Later described as "the lost giant of American science fiction," Edward Page Mitchell wrote many science fiction and fantasy short stories in the 1870's to 1890's, nearly all of which were published anonymously in the The Sun daily newspaper of New York. Mitchell was editor-in-chief of The Sun and was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board for many years.Mitchell introduced many technological and social predictions which were daring for the time, prior to similar pr...

Science Fiction is usually thought of as a modern genre, something that could only be ‘invented’ in these more modern times where technology and imagination combine to bring us thrilling stories. That, of course, is true, but these authors in the 19th Century were far ahead of their own times, and perhaps, still of ours.

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestio

There is something about the number 3.The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two.Most religions also have 3 this and 3 that and, of course, in these mo

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?The theme ...

To know the future is perhaps the most fabled of wishes.In this volume we present a roll-call of classic authors including H P Lovecraft, H G Wells, Mary Shelley, Lewis Carroll, Jack London and many others who short story by short story establish much of what today is science fact. From space travel, the Internet, robots and cyborgs to voice control, organ transplants, mobile phones, these are just a few of the amazing and bewildering predictions that together bring a unique yet in...

This early work by Edward Page Mitchell was originally published in 1878 and we are now republishing it as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Devilish Rat' is a short story about flesh stripping rodents. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fan...

Later described as "the lost giant of American science fiction," Edward Page Mitchell wrote many science fiction and fantasy short stories in the 1870's to 1890's, nearly all of which were published anonymously in the The Sun daily newspaper of New York. Mitchell was editor-in-chief of The Sun and was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board for many years.Mitchell introduced many technological and social predictions which were daring for the time, prior to similar predictions by famou...

If you had a time machine for when would you go? To travel through time as if it were a highway is an ancient dream of mankind. The first stories of time travelers go back to the beginning of civilizations, being found in Hindu, Jewish and Japanese mythologies. But it was with science fiction that the concept became popular and began to inhabit the dreams of all of us. In this book you will find seven classics of time travel specially selected by the critic August Nemo. For more books with...

In this series we listen to short stories that are NOT by perhaps the most well-known author of this type. But the many other rich talents in the volume may have treated the subject matter a little differently, or were perhaps just overlooked in the stampede to applaud the winner, but these authors are of equal merit.Each of their works is laden with talent, has purpose, and is rich and textured in this gloried niche of literature.01 - Classic Sci-Fi Stories Not by Isaac As...

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestion from an everyday event?Perhaps in the case of their darker, more malevolent stories, other forces are at work. They help to nourish single words into sentences and paragraphs that ease themselves from the shadows and are sudden...

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society.In literature the ambition is much narrower. In order to be known, to be popular, you had to be published. And for that people had to know you existed and your ideas worth reading. Obviously for most of humanity’s time people couldn’t read and texts couldn’t be publishe...