Robert Duncan Milne

This collection showcases the speculative writing of Scottish-born and California-based writer Robert Duncan Milne (1844-99) whose works mark him as one of the forgotten pioneers of early science fiction. Hailed as the first full-time science fiction writer in America, this critical edition draws together the most expansive collection of his writing ever published and places his life, works and themes into their historical, literary and scientific contexts. With his writing touching on nearly every subset of the genre, including climate catastrophe, utopia, cryogenics, molecular re-engineering of the body, personality transfer, drone warfare, remote surveillance, and satellite phones, this book offers an overdue correction to the science fiction canon. Grouped thematically and with volume and story introductions that connect Milne’s work to his peers and science fiction scholarship, this is the essential guide to a crucially overlooked writer. Astonishingly prescient and fulfilling the missing link in science fiction literary history that bridges the gap between the likes of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, Milne makes clear the often-obscured contribution of both Scotland and California in the development of the science fiction genre.

Eleven classic stories of adventure, exploration, and extreme zoology as humanity discovers there are things that bump, growl, and bite in the darkness. From Robert Duncan Milne's 'The Iguanodon' (1882), a tale of prehistoric resurrection in the jungles of Papua, to invisible horrors from remote outposts, ghastly creatures from the sea, and other strange, sometimes unearthly, beasts, people find that Nature has plenty of surprises in store.