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.
- Current Mood:
relaxed
Comments
Love the poem.
I am going to put together a brief blurb on each of the stories I've read so far, just to chat a bit about my impressions of it.