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    Watch the Sky
    Watch the Sky
    Watch the Sky
    Ebook41 pages34 minutes

    Watch the Sky

    By James H. Schmitz

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This is a classic science fiction short story by James H. Schmitz and illustrated by Brotman. The following passage is part of its intriguing intro:
    'It's one thing to try to get away with what you believe to be a lie and be caught at it—
    and something different, and far worse
    sometimes, to find it isn't a lie ...'
    This work is part of our Vintage Sci-Fi Classics Series, a series in which we are republishing some of the best stories in the genre by some of its most acclaimed authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Robert Sheckley.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherVintage Sci-Fi Classics
    Release dateMar 16, 2018
    ISBN9781528781862
    Watch the Sky
    Author

    James H. Schmitz

    James Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911 – April 18, 1981) was an American science fiction writer born in Hamburg, Germany of American parents. Schmitz wrote mostly short stories, which sold chiefly to Galaxy Science Fiction and Astounding Science-Fiction (which later became Analog Science Fiction and Fact). Gale Biography in Context called him "a craftsman-like writer who was a steady contributor to science fiction magazines for over 20 years." (Wikipedia)

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      Book preview

      Watch the Sky - James H. Schmitz

      1.png

      WATCH THE SKY

      BY

      JAMES H. SCHMITZ

      Copyright © 2017 Read Books Ltd.

      This book is copyright and may not be

      reproduced or copied in any way without

      the express permission of the publisher in writing

      An Introduction to the

      History of Science Fiction

      The origins of the literary genre of science fiction continue to be hotly debated. Some scholars cite recognisable themes as appearing in the first known work of recorded literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh, (2000 BCE). Science fiction writer, Pierre Versins (1923-2001), argues that this ancient Sumerian epic poem should be included in the genre due to how it deals with the subjects of human reason and the quest for immortality. It also contains a flood scene that can be seen as resembling apocalyptic science fiction. However, other experts in the field prefer to limit the genre’s scope to the period following the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, claiming that it was only possible to write science fiction once certain major discoveries in astronomy, mathematics, and physics had been made. Wherever we decide to put the pin in the timeline, it is clear that many of the tropes of what is generally considered to be science fiction have sparked the imagination since the early days of literature.

      One such theme is that of the space ship. A form of this kind of technology can be found in the Hindu epic poetry of India. In the Ramayana (5th to 4th century BCE) Amazing machines called Vimana travel into space, underwater, and even have advanced weaponry that can destroy cities. Time travel was also foreshadowed in such works as Mahabharatha (8th and 9th centuries BCE) in which a king travels to heaven and on his return finds that many ages have passed in his absence.

      The Syrian-Greek writer Lucian (c. CE 125–after CE 180) uses the themes of space travel and alien races to act as mechanisms of satire in True History to make comment on the use of exaggeration within travel literature and debates. These themes are however mainly utilised for comic effect, and as Bryan Reardon, a translator of Lucian comments, it is an account of a fantastic journey – to the moon, the underworld, the belly of a whale, and so forth. It is not really science fiction, although it has sometimes been called that; there is no ‘science’ in it.

      Some elements of the genre can also be identified within One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) (8th-10th century CE) where themes of cosmic travel and immortality appear. Combine this with first millennia tales from Japan, such as Nihongi (720 CE) in which a young fisherman visits an undersea kingdom, staying for

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