I would like to see what the oldest description of the future from the past is!
2006-09-19 07:24:46 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
i want to say the one about the time machine. H>G> Wells. or it could have been 1984.
2006-09-19 07:26:40 · answer #1 · answered by Dragonflygirl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The following is from the wikipedia.org article on Science Fiction:
"Precursors of science fiction
Lucian around 160 A.D. wrote Vera Historia a title as punning in Latin as English, as it can be interpreted as meaning "a true story" or "this is truly a story". A whirlwind transports a ship sailing beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the Moon, where the voyagers find the King is about to go to war with the Emperor of the Sun over rights to colonize Venus. Fabulous beasts such as flea archers the size of elephants are employed. The battle outcome was decided when long-waited reinforcements from Sirius arrived to support the Emperor at the end. Following this the Emperor's forces surrounded the Moon with fog clouds, leaving it without solar power. The inhabitants of the Moon were forced to surrender and the decision was made to colonize Venus with joint efforts. Given the scientific knowledge of the day, this could fit the definition of science fiction, while Johannes Kepler's Somnium is more marginal, as his explorer reaches the Moon by witchcraft, even though the Moon itself is described as accurately as contemporary astronomy permitted.
Voltaire's "Micromégas" (1752) is a significant development in the history of literature because it originates ideas which helped create the genre of science fiction itself. It's a tale of the visit to Earth of a being from a planet orbiting Sirius and his friend from Saturn, and is regarded as the first example of science-fiction philosophical irony.
Precursors of the contemporary genre, such as Mary Shelley's Gothic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818) and her post-apocalyptic The Last Man (1826), and Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) are frequently regarded as science fiction, whereas Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), based on the supernatural, is not. A borderline case is Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, where the time travel is unexplained, but subsequent events make realistic use of science. Shelley's novel and Stevenson's novella are early examples of a standard science-fiction theme: The obsessed scientist whose discoveries worsen a bad circumstance."
2006-09-19 08:30:11 · answer #2 · answered by Chuck N 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
you're able to to attempt Karin Lowachee's superb series beginning up with Warchild. She writes severe character-pushed SF it incredibly is likewise very lots militia based. Her prose is gritty and life like. There are not any sturdy men or undesirable men, and the characters are on no account so basic as they might examine out first. that is between the superb SF series on the industry at present, and truthfully merits a much bigger objective audience than it has so a techniques. this may well be an area opera that incredibly exemplifies the superb the form has to grant. besides, Lowachee has special awareness of wartime politics and society. in the process the series, she takes a examine out the impact of conflict on diverse type platforms. in case you enjoyed Dread Empire's Fall, i actual think of you will get exhilaration from this series.
2016-10-01 03:44:13 · answer #3 · answered by hobin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if it's the oldest, but Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has a lot of things that are happening now and it was written in the 1950's
2006-09-19 07:48:27 · answer #4 · answered by Lala_79 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Generally H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are considered the "fathers" of science fiction.
Their books include "The Time Machine," "War of the Worlds" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
2006-09-19 18:22:51 · answer #5 · answered by poohba 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Leonardo da Vinci came up with the concept of flying machines, helicopter and tank during the Renaissance. That would be real science but thought of as fiction at the time.
2006-09-19 07:34:32 · answer #6 · answered by lpaganus 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You might like to read some of E.E. Doc Smith's stuff
Like "The Lens Men "series I thinks about 4 or 5 books long. Also his "Skylark" series 4 books long
2006-09-19 08:02:46 · answer #7 · answered by junglejane 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Mayan Calendar. It is not really a story, but it is a prediction about the future...which will be realized in 2012
2006-09-19 07:27:43 · answer #8 · answered by abigail m 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to say Off a Comet, think it was written by Jules Verne
2006-09-19 07:28:23 · answer #9 · answered by ka5flm 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing it's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
2006-09-19 07:27:04 · answer #10 · answered by chrstnwrtr 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