Science Fiction History

For the most part, even the experts do not really know when science fiction first started. Who’s to say when man started to think about a different world? Even when man started writing about such longings—to see or experience a different world of universe or change in reality—the experts still can’t really agree on who receives the innovative blue ribbon. That said, the history of science fiction is indeed one full of all kinds of authors, plots and stories, covering the outrageous to outer space. This history of science fiction is indeed a hard matter to map out, but here is a brief idea of where, why and when science fiction—today a super genre known as Sci-Fi—began.

Science fiction, for some, started way back when mythology clouded the minds of the Greeks. The first written form of sci-fi goes back to True History by Lucian of Samosata in the second century, where the protagonist travels to outer space, encounters people and cultures different than his own, and witnesses planetary struggles and battles. Later, authors even from abroad wrote sci-fi, such as the Japanese The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and the French author Cyrano de Bergerac. Later came Voltaire and then  Jonathan Swift with his epic Gulliver’s Travels. This novel is considered by some to be the first real exploration and debut of the science fiction genre. However, it’s probable that no one will ever unanimously agree.

Some of the first people to really outline the sci-fi novel and breed a new branch of literature at least were authors like Mary Shelly with Frankenstein. Though the invention of new gadgets sometime has initial roots in science fiction, often science fiction has roots in present day reality. New beginnings of electricity and the telegraph sent authors’ heads spinning, detailing new modes of transportation of people and information, like that of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. It has been said that everything that has been invented has first been conceived in science fiction. Whether this is true or not is up for debate, however. This is about the time that science fiction became more popular over a broader spectrum of readers. Intrigue into the unknown future and (the horrors of technology) produced a larger readership.

Soon after these authors left their mark on sci-fi history, other authors emerged and broke new ground. In the 1930s and later, writers came together to form the Futurians, devoted to the art and literature of sci-fi. You may have heard of Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein and Stanislaw Lem. The 1950s brought some needed change to the genre and fiction started producing more speculative writers. A few decades later, writers started mixing up trends and delving into more creative writing styles; Roger Zelazny and Harlan Ellison come to mind.