Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizla
I disagree. They happen in the future.
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They could just as easily happen in the 40's with minor tweaks.
Setting alone does not define genre, and setting a story in the past doesn't make it historical fiction any more than setting it in the future or another planet makes it SF.
Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER series features time travel but the stories (and audience) are romance: they're about relationships.
On the other hand, the CONRAD STARGARD series features time travel and thd stories and audience is SF: they're about science and technology's role in world building. The time travel is integral to the story and it is both explained and its consequences are explored.
To the extent that people are willing to accept watered-down faux SF they devalue the discipline and skills that make for good SF. If the real SF gets subsumed in a sea of sloppy wannabes, the genre could truly die out of sheer dilution.