A review by dknippling
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

4.0

A future history of mankind spanning billions of years.

If The Worm Ouroboros was a turning point in fantasy, Last and First Men seems to have a similar place in SF. I can't count the number of later novel seeds I spotted. This is brilliant.

However, it's also barely readable, ponderously pedantic and preachy, and I skimmed a lot. It's like people had to write inventive reactions to this book, just to give a tiny fraction of an idea here or there from Last and First Men room to breathe.

Recommended for SF writers. This is one long writing prompt.