Subgenre Benders: 10 Fun Fiction Mash-Ups

Tired of reading the same old recycled romance? Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy loses girl, he fixes it, and they live happily ever after. Let’s face it. Many of our troupes have grown trite. How many fresh angles on a played out scenario can the industry produce before we get sick of reading them?

Now, when I’m searching for something else to read, I go out of my way to find newer unconventional material. I’m glad I do this because I discovered some pretty outstanding gems! I’ve read romantasy tales with dragon-riding wizards. Then I sailed through a few cli-fi voyages off the half sunken coast of San Diego. Afterwards, I kicked back with a cozy mystery that was solved over a cup of coffee and biscotti’s. Next, I ventured out and stepped onto a steampunk aircraft rocket.

If none of this sounds familiar, Scribophile is a good web resource for information on the craft of fiction writing. In the article titled, Types of Fiction: The Ultimate Guide with 50+ Subgenres and Examples, Callaghan (n.d.) provides several detailed definitions of these trending subgenres. Another useful analysis on this topic is published on the Cobblestone Road web-based platform created by Sara A. Noë. The blog post is titled, 162 Different Writing Genres and Subgenres for Fiction Authors. The blogger’s research on the variety of niche categories in creative writing is nicely organized and comprehensive.

Think Harriet Tubman with a steam arm, or a teenager hacking ghosts at an HBCU. I figure if not for the sake of reading, then for writing. If not for the sake of interest, then for the sake of expanding the mind. Let’s get out of our comfort zones and try reading something different, for a change. You’ll thank me later.

If you’re into slow-burning platonic love, haunted libraries, or futures where the planet’s mad at the humans—pull up! I’m also a reader, like you, ready for the chai tea and my daily bread. Let’s explore an imaginative world of books together! No gatekeepers allowed.

1.) ROMANTASY—mix of romance and high fantasy.
Some great examples of romantasy fiction are Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, The Blood Trails by N.E. Davenport, and Faebound by Sara El-Arifi.

2.) DARK ACADEMIA—elite private (or boarding) school, dark atmospheric.
A couple stand out gothic novels are The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass, Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams, and The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith.

3.) COZY MYSTERY—no blood, no violence, missing people mystery.
A few noteworthy examples are A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette, Hollywood Homicide by Kelley Garrett, and Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux. Cozy pet mysteries also emerged from this genre.

4.) DOMESTIC THRILLER—home and community thriller, centered around everyday life.
A few riveting domestic thriller novels are The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalia Harris, The Perfect Sister by Desiree, and I Love You Too Much by Jessica N. Watkins.

5.) POLITICAL THRILLER—high-stake suspense around real politics, past and present.
My two millennial top picks are While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams and American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson. Another outstanding political thriller worth-reading is titled, The Spook Who Sat by the Door written by Sam Greelee.

6.) TWEEN THRILLER—middle-school grade thrillers.
A critically acclaimed author known for writing several best selling young teen thrillers is Tiffany D. Jackson. Monday’s Not Coming is a tween NAACP award-winning psychological thriller. Jackson also has several other page turners, as well. Two of them are titled, Blood in the Water and The Scammer.

7.) CLI-FI (climate fiction/eco-fiction)—climate change or natural disasters, including dystopia and solarpunk subgenres.
The greatest most timeless novel of the millennium is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Two other epic cli-fi novels are Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, and The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin.

8.) CYBERPUNK—neon city, futuristic high-tech sci-fi.
Three genre-bending cyberpunk novels are The Memory Librarian: Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe, Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase, and The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor.

9.) STEAMPUNK—a world that emphasizes industrialization or steam-powered machine-built engines. Three magnificent steampunk narratives are Pimp My Airship (novella) by Maurice Broaddus, Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman by Balogun Ojetade, and The Raines of Castle Cloud (novella) by Nisi Shawl.

10.) HYBRID HISTORICAL FICTION—fantasy historical fiction, including futuristic or speculative. Three hybrid historical fiction masterpieces are The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark.

There you have it—ten genres worth exploring on the fiction highway. Turns out the journey of “what if” is wider than we imagined. Us, authors, are claiming every lane, too. If any of these book covers caught your eye, then I’ve done my job. I hope I’ve inspired you to read, write, or just allow your imagination to wander a little further off the map.

Know of any other millennial genres I missed? Drop a comment and let me know. Which subgenres fascinate you? Got a favorite I overlooked? I’m always on the quest for my next book getaway.

Thank you for reading K.B. Krissy’s blog. Feel free to tap the like 👍🏾 or repost 🔁. 

References

Callaghan, F. (n.d.). Types of fiction: The ultimate guide with 50+ subgenres and examples. Scribophile. https://www.scribophile.com/academy/types-of-fiction-the-ultimate-guide-with-50-subgenres-and-examples

Noë, S. A. (2022, May 2). 162 different writing genres & subgenres for fiction authors. On The Cobblestone Road. https://onthecobblestoneroad.com/different-writing-genres/