The Science Fiction of Mark Twain (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Mark Twain
- First Published: 1984
- Type of Work: Collected works
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—cultural exploration
- Time of Work: Various
- Setting: Real and imaginary worlds
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Other worlds, Suffrage or voting rights, Disasters, Earthquakes, Natural disasters, Asteroids, comets, or meteors
- Locales: Fictional planets
The Plot
The fifteen selections in this collection, edited by David Ketterer, are grouped under three headings. “Whimsical Wonders” includes two sketches that Mark Twain wrote during his early years in the West. “Petrified Man” (written as a hoax in 1862) describes a stone human figure discovered in western Nevada. After a local judge holds an inquest, the jury rules that the deceased died from protracted exposure. “Earthquake Almanac” (1865) predicts the end of the world, advising readers on how to prepare for this event.
Responding to public anxiety about a...
[The entire page is 1092 words long]
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