Download or read book The Dream of Scipio and Other Early Science Fiction Tales written by David Lear and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dream of Scipio by Cicero is perhaps the earliest science fiction tale ever written, telling of a man's voyage to the heavens. Other early science fiction tales in this collection include: -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -- Micromegas by Voltaire

Download or read book The New Atlantis and Other Early Science Fiction Tales written by David Lear and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Francis Bacon's New Atlantis could be considered the earliest science fiction tale in the English language. Other early science fiction stories in this collection include: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

Download or read book The Dream of Scipio written by Iain Pears and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2010-08-06 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three narratives, set in the fifth, fourteenth, and twentieth centuries, all revolving around an ancient text and each with a love story at its centre, are the elements of this brilliantly ingenious novel, a follow-up to the international bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost. The centuries are the 5th (the final days of the Roman Empire); the 14th (the years of the Plague — the Black Death); and the 20th (World War II). The setting for each is the same — Provence — and each has at its heart a love story. The narratives intertwine seamlessly, and what joins them thematically is an ancient text — “The Dream of Scipio” — a work of neo-Platonism that poses timeless philosophical questions. What is the obligation of the individual in a society under siege? What is the role of learning when civilization itself is threatened, whether by acts of man or nature? Does virtue lie more in engagement or in neutrality? “Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless,” warns one of Pears’s characters. The Dream of Scipio is a bona fide novel of ideas, a dazzling feat of storytelling, fiction for our times.

Download or read book True History and Other Early Science Fiction Tales written by David Lear and published by Firestone Books. This book was released on 2013 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lucian of Samosata's True History, written almost two thousand years ago, is one of the earliest science fiction tales ever written, and tells of a man's fantastic adventures including a trip to the moon. Other tales in this early science fiction collection include: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -- Micromegas by Voltaire

Download or read book Micromegas and Other Early Science Fiction Tales written by David Lear and published by Firestone Books. This book was released on 2013 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Micromegas was first published in 1752 and is one of Voltaire's best-known works. The story tells of two giant extraterrestrials who travel across the solar system, eventually reaching the Earth. Other science fiction tales in this collection include: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

Download or read book Early Science Fiction Tales 1 written by David Lear and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-12-04 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fantastic collection of the earliest science fiction stories ever, including: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -- The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin.

Download or read book Arcadia written by Iain Pears and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-02-09 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the international best seller An Instance of the Fingerpost, Arcadia is an astonishing work of imagination. In Cold War England, Professor Henry Lytten, having renounced a career in espionage, is writing a fantasy novel that dares to imagine a world less fraught than his own. He finds an unlikely confidante in Rosie, an inquisitive young neighbor who, while chasing after Lytten's cat one day, stumbles through a doorway in his cellar and into a stunning and unfamiliar bucolic landscape—remarkably like the fantasy world Lytten is writing about. There she meets a young boy named Jay who is about to embark on a journey that will change both their lives. Elsewhere, in a distopian society where progress is controlled by a corrupt ruling elite, the brilliant scientist Angela Meerson has discovered the potential of a powerful new machine. When the authorities come knocking, she will make an important decision—one that will reverberate through all these different lives and worlds.

Download or read book Dream of Scipio written by Iain Pears and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-06-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In national bestseller The Dream of Scipio, acclaimed author Iain Pears intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories, and three of the darkest moments in human history. United by a classical text called "The Dream of Scipio," three men struggle to find refuge for their hearts and minds from the madness that surrounds them in the final days of the Roman Empire, in the grim years of the Black Death, and in the direst hours of World War II. An ALA Booklist Editors' Choice. Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Portrait are also available from Riverhead Books.

Download or read book Urashima Taro and Other Fantastic Stories written by David Lear and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urashima Taro is perhaps the earliest time travel tale ever written. This story dating from the eighth century, tells of a fisherman who ventures on a trip beneath the sea to the palace of the Dragon God. He stays for just three days, but when he returns to his homeland he finds himself transported three hundred years into the future... Other early science fiction tales in this collection include: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -- Icaro-Menippus by Lucian of Samosata -- Micromegas by Voltaire.

