In HG Wells'
The Time Machine, a nineteenth century inventor travels through time to a future Earth where human beings have devolved, then to further futures where they have become extinct. In Poul Anderson's
Genesis, a post-organic intelligence travels across interstellar space to a future Earth where human beings have become extinct but have been re-created by the Terrestrial post-organic intelligence. Thus, there are similarities and differences between an early work by Wells and a late work by Anderson. Both works address the long term future.
The link between the two authors is enhanced by the fact that earlier works by Anderson feature literary successors of the Time Traveller, notably Time Patrol agents, mutant time travellers and travellers along temporal corridors.
My advice is: read them all.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
While I agree H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE deserves and should be read as an example of a pioneering work of SF, it's value should not be overstated. I think Anderson's time traveling stories are superior to Wells' work. Which is not surprising, SF writers after Wells were developing and refining the potentialities of that sub-genre of SF.
Ad astra! Sean
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