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Originally Posted by DiapDealer
Nah. It'll get "creamed" by some cranky purists in the dark corners of the genre blogosphere for being "poor SF." But if it's a good story, it will sell and readers and author will be happy regardless of it's "mis"-labeling. Genre borders are only going to get fuzzier and fuzzier. Those who stress over it are only denying themselves enjoyable reads for silly meta-reasons.
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It will sell...to mystery readers.
Not to the core SF market. The reviews will make sure of that. Because SF readers aren't loking for a detective mystery in SF-trappings but rather the real thing.
SF, more than the other genres, is finicky about its borders. (Too much crap heaped upon it over the decades.) Witness the never-ending debates over SF vs SciFi. Spending good money on what is billed as SF only to discover a pale imitation with bad science, lazy world-building, and a focus on "mundane" details will not please regardless of the sparkling prose or intricate twisty-turny plot.
Again, the word of mouth and reviews will cream them. Because genre labels do bring expectations:
At the most basic, Romance is about the relationship, mystery is about the puzzle, SF is about the idea. Fail to deliver and you will hear about it.
Romance clearly labels their fancies as Paranormal romance to make sure readers aren't mislead, even by accident, because it is not good for readers or authors when readers are disappointed. Those folks know their business.