History Main / NewWaveScienceFiction

Much like the Youth Movement, the New Wave gradually faded away as its members got older and/or found that ''really'' experimental writing had a very limited market. As most movements do, it also faced a backlash from a new generation of writers who brought back scientific accuracy, action and adventure (this in particular was aided and abetted by publishers after ''Franchise/StarWars'' became a mega-hit, as they felt works in the same style would sell better), or both; often matching the literary chops of the by-now venerable New Wave writers. It ''did'' have a major lasting impact on the field, though, opening up science fiction to all sorts of new ideas and styles, many of which are still common today. And it left in its wake several works that are still very highly regarded. But as a distinct movement, it soon disappeared, to be replaced with the {{Cyberpunk}} controversies of the eighties.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: During the golden age of sci-fi, most publishers avoided touchy subjects out of fear of public outcry. These topics of contention included gender, sexuality, racism, religion and mental illness. In 1967, the famous anthology ''Literature/DangerousVisions'' allowed American authors to start exploring these ideas and popularize them for mainstream sci-fi readers.

* Barry N. Malzberg is a very controversial figure in the sci-fi world, mainly because of how experimental (and pornographic) his work is. Some of his works can be taken up as middle fingers to the industry and its readers. Take ''Beyond Apollo'' for example, a MindScrew of a novel about an astronaut who returns from a botched mission to Venus and [[UnreliableNarrator keeps contradicting himself on what went wrong]].

* Creator/KurtVonnegutJr's two seminal novels ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'' and ''Literature/CatsCradle'' are prime examples of this genre, utilising the UnreliableNarrator, fragmented narratives and surreal imagery synonymous with new wave fiction.

* Barry N. Malzberg is a very controversial figure in the sci-fi world, mainly because of how experimental (and pornographic) his work is. Some of his works can be taken up as middle fingers to the industry and its readers. Take ''Beyond Apollo'' for example, a [[MindFuck mind fuck]] of a novel about an astronaut who returns from a botched mission to Venus and [[UnreliableNarrator keeps contradicting himself on what went wrong]].

* While Creator/AnthonyBurgess was not among the New Wave authors, ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' could definitely be classified as a New Wave work, with it's dystopian setting, antihero protaganist, and experimental narrative featuring a ton of [[{{Conlang}} near future]] [[{{Newspeak}} slang]] invented by Burgess.

** His 1969 novel ''The Black Corridor'' is a strong example of British new wave. Its plot details global societal collapse [[HomeworldEvacuation with a family attempting to escape Earth in a spaceship]]. There's some scenes with the main character inputting journal entries into a computer, presented in kinetic typography to enhance the psychological horror elements, which were then completely butchered following the [[ExecutiveMeddling 'corrections' in the US copies of the novel]].

* Creator/RobertSilverberg created a number of works that were considered new wave. The most notable one among them, and arguably his best work, was ''Literature/DyingInside'', about a telepath in New York City who struggles with his waning powers. The dystopian novel ''Literature/TheWorldInside'' showed the extreme end of the free love movement.

* Thomas M. Disch turned to science fiction when he wasn't making progress in his chosen field as a playwright. His short stories and novels like ''Camp Concentration'' and ''334'' exemplify New Wave's [[CrapsackWorld downbeat]] and {{dystopia}}n side.

* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen While never produced]], the 14-hour film adaptation of ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' by Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky certainly would have fit this category. The film's outlandish costumes would have been designed by Creator/{{Moebius}}, while Creator/HRGiger would be responsible for some of the set designs. Each character would have had their own theme music composed by bands such as Music/PinkFloyd and Music/{{Magma}}.

* It can be argued that Creator/RayBradbury was a proto-new wave author. ''Literature/Fahrenheit451'' explored censorship and the negative influence of the mainstream media, while the ''Literature/TheIllustratedMan'' featured stories about human psychology when juxtaposed against future technology.
* Creator/RobertSilverberg created a number of works that were considered new wave. The most notable one among them, and arguably his best work, was ''Literature/DyingInside'', about a telepath in New York City who struggles with his waning powers. It was controversial for its sex scenes and cynical protagonist, a recurring motif in Silverberg's works. Speaking of which, his other novel to explore uninhibited sexuality was the overpopulated dystopia of ''Literature/TheWorldInside''.

* It can be argued that Creator/RayBradbury was a proto-new wave author. ''Literature/Fahrenheit451'' explored censorship and the negative influence of the mainstream media, while the ''Literature/TheIllustratedMan'' featured stories about human psychology and the dark dangers of technology in the future.

