THE MILLTILLIONAIRE (1895) – This novel was written by American author Albert Waldo Howard under the pen name M. Auburre Hovorre. A second edition came out in 1898.
The concepts and storyline are all over the place in this minor utopian work from the 1890s. Howard often treats mutually exclusive concepts as if they are interchangeable. He does do a deep dive into the advanced technology of the future as well as the political changes, so that is a positive factor.
BALLADEER’S BLOG
At some point in the far future, the entire Earth is under one government – the Bardic State. Howard seems at times to be using the reference to bards as if they are his version of Plato’s Philosopher Kings, and at other times as if the term means simply “rulers.”
A twenty-six-member council called the Alphabets seem to fill a parliamentary role. Sometimes. It’s that kind of book. Half the twenty-six must be male and the other half female. They each hold the title Bard.
A Bard Regent handles many administrative tasks for the figure above them – the “True Bard” or the “Positive Poet.” The wealthiest person in the world – our title Milltillionaire – is above the Bard Regent and serves as the True Bard.
Continue reading
BY AEROPLANE TO THE SUN (1910) – Written by Donald W. Horner. This British novel features ideas that wouldn’t have been out of place decades earlier but in 1910 it’s astounding to encounter concepts like an alleged scientist believing that the sun is inhabited. 
THE DERELICT (1912) – This short story was originally published in Red Magazine in December of 1912. The author was William Hope Hodgson, whose other works have already been reviewed here at Balladeer’s Blog. 
A TALE OF THE X-RAY (1898) – Written by Clara H. Holmes. This short story was first published in her collection titled Floating Fancies Among the Weird and the Occult, but it’s more science fiction.
A JOURNEY TO THE WORLD UNDERGROUND BY NICHOLAS KLIMIUS (1741) – This novel was written by Danish author Ludvig Holberg and became a European sensation. Like Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Holberg’s work in this book had satirical political meaning and though the issues and social criticism no longer apply to the modern-day world, the fundamental story structure still holds up on its own. 
The rope breaks, and Nicholas falls so far that his colleagues assume he was killed. Actually, Klimius fell down into the often-theorized Hollow Earth. In this case with an interior sun and small worlds in orbit around it. 
TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) – This is Part Two of 
I’ll spare all of us any details of the actual cockfights. When the fighting was over, the family whose cock lost the fight welcomed the winner’s family over to their home. The winner’s family brought along all of the food they had prepared for this eventful day, and the two families feasted and drank together the rest of the day. 
TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES MASSEY (1714) – By Simon Tyssot de Patot. Supposedly written in 1710 but not published until 1714, this novel dealt with the travels of the title character to exotic lands. 
VOYAGE TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH aka Planet at the Center of the Earth aka “Journey to the Centre of the Earth, or Various Adventures of Clairancy and His Companions, to Spitsbergen, to the North Pole, and to Unknown Countries, translated from the English of Hormidas Peath by M. Jacques Saint-Albin”. 
This particular story centers around the fictional seaman Hormidas Peath and his crew who became shipwrecked in the icy Arctic Sea in 1806. They were shocked to discover that temperatures got warmer the further north they went, so they kept following the warmer air until they reached the Iron Mountains. 
AN AUTOMATIC ENIGMA (1878) – By Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the past Balladeer’s Blog has reviewed some of 
ANOTHER WORLD (1873) – This highly detailed account of life in Montalluyah (“God’s own city”), the capitol city of Mars, was written by British author Benjamin Lumley under the pen name Hermes. The book is presented as excerpts from historical accounts, including a biography of the Great Martian Reformer Tootmanyoso. 
Balladeer's Blog 