Old fashioned Sherriff story, too many themes?

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D Roe

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Apologies if this is already covered elsewhere.

In my story I have an old fashioned western, no nonsense sheriff type as my main character. I intend on introducing some crime fighting into the mix. My question is how fine a line is it between having a crime novel simply set in a science fiction setting and having a science fiction novel using crime fighting as part of the plot? I'm conscious I need to stay true to the science fiction element as I know that this is the most important aspect.
 
D Roe said:
Apologies if this is already covered elsewhere.

In my story I have an old fashioned western, no nonsense sheriff type as my main character. I intend on introducing some crime fighting into the mix. My question is how fine a line is it between having a crime novel simply set in a science fiction setting and having a science fiction novel using crime fighting as part of the plot? I'm conscious I need to stay true to the science fiction element as I know that this is the most important aspect.
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I feel it is equally valid to have the science fiction setting as merely a background to the story as it is to have it being a driving point of the plot. Brandon Sanderson's Wax and Wayne Mistborn trilogy had crime drama in a US western setting with magic thrown in. Go ahead with your concept and don't worry about whether it would appeal to the hard SF types. A fun story is a fun story regardless of how it is set up.
 
The core feature of science fiction is that it takes place in a speculative world, and that world puts a spin on everything. A SF crime novel is as much about how crime and detection is different than today - even when it is largely the same - because the context is different.

You would have to really work at making this world substantially identical to ours for it to not be SF, regardless of the detective/mystery/crime plot.
 
I am a bit confused. How do you have an old-fashioned western with science fiction and crime fiction all mixed together?
 
Western isn't a theme, nor is SF. Those are genres, able to hold to any theme and many.

When you use the phrase crime fighting, you introduce a third genre, which is modern. But fighting bad guys is very close to the core of Westerns, so that's an easy fit, unless you plan to go in the direction of noir writing or detective writing. But just to name the genres is so broad, the only reply is both yes and no.
 
To my mind, an "old fashioned western" does not involve science fiction nor fantasy.
 
I would say this is a question that only you can answer as you write the book. If it's a crime novel, then that's how it'll read, setting is almost irrelevant.
However, there are some tried and true conventions that apply to the question of 'genre'. The most important thing is where would this fit in a bookstore? If it were next to a John Grisham or Harlan Coben novel would your book be out of place? Would it be more at home next to Ada Palmer or Isaac Asimov?
Typically, the world or themes are more important than the story element though. A really great example of this is Twilight. It's clearly a romance or drama or YA or women's fiction. Yet, it's most often found in the fantasy section, because the supernatural aspects of the setting are inescapable to everything else that happens.
With that said, I would say that your book, as it's been laid out here, will fit into a sci-fi section first and foremost. If you want it to be more of a crime novel, then focus more on that and less on the worldbuilding and the question will likely cease to matter.
I hope that's helpful :)
 
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