The last and the first people
The last and the first people (original title: Last and First Men ) is a science fiction novel by the English author Olaf Stapledon . In the novel, first published in 1930, which is still considered one of the classics of science fiction literature, Stapledon describes the history of mankind over a period of 2 billion years. Together with the books Last Men in London and Der Sternenmacher (original title: Star Maker ) the novel forms the Future History / Last Men series.
In addition to German, the book has also been translated into Italian ( Infinito ), Dutch ( Laatste en Eerste Mensen ), French ( Les derniers et les premiers ) and Hungarian ( Az utolsó és az első emberek ).
content
In this novel, Olaf Stapeldon designs a future in which humanity as a whole continues to develop over 18 different stages of development. The human of our time represents the first stage of development - the first humans. The novel is written from the point of view of one of the last people to explore these first people. Socrates and Jesus are portrayed as the high points of the development of this human race. It describes how later stages of humanity conquered space. For example, the fifth humans are terraforming on Venus, while the ninth humans are specially created so that they can survive on Neptune. Overall, the development of mankind is described as a positive evolution towards greater wisdom.
reception
The novel, which was a sensation when it first appeared, developed various themes and concepts that the basis for important developments in the genres are science fiction. This is e.g. B. the idea of terraforming , but also the concept of human adaptation to an environment, which later became an important topos of the genre under the heading of genetic engineering . The genre itself was still foreign to Olaf Stapeldon when he wrote the novel. However, it was celebrated early on by the then developing SF fan base. The American journal for science fiction and fantasy, Locus , included the novel several times under various categories in the shortlist for the best book of all time.
“When LAFM burst upon the literary scene like a nova in 1930, it was met with applause from a remarkably wide range of reviewers. ... It was also singled out for praise by a failed politician, at that time trying to make a living by his pen: one Winston Churchill. "
“When 'The Last and the First' hit the literary scene like a nova in 1930, it received applause from an astonishingly wide audience of reviewers. ... A failed politician who was trying to make money writing at the time also selected this book for high praise: a certain Winston Churchill. "
expenditure
- The Last and First Men , 1983, ISBN 3-453-30960-X , Last and First Men , 1930
- The Last and First Men , 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-70362-8 , Last and First Men , 1930
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stapledon, Olaf. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, accessed August 3, 2015 .
- ^ Olaf Stapledon - Award Bibliography. Internet Speculative Fiction Database, accessed August 3, 2015 .
- ^ Robert Crossley: Last and first man of vision. Times Higher Education, January 20, 1995, accessed August 3, 2015 .