Crazy Literary Fact of the Day: The First Science-Fiction Work

Jeevan Sivasubramaniam Posted by Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Managing Director, Editorial, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.



There is a surviving fantasy novel written in the 2nd century AD by Lucian of Samosata (in Roman Syria) that features explorers flying to the moon, a first encounter with aliens, interplanetary war between imperialistic celestial kingdoms, and the discovery of a continent across the ocean. It is considered to be the first true work of science fiction/fantasy.