Invoke fear, distress, anxiety. Makes us feel the atmosphere dripping from the page, with unsettling antagonists, monsters, hauntings.

Think: Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley

Immerse us in a fantastical society in galaxies far, far away (or closer to home than we’d prefer). Show us the good and evil in man and technology.

Think: H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Douglas Adams, Nnedi Okorafor

Engage us in suspense, keep anxieties high, leave us on the edge of our seats. Make our protagonist face a terrific journey.

Think: Dean Koontz, Shirley Jackson, James Patterson, Lee Child

Carefully woven stories where the details matter. Whodunnit and why? Makes us think and try to solve the story along with the protagonist.

Think: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

Make us fall in love, feel the struggle of relationships, the danger of love.

Think: Jane Austen, Danielle Steel, Diana Gabaldon, Julia Quinn

Immerse us in fantastical worlds where anything is possible. Protagonists harness their power to save worlds, battle Gods, or go on quests.

Think: J.R.R. Tolkien, Rick Riordan, C.S. Lewis, Brandon Mull

Blends our world with the fantastical. There are rules, but not the same as those we see everyday.

Think: Toni Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Franz Kafka, Salman Rushdie