1910s - Decade in SF&F

THE WONDER TIMELINE: SF&F RETROSPECTIVE Decade of 1910s Read other issues here ---------------------------------------------- J. R. R. Tolkien "The Book of Lost Tales. Parts I&II" (coll) (Middle-Earth: history 2&3) © poems written in 1914-1918 book: Allen & Unwin, 1983-1984 --fantasy : 1985 Mythopoeic --/ third place f collection --/ wonder award --/ style award It was surpising to learn that a significant part of Middle-Earth history, and a general feel of Tolkien's world, including the most poignant of his poems - all were completed in 1914 to 1920, at the time when Tolkien was in love and at war - but then is it really surpising? It is only proper, considering the intensity of feeling and freshness of emotion, vast scale of vistas and romanticism of the highest order that went into "the world-that-never-was-and always-is" Middle-Earth. (see below photos of Tolkien in 1911 and his beloved wife Edith). I seem to like the poetic world he created more than the confines of a single trilogy, and like to explore in depth the epic history and the mysterious knowledge hinted at in the "Silmarillion" and the "Books of Lost Tales". The trilogy is the front, the gate, the first step into... as big a world as human imagination can contain, or put on paper. Love is a catalyst to monumental works, love that only grows with time. review: 14-Jul-06 (read in 1999) ---------------------------------------------- H. G. Wells "The New Accelerator" © The Strand, Dec 1901 --/ fourth place time sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ style award One of the very earliest sf stories I've read, and still fresh in my mind - it is a definitive treatment of "time speeding-up / slowing-down" concept and wish-fullfilment fantasy about "frozen people around you, so that you can do whatever you want". Everyone had dreams like that, and Wells wrote a classic, which stands the passing of time. "Strand" magazine, as you notice, was the closest thing to a pulp magazine at the turn of a century. review: 14-Jul-06 (read in 1999) ---------------------------------------------- Kenneth Morris (as by Wentworth Tompkins) "The Rose And The Cup" © The Theosophical Path, Apr 1916 The Phoenix Tree, ed. R. Boyer, 1974 The Secret Mountain and Other Tales, 1926 --/ cool f story The Rose and The Cup of the title is a theosophical symbol, interchangeable with the Ace of Hearts, the openness to all emotion. The story illustrates this principle, using a few sublime fantasy elements. Kenneth Morris was a theosophist himself, seeking (and finding) secret symbols all over our reality. In some ways, such mining of esoteric knowledge is not unlike fantasy, when you are really following the constructs of your mind, satisfied with mind games, exploring various possibilities, seeking for the truth, but wandering among twisted (and endlessly fascinating) mirrors. For many members of the society the "uncovering of similarities" was a reward enough, and some of them came to the knowledge of God in due time. As for this story, it's average in my opinion, although Le Guin calls Morris "one of the master prose stylists of fantasy in the twentieth century." review: 31-Jul-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- Marina Tsvetaeva Марина Цветаева "Versty. Vol.1" "Версты" ("Mileposts") (poems) © written in 1916 Moscow, 1922 --/ emotion award --/ style award It was a time of universal turmoil, when governments were upturned and literary conventions shaken. In Russia it was a time of creative freedom, experimentation with form and modernization of content. Futurists, avangarde artists, intense intellectuals and aggressive simpletons contributed to the unbelievably varied and refreshing cultural life in Europe. The tragedy of communism loomed ahead, and many creative types felt it. Marina Tsvetaeva (one of the foremost poetic stylists, on par perhaps with Boris Pasternak) wrote beautiful and intense poetry, full of fantasy and surrealistic imagery - I am not sure how her works measure up in English translation, but in Russian it is a storm of pure, lightning-hot emotion... worthy to savour for any connoiseur of fiction "fantastique, strange". review: 31-Jul-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- Robert Louis Stevenson "Treasure Island" (nv) © 1883 Current Publ., 1906 --/ adventure award --/ style award I include this book here as an example of an enchanting adventure in exotic setting, which could just as well be in outer space - as was recently proved by the Disney cartoon "Treasure Planet" (btw, I love its poster, see below). The