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ederwin's review
4.0
Early SF stories from Irish writers. Some good, some 'meh'. There is not much that seems particularly "Irish" about most of the stories, despite the fact that the final 3 were originally written in the Irish language. (Translated by the editor.) Even so, a few do mention specific bits of Irish history, and one is concerned with emigration and a longing for home. About half of the stories are by women.
The New Frankenstein. William Maginn, 1837. Really bad story. Concerned with what would happen if Frankenstein's monster were intelligent and able to talk. But, that was already true in the original! Did he not read it?
The Diamond Lens. Fitz-James O'Brien, 1858. The most famous story in the book, but not the best. A scientist casually commits murder to get a diamond to make a super microscope and then finds a beautiful woman inside a drop of water.
The Age of Science (abridged). Frances Power Cobbe, 1877. Excerpts from future newspapers show that when "Science reigns supreme over human affairs," things can go wrong. Partly funny, partly chilling. Incineration chambers can't keep up with the bodies "despatched by Euthanasia". Dogs are almost extinct since each vivisector experiments on an average of 14,000 each. Fiction is judged mainly by how well it can relate the characters actions to physics.
The Story of a Star. Æ (George William Russel), 1894. Elon Musk wasn't the first to think it is cool to have a name like "Æ". Metaphysical musings on the nature of the universe. Similar to Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, but mercifully shorter.
[b:Mercia, the Astronomer Royal: A Romance|26988992|Mercia, the Astronomer Royal A Romance (Classic Reprint)|Amelia Garland Mears|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545351671l/26988992._SX50_.jpg|59957622] (excerpt). Amelia Garland Mears, 1895. This excerpt involves a situation where the emperor sexually harasses the royal astronomer. She ultimately triumphs. But this forcefully makes the point that even in a future where women have the same rights and respect as men, they'll still need to defend those rights.
The Professor's Experiment. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, 1895. A mad scientist creates a potion to put someone into suspended animation. He unethically tests it on a woman who wants to kill herself. Luckily, it works out for the best.
An Advance sheet. Jane Barlow, 1898. Considers the possibility of infinitely many worlds where there is one where you made decision A and one where you made decision B. Basically the same idea as "Many Worlds Theory", but without invoking Quantum Mechanics, which was unknown at the time. (Are there earlier examples of this idea?)
The Luck of Pitsey Hall (excerpt). L.T. Meade (Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith) and Robert Eustace, 1899. Chapter 4 from [b:The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings|6234478|The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings|L.T. Meade|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357918019l/6234478._SY75_.jpg|6417141]. Perfectly enjoyable pulp fiction story of a detective, probably capitalizing on the popularity of Sherlock Holmes. In this case, the evil scientist is a woman. Many chapters can stand alone.
Lady Clanbevan's Baby. Clotilde Graves, 1915. A lady gets what she wants from the mad scientist, no matter the cost.
The Great Beast of Kafue. Clotilde Graves, 1917. A hunter tells of when he discovered a sad dinosaur, the last of his kind, in Rhodesia.
The Sorcerer. Charlotte McManus, 1922. A scientist studies a magical cure. Unlike the other stories, this has an Ireland-specific feeling and uses some local vocabulary.
A Story Without an End. Dorothy Macardle, 1922. A woman talks of dreams she has had that have come true, and another dream which she worries might come true. Deals specifically with Irish history, which is not surprising since she wrote it while in jail for activities against the treaty that split Ireland it two pieces.
A Vision [Aisling]. Art Ó Riain, 1927. A very brief story where a scientist creates a device that allows seeing into the future.
The Chronoton [An Cianadóir]. Tarlach Ó hUid, 1946. A time travel story raising the issue of the "grandfather paradox". That idea has been done better many times.
The Exile [An Deorai]. Cathal Ó Sándair, 1960. An Irish man emigrates to the moon for a better future. Is homesick. Not bad.
The New Frankenstein. William Maginn, 1837. Really bad story. Concerned with what would happen if Frankenstein's monster were intelligent and able to talk. But, that was already true in the original! Did he not read it?
The Diamond Lens. Fitz-James O'Brien, 1858. The most famous story in the book, but not the best. A scientist casually commits murder to get a diamond to make a super microscope and then finds a beautiful woman inside a drop of water.
The Age of Science (abridged). Frances Power Cobbe, 1877. Excerpts from future newspapers show that when "Science reigns supreme over human affairs," things can go wrong. Partly funny, partly chilling. Incineration chambers can't keep up with the bodies "despatched by Euthanasia". Dogs are almost extinct since each vivisector experiments on an average of 14,000 each. Fiction is judged mainly by how well it can relate the characters actions to physics.
The Story of a Star. Æ (George William Russel), 1894. Elon Musk wasn't the first to think it is cool to have a name like "Æ". Metaphysical musings on the nature of the universe. Similar to Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, but mercifully shorter.
[b:Mercia, the Astronomer Royal: A Romance|26988992|Mercia, the Astronomer Royal A Romance (Classic Reprint)|Amelia Garland Mears|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545351671l/26988992._SX50_.jpg|59957622] (excerpt). Amelia Garland Mears, 1895. This excerpt involves a situation where the emperor sexually harasses the royal astronomer. She ultimately triumphs. But this forcefully makes the point that even in a future where women have the same rights and respect as men, they'll still need to defend those rights.
The Professor's Experiment. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, 1895. A mad scientist creates a potion to put someone into suspended animation. He unethically tests it on a woman who wants to kill herself. Luckily, it works out for the best.
An Advance sheet. Jane Barlow, 1898. Considers the possibility of infinitely many worlds where there is one where you made decision A and one where you made decision B. Basically the same idea as "Many Worlds Theory", but without invoking Quantum Mechanics, which was unknown at the time. (Are there earlier examples of this idea?)
The Luck of Pitsey Hall (excerpt). L.T. Meade (Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith) and Robert Eustace, 1899. Chapter 4 from [b:The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings|6234478|The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings|L.T. Meade|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357918019l/6234478._SY75_.jpg|6417141]. Perfectly enjoyable pulp fiction story of a detective, probably capitalizing on the popularity of Sherlock Holmes. In this case, the evil scientist is a woman. Many chapters can stand alone.
Lady Clanbevan's Baby. Clotilde Graves, 1915. A lady gets what she wants from the mad scientist, no matter the cost.
The Great Beast of Kafue. Clotilde Graves, 1917. A hunter tells of when he discovered a sad dinosaur, the last of his kind, in Rhodesia.
The Sorcerer. Charlotte McManus, 1922. A scientist studies a magical cure. Unlike the other stories, this has an Ireland-specific feeling and uses some local vocabulary.
A Story Without an End. Dorothy Macardle, 1922. A woman talks of dreams she has had that have come true, and another dream which she worries might come true. Deals specifically with Irish history, which is not surprising since she wrote it while in jail for activities against the treaty that split Ireland it two pieces.
A Vision [Aisling]. Art Ó Riain, 1927. A very brief story where a scientist creates a device that allows seeing into the future.
The Chronoton [An Cianadóir]. Tarlach Ó hUid, 1946. A time travel story raising the issue of the "grandfather paradox". That idea has been done better many times.
The Exile [An Deorai]. Cathal Ó Sándair, 1960. An Irish man emigrates to the moon for a better future. Is homesick. Not bad.
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