ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: EIGHT MORE EXAMPLES (1744-1910)

One of the most popular posts here at Balladeer’s Blog was my list about “ancient” science fiction from 1634-1909. Here is a followup list of sci fi tales that were way ahead of their time. FOR THE ORIGINAL LIST CLICK HERE     

THE SPEEDY JOURNEY (1744) – Written by Eberhard Christian Kindermann. A five-man crew from Earth pilot a spacecraft to a moon of Mars, where they encounter alien life-forms of all kinds as well as secrets tying the inhabitants to Earth people by way of odd religious parallels. The space travelers also encounter a world-destroying meteor and a “space whirlpool.” CLICK HERE  

THE VOYAGE OF LORD CETON TO THE SEVEN PLANETS (1765) – Written by female author Marie-Anne de Roumier. Set in the 1640s this story features an angel named Zachiel who transports a man and his sister to the planets of our solar system.

As with other ancient works of proto-science fiction the sun itself was also depicted as an inhabited world. CLICK HERE 

NAVIS AERIA (1768) – Written by Bernardo Zamagna. Written as Epic Poetry this interesting story depicts a crew of scientists creating a craft capable of flight. They fly the vessel around the world in a sort of pre-Jules Verne example of a Jules Verne story. CLICK HERE 

THE UNPRETENTIOUS PHILOSOPHER (1775) – Written by Louis-Guillaume de La Follie. An Earth scientist named Nadir encounters an alien scientist from Mercury. The Mercurian, named Ormisais, has crashed the craft he piloted to Earth from his home planet. Nadir helps Ormisais track down all the items and elements he needs to repair the spaceship so he can return to Mercury. CLICK HERE 

THE MEN OF THE MOON (1809) – By Washington Irving. Long before H.G. Wells used a fictional Martian invasion as an allegory about colonialism, American author Irving beat him to it with a fictional invasion by moon men serving the same purpose. The lunar invaders have solar guns, flying mounts and other advanced weaponry that Earth’s armies cannot handle. CLICK HERE 

ARMATA (1817) – Written by Thomas Erskine, who narrated the tale as if it had really happened to him. When a nautical journey from the U.S. to England goes wrong the author finds himself stranded on Deucalia, a twin planet to Earth. While struggling to return to his own planet the narrator must deal with hostile forces on Deucalia. CLICK HERE 

PAUL AERMONT AMONG THE PLANETS (1873) – Written by “Paul Aermont” (real name unknown). A pharmacist (?) discovers a previously unknown gas and uses it in a lighter than air craft that he pilots to Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn. Scientifically advanced civilizations and/or exotically structured societies await the interplanetary explorer. CLICK HERE 

THE PROFESSOR’S EXPERIMENTS (1910) – Written by Paul Bo’ld (sic). A science fiction forerunner of H.P. Lovecraft’s later work of horror Tales of Herbert West, Re-Animator.  This series of short stories features a mad scientist named Professor Jerome Mudgewood and Doctor Gertrude Delaney, his female assistant. Mudgewood’s experiments inevitably spawn scientific nightmares or unleash powerful destructive forces. CLICK HERE

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