4 Underrated Book Genres and Why You Should Read Them

An Open Book in Front of Two Stacks of Closed Books

You can live under a rock and still be privy to the most popular book genre: romance. This category is so famous it bleeds into other genres, such as mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, and even horror. But what about the underrated genres?

 

Today’s article will highlight some of the most unrepresented and underappreciated literary genres.

1. Steampunk

Steampunk offers a contemporary take on traditional fantasy and science fiction. It sounds extremely Victorian due to the latter but feels ultra-modern due to the former. Steam power defines this genre and its eclectic mix of the past and present. 

 

More writers are writing steampunk because it might have rules, but they aren’t as stringent as other genres. Therefore, they can write whatever they want to develop their world. For instance, you might find alternative history and a dystopian future in one steampunk novel.

 

While this genre has yet to pick up steam, it has all the other genres beat in the creative department.

2. Satire

Satire is one of those genres that has been around forever, yet you won’t find as many books in this genre at a library or bookstore. Many authors incorporate characters with a satirical edge in their books, but they hardly ever make them the focal point. However, even in characterization, satire has a knack for shining.

 

These days, a simple Google search might bring you results for novels with satirical narrations, but you’re likely to be out of luck searching for them while out and about, and that’s because it’s too underrated.

A Man Wearing a Backpack Browsing Books at a Library

3. Slipstream

If steampunk is the most different genre in literature, then slipstream is the weirdest. A subgenre of non-realistic fiction, it’s a mashup of several other genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and literary writing. 

 

Slipstream owes its popularity, or lack thereof, to constantly confuse the reader about what’s real and what’s not. It keeps slipping in and out of the bounds of reality—sometimes physics—and blurs the lines between reality and imagination. The best way to put up with this genre is not to take it seriously, to trust the author, and have fun with the meta elements.

4. Urban Fiction

Urban fiction is known by many names. If you’ve heard of street lit, ghetto lit, and hip-hop fiction, you’re already aware of urban fiction. As a literary genre, urban fiction represents life on the streets of American cities for most African American people. The latter isn’t a hard and fast rule, for a non-Black person can grow up in a predominantly African American neighborhood.

 

Urban fiction probably owes its underratedness to its readership. As a genre that encompasses the lives of a strong minority, it’s also read by the same strong minority, which is unfortunate because it gives a deeper understanding of the hardships that lead the African American diaspora down a life of crime. 

 

Now’s the time to understand a world that's different from your own. Start reading urban fiction, starting with Charlie Mon’s Never Imagined. This book has a little bit of every genre but is set on the unforgivable streets of San Bernardino, California. 

 

Purchase your copy and share your comments and concerns with the author.

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