Philosophy
Science fiction is a huge and popular genre and can well serve the populace with sound science but for the most part this genre lives up to part of it name--"fiction". But where did science fiction begin. Most people would say it started with writers like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne--WRONG. It can be traced back to Voltaire's Micromegas [1752]. But wait...maybe back to Johannes Kepler's Somnium [1634]. Nope, let's go even further back to Lucian of Samosata's A True Story [1499]. [NOTE: the 1499 date is for the first printed edition whereas Lucian lived roughly between 125 to 180 AD.]
One could also include Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, Edward Bulwer Lytton's The Coming Race, W. H. Hudson's A Crystal Age, Richard Jefferies's After London, and Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
- Ludvig Holberg And Early Sci-fi
Ludvig Holberg December 3rd, 1684 to January 28th, 1754 Not exactly a well-known figure in the genre of science fiction literature but certainly a contributor is Ludvig Holberg and his sci-fi entry Niels Klim's Underground Travels. Niels Klim's...
- Edward Bellamy's "looking Backward"
Edward Bellamy March 26th, 1850 to May 22nd, 1898 Today is the birthday of Edward Bellamy...a somewhat forgotten literary figure and his futuristic novel Looking Backward. "March 26, 1850: Birth of a Socialist Sci-Fi Writer" by Tony Long March 26th,...
- "enjoyment Of Sci-fi In The Media?" Poll
Do you enjoy science fiction via books, cinema, television? Yes....2 [66%] No....1 [33%] What can I say... Forbidden Planet 1956 Rodan 1956 It Came from Outer Space 1953 "A Trip To The Planets" Bill Nye "The Science Guy"..."Stargate Atlantis"...
- Lucian's "a True Story"...audio Presentation
In early 2008 I offered some material on the earliest science fiction literature and it appears that Lucian's A True Story held that position and I offered the text. Now an audio presentation is available. Trips to the Moon Earliest science fiction...
- Classic Literature/science
FICTION Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions LucianA True Story Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days Verne, Jules Earth to the Moon Verne, Jules Five Weeks in a Balloon ...
Philosophy
Earliest science fiction
Science fiction is a huge and popular genre and can well serve the populace with sound science but for the most part this genre lives up to part of it name--"fiction". But where did science fiction begin. Most people would say it started with writers like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne--WRONG. It can be traced back to Voltaire's Micromegas [1752]. But wait...maybe back to Johannes Kepler's Somnium [1634]. Nope, let's go even further back to Lucian of Samosata's A True Story [1499]. [NOTE: the 1499 date is for the first printed edition whereas Lucian lived roughly between 125 to 180 AD.]There are no online copies of Johannes Kepler’s Somnium...so its off to the library or Amazon.com. But, here are Voltaire's Micromegas and Lucian's A True Story.
Voltaire's Micromegas
Lucian's A True Story
Postscript:
One could also include Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, Edward Bulwer Lytton's The Coming Race, W. H. Hudson's A Crystal Age, Richard Jefferies's After London, and Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
- Ludvig Holberg And Early Sci-fi
Ludvig Holberg December 3rd, 1684 to January 28th, 1754 Not exactly a well-known figure in the genre of science fiction literature but certainly a contributor is Ludvig Holberg and his sci-fi entry Niels Klim's Underground Travels. Niels Klim's...
- Edward Bellamy's "looking Backward"
Edward Bellamy March 26th, 1850 to May 22nd, 1898 Today is the birthday of Edward Bellamy...a somewhat forgotten literary figure and his futuristic novel Looking Backward. "March 26, 1850: Birth of a Socialist Sci-Fi Writer" by Tony Long March 26th,...
- "enjoyment Of Sci-fi In The Media?" Poll
Do you enjoy science fiction via books, cinema, television? Yes....2 [66%] No....1 [33%] What can I say... Forbidden Planet 1956 Rodan 1956 It Came from Outer Space 1953 "A Trip To The Planets" Bill Nye "The Science Guy"..."Stargate Atlantis"...
- Lucian's "a True Story"...audio Presentation
In early 2008 I offered some material on the earliest science fiction literature and it appears that Lucian's A True Story held that position and I offered the text. Now an audio presentation is available. Trips to the Moon Earliest science fiction...
- Classic Literature/science
FICTION Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions LucianA True Story Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days Verne, Jules Earth to the Moon Verne, Jules Five Weeks in a Balloon ...