Download or read book The History of Science Fiction written by A. Roberts and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-11-28 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The History of Science Fiction traces the origin and development of science fiction from Ancient Greece up to the present day. The author is both an academic literary critic and acclaimed creative writer of the genre. Written in lively, accessible prose it is specifically designed to bridge the worlds of academic criticism and SF fandom.

Download or read book The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Other Fantastic Stories written by David Lear and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, also known as The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, was written around the tenth century AD, and tells of an extraterrestrial girl found in a bamboo field. This story is the earliest known tale of aliens visiting Earth. This collection contains a number of early science fiction tales, including: -- The Dream of Scipio by Cicero -- True History by Lucian of Samosata -- Urashima Taro -- The Ebony Horse -- The City of Brass -- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -- Micromegas by Voltaire.

Download or read book The Portrait written by Iain Pears and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-04-04 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A national bestseller from acclaimed author Iain Pears, The Portrait is a novel of suspense and a tour de force. An art critic journeys to a remote island off Brittany to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted but tormented artist living in self-imposed exile. The painter recalls their years of friendship, the gift of the critic's patronage, and his callous betrayals. As he struggles to capture the character of the man, as well as his image, on canvas, it becomes clear that there is much more than a portrait at stake... Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio are also available from Riverhead Books.

Download or read book Stone s Fall written by Iain Pears and published by Random House. This book was released on 2009-05-05 with total page 934 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At his London home, John Stone falls out of a window to his death. A financier and arms dealer, Stone was a man so wealthy that he was able to manipulate markets, industries, and indeed entire countries and continents. Did he jump, was he pushed, or was it merely a tragic accident? His alluring and enigmatic widow hires a young crime reporter to investigate. The story moves backward in time—from London in 1909 to Paris in 1890 and finally to Venice in 1867—and the attempts to uncover the truth play out against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europe’s first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth century’s arms race. Stone’s Fall is a tale of love and frailty, as much as it is of high finance and skulduggery. The mixture, then, as now, is an often fatal combination.

Download or read book The Portrait written by Iain Pears and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-04-04 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A national bestseller from acclaimed author Iain Pears, The Portrait is a novel of suspense and a tour de force. An art critic journeys to a remote island off Brittany to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted but tormented artist living in self-imposed exile. The painter recalls their years of friendship, the gift of the critic's patronage, and his callous betrayals. As he struggles to capture the character of the man, as well as his image, on canvas, it becomes clear that there is much more than a portrait at stake... Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio are also available from Riverhead Books.

Download or read book Science Fiction written by Adam Charles Roberts and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2006 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Science Fiction' offers a critical account of the phenomenon of science fiction, illustrating the critical terminology and following the contours of its continuing history. The impact of technological advances on the genre is discussed.

Download or read book AN Instance of the Fingerpost written by Iain Pears and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-03-01 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1663 Oxford, a servant girl confesses to a murder. But four witnesses--a medical student, the son of a traitor, a cryptographer, and an archivist--each finger a different culprit...

Download or read book Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy 2 volumes written by Robin Anne Reid and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 789 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Works of science fiction and fantasy increasingly explore gender issues, feature women as central characters, and are written by women writers. This book examines women's contributions to science fiction and fantasy across a range of media and genres, such as fiction, nonfiction, film, television, art, comics, graphic novels, and music. The first volume offers survey essays on major topics, such as sexual identities, fandom, women's writing groups, and feminist spirituality; the second provides alphabetically arranged entries on more specific subjects, such as Hindu mythology, Toni Morrison, magical realism, and Margaret Atwood. Entries are written by expert contributors and cite works for further reading, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students and general readers love science fiction and fantasy. And science fiction and fantasy works increasingly explore gender issues, feature women as central characters, and are written by women writers. Older works demonstrate attitudes toward women in times past, while more recent works grapple with contemporary social issues. This book helps students use science fiction and fantasy to understand the contributions of women writers, the representation of women in the media, and the experiences of women in society.