What are some of the best Science Fiction novels of the 19th century?
Original question: What are some of the best Science Fiction novels of the 19th century?There have been works of speculative fiction for as long as humans have been writing stories, but the 19th century is when the genre we know as Science Fiction really took shape.I would recommend three authors for your consideration”Mary Shelley - Her novel Frankenstein is arguably the first modern science fiction novel.Jules Verne - The great granddaddy of science fiction. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From Earth to the Moon, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and many more. Along with H.G.Wells, he defined the genre.H. G. Wells - If Jules Verne is the great granddaddy of science fiction, Wells is his alter ego. What Verne didn’t envision, Wells did. War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and many others.There are others, but these are, in the English language at least, the Big Three.
What is the first example of science fiction writing?
The original question is:What is the first example of science fiction writing?An early example of science fiction is Francis Bacon’s utopian novel New Atlantis (1627).New Atlantis - Wikipedia
What are some good flat earth science fiction movies?
I have voraciously devoured science fiction - particularly film and TV - for almost 50 years, and, although I’m no Kim Newman, I consider myself an expert on the subject. And I can think of no flat earth movies at all - even when you include early silent movies or the Soviet propaganda stuff. The only thing that comes close is the Diskworld TV adaptions - but they're fantasy, not SF.
Why is the novel The Giver a science fiction novel ?
I would like to add that utopias/dystopias are often lumped together in the genre of science fiction. And I think most dystopias/utopias share features in common with science fiction. These often-future always 'idealistic' societies often claim to have perfected what was once wrong in the world, sometimes they explain in great detail the process as to how they've used science and/or technology to improve...sometimes they don't. It's not like anyone explains in detail how Jonas' society used technological or scientific advances to get rid of the 'differences' in society, how to eliminate color for example, or how to rid the whole society of raw emotions like hatred and pain and whatnot. But the reader knows that something has been done at some point in time which led to the present circumstances. We don't really get explanations as to why...but we assume that they're there somewhere since this world exists and functions. Still I think of it more as a dystopia than 'science fiction' in the purest sense of the word.
Who do you consider to be the "Fathers of Science Fiction"?
The "big three" are Isaac Asimov (author), Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke. It reminds me of a book, whose author and title escape me, where all the famous science fiction writers of the time are summoned to help in a global emergency. Asimov, Clarke and Heinlein are depicted as the elders of the group - impatient with the younger members.These were not the first science fiction writers, so they did not define the genre. Great writers like H. G. Wells (author), Jules Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs had already seen the potential for Science to drive a story. But what the big three did was expand the definitions of the genre - particularly the style called "hard science fiction" where it become important to stick to the Laws of Physics as much as possible. Of course, these writers had a generation of knowledge the previous authors did not. But one comment you will hear a lot is that their novels have been shown to have predicted The Future. Wells' stories are wonderful, but when you see pictures of the space station you can't help but recall Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics seem ever more pertinent when we hear that the U.S. Armed Forces are considering using robots on battlegrounds - to recover injured soldiers. These are just the crudest examples. It could even be argued that it was these later writers that got the genre taken seriously as literature. Through this huge body of work we see the novels of Wells and Verne in a new light. I would not take this argument too far though. And so I would argue that it is these writes that influenced science fiction the most. Science Fiction readers, particularly of my generation, would have read their works extensively, and this would have been coupled with an interest in cutting edge science. For me, Heinlein was best. His novels span several types - juvenile, hard science fiction and more philosophical books like Time Enough for Love and Stranger in a Strange Land. In one of my favourite books, Tunnel in the Sky, a group of children are teleported to a planet for a 3 day survival course. When the teleportation device is compromised they are stranded and must really work to survive. Another classic is Friday - a fast paced thriller starring a female operative. This was my first Heinlein, given to me by an old friend.Not wishing to hog all the answers I will leave a summary of the other big three members to other answerers and look forward to seeing other contenders!
What are some examples of Epic Fantasy in literature?
Please note that we are not looking for Epics (the really really long poems... like the Odyssey and the Iliad) We're looking for FANTASY books that can be classified under the sub-category Epic Fantasy.
Should non-realistic elements be forbidden in the works of writers under instruction?
I'll explain a little bit here: I'm doing some instruction this year regarding creative writing, and my first assignment was simply to craft a short story--no writing prompts, no drafting process, no required features, just draft one out over five pages over the next couple of nights and hand it in. I lament that my eyes glazed over when I read almost every single one of them, as they all seemed to involve magic or spaceships or something of that sort. I'll admit that my students were perhaps very thorough in describing precisely how each of these things worked; however, there were many elements missing--for instance, character development, relatability, plausible conflict (some lacked conflict altogether), moral difficulty, an objective plot goal, and metaphor and symbolism. In short, anything that makes good fiction good was lacking. I'll have my work cut out for me explaining to these students that literature has a definite point and is not an escapist way to kill time, like the many other diversions they have in life. Therefore, along with "I" save in dialogue, I'm disallowing the use of any fantastical elements to my students in their stories, focusing instead on the realistic--and preferably prompting them on situations that they realistically might encounter, which it might be easy for them to see and thus better to appreciate the elements of literature. So, no robots, no aliens, no elves, no magic, no spaceships. I know I'll get revolt from the class for this, but I ask, is this perhaps a beneficial rule for beginning writers?