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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
A very bizarre three stars. I love Voltaire and on some things his mind can cut like a razor—- ow! He said many things that do make so much sense to me. Some of his intelligence and wit are immortalized in my most favorite of quotes; but I gotta say— this one is unique. So I’m going for middle ground.
The narrator is the bomb though.
The narrator is the bomb though.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Micromegas is a philosophical short story and one of the earliest science fiction tales. Some might argue that it's not really science fiction, but I beg to differ. True, the only real element of science fiction is in the framework of the story, but I'd argue that this work still counts. After all, every genre has to start somewhere and this supports my soap box rants about why science fiction should be taken more seriously.
Science fiction doesn't always have to be philosophy, but it has been intertwined with it from the start. I'm glad that I read this short, even though it didn't blow me away. If for no other reason than it's impressive that Voltaire was writing about space travel and the different philosophical views between alien species in 1752. This short brings up a lot of questions about life, death, purpose and perspective, that are valuable, even if not explored as much as I would like.
Honestly, I think it may just be a case of judging a book by modern standards. I was already more than familiar with the basics of the philosophical questions Voltaire introduces. I'm a fan of his work in general, so I'm already familiar with most of the commentary directed towards his contemporaries as well. Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't read a bit of philosophy in general, as well as Gulliver's Travels and Flatland first.
Basically, if you don't want the lengthy social satire of Gulliver's Travels and the geometry in Flatland intimidates you, read Micromegas. Though I will say, as I mentioned in my review of Flatlands, it's really not that intimidating.
Science fiction doesn't always have to be philosophy, but it has been intertwined with it from the start. I'm glad that I read this short, even though it didn't blow me away. If for no other reason than it's impressive that Voltaire was writing about space travel and the different philosophical views between alien species in 1752. This short brings up a lot of questions about life, death, purpose and perspective, that are valuable, even if not explored as much as I would like.
Honestly, I think it may just be a case of judging a book by modern standards. I was already more than familiar with the basics of the philosophical questions Voltaire introduces. I'm a fan of his work in general, so I'm already familiar with most of the commentary directed towards his contemporaries as well. Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't read a bit of philosophy in general, as well as Gulliver's Travels and Flatland first.
Basically, if you don't want the lengthy social satire of Gulliver's Travels and the geometry in Flatland intimidates you, read Micromegas. Though I will say, as I mentioned in my review of Flatlands, it's really not that intimidating.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
This short story by Voltaire is actually hilarious and very ahead of its time. Essentially the first sci-fi story ever written, it follows a man-like creature, Micromegas, as he journeys throughout the universe attempting to learn as much as he can while recognizing he can never learn everything.
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
Voltaire basically said,"in the grand scheme of things, humans are infinitesimal and there'll always be more knowledge out there beyond our reach so we have no reason to be full of pride" in 40 pages. Still an interesting one-time read though.
Je vais raconter ingénument comme la chose se passa, sans y rien mettre du mien, ce qui n’est pas un petit effort pour un historien.I maintain a firm belief that had Voltaire been born in the 21st century, he would have become a stand-up comedian.