Science Fiction

Science Fiction is the fictional portrayal of scientific subjects in books, comics, movies, television, and other media. Science Fiction can cover a broad range of subjects such as time travel, space travel, alien species, fictional inventions, and scientific discoveries. Other genres such as horror, mystery, action, romance and even comedy can contain elements of science fiction. Historically Science Fiction dates back to the ancient Greeks as seen in books such as Vera Historia by Greek author Lucian. Science Fiction in the modern sense began in the 18Th century with classic stories such as Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift displaying the basic imagination that forms a foundation for modern Science Fiction. During the 19Th century, science fiction developed into what could truly be a separate genre. Perhaps the one author who could best be credited with pioneering modern Science Fiction is Jules Verne. It was in the classic books by Jules Verne that readers first saw science fiction used to predict scientific and technological inventions of the future. Jules Verne was able to predict space travel, submarines, and aerial bombing in books such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and From the Earth to the Moon (1865). He also fictionalized geology in Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864). Following Jules Verne, were popular authors who again expanded the subjects in science fiction such as H. G. Wells. With his exceptional novels such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, and War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells helped usher Science Fiction into the 20Th century.

As real life science and technology has progressed, so has science fiction with it. Through out the 20Th century, growing interest and fascination with technology and science has increased the popularity of science fiction media. Examples of this can be seen in the popularity of authors such as Arthur C. Clark, Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, and others. With the introduction of television and motion pictures, Science Fiction found an excellent platform to expand. Some great examples of Science Fiction's success in film and television are Star Trek, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Terminator series, and The Matrix.

While Science Fiction has seen dramatic growth over the previous two centuries, it is likely that this is only the beginning of it's rise in popularity. With the increased use of technological devices in the everyday lives of average people we see an expansion of subjects suited to Science Fiction. While Science Fiction was seen as a genre for a minority of geeks in the early 20Th century, today geeks are becoming the majority in society.

Information on leather bound Science Fiction books