In the past couple weeks, I have been reading science fiction short stories. In typical fashion, I have this need to be systematic and thorough, so I am choosing my stories in a chronological fashion. Obviously, I am not reading all of them, just a smattering, but here is the reading list so far:
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall", 1835
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, 1844
Wells, H.G. “The Star”, 1897
Hamilton, Edmond. “The Man Who Evolved”, 1931
Robert Heinlein. "--All You Zombies--" 1959
I actually started with the Heinlein story, which was just bizarre and rubbed me wrong. That's when I decided I could use the benefit of historical context with the chronological approach.
The first two on the list have the characteristic overwriting typical of a lot 19th century romanticism (why use two words when twenty will do?)
The H.G. Wells story was gorgeously written, despite being a doomsday tale.
I am now into the 1930's pulp fiction, which is about as melodramatic as you'd expect.
A few quotable quotes:
Here's my Friday poem, from back in my college days:
A woman's hands
Her hands were smooth, gentle, and able
One rested on her thigh
the other moved across the table
It made me feel secure, seeing her hands
They had a soft-spoken grace unlike a man’s
I could sit and wonder at all they’d done
When they were strong
When they were creative
When they were playful
When they were still
I could sit and wonder what it would be like
to hold one of those hands in mine.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall", 1835
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, 1844
Wells, H.G. “The Star”, 1897
Hamilton, Edmond. “The Man Who Evolved”, 1931
Robert Heinlein. "--All You Zombies--" 1959
I actually started with the Heinlein story, which was just bizarre and rubbed me wrong. That's when I decided I could use the benefit of historical context with the chronological approach.
The first two on the list have the characteristic overwriting typical of a lot 19th century romanticism (why use two words when twenty will do?)
The H.G. Wells story was gorgeously written, despite being a doomsday tale.
I am now into the 1930's pulp fiction, which is about as melodramatic as you'd expect.
A few quotable quotes:
It was not love, although her rich beauty was a madness to him; nor horror, even while he fancied her spirit to be imbued with the same baneful essence that seemed to pervade her physical frame; but a wild offspring of both love and horror that had each parent in it, and burned like one and shivered like the other. - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Few people without a training in science can realise the huge isolation of the solar system. The sun with its specks of planets, its dust of planetoids, and its impalpable comets, swims in a vacant immensity that almost defeats the imagination. - H G Wells
Here's my Friday poem, from back in my college days:
A woman's hands
Her hands were smooth, gentle, and able
One rested on her thigh
the other moved across the table
It made me feel secure, seeing her hands
They had a soft-spoken grace unlike a man’s
I could sit and wonder at all they’d done
When they were strong
When they were creative
When they were playful
When they were still
I could sit and wonder what it would be like
to hold one of those hands in mine.