* Barry N. Malzberg is a very controversial figure in the sci-fi world, mainly because of how experimental (and pornographic) his work is. Some of his works can be taken up as middle fingers to the industry and its readers. Take ''Beyond Apollo'' for example, a [[MindFuck mind fuck]] of a novel about an astronaut who returns from a botched mission to Venus and [[UnreliableNarrator gives increasingly vague accounts on what went wrong]].

* Creator/RobertSilverberg created a number of works that were considered new wave. The most notable one among them, and arguably his best work, was ''Literature/DyingInside'', about a telepath in New York City who struggles with his waning powers. It was controversial for its sex scenes and cynical protagonist, a recurring motif in Silverberg's works. Speaking of which, his other novel to explore uninhibited sexuality (a response to the free love movement) was the overpopulated dystopia of ''Literature/TheWorldInside''.

* Creator/JoeHaldeman's ''Literature/TheForeverWar'' was a bizarre deconstruction of military SF, full of surreal imagery and borderline existentialism, inspired by the author's real-life experiences in the Vietnam war.[[note]]The time dilation element was inspired by the real world problem of veterans returning home from time to time to a country they feel gradually alienated toward.[[/note]]

* Creator/JoeHaldeman's ''Literature/TheForeverWar'' was a bizarre deconstruction of military SF, full of surreal imagery and borderline existentialism, inspired by the author's real-life experiences in the Vietnam war.

* M. John Harrison was a frequent contributor to ''New Worlds'', and eventually became the magazine's book editor. He wrote many well-known new wave works, including ''The Viriconium Sequence'', a series that started with ''The Pastel City'', and which was strongly influenced by T. S. Eliot.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: During the golden age of sci-fi, most publishers avoided touchy subjects out of fear of public outcry. These topics of contention included gender, sexuality, racism, religion and mental illness. Harlan Ellison's famous anthology, ''Dangerous Visions'', allowed American authors to start exploring these ideas and popularize them for mainstream sci-fi readers.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: During the golden age of sci-fi, most publishers avoided touchy subjects out of fear of public outcry. These topics of contention included gender, sexuality, racism, religion and mental illness. Harlan Ellison's famous anthology, 'Dangerous Visions', allowed American authors to start exploring these ideas and popularize them for mainstream sci-fi readers.

Much like the Youth Movement, the New Wave gradually faded away as its members got older and/or found that ''really'' experimental writing had a very limited market. As most movements do, it also faced a backlash from a new generation of writers who brought back scientific accuracy, action and adventure (this in particular was aided and abetted by publishers after ''Film/StarWars'' became a mega-hit, as they felt works in the same style would sell better), or both; often matching the literary chops of the by-now venerable New Wave writers. It ''did'' have a major lasting impact on the field, though, opening up science fiction to all sorts of new ideas and styles, many of which are still common today. And it left in its wake several works that are still very highly regarded. But as a distinct movement, it soon disappeared, to be replaced with the {{Cyberpunk}} controversies of the eighties.

Much like the Youth Movement, the New Wave gradually faded away as its members got older and/or found that ''really'' experimental writing had a very limited market. As most movements do, it also faced a backlash from a new generation of writers who brought back scientific accuracy, action and adventure, or both; often matching the literary chops of the by-now venerable New Wave writers. It ''did'' have a major lasting impact on the field, though, opening up science fiction to all sorts of new ideas and styles, many of which are still common today. And it left in its wake several works that are still very highly regarded. But as a distinct movement, it soon disappeared, to be replaced with the {{Cyberpunk}} controversies of the eighties.

* While Creator/AnthonyBurgess was not among the New Wave authors, ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' could definitely be classified as a New Wave work, with it's dystopian setting, antihero protaganist, and experimental narrative featuring a ton of near future slang invented by Burgess.

* ''Film/ABoyAndHisDog'' was based on a 1969 story by Creator/HarlanEllison that was originally published in ''New Worlds''.

* Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin was part of the more philosophical/mystical aspect of the New Wave, incorporating psychological, sociological, anti-colonialist, environmentalist, and spiritual (especially [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} Taoist]] themes into her works, all with deeply ambiguous and uncertain implications (even her most overt AuthorTract, ''Literature/TheDispossessed'', presented critiques of her preferred ideas). "The Word for World Is Forest" was featured in ''Literature/AgainDangerousVisions''.