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Lumen (Early Classics of Science Fiction)
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$ 19.92
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| Item Number |
93484 |
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Item Description...
Product Description
Lumen was first published by Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) in 1872 as part of the Stories of Infinity collection. Flammarion was a well-known French astronomer, writer and highly successful popularizer of science during the late 19th century.
This famous novel, written in the form of a philosophical dialogue, features a cosmic spirit named Lumen who reveals the scientific wonders of the celestial universe to Quaerens, a young seeker of knowledge. Within its pages, the author mixes empirical observations about the nature and speed of light with vivid speculations about such diverse subjects as reincarnation, time travel, the reversibility of history and the ecospheres of alien planets. Lumen is one of the first science fiction novels to include detailed descriptions of alien life forms and the first to imagine (30 years before Einstein's theory of relativity) the differences in perception that might result from traveling at velocities close to and beyond the speed of light.
This Wesleyan edition is the first English translation of the original French text in over a hundred years. The volume includes notes, appendices and a critical introduction.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 200
Dimensions: Length: 8.58" Width: 5.62" Height: 0.45"
Weight: 0.52 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Publisher Wesleyan
ISBN 0819565687
EAN 9780819565686
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Availability 100 units.
Availability accurate as of May 24, 2012 08:06.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Short But Highly Influential Dec 28, 2005 |
"Lumen" by Camille Flammarion is the third book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series from Wesleyan University Press. First published as part of Flammarion's "Stories of Infinity" collection in 1872, Lumen is one of the first examples of science fiction exploring the different nature of alien life forms. Camille Flammarion was an Astronomer, who helped to popularize science. He was a founder of the Société Astronomique de France and the first president of that organization.
It is the story of conversations between the spirit (Lumen) of a recently deceased man and Quaerens, a still living man who is seeking answers about the nature of the universe. Flammarion touches on subjects such as relativity (before Einstein), the speed of light and sound, the continuation of the human spirit after death, and the variation of alien life forms on different worlds. As one might expect, given the advances in science since it was written, there are certainly many mistakes in his thinking. However, this is still a remarkable work, and one which can be appreciated for its influence on the genre of science fiction. I would not be surprised if Olaf Stapledon had read this, as there are clear similarities between "Lumen" and Stapledon's "Star Maker".
This is a very short work, only 117 pages long, but it is supplemented with a through set of notes, and a superb introduction by Brian Stableford who provided a new translation for this edition. | | | Write your own review about Lumen (Early Classics of Science Fiction)
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