The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

I'm looking for nominations for sci-fi works written between 1900-1910. Everyone gets one vote, if two votes are cast by the same individual, the most recent vote will be counted. Nominations will stay open until the end of September, then the poll will be posted.
Nominations:
The Purple Cloud
The Iron Heel
Underground Man
The Girl in the Golden Atom and Other Works by Ray Cummings
Gulliver of Mars
Before Adam
With The Night Mail: A Story Of 2000 Ad

Can I nominate A Princess of Mars it was published in 1912?

I nominate The Iron Heel by Jack London. The Iron Heel

Alexander wrote: "Can I nominate A Princess of Mars it was published in 1912?"

I was planning to do a decade at a time, so 1911-1920 is up next, you might as well save it for next month.

How about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Is it SF or just fantasy?

I'm not sure if this counts or not as was first published in English in 1905 but was written in 1896 Underground Man.

Jim wrote: "How about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Is it SF or just fantasy?"

It does have some defining traits that are prominent in sci-fi, but I don't know that I would call it a sci-fi book.

Feel free to leave it out then. I'm never quite sure with early SF where the line is drawn. Actually, I shouldn't qualify that - I'm horrible at genres. I can second guess myself into most anything.

I love science fiction. Don't care much for fantasy. I wish they weren't so often lumped together into one combo genre.

I don't know of any science fiction published in that decade. I may have read some but didn't realize when it was published. I'd have to do some research to make a nomination, and then it would simply be something to lengthen the list, rather than something I'd heard about and want to read. So, whatever we get, I'm looking forward to it.

Would you guys say Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (published in 1912) qualifies as sci-fi? Or is it "adventure" or what? It's so tricky looking back at that time period with modern eyes and trying to classify things.

To me stories like that are more adventure than sci-fi. I know the terms were more vague then and these stories did have a large influence on sci-fi writers to come. But more importantly it falls a couple of years past the decade I am aiming for. 1900-1910 Another one I am told is an interesting read is The Girl in the Golden Atom and Other Works by Ray Cummings, the title story is only 50-60 pages and I am told it is quite good. Judging by titles it seems that at least a few of the other stories are sci-fi too. Also no ratings, so if it's available it might be interesting to read and rate.

After I posted this last night, I realized that the date was off, but I also got to thinking in a little more depth about how we'd classify the "going to a land of dinosaur" stories now and how they would have been classified at the time they were written.

We can think of it as adventure because we accept the idea of extinct megafauna roaming around the earth in the past, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that the idea was even being serious consideration in the scientific world. Previous to that, the concept of extinction was just as controversial as the concept of evolution was. The idea that there could be animals and plants that no longer exist was as upsetting to the existing worldview as the idea that new ones formed. The world and the living things on it didn't change. So, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, an author writing about going somewhere with dinousaurs roaming around was dealing with fairly recently-accepted scientific concepts. It would be similar to our stories of going to another planet and encountering new species. It may well have been considered then what we now call science fiction.

Anyway, it's something to consider when we're talking about the older works.

(And that's what was running through my head when I was trying to get to sleep.)

An even easier way to consider the dinosaur stories is the discovery of extinct species involves Anthropology and Archeology, both now considered sciences. Thus, fiction written about dinosaurs and what we knew about them at the time would have to be Science Fiction.

Actually, with dinosaurs it's paleontology. Anthropology and archeology only deal with humans. (I'm an archeologist. I end up explaining the difference a lot.) Still, they're all considered sciences, so you've got a good point there.

Sadly, Kurd Laßwitz's scifi novels of that time range (e.g. Sternentau) are not available in English language.

But I found two other works:

One is a novelette or short story from famous djungelbook author Rudyard Kipling called With The Night Mail: A Story Of 2000 Ad - this one looks into flight economy of the year 2000. It introduces indirect exposition that you might now from the later R.A. Heinlein. You can find it at project Gutenberg as http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29135

The other novel is a great influence for E.R. Burroughs Barsoom books (someone already wanted to have his Princess of Mars here): Gulliver of Mars by Edwin Lester Arnold. It is available on project Gutenberg as http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/604

If I'm allowed to nominate only one, I'll go for the Gulliver of Mars and read the Kipling anyways :)

And I knew the correct science is Paleontology. That's what I get for posting when my brain is in neutral. Thanks for correcting me.

I do the same thing. Like nominating a book in the wrong decade.

At first I wasn't finding much for this decade, so I asked friends who know way more than I do about early sf. In addition to the ones already mentioned here and some more by Verne and Wells, Before Adam by Jack London was recommended to me. This one would fall within the realm of paleoanthropology. As it was described to me, it deals with someone experiencing something like "racial memories" of having been an early hominid. I guess I'll count this as my nomination, to add something more (and slightly different) to the list.

All great suggestions, thanks all! Any votes? Only 4 will make the poll.

I'm going with The Purple Cloud it has come highly recommended to me from a few friends online.

Iron Heel

Underground man has my vote

Gulliver of Mars look cool

I think the voting has moved over to the poll now:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/9...

Thanks, Theresa! Yep, nominations are done and polls have opened. Good to see Gulliver got a vote though, 'cause i threw it on the list anyway.

underground man was my vote . . .sounds interesting

To vote in the poll scroll to the bottom of the group main page.