I admit, when I got a smartphone in 2014 or so (yes, I held out that long), my reading of actual books fell off a cliff. I’m trying to fix that though. I recently started The Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon. It’s an epic sci-fi book written in 1930’s England, that purports to be a message sent back to us, the first race of man, from our descendants 2 billion years in the future. It’s full of interesting ideas, some of which remain prescient and vital, and some of which are hopelessly ‘of their time’. What is noteworthy is the quality of the writing. Sci-fi authors are not usually known for their literary skills. The language deployed by Asimov, Bradbury, Clark, et al is usually practical and economical. One does not often look to descriptions of robotic servants or space battles to find nice turns of phrase. Here though, it’s clear that the ‘authors’ of the message (as well as Stapledon himself) wish to make an emotional, as well as rational appeal to the reader, and the language reflects that beautifully.
This book was, improbably, made into a film directed and scored by Jóhann Jóhannsson. Worth checking out.
