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Nature's Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction

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Stories of ecological disaster have been a long-term science fiction trend, but are finding new relevance in the current climate. The growing interest in ecological fiction connects to a readership increasingly interested in nature and the preservation of it, as its fragility becomes more obvious outside of the fictional world. Nature's Warning features stories from big names in science fiction such as Aldiss and Simak as well as newly rediscovered gems from writers such as Margaret St Clair and Elizabeth Sanxay Holding.

“I don’t understand,” Mason muttered. “How could they wreck a whole planet?”

“We wrecked Earth in thirty years.”

Science fiction has always confronted the concerns of society, and its greatest writers have long been inspired by the weighty issue of humanity’s ecological impact on the planet. This volume explores a range of prescient and thoughtful stories from SF’s classic period, from accounts of exhausted resources and ecocatastrophe to pertinent warnings of ecosystems thrown off balance and puzzles of adaptation and responsibility as humanity ventures into the new environments of the future.

Featuring stories crucial to the evolution of eco-science fiction from Philip K. Dick, Margaret St Clair, J. D. Beresford and more, this timely collection is a trove of essential reading.

315 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2020

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About the author

Mike Ashley

278 books130 followers
Michael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Sean Barrs .
1,120 reviews47.9k followers
July 10, 2022
Environmentalism in fiction is nothing new. Green ideas have been represented in literature for a very long time, and I often feel like this is overlooked.

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is often attributed with kickstarting the environmental movement in the twentieth century. As seminal as the book is, these ideas have been around for a very long time. This collection of short stories understands this key fact, and it celebrates it. There are a whole bunch of short stories here that discuss ecological ideas before these ideas became popular and formed a movement. And this is important because it shows that to an extent, humankind has always been concerned with its impact on the natural world in some form or another.

These stories come from the first half of the twentieth century, from the classic age of science fiction. And they are very much typical science fiction in their scope and content. Naturally, some are better than others. Phillip K. Dick’s short story “Survey Team” is by far the best. I don’t want to discuss it in too much depth because I don’t want to spoil the plot particulars, but it offers a compelling reveal that highlights how destructive man’s behaviour is. It was powerful and genuinely very shocking. And I think more of these themes will appear across his body of work, so I’m intrigued to see what else he has to say.

There are some very strong stories here, but they don’t all quite live up to their potential. Major authors are put next to minor authors, and there is a stark contrast in quality hence my relative tepid rating and review. They are all linked by a discussion of ecology, in some form or another, though not all engage with the theme with the same level of importance.

I’m going through a bit of an eco-fiction and ecology stage right now. Anything that talks about nature or green ideas, I seem to be drawn to. And I was really excited to read this and to discover new writers who talk about these themes in the context of science fiction. Overall though, it's a mixed bag but worth a read.
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Profile Image for Anissa.
1,000 reviews323 followers
July 8, 2021
If there's climate or eco-fiction, I want to read it, so this was a must for me. I bought a copy but it also became available on Kindle Unlimited so I read that one so I could have the highlights here. Some of the stories were just okay for me but there were a few gems that I will definitely remember.

Survey Team by Philip K. Dick- in which you can see where this one is going before too long but getting there is still chilling and feels true. One of my favourites.

The Dust of Death by Fred M. White- in which a plague induces society to embrace, approve and more importantly, fund public works and public health plans. Very good story.

The Man Who Hated Flies by J.D. Beresford- where a bit of tinkering to rid the world of the lowly housefly has tragic unintended consequences. This has a final line that's just breathtaking by a Have that made me shudder for the Have Nots.

The Man Who Awoke by Laurene Manning- in which a wealthy man devises a way to sleep for hundreds of years and upon waking takes in what the world has become. He's far enough ahead that this may be another world entirely but the past he's from and what it wrought has not been entirely forgotten and adds an extra wrinkle to his situation. This is a good story and apparently is the first part of a continuing story. I liked this enough that I want to know what happens next.

The Sterile Planet by Nathan Schrachner- in which the setup and world-building were top notch but the story veered hard into the swashbuckling hero who has insta-love with the lady from below.

Shadow of Wings by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding- in which the birds are acting strangely and are causing food shortages and desperation for humans. All that was so very well done but the explanation just diminished the whole for me.

The Gardener by Margaret St Clair- in which a pig-headed, fool of a man exhibits no respect or sense with regard to a copse of singularly unique trees on a planet. He also doesn't tip hotel staff and righty gets his in the end. Not a story that takes place on Earth but the main character is from Earth.

Drop Dead by Clifford D. Simak- in which an interplanetary survey team comes upon an interesting eco-system and the ending is somewhat inevitable. The very last part of the ending diminished the story for me but YMMV.

A Matter of Protocol by Jack Sharkey

Hunter, Come Home by Richard McKenna- overall a fine story but overlong in getting to its somewhat predictable end.

