The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

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pre 1920: Proto SF > What This Folder Is For...

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message 1: by Jim (new)

Jul 08, 2017 04:29AM

Any topics dealing with SF books, stories, or whatever that originated before 1920.

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message 2: by Jim (last edited Jun 01, 2021 10:43AM) (new)

Sep 26, 2018 05:08AM

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message 3: by Jim (new)

Feb 08, 2019 06:18AM

Hold for future.

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message 4: by Jim (new)

Feb 08, 2019 06:18AM

SF Authors by Period Lists
This list shouldn't be considered complete nor is it strictly limited to influential SF authors & editors. I tried to list some of their best known & most influential works, contributions, &/or description. Basically, it's a quick cheat sheet to help recognize authors common to this group, although not every entry can be nominated for a group read.

Don't take the dates as gospel. They're roughly accurate for the majority of their SF works & you may find one or two outside them. In front of their names, I put how many books &/or short stories we've read by them in this group as of Jan2019.

Pay attention to death dates. Many authors have works repackaged, so the first publishing date is long after their deaths. For the purposes of group reads, we try to use the period in which the work was written even though we often rely on publishing dates.

For further details, you can click on the author & book links to see what GoodReads has on them or check out the following.
Fantastic Fiction
Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB)
The Ultimate Science Fiction Web Guide

This topic is locked. If you'd like to comment, please do so in the SF or Influential Authors topic.

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message 5: by Jim (last edited Feb 01, 2020 05:41PM) (new)

Feb 08, 2019 06:18AM

Pre 1920 Old & Proto SF:

# books
group read --- Author's name --- Writing period --- Comments
A
1 - Edwin A. Abbott (1880s-1900s) - Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
- J.H. Rosny Aîné (1880s-1930s, died 1940) - Best known SF novel is Ironcastle, translated by Philip José Farmer. Also wrote Quest for Fire.

B
- Edward Bellamy (1880s-1898 died) - Best known for Looking Backward: 2000-1887 & Equality.
- Ambrose Bierce (1870s-1910s) - mostly horror/weird & short stories.
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1871) - His only proto-SF is The Coming Race. He's best known for being a popular, bad writer (e.g., 'It was a dark & stormy night...'). There's even a contest named for him.
1 - Edgar Rice Burroughs (1910s-1950) - Tarzan, Barsoom, Pellucidar, & Venus series plus.

D
- Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1859-1890s, died 1889) French author of mostly mystery & horror. Tomorrow's Eve is SF.
- James De Mille (1888, died 1880 not a typo) - A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder
1 - Arthur Conan Doyle (1880s-1920s) - Best known for Sherlock Holmes, he also wrote The Lost World & other Professor Challengers stories.

G
- George Chetwynd Griffith (1890s-1900s, died 1906) - A Honeymoon in Space, The Outlaws of the Air, and Other Stories : 16 Works of George Chetwynd Griffith, & several others.

H
1 - William Hope Hodgson (1900s-1910s died in WWI) - we read The House on the Borderland, speculative/horror fiction.

K
- Rudyard Kipling (1880s-1930s, died 1936) - best known for various stories about India including The Jungle Book, he also wrote some SF stories which are collected in The Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling.

L
- André Laurie (1870s-1900s, died 1907) - The Conquest of the Moon. Also wrote with Jules Verne.
- Murray Leinster (1910s-1970s) - The Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his story, “Sidewise in Time.” He also wrote westerns, mysteries, & more. Best known for his Med Ship series & many short stories.
1 - Jack London (1900s-1916 died) - Best known for his Yukon & Pacific Island stories, he also wrote The Iron Heel which we read in this group.

M
- A. Merritt (1910s-1940s) - SF & fantasy. Best known for The Moon Pool.
- Robert Duncan Milne (1870s-1890s) - best known for Into the Sun & Other Stories.
- Edward Page Mitchell (1870s-1880s, died 1927) - best known for The Clock That Went Backwards, a time travel story that predated The Time Machine. Wrote speculative & horror short stories.

P
- Edgar Allan Poe (1830s-1840s, died 1849) - proto SF, mostly short stories.

S
1 - M.P. Shiel (1890s-1930s, died 1947) - we read The Purple Cloud, his most popular novel in this group.
- Clark Ashton Smith (1910-1960s, died 1961) - best known for his contributions to Weird Tales. He wrote many short stories & has 2 novels, although both were published 40 years after his death.
- Robert Louis Stevenson (1870s-1890s, died 1894) - best known SF work is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- Jonathan Swift (1700s, died 1745) - some consider Gulliver's Travels proto SF.

V
3 - Jules Verne (1850s-1900s) - Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, & his short storyIn the Year 2889.
- Voltaire - Micromegas (1753) is a proto SF short story.

W
4 - H.G. Wells (1890s-1940s, died 1946) - Best known for The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, & The Island of Doctor Moreau. We've read the last 3 plus one of his short stories, The Diamond Maker.

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