Chris’s Comments (group member since Sep 25, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Proto-Science Fiction group.

I just found that the The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction starts with a chronology of science fiction works, and the first page (most significant for us) is available in the Google books preview.

Interesting books to add to our group bookshelf!

Hi Niall, glad to have you. We haven't been active lately, but especially with a small group that can change quickly if there's interest in doing a group read.

You are correct that Francis Bacon qualifies as a proto-science fiction writer and indeed his book The New Atlantis is on our group bookshelf. Keep the suggestions coming!

Here's an interesting io9 article that includes the terms "scientifiction" and "scientific romance". Plus, we should look to ensure we have all of these books on our group shelves!

http://io9.com/5870883/science-fictio...

Here's something I found interesting, and it's a source for more material for us to discuss when we're ready: Timeline of Science Fiction Ideas, Technology and Inventions

I know that we're behind and some of us have not yet finished our current group read yet (and are therefore not ready for another), I realize that there may be others of you that are interested in moving along. Also, it will take a little while to get through nominations, voting and acquiring the next book, so we should start now.

Here's my spiel from the last nominations, which applies here as well:

"Feel free to nominate anything, just be prepared to describe to everyone why you're excited about it as a work of proto or early science fiction in case it's not clear to the group.

One nomination per person please. Please nominate by using "add book/author" and selecting it from the GR catalog. Nominations will close on 11/16 and we'll begin voting. Voting will close on 11/22.

Since we're a small group we can discuss when we want to start the read after voting is done -- probably giving heavy weight to book availability. We can also further discuss reading pace once voting has closed and I can put together a schedule for discussion threads based on that."

I apologize for falling down on the job here, everyone. I have been reading a bit, but have been so occupied with other aspects of life that I have not finished the book yet.

I just completed Ch 12. (view spoiler)[Barely. I understand the point - their language is efficient. It's a good point. But wow, that had to be the most boring chapter of fiction I've ever read. Now I think I know how non-geeks feel about all the technical stuff in hard scifi. (hide spoiler)] Now on to Ch. 13 - religion. This is something I have lots of questions about and will probably have lots to post once the chapter is done! Many of my highlights have pertained to questions about the religious implications for the Vril-ya.

Richard wrote: "...But if I had a choice between staying with Eloi or Morlocks, I'd pick the Eloi any day. "

Agreed! I prefer not to be dinner. :-)

So far I'm enjoying this book and how the pace differs from most that I've read recently. I was surprised by how short the beginning of the book was and how quickly we were headed underground. I admit that I'm only currently on Ch. 5, but doesn't it seem that Bulwer-Lytton isn't giving any priority to character development?

Group discussion for The Coming Race Ch. 16-29.

Group discussion for The Coming Race Ch. 1-15.

We have two things to decide at this point: when to start reading and how long we should spend. I know that eBooks aren't for everyone, but this is available as a free eBook from any number of sources. Still, I think we should account for the fact that some may wish to acquire the book in print before we start. Is waiting a week before start ok?

In my limited experience with group reads, 50 pages a week seems a bit too slow. The Coming Race is only 150 pages, so I'd like to open the discussion with the suggestion that we should read the first half in week 1 and the second half in week 2. We want to be able to discuss freely in the threads without spoiler warnings, so the general idea is that you should read that portion of the book before you come to discuss. I can post both discussion threads next Sunday in case someone is particularly speedy and wants to discuss the second half in advance.

Those who are going to participate, what do you think of all of this? Like I said before, for our small group I don't see why we shouldn't be able to consider everyone's preferences, so please speak up if you want it carved up differently (more threads, etc.) or want a different schedule, or have another preference you'd like to discuss.

Proposed:
Week 1, 10/23-10/29: Ch. 1-15
Week 2, 10/30-11/5: Ch. 16-29

Edit: corrected typo, the last chapter is 29, not 39.

Voting has opened here: http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/55...

I did a lot of research on Lucian of Samosata's Trips to the Moon tonight, and in my opinion it seems the best translation is by Fowler & Fowler, available from many publishers under the title The Works of Lucian of Samosata: Complete with Exceptions Specified in the Preface.

Search your favorite store for "samosata fowler" and you'll probably find it, or see my GR review for the full gory details.

I was able to locate the book The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction containing a chapter "Science Fiction Before the Genre", which is referenced as discussing Poe's contribution towards defining science fiction.

It's available on Google Books with a partial preview (http://books.google.com/books?id=55wUHXiay-gC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false), from which I was able to find this on pp18:

"The first writer to grapple with this problem in a wide-ranging experimental fashion was Edgar Allen Poe. The earliest poem by Poe to see eventual publication was 'Sonnet - to Science', written in the early 1820s, and his career culminated in Eureka (1848), an extraordinary poetic essay on the nature of the universe newly revealed by astronomical telescopes. The imaginative thread connection these two works ran through Poe's entire career. As his appreciation of the aesthetics of scientific discovery grew, his attempts to find literary means of communicating and celebrating the wonders of science became more varied and more inventive."

It goes on to mention, "Poe's lunar voyage story 'Hans Phaal'".

If you're not sure what to nominate, don't forget about the group bookshelf! :-)

This thread is for taking nominations for our first group read. Feel free to nominate anything, just be prepared to describe to everyone why you're excited about it as a work of proto or early science fiction in case it's not clear to the group.

One nomination per person please. Please nominate by using "add book/author" and selecting it from the GR catalog. Nominations will close on 10/11 and we'll begin voting. Voting will close on 10/16.

Since we're a small group we can discuss when we want to start the read after voting is done -- probably giving heavy weight to book availability. We can also further discuss reading pace once voting has closed and I can put together a schedule for discussion threads based on that.

Did I leave anything out?

This is a thread for noting translations that we have not located for books that are relevant to the group. This isn't just for requesting/noting English translations, but also other languages as requested by members. Additionally, any English-language books written before mid-16th century will be difficult or impossible to be read by those of us who know only modern languages without a decent translation!

In addition to responding to requests in this thread or posting notable finds here, please note translations you find in your GR review so that everyone on GR can benefit.

Ok, sounds like we're not going to be very strict about publication date as far as what to consider for reading and/or discussion in the group. This means that by academic standards we may not stick strictly to "proto-science fiction" and may even hit up things in the late 19th and even early 20th centuries at times (especially lesser-known or otherwise ground-breaking works).

Any dissenting opinions? If not, I'd like to start a nomination thread for our first group read!

Joshua wrote: "An interesting book to look into would be Edward George Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Coming Race."

Thanks! I've added this to the group bookshelf.