story itself is timeless, the plot endlessly fascinating. Treasure Hunt against all odds and all (pirate) monsters. By the way, weird fantasy never was too far away from a pirate's lifestyle (see the cool movie series "Pirates of Caribbean", which at times had the same effect on me as a good old issue of "Weird Tales") The year 1906 saw the first "pulp-style" edition (in popular "yellow-back" series) of that novel, making it a true legend among the wide audience, starting the flow of reprints, that will cease probably only when Davy Jones himself will mutter "enough" out of the murky depths. review: 31-Jul-06 (read in 1980) ---------------------------------------------- J. R. R. Tolkien "The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again" (nv) (Lord Of The Rings) (Middle-Earth) © 1937, Allen & Unwin poems also in - Oxford Poetry, 1915 Leeds University Verse, 1924 book: Allen & Unwin, 1937 --all time fantasy novel : 1987 Locus All-Time Poll /2 --fantasy novel (before 1990) : 1998 Locus All-Time Poll /2 --/ third place f novel --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ adventure award --/ style award The early drafts and poems for that book appeared in 1915, providing the first glimpses into Tolkien's magical country of the Shire. More epic poems and "Silmarillion" pieces took shape even earlier, so we can safely say that Tolkien was already "hooked" on Middle-Earth and adventures there, even though "The Hobbit" was not written down until 1935. Here is the review from Rachel Abrams: Much has been written about The Hobbit, from the influence of World War 1 on Tolkien's creation and development of Middle Earth, to literary and stylistic reviews. What is there left for one to say about this, the most charming of Tolkien's works and probably the entire genre? Though it was written for children, it appeals to the "Tookishness" in everyone: that deep down desire for more than just a comfortable hobbit hole - for adventure, and legends of long ago to wake up and invade breakfast. Who wouldn't want to be whisked away without even a handkerchief on some wild adventure? The storyline is not without its faults and a tendency towards "Deus Ex Machina" solutions, but they are carried off with such unapologetic aplomb that one cannot help enjoying every image and word. Tolkien's treatment of human emotion and motivation - filtered through his hobbit and dwarves - is without fault and honest: courage, greed, pride, resourcefulness, wit, humor, despair, love, loyalty and duty are all met and measured. Bilbo, who is so comfortable in his hobbit life that his neighbors don't even have to ask him what his opinions are, finds himself the odd one out among a pack of dwarves and with the awful label of burglar. He "lives up" to this challenge in ways which show his true character and surprises everyone. This book is truly one to curl up with on a February evening when it seems life has dulled into a cramped, damp hobbit-hole... it's always helpful to remember, you could be stuffed in a barrel and dumped in a river. review: 30-Sep-06 (read in 1990) No exactly the Shire from "The Hobbit", but as sparkling and innocent (original unknown; click to enlarge). ---------------------------------------------- Elia W. Peattie "The Crime Of Micah Rood" © 1902, original also in - Dangerous Vegetables, ed. K. Laumer, 1998 --/ cool f story --/ wonder award --/ rare find Who could've known that an exciting fantasy, detailing strange growths in and around abandoned gardens, was published as early as 1902 - with great narrative tension, the overall feel of "Weird Tales" magazine and even some of the "look" of modern-day computer special effects, but here it is. Surprise! I wonder how many other top-notch and imaginative stories are languishing in antique magazine piles, passed over by critics and collectors as a simple "mass-market" entertainment. review: 30-Sep-06 (read in 2004) ---------------------------------------------- Murray Leinster "The Runaway Skyscraper" © Argosy, Feb 1919 Amazing, Jun 1926 Amazing, Feb 1956 Fantastic, Jan 1980 --Pre-1940 short fiction All-Time Poll /25 (tie) --/ fourth place time sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find First Murray Leinster's published story, and already a feast of "wonder-filled" action. Whole Manhattan skyscraper and all its occupants are transported into pre-historic past, and witness some fabulous environment. review: 30-Jun-06 (read in 1997) ---------------------------------------------- Return to the Wonder Timeline

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