Science-Fiction

"He was obsessed with the idea that the universe was only apparently real, and illusion behind which the truth might dwell." (Brown, E. (2001) Pg. vii) 

This idea presented by Brown allows me to believe that there is a more speculative-fiction quality in The Man in the High Castle, rather than a science-fiction aspect, although I can see both in the novel. 

Dictionary.com defines Science-Fiction as:

"a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge and speculation in its plot, setting, theme, etc." (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/science+fiction)

and Defines Speculative-Fiction as:

"a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/speculative+fiction)

Jamie Todd Rubin, a Science fiction writer explains her views on the difference between 'Speculative' and 'Science' fiction. She expresses that the idea of 'Speculative' appears too broad and non-specific enough to the genre. "It is a misnomer: to speculate means to form a theory or conjecture without firm evidence." (Rubin, Jamie T. 2011 at http://www.jamierubin.net)
 This idea though seems quite specific to Man in the High Castle. From what I've discovered from Brown, PKD was very speculative about the idea that other worlds, better worlds may exist outside our own. This is shown through the way he expresses the 'What If?' aspects of his writing, such as the novel that 'Hawthorn Abendsen' created (The Grasshopper Lies Heavy), which explains the alternate world that would be if the Allies had won the war. The idea of a novel within an novel, to me, focuses on the idea of other worlds, as we focus on in real life with literature and films. Dystopian novels in particular (Such as Nineteen-Eighty-Four by George Orwell) show how things would be in an alternate universe, although they are from the authors idea of what could occur.

Although I may be slightly arguing with myself here, I would conclude to say that Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick would be mainly a Speculative-Fiction novel (as Speculative-Fiction is a sub-genre of many, particularly of Science-Fiction).


References: 

Brown, E. (2001). Introduction. In Dick, P.K., The Man in the High Castle (p.v-xii). London: Penguin.

Websites: 
Retrieved on 21/10/2012: http://www.jamierubin.net/2011/01/25/speculative-fiction-vs-science-fiction/ 
Retrieved on 21/10/2012: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/science+fictionRetrieved on 21/10/2012: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/speculative+fiction