Adam and No Eve by Alfred Bester- in which what sounded like a reckless plan results in the naysayer sabotaging and actually causing global destruction. Still in the end, there's hope for life to continue. I liked this more after I thought about it for a bit.

As always the introduction to the book was interesting and informative. I have found more authors and stories I want to delve into and that's always a thrill. I'm saving a couple in this series specifically for when I head to the beach in August but plan to get in a couple of others before then so more reviews of these wonderful collections to come. So far, the British Library Science Fiction Classics series are top notch (I've read three). Recommended.
Profile Image for Leah.
1,733 reviews290 followers
December 22, 2020
The end of the world is nigh…

Another themed collection of vintage science fiction short stories from the great pairing of Mike Ashley and the British Library, this one brings together eleven stories each with a focus on some aspect of ecology. It starts with an introduction in which Ashley discusses the rise in ecological awareness since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, but goes on to point out that SF writers had been considering ecological subjects for decades before that – dystopian destruction, animals and nature fighting back against man’s intrusions, symbiosis, settlement and terraforming of new worlds, and so on. It’s a bit longer than some of these introductions usually are, and very interesting, filled with lots of examples of stories and novels, dating all the way from back before Jules Verne through to the golden age of early/mid-twentieth century SF writing and beyond. These intros would form a great basis for anyone wanting to go off and do a bit of exploring of the genre on their own account.

There’s the usual mix of well known SF authors, such as Philip K Dick and Clifford D Simak, together with some I’d never heard of, though since I’m no expert in this genre perhaps they’re more familiar to those who are. Two or three of the stories are a bit didactic and preachy for my taste, too busily making a point at the expense of entertaining. But the majority are very good – it’s always fascinating to see how imaginatively SF writers can deal with basically similar subject matter. Overall, I gave four of the stories four stars, while five got the full five, which not only seems quite neat but means that overall this gets one of my highest average ratings for these themed collections.

As usual, here’s a flavour of a few of the ones I enjoyed most:

Shadow of Wings by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding – birds have suddenly started behaving differently, flying in huge flocks of mixed species, on routes they hadn’t taken before. The worrying thing, though, is that they have stopped eating insects. Very soon the world is threatened with famine and society is beginning to break down. Our hero finds a way to track one of the birds, and discovers the cause of their change in behaviour, which of course I’m not going to reveal! It’s very well told in that ‘50s strong-husband-taking-care-of-the-little-wife kind of way – enjoyably imaginative.

The Gardener by Margaret St Clair – a stark warning of what happens when an arrogant man chops down a tree held sacred by the residents of another planet. Short, and a very effective mix of horror and humour.

Drop Dead by Clifford D Simak – A planetary exploration team land on a planet with only one type of life-form, which they poetically call “critters”. And very strange critters they are, being made up of everything to provide a balanced diet – red meat, fish, fowl, even fruit and veg. And conveniently one comes to camp each day and drops dead, allowing for scientific experiments and even a food source when an accident destroys all of the food the team brought with them. But you just know things are going to go wrong… Great story, highly imaginative, and fun, but with enough of a serious element to give it a bit of depth.

Hunter, Come Home by Richard McKenna – Another one with a beautifully imagined alien life-form, this time on a planet where animal and plant life never separated. The resulting “phytos” act as leaves, but can also leave their plants and flutter around, like gorgeous butterflies. Of course, man wants to clear the planet’s indigenous ecology so they can use it for their own purposes. But the phytos may have unique ways of fighting back. Bit of a too good to be true ending to this one, but otherwise I loved the imagination and the descriptive writing.

Adam and No Eve by Alfred Bester – an apocalyptic tale of how one man destroys the world through arrogance and mad science. Very bleak, and with some dark scenes that might upset the animal lovers among us, but again imaginative and well written, and frighteningly possible, with a thought-provoking ending.

So, as you can see, a real mixture of style and content in the stories despite the overarching theme. I enjoyed this one a lot.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.

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Profile Image for Lau BT.
28 reviews1 follower
August 13, 2023
The stories definitely vary in quality, but overall I feel that many of the ideas expressed are remarkable and terrifying. I was amazed by how early fears and anxieties around ecosystem collapse and climate change were expressed (the oldest story, the Dust of Death, was published in 1903). Despite these anxieties leaking out into popular science/speculative fiction of the early 20th century, it is devastating that it took until the end of the same century for anyone to start paying attention to the reality of the situation.

The evident theme through the collection warns that human greed and insensitivity to other life forms will ultimately destroy our planet. But most of all, toxic masculinity and a desire to dominate nature will have cataclysmic consequences simply in the name of a select few wanting to "prove" their manhood.

