Today, I received a Google Alert for “Gentle Sci-Fi.” As an Australian author and advocate for this emerging genre, I always click through—curious to see how this quiet little term is beginning to ripple outward. But instead of leading me to a blog or another speculative writer exploring softer futures, it brought me to an article about A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, a new film starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell.
I didn’t watch the trailer—but the write-up caught my attention. The article described the film as a “time-bending romance” with emotional weight, a bold tone, and—most exciting to me—tagged it as Gentle Sci-Fi.
Whether or not the label fits perfectly, this kind of media mention is significant. Gentle Sci-Fi has lived on the fringes for years, often misunderstood or overlooked. Seeing it referenced on a pop culture site is proof that the landscape is shifting.
What Is Gentle Sci-Fi?
Gentle Sci-Fi is a subgenre of speculative fiction that values curiosity over conflict, connection over chaos. These stories explore futuristic or otherworldly concepts without resorting to dystopia, violence, or emotional heaviness. It’s fiction with a soft landing.
I started writing Gentle Sci-Fi because I wasn’t finding it. The stories I longed for—filled with imagination, empathy, and humour—weren’t being written, so I wrote them myself.
Why This Film’s Description Resonates
I can’t tell you exactly how A Big Bold Beautiful Journey unfolds, but based on the article alone, it’s clear the film is tapping into a gentler emotional register. That’s worth noticing. It shows that audiences—and creators—are growing more open to sci-fi that’s intimate, emotionally intelligent, and character-driven.
Here are three reasons this moment matters:
1. Time Travel as Emotional Terrain
The article describes characters navigating time not as a gimmick, but in service of love, meaning, and connection. That aligns with how I use speculative elements in my novellas—like in Cupid’s Kiss, where time and instinct ripple through a love story that’s both playful and sincere. Time isn’t just bent for effect. It’s bent to understand.
2. Softness as Strength
The phrase “bold and beautiful” often means loud or dramatic. But what if softness is bold? What if emotional vulnerability is the real power move? Gentle Sci-Fi has always asked these questions, and it’s thrilling to see mainstream media doing the same—even if quietly. For readers and viewers who crave tenderness in their escapism, this is a step forward.
3. Mainstream Echoes of a Quiet Genre
When pop culture starts using the term “Gentle Sci-Fi,” it validates a hunch many of us have had for years: that there’s a hunger for kinder narratives. It’s not about sanitising story—it’s about opening new doors. I’ve seen this in the response to my novellas Get Off My Lawn! and Cupid’s Kiss, where readers feel seen, soothed, and surprised.
Why It Matters to Me
Seeing a film promoted as gentle—even in passing—is a moment worth marking. It means that stories like mine might reach more people. It means that soft doesn’t have to mean small. And it means that the term I created to describe my work is taking on a life of its own.
That’s why I keep writing. That’s why I share these reflections.
Because when culture starts to whisper back the things you’ve been shouting into the void, you listen.
Want More?
If Gentle Sci-Fi sounds like your kind of storytelling, I invite you to read my Gentle Sci-Fi Manifesto—a love letter to hope-filled, emotionally resonant fiction that explores the future with curiosity and care.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A Whim Away is my creative home for speculative stories that are strange, soft, and full of wonder. I write novellas designed for thoughtful readers—especially those who want imagination without intensity. As a neurodivergent writer, artist, and ex-scientist, I explore futures that feel human, hopeful, and kind.
By ChatGPT