Relevant Works
Frankenstein
The Time Machine
The First Men In The Moon
The War Of The Worlds
The Shape Of Things To Come
The War In The Air
The World Set Free
The Future History
Magic, Inc.
Wells coined the terms, "Time Machine," "Time Traveller" and "time travelling" (later shortened to "time travel.") Mark Twain, writing before Wells, had used the phrase, "transposition of epochs." (Twain and L. Sprague de Camp are another two Anderson predecessors although specifically on time travel.)
When a fictional character living in 1810 is told that someone has "jumped" from 1810 to 1684, he should not immediately respond, as we would, with the phrase, "time travel." That is anachronistic. It happens in Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates.
I must finish rereading The Anubis Gates. Tomorrow, to celebrate a birthday, two of us will travel by train around Morecambe Bay. There should also soon be a family visit to a cinema to see The Odyssey. More myth.
11 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
One thing I don't understand is why you keep overlooking Jules Verne (d. 1905). He too was a founding ancestor of modern science fiction, authoring works like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, etc.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But I don't see Verne as a predecessor of Anderson.
Paul.
Well, he was in a general sense in that he helped create the genre of SF.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: Exactly! And not only that, Verne was writing SF before Wells.
Paul: And besides what Stirling commented above, Verne, because of his interest in technology, was a predecessor of Anderson in writing hard science fiction, esp. in 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON.
Btw, I've started rereading Powers' THE ANUBIS GATES, my copy being the 1997 Ace Books trade paperback. The front cover has a blurb from Anderson, in uppercase: "AN ALTOGETHER WONDERFUL EXTRAVAGANZA." Apparently, he liked the book!
Went Barnes & Noble yesterday, still not a single example of any of Anderson's works and far too many of Asimov's overrated stuff. I'm getting seriously ticked off at Anderson's estate!
I did order a copy of Alexander Solzhnitsn's MARCH 1917, vol. 4. Next comes the two vols. of APRIL 1917 that he completed before he died (when trans. and pub. in English).
Ad astra! Sean
Verne was a Victorian -- and that was the era when it became generally apparent that science would continue to progress and open up new technological frontiers.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I noticed that kind of optimistic, forward thinking attituded of Verne as regards science and technology in the books I cited above. Altho I've not read it, that's probably true as well with Verne's AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. And A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, which I have read, probably reflects the Victorian drive for exploration and discovery.
I vastly prefer that Victorian optimism about technology and the value of science to the despairing self-loathing and pessimism afflicting Western civilization today. A line from Cerdic's comments to Flandry in "Tiger by the Tail" has struck as far too true and applicable as well for our times: "...strength sapped by a despair too pervasive for you to realize what it is--..."
For half a century I've been deeply impressed by the works of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and I've think I've read most of what has been translated into English. Not just the shattering bombshell that was/is THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO, but also his novels: AUGUST 1914 (both versions), NOVEMBER 1916, MARCH 1917 (only the first three vols, so far), LENIN IN ZURICH. Solzhenitsyn hoped to complete this series, THE RED WHEEL, with Lenin's proclamation of the USSR in 1922, but died after finishing two vols. of APRIL 1917.
I've also read with keen interest Solzhenitsyn's Soviet novels: IN THE FIRST CIRCLE (and its "lightened" version), CANCER WARD, ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH. And the grimly comic memoir Alexander Isaevich wrote of his struggles with the Soviet bureaucracy, THE OAK AND THE CALF.
I've read others of his works as well, fiction and non-fiction, such as his NOBEL LECTURE, but this is plenty! I think I can assume you've read some or all of these.
Ad astra! Sean
Science increases human powers. The Victorians discovered bacteria and viruses and their role in illness, for example -- and that lead to a drastic drop in death rates, even before antibiotics.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Exactly! As Manse Everard said in "Delenda Est," discussing how and why a true science arose in the West: "As Whitehead pointed, the medieval idea of one almighty God was important to the growth of science, by inculcating the notion of lawfulness in nature. And Lewis Mumford added that the early monasteries were probably responsible for the mechanical clock--a very basic invention--because of having regular hours for prayer."
A very disturbing trend in "science" recently has been a disparaging of facts and evidence which does not conform to preferred conclusions.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Who has been doing this?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
In many cases insane woke leftists! To cite only one example, many of them are enraged at how the facts of DNA and biology utterly crushes the false claims of "transsexuals" that mem can become women. Facts/evidence that they deny.
Nor am I forgetting how many pro-abortionists similarly deny the facts of DNA/biology so they can falsely unborn babies are not human beings.
I could go on and on about this current madness!
Ad astra! Sean
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Sean,
OK. It would be interesting to hear some more. I will shortly get the train for a day trip to Shrewsbury.
Paul.
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