BTW I found a comment that lays out everything that's wrong with the book in one place; you may enjoy it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/567272927
I've been blending genres for all of my career (9 published novels), something I learned from certain French writers I discovered in the late 1970s, such as René Belletto, Jean Echenoz, Patrick Modiano and, yes, Marcel Proust, whose 7-volume novel can be read as both a a spy story and a detective narrative. In my case, I've blended literary fiction with thriller elements.
You’re right—autofiction’s commercial footprint in America was modest and major awards rare. Yet its legacy—reshaping workshop pedagogy, influencing MFA syllabi, and provoking radical self-scrutiny, ethical reflection, and reader empathy—catalyzed first-person narrative innovation. Literary trends should be judged by their educational, critical, and moral impact within the creative writing community, not solely by bestseller lists. This perspective ignites discussion and inspires authors to explore hybrid forms
I don't think I'm judging by bestseller lists. As I mentioned, the shift toward speculative work has been felt across academia especially in creative writing classes.
But FWIW I was quite serious in saying I love all those autofiction writers mentioned. My next novel is in a way autofictional.
While I admire your celebration of genre-bending fiction’s rise, declaring it the century’s defining literary trend feels overstated—autofiction’s raw introspection arguably reshaped narrative conventions more profoundly. Blurring speculative boundaries is thrilling, but prioritizing it risks undervaluing the craft of domestic realism that still drives bestsellers and awards. Nonetheless, your perspective ignites important creative writing debate and inspires authors to experiment with hybrid forms. What criteria—awards, sales figures, or university syllabi—should determine a trend’s true impact on modern literature?
Obviously we can disagree here. But I will note that autofiction really didn't "drive bestsellers and awards." Strangely, actually. It received outside critical attention in America but the sales were always modest and basically none of the big autofiction writers won any American awards. Ben Lerner's worst novel was a Pulitzer finalist. But that's about it.
(I'm stressing American because I think autofiction had a more profound impact in France and some other countries.)
Raising my hand for JG Ballard and China Mieville
Two favs!
Lincoln, have you read Nina Allan? I feel like you would love her, particularly The Rift, Conquest and The Good Neighbours.
Also, congratulations on the new novel!
Very neat post, I enjoyed learning about genre-bending! Definitely interested in checking out Elder Race now.
This is well thought-out. I think you have your finger on something here.
Reading Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin in high school was a big "I didn't know you were allowed to do that" moment for me, the way it crams a sci-fi novel inside a historical novel. And then Lanark, which sort of does the opposite. Both formative. Also yeah, in my first college creative writing course, as late as 2013, we were expressly instructed not to write anything "genre". Unsurprisingly, everything I wrote in that class was really bad.
what a feast this is!!
Wow, a graduate seminar of info here. On the way to buy Metallic Realms
Danke!
Your description of Elder Race made me think, "oh, that sounds like Gene Wolfe's story Trip, Trap", I should mention that as an early example of what Michel is talking about. I almost made a comment to that effect, but didn't bother. I then went to "look inside" the book, and read the dedication: "Dedicated to the memory of Gene Wolfe, one of the great masters, whose story "Trip, Trap" was a major inspiration for this book."
So I guess I'm not wrong when I say: Gene Wolfe's "Trip, Trap" is also an excellent example here!
I am curious if you've read/were influenced by other books about SF writers writing books. There's Malzberg's Galaxies, Spinrad's The Iron Dome, and a bunch of others, too.
I haven't read that specific Wolfe, but in general am a huge Wolfe fan. He's certainly a genre wizard. Your comment makes me a little embarrassed that I didn't include The Fifth Head of Cerberus here. The middle section of that book is in something akin to a fantasy style. I might have to edit the post to include that.
I have to say I prefer non-genre fiction, that falls between the cracks of consciousness.