Humans have long wondered what life on another planet might be like or how different kinds of technology might affect life on Earth. Stories that address such questions are known as science fiction. Developed mainly in the 20th century, science fiction ranges from stories based on scientific facts to the most far-fetched of ideas. While this literature seeks largely to entertain, much of it also tries to provide insight into society and human nature.

Beginnings

Science fiction was made possible by the advances in the sciences—especially astronomy and physics—that began in the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period in Europe characterized by a rebirth of classical learning and values. This movement lasted from about the 15th through the 17th century and was a time of great discovery and invention. Among these inventions was the telescope, which allowed people to look at the sky and consider the possibility of other worlds and civilizations.

By the 18th century, elements of science fiction had appeared in a number of books. Gulliver's Travels, published in 1726 by Irish writer Jonathan Swift, featured strange alien creatures. Micromégas, published by the French writer Voltaire in 1752, imagined a trip to the moon. But the first book to be called a true science-fiction work was Frankenstein (1817) by English author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. The novel deals with the ability of science to do what seems impossible—create a new species of life.

Later in the 19th century French writer Jules Verne raised science fiction to new heights. Verne focused on magnificent machines and exploration of the unknown in his Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870). His work paved the way for the writing of English author H.G. Wells, who many consider the key figure in science fiction. Wells wrote science-fiction stories during the late 1800s and early 1900s. In some of his most notable novels, such as The Time Machine (1895) and War of the Worlds (1898), he dealt with the future possibilities of technology.

Early 20th century

Following the popularity of the writings of H.G. Wells, science fiction went in two directions until the late 1930s. In Europe, a small number of talented writers created classics that are still read today. In the United States most science fiction was published in cheap magazines and written by dozens of writers for large audiences. Europe produced a more serious kind of science fiction because it had just gone through the tragedy of World War I (1914–18). The United States, relatively untouched by the war, created fantasy stories that were more hopeful and uplifting.

Two of the leading European authors were Yevgeny Zamyatin in Russia and Karel Capek in Czechoslovakia. Zamyatin was an engineer who had been imprisoned for his political views. His 1924 work We painted a horrifying vision of the future under the increasingly strict regime in the Soviet Union. Capek wrote several novels and plays, but he will be remembered mostly for the play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots, 1921). Through the play Capek gave English the word robot. In the play the human-appearing robots learn enough from people to gain power over them. In England, Aldous Huxley produced one of the great anti-technology novels, Brave New World (1932). It portrays a society in which scientific advancement has all but erased individuality and free thought.

In the United States the development of science fiction was left mostly to pulp magazines. They were given this name because of the cheap quality of their paper. There were many such magazines. However, two editors made significant contributions in promoting science fiction: Hugo Gernsback and John W. Campbell, Jr. Gernsback was an immigrant from Luxembourg who in 1926 founded Amazing Stories magazine. The stories were at the time not viewed as serious literature. In 1937, John Campbell became editor of another science fiction magazine, Astounding Stories. By 1939 he was publishing stories by such notable newcomers as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.

The works of Asimov and Heinlein gained new respect for science fiction. It began to be considered serious literature in the United States. By the late 1940s, respectable scientific magazines had replaced the pulps. They included The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Galaxy Science Fiction.

Post World War II

Following World War II (1939–45), science fiction found new material in the age's technological advances and came into its own as a serious literary form. From the 1940s to the late 1960s, science fiction literature grew in popularity as it addressed a number of political, economic, and psychological themes. The fiction of this period explored the possibility of alien invasion, time travel, and other fantastic events.

Science fiction soon became the subject of movies and television as well. The television series Star Trek, about a crew exploring the far reaches of space, attracted a dedicated following during the late 1960s. Millions of fans continue to watch reruns of the show as well as newer versions of the series. Science fiction began its rise in popularity at the box office in 1968, with the release of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie was based on a short story by science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. Science fiction movies became even more popular, however, nearly a decade later with the release of George Lucas' epic Star Wars (1977).

While science fiction's popularity grew through television and the movies, several science fiction writers continued to gain large followings as well. The author Isaac Asimov wrote monthly essays in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine from 1959 through 1992 in addition to hundreds of books of both science fiction and science facts. The fiction of fellow American Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., often explored the dark side of scientific and technological progress. Other notable science fiction writers of the postwar era included A.E. Van Vogt, J.G. Ballard, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. LeGuin, Frederik Pohl, Octavia E. Butler, and Brian Aldiss.