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Any topics dealing with SF books, stories or whatever originating before 1920 to 1940

SF Authors by Period Lists
This list shouldn't be considered complete nor is it strictly limited to influential SF authors & editors. I tried to list some of their best known & most influential works, contributions, &/or description. Basically, it's a quick cheat sheet to help recognize authors common to this group, although not every entry can be nominated for a group read.

Don't take the dates as gospel. They're roughly accurate for the majority of their SF works & you may find one or two outside them. In front of their names, I put how many books &/or short stories we've read by them in this group as of Jan2019.

Pay attention to death dates. Many authors have works repackaged, so the first publishing date is long after their deaths. For the purposes of group reads, we try to use the period in which the work was written even though we often rely on publishing dates.

For further details, you can click on the author & book links to see what GoodReads has on them or check out the following.
Fantastic Fiction
Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB)
The Ultimate Science Fiction Web Guide

This topic is locked. If you'd like to comment, please do so in the SF or Influential Authors topic.

Pre 1920: The Proto Era

# books
group read --- Author's name --- Writing period --- Comments

A

1 - Edwin A. Abbott (1880s-1900s) - Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

- J.H. Rosny Aîné (1880s-1930s, died 1940) - Best known SF novel is Ironcastle, translated by Philip José Farmer. Also wrote Quest for Fire.



B

- Edward Bellamy (1880s-1898 died) - Best known for Looking Backward: 2000-1887 & Equality.

- Ambrose Bierce (1870s-1910s) - mostly horror/weird & short stories.

1 - Edgar Rice Burroughs (1910s-1950) - Tarzan, Barsoom, Pellucidar, & Venus series plus.



D

- Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1859-1890s, died 1889) French author of mostly mystery & horror. Tomorrow's Eve is SF.

1 - Arthur Conan Doyle (1880s-1920s) - Best known for Sherlock Holmes, he also wrote The Lost World & other Professor Challengers stories.



H

1 - William Hope Hodgson (1900s-1910s died in WWI) - we read The House on the Borderland, speculative/horror fiction.



L

- André Laurie (1870s-1900s, died 1907) - The Conquest of the Moon. Also wrote with Jules Verne.

- Murray Leinster (1910s-1970s) - The Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his story, “Sidewise in Time.� He also wrote westerns, mysteries, & more. Best known for his Med Ship series & many short stories.

1 - Jack London (1900s-1916 died) - Best known for his Yukon & Pacific Island stories, he also wrote The Iron Heel which we read in this group.


M

- A. Merritt (1910s-1940s) - SF & fantasy. Best known for The Moon Pool.

- Robert Duncan Milne (1870s-1890s) - best known for Into the Sun & Other Stories.

- Edward Page Mitchell (1870s-1880s, died 1927) - best known for The Clock That Went Backwards, a time travel story that predated The Time Machine. Wrote speculative & horror short stories.



P

- Edgar Allan Poe (1830s-1840s, died 1849) - proto SF, mostly short stories.



S

1 - M.P. Shiel (1890s-1930s, died 1947) - we read The Purple Cloud, his most popular novel in this group.

- Clark Ashton Smith (1910-1960s, died 1961) - best known for his contributions to Weird Tales. He wrote many short stories & has 2 novels, although both were published 40 years after his death.

- Robert Louis Stevenson (1870s-1890s, died 1894) - best known SF work is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

- Jonathan Swift (1700s, died 1745) - some consider Gulliver's Travels proto SF.



V

3 - Jules Verne (1850s-1900s) - Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, & his short storyIn the Year 2889.

- Voltaire - Micromegas (1753) is a proto SF short story.

Pre 1940: The Pulp Era

# books

group read --- Author's name --- Writing period --- Comments

A

- J.H. Rosny Aîné (1880s-1930s, died 1940) - Best known SF novel is Ironcastle, translated by Philip José Farmer. Also wrote Quest for Fire.

3 - Isaac Asimov (1939-1990s) - Foundation, I, Robot, & many more



B

- Edwin Balmer (1920s-1930s, died 1959) - Best known for coauthoring When Worlds Collide with Philip Wylie. Also wrote mysteries & other genres.

- Alexander Belyaev (1920s-1930s, died 1942) - best known works translated to English are The Amphibian & Professor Dowell's Head.

- Mikhail Bulgakov (1920s-1930s, died 1940) - The Fatal Eggs (1923) is his only SF novel that I know of.

- Katharine Burdekin (1920s-1930s) - Best known for Swastika Night, Proud Man, & The End of This Day's Business, her few books deal with fascist worlds of the future. (aka Murray Constantine)

1 - Edgar Rice Burroughs (1910s-1950) - Tarzan, Barsoom, Pellucidar, & Venus series plus.



