Last and First Men
Olaf Stapledon · 1930
A history of humanity across two billion years and eighteen successor species. Stapledon invented cosmic SF in 1930, and this novel remains the most audacious thought experiment in the genre's history. Clarke, Asimov, and Le Guin all cited it as a direct influence.
The case against
Stapledon offers two billion years and not one character; this is a history textbook from the future, narrated at the altitude of a weather satellite. The opening chapters, his near-future guesses, aged worst: national stereotypes parading as anthropology, a coming American-Chinese world order argued with straight-faced confidence. You skim those to reach the grandeur, and skimming becomes a habit.
Science Fiction & Fantasy · the Pro canon
The case for it and the rest of the canon open with Pro.
if this one calls to you, so will these →
