The Great Speculative Fiction FAQ
Pulp Fiction List of Categories
Sponsors:
- What is pulp fiction?
- What are the different types of pulp SF?
- Where can I find pulp science fiction, fantasy and horror stories?
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What is pulp fiction?
Literally, the term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper the early "pulp" magazines were printed on. Pulp fiction was most popular from about the 1890's to 1990. Pulp fiction can include many genres outside of science fiction, fantasy and horror. For instance the hard boiled detective, lost civilization and various "spicy" (erotic) fiction all started in the pulps. By the 1950's pulps had moved from magazine format to the mass-market paperback format.
For the purposes of this FAQ we will stick with the science fiction, fantasy and horror pulps.
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What are the different types of pulp SF?
Sword and Planet - typlified by Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars and Venus series of stories.
Sword and Sorcery - like Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard
Horror - H. P. Lovecraft was a pulp writer.
Space Opera | Adventure - Many "Golden Age of SF" authors like Asimov and Heinlein got their start writing stories for the pulps. Many of these seem like Young Adult stories when read today but they were written for a mass audience in pulp magazines.
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Where can I find pulp science fiction, fantasy and horror stories?
Almost any local bookstore will have some pulp novels, and there is always Amazon.com. Recommended pulp authors in each genre include: Edgar Rice Burroughs - The John Carter of Mars series; Robert E. Howard - Conan the Barbarian series; H. P. Lovecraft - any of his horror stories. Other bargain sources include:
Action Series for Boys this has a lot of pulp novels plus classics in all genres. The Doc Savage Series is a classic that was even made into a television series. There is also a scifi collection and a horror book collection, if you want to save some significant money on pulps.
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