C

- John W. Campbell Jr. (1930s-1970s) - Who Goes There? (The Thing movies) & others. Very influential editor 1940s-1960s.

1 - Karel Capek (1920s-1940) - R.U.R. (Robots), War with the Newts, & more.

1 - Arthur Conan Doyle (1880s-1920s) - Best known for Sherlock Holmes, he also wrote The Lost World & other Professor Challengers stories.


G

- Hugo Gernsback (1910s-1950s) - Namesake of the Hugo award. Coined the term Science Fiction. He did write several novels, but is chiefly remembered for giving SF writers a place to publish.





H

- Edmond Hamilton (1920s-1970s) - Prolific space opera & other SF. Wrote the Captain Future series & Starwolf trilogy plus others such as City at World's End & The Valley of Creation. Married to Leigh Brackett.

- Clare Winger Harris (1920s) Possibly the first woman to publish SF under her own name, 11 stories collected in Away from the Here and Now: Stories in Pseudo-Science.

1 - Thea von Harbou (1900s-1950s) - best known for writing the screen play of Metropolis by her husband, Fritz Lang. Most books in German.

- Henry Hasse (1930s-1970s) - best known for his short stories. One novel, "The Stars Will Wait" (1968) is in the ISFDB, but not on GR.

1 - James Hilton (1920s-1950s) - Lost Horizon (1930) is speculative fiction that we read. Best known for Good-Bye, Mr. Chips which was also made into a movie. (Not to be confused with James Hilton, a new thriller author.)

1 - William Hope Hodgson (1900s-1910s died in WWI) - we read The House on the Borderland, speculative/horror fiction.

- Robert E. Howard (1920s-1936, died 1936) - best known for his Conan stories which are S&S. Also wrote in many other genres (boxing, humor, historical, & more) including SF, although most are short stories that are difficult to get. He also corresponded with many authors of his time (Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, Robert Bloch, H.P. Lovecraft, & more. Many works published well after his death.

- L. Ron Hubbard (1930s-1980s) He died in 1986, but many books were published well after his death. Best known for creating the Church of Scientology & Dianetics. Also an SF author & editor. "Mission Earth" is his only series plus many standalones. He also edited many anthologies in the "Writers of the Future". Good friends with both John W. Campbell Jr. & A.E. van Vogt.

- Aldous Huxley (1920s-1950s) - best known for Brave New World & Island utopian societies. He also wrote nonfiction & poetry.


J

- Carl Jacobi (1920s-1990s) - horror, fantasy, crime, & SF short stories.



K

- Joseph E. Kelleam (1930s-1970s) - short stories & space opera, Hunters Out of Space.

- David H. Keller (1920s-1960s) - a psychiatrist & his stories reflect that. He wrote both novels & short stories.

- Otis Adelbert Kline (1920s-1930s) - wrote & edited 'weird' tales, had a feud with Edgar Rice Burroughs, very similar writing. Agent for Robert E. Howard.

- C.M. Kornbluth (1930s-1950s, died 1958) - best known for his short stories, especially The Little Black Bag, he also wrote novels, some coauthored with Frederik Pohl.

- Henry Kuttner (1930s-1950s, died 1958) - many short stories & novels alone & with his wife C.L. Moore (1930s - 1980s, died 1987). Also wrote as Lewis Padgett & other pseudonyms. Who wrote what is often a matter of discussion since it's believed she wrote several stories published under his name. Very prolific & influential team.
L

- Fritz Leiber (1930s-1990s, died 1992) - coined the term Sword & Socerey (S&S). Most famous for his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series (S&S), he also wrote horror & SF both novels & short stories. The Wanderer & The Big Time are his best known SF books.

- Murray Leinster (1910s-1970s) - The Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his story, “Sidewise in Time.� He also wrote westerns, mysteries, & more. Best known for his Med Ship series & many short stories.

1 - C.S. Lewis (1930s-1960s) - essayist & Christian apologist, he's best known for his Narnia (fantasy) & Cosmic trilogy (SF) that stars with Out of the Silent Planet.

1 - David Lindsay (1920s-1930s, died 1945) - best known for A Voyage to Arcturus which we read in this group.

- Amelia Reynolds Long (1930s) - She primarily wrote SF short stories in & around the 1930s. Also a mystery & 'weird' fiction author.

- Frank Belknap Long (1930s-1970s, died 1994) - horror, fantasy, & SF, often a mix. Best known for his short stories, although he published almost 30 novels. Died broke.

- Robert A.W. Lowndes (1930s-1970s, died 1998) - His best known novel is Mystery of the Third Mine & he wrote many short stories. Edited many SF magazines.



