Timescape | Literary Precedents

Timescape Literary Precedents

One of the most common plots in science fiction is one in which the world nears destruction due either to some out-of-control scientific experiment or some ecological disaster. Among the books which use this plot in a serious manner are George Stewart's Earth Abides (1949), John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up (1972), and Philip Wylie's The End of the Dream (1972). Frank Herbert's Dune (1965; see separate entry) also deserves mention as the first science fiction novel to deal seriously with the science of ecologyAlso worth mentioning is the long tradition of serious fiction about scientists. Sinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith (1925; see separate entry) is of some importance here. Perhaps the key novels on this subject, however, are those of C. P. Snow, including Strangers and Brothers (1940), The Masters (1951), The New Men (1954), and Pursuit of Reason (1968). Although not science fiction, Snow's novels are probably the best fictional...
(read more)