{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN8GP2L5?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"B0CN8GP2L5","authors":["Steven Shaviro"],"book_id":"9781915672469","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781915672469","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781915672469.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","description":"How does science fiction envision new forms of life — plausible yet radically different from what we know? Fluid Futures explores how science fiction offers bold, thought-provoking scenarios that challenge our assumptions about time, technology, and the limits of human experience. Rather than predicting the future, sci-fi reveals how emerging developments could unfold in unexpected and transformative ways. As Rod Serling famously said, science fiction is “the improbable made possible.” This book examines three core methods science fiction uses to imagine the future: extrapolation, speculation, and fabulation. Through literature and film, Fluid Futures showcases how sci-fi rethinks time, reconfigures narrative, and constructs possible worlds that stretch our imagination. Instead of imposing a single theory of science fiction, it highlights how the genre itself theorizes and reimagines concepts we take for granted. Key Features: - Extrapolation, speculation, and fabulation—the three essential techniques sci-fi uses to construct futures - Deep dives into literature and film, showing how sci-fi envisions alternative realities - Exploration of time and narrative, revealing how science fiction reshapes our perception of possibility - A fresh perspective on sci-fi theory, emphasizing how the genre creates new ways of thinking Perfect for readers of speculative fiction, futurism, and literary theory, Fluid Futures is an essential guide to how science fiction opens doors to new worlds of thought.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781915672469","publication_date":"20240813","publisher":"Watkins Media","slug":"fluid-futures","subtitle":"Science Fiction and Potentiality","title":"Fluid Futures"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LIT024060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"21st Century Literature","score":0.738,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cyberpunk","score":0.7327,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028070","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7282,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LIT024060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"21st Century Literature","score":0.738,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cyberpunk","score":0.7327,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028070","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7282,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004260","confidence_band":"high","label":"SF & Fantasy Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI019000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Political Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL051000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Utopian Thinking","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"21st Century Literature","score":0.738,"slug":"21st-century-literature"},{"label":"Cyberpunk","score":0.7327,"slug":"cyberpunk"},{"label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7282,"slug":"apocalyptic-post-apocalyptic"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy 21st Century Literature","Good for readers interested in book club","Good for fans of Politics"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Mark Bould"],"book_id":"9781839760471","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781839760471.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":15.1575,"title":"The Anthropocene Unconscious","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781839760471"},{"authors":["Stephen Greenblatt"],"book_id":"9780393356977","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393356977.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":11.7751,"title":"Tyrant","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393356977"},{"authors":["Aristotle","Malcolm Heath"],"book_id":"9780140446364","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140446364.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":11.7589,"title":"Poetics","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140446364"},{"authors":["Kim Stanley Robinson","Jennifer Fitzgerald","Fajer Al-Kaisi","Ramon de Ocampo"],"book_id":"9780316300148","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316300148.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":11.2348,"title":"The Ministry for the Future","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316300148"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:political philosophy"],"label":"Political","score":0.1549,"slug":"political"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:philosophy"],"label":"Philosophy","score":0.1142,"slug":"philosophy"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literary criticism"],"label":"Literary","score":0.0955,"slug":"literary"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.0914,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:essays"],"label":"Essays","score":0.0469,"slug":"essays"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Political, Philosophy, Literary.","Reading lane: 21st Century Literature and Cyberpunk.","Publisher: Watkins Media."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":8,"goodreads_reviews_count":5,"quality_score":0.8377}}