M

- A. Merritt (1910s-1940s) - SF & fantasy. Best known for The Moon Pool.

- P. Schuyler Miller (1930s-1970s, died 1974) - short SF & critic/reviewer.

- C.L. Moore (1930s - 1980s, died 1987) - wrote alone & with her husband Henry Kuttner. Who wrote what is often a matter of discussion since it's believed she wrote several stories published under his name. Very prolific & influential team.

# books

group read --- Author's name --- Writing period --- Comments

N

- Philip Francis Nowlan (1930s, died 1940) - created Buck Rogers. Armageddon 2419 A.D., The Airlords of Han, & Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Vol. 1: 1929-1931 are his most popular books.



O

1 - E.V. Odle (1923) - The Clockwork Man is his only published novel known for the first appearance of a cyborg.

- Bob Olsen (1920s-1950s, died 1956) - space opera: Captain Brink of the Space Marines & The Four Dimensional Escape: A Fourth-Dimensional Short Science Fiction Story.



P

- Lewis Padgett (1930s-1950s, died 1958) - pseudonym for Henry Kuttner &/or his wife C.L. Moore. Who wrote what is often a matter of discussion since it's believed she wrote several stories published under his name. Very prolific & influential team.

- E. Hoffmann Price (1920s-1980s, died 1988) - best known for his short stories & as an editor, toward the end of his life he wrote almost a dozen novels. Operation Misfit is the first of his only SF novel series, "Operation".



R

- Ayn Rand (1930s-1950s, died 1982) - best known for her philosophy 'objectivism', Anthem & Atlas Shrugged are her only 2 SF works.

- Duane Rimel (1930s-1980s, died 1996) - best known for his short stories, he only wrote one novel "Time Swap" (1969) as 'Rex Weldon'. The author Rex Weldon is associated with porn books on GR. Duane W. Rimel is associated with Lovecraft, which seems correct, but also with a porn book.

- Eric Frank Russell (1930s-1970s, died 1978) - Best known for his short stories, his novel Wasp & Sinister Barrier.


S

1 - M.P. Shiel (1890s-1930s, died 1947) - we read The Purple Cloud, his most popular novel in this group.

1 - Clifford D. Simak (1930s-1980s, died 1988) - Way Station & City are his most popular SF novels. Wrote many short stories & fantasy.

- Clark Ashton Smith (1910-1960s, died 1961) - best known for his contributions to Weird Tales. He wrote many short stories & has 2 novels, although both were published 40 years after his death.

- E.E. "Doc" Smith (1920s-1960s, died 1965) - Best known for his Lensman & Skylark series. His work was appended by several other authors decades after his death.

- Olaf Stapledon (1930s-1940s, died 1950) - very influential for his sweeping galactic viewpoint in Star Maker & Last and First Men which was new at the time.

1 - Theodore Sturgeon (1930s-1980s, died 1985) - We've read his most popular book More Than Human. He's also well known for his short stories & the novels Venus Plus X, The Dreaming Jewels, & The Cosmic Rape. A good friend of Robert A. Heinlein. They belonged to the same nudist colony.



T

- J.R.R. Tolkien (1930s-1970s, died 1973) - fantasy author, best known for The Hobbit or There and Back Again & The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Very influential for epic storytelling across genres.


W

- Donald Wandrei (1920s-1980s, died 1987) - SF, fantasy, & weird stories, often a mix such as in The Web of Easter Island.

- Stanley G. Weinbaum (1930s, died 1935) - almost all his works published about or after his death. Mostly known for his short stories, The Black Flame is the most popular of his 3 novels.

- Manly Wade Wellman (1920s-1980s, died 1986) - mostly known for fantasy, horror, & weird fiction, The Beyonders is one of his few SF novels.

- Jack Williamson (1930s-1990s, died 2006) - His most influential novel is probably The Humanoids which is one of his most popular along with ".Darker Than You Think & The Legion of Space. He wrote many others & a lot of short stories. He is credited with coining the terms "genetic engineering" & "terraforming. Very influential on other authors as outlined in The Williamson Effect, an anthology in which some of the best authors contributed stories & tell how he influenced them.

- Philip Wylie (1930s-1970s, died 1971) - Best known for When Worlds Collide which was made into the 1951 movie, he also wrote Gladiator which is what Superman & pretty much ever comic hero ever after was based on.

- John Wyndham (1930s-1960s, died 1969) - best known for The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids, & The Midwich Cuckoos all of which have been made into movies. Very prolific both novels & short stories.



Z

1 - Yevgeny Zamyatin (1920s, died 1937) - Best known for We which we read.