ABSTRACT
This chapter parallels Chapter 2, in so far as that chapter surveyed theories of the science fiction text and this one surveys analyses of the science fiction audience. As we shall see, though, we should speak of ‘audiences’ rather than ‘audience’, particularly given the variety of media that carry SF. The fact that there are now a number of science fiction subgenres, each potentially with its own audience, extends further the possibility for readings ‘against the grain’ of the instrumental rationalism, discussed in Chapter 2, and hence develops our theme of ambiguity and resistance to the genre’s dominant values.