This warning is clearer than day in The Man Who Hated Flies (J.D. Beresford, 1929), Hunter, Come Home (Richard McKenna, 1963) and Adam and No Eve (Alfred Bester, 1941). (Side note; I feel also there must have been direct inspiration from Hunter, Come Home for James Cameron's Avatar). Although these are some of the most wildly imaginative in the collection, the descriptions of a handful of men wreaking havoc on the ecosystems of our planet and others evoked a lot of sadness. In all of these stories nature fights back, but this should never serve as a reason to treat it so poorly in the first place.

Showcasing the polar (but equally as toxic) opposite of this is The Shadow of Wings (Elizabeth Sanxay Holding, 1954). This focuses on how one very middle-class man feels entitled enough to resolve and undo all harm alone.

One story I particularly enjoyed is The Gardener (Margaret St. Clair, 1949), which describes very vividly the direct consequences to one man who tries to meddle with the ecological balance.

The stories A Matter of Protocol (Jack Sharkey, 1962) and Drop Dead (Clifford D. Simak, 1954), although set on other planets, to me reflect how little we truly understand about the uniqueness of our own nature and ecosystems. They provide rich examples of why human beings should tread with extreme caution where the environment is concerned.

The Man Who Awoke (Laurence Manning, 1933) and The Sterile Planet (Nathan Schachner, 1937) both focus on how extreme changes to our ecosystems will ultimately breed even more inequality in our societies. I enjoyed these perspectives, as I feel the extreme socio-economic imbalances in our world are themselves a huge drive of nature's decline.

Finally, the first story of the collection Survey Team (Phillip K. Dick, 1954) shows us how a reliance on other planets for natural resources is ultimately doomed. It truly seems to serve as a stark warning that we must protect the beautiful planet we already have.
Profile Image for Diana Liedloff.
9 reviews
June 10, 2021
Nice collection of short eco-fiction stories. I don't often read fiction and this book has definitely not encouraged me to read more. However, I enjoyed one or two stories which made me ponder. I would love to read a collection of more recent eco-fiction stories (that include modern innovations and current discoveries/studies such as AI, anti-matter, and so on).
53 reviews12 followers
September 4, 2020
Some really interesting, economic related sci fi stories. I read up until page 111. The last story including time travel and reminiscent of the time machine. Overall a nice selection, and nice background before each story
Profile Image for Graham.
1,553 reviews61 followers
November 24, 2022
This Mike Ashley-edited collection draws together a variety of sci-fi shorts from the first half of the 20th century that reveal society knew a lot more about climate change, pollution, global warming and mankind's merciless destruction of the planet than you'd think. It kicks off with Dick's SURVEY TEAM which reminded me a little of PLANET OF THE APES complete with nihilistic twist, before White's DUST OF DEATH sees London subjected to a bacterial apocalypse.

Bereford's THE MAN WHO HATED FLIES is a classic 'mad scientist' tale and rather solid with it, with a good basis in zoology, while Manning's THE MAN WHO AWOKE tells a Wellsian story of a time traveller arriving thousands of years in the future to discover a split society. Schachner's THE STERILE PLANET covers similar ground but is more action-oriented, while Holding's SHADOW OF WINGS looks at the effects when wildlife populations fluctuate.

Margaret St. Clair brings THE GARDENER, an extraterrestrial warning of blatant vandalism being punished by a shambling nasty, while Clifford Simak's DROP DEAD is another inventive one about an alien lifeform that seems to be composed of, well, everything. Sharkey's A MATTER OF PROTOCOL seems more about maths than storytelling but has a strong twist ending, while McKenna's HUNTER, COME HOME offers tragic romance and a tale of terraforming gone awry. The final story, Alfred Bester's ADAM AND NO EVE, is one of the grimmest I've ever read.
Profile Image for Brigitte.
10 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2025
You know when people say: “you should read this book, it’s more relevant than ever”
Yeah this is one of those books. And although some of these stories have been written almost 100 years ago they have hit me hard. Lots of these are very plausible scenarios, written at a time where they were mere speculation, …and here we are!!!
Profile Image for Red Claire .
396 reviews5 followers
October 26, 2021
A very solid and very enjoyable collection. As ever, collections are variable by nature - there are some absolutely stunning tales here, but the Golden Age nature of some of the stories means there are a couple where the writing does not live up to the ideas.
Profile Image for Eric.
1,497 reviews6 followers
February 22, 2022
I have to be in the right mood for a collection of short stories and I was not this time. There's some worthwhile work here but it just had me hankering for a Twilight Zone re-watch.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Layman.
Author 1 book2 followers
February 2, 2023
A haunting but beautiful collection of stories; I know I'll think of them for a long time. This collection begs one of my favorite questions: Does sci-fi shape reality or does reality shape sci-fi?
Profile Image for Dorothy Zahor.
17 reviews1 follower
January 13, 2025
Nice short stories that get you thinking. Fun to read old Sci-fi ideas, stories from the 30s, 40s and more. I’d recommend to any Sci-fi reader.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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