One more for 2011:
This article in The Economist points out that Hugo Gernsback’s Ralph 124C41+ (one to foresee for one) was published 100 years ago. The article calls it “arguably the first major work of American science fiction.” Well, no. There were a lots of examples of American SF before that, as both the late Everett Bleiler and the very much alive Jess Nevins could point to no end of antecedent examples. But Ralph 124C41+ is probably the first novel overwhelmingly concerned with the idea that technology will change almost every aspect of the quotidian lives of ordinary people. In weird way it’s sort of a cyberpunk precursor. That’s why, for all the clumsy prose, the “As you know Bob” infodumps, the hackneyed romance-and-rescue plot, and the paper thin characters, the work remains a cornerstone of American science fiction.
That said, it’s not for everyone. It isn’t quite unreadable (I like it a bit better than Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto), but it’s close. Today its importance is entirely historical, and only real students of the field should give it a try. (I was quite surprised when Charlie Brown admitted he hadn’t read it on a panel we were on at the 2006 Worldcon in Anaheim.)
(Hat tip: Locus Online.)
Tags: Books, cyberpunk, Hugo Gernsback, Science Fiction