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Edison's Conquest of Mars, by Garrett P.
Serviss, is one of the many science fiction novels published in the
nineteenth century. Although science fiction was not at the time
thought of as a distinct literary genre, it was a very popular
literary form, with almost every fiction magazine regularly
publishing science fiction stories and novels. "Edison's Conquest
of Mars" was published in 1898 intended to be a sequel to "Fighters
from Mars", an un-authorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's The War
of the Worlds, but did not achieve the fame of its
predecessor.
The book was endorsed by Thomas Edison, the hero of the book --
though not by Wells. The themes and messages of Serviss's book are
diametrically opposed to Wells's original. In it, Edison travels to
Mars, his inventions (including the disintegrator ray) allow an Earth
spacefleet to destroy the Martians' ability to make war after
several exciting battles. There are ship-to-ship battles, and
battles between Earth ships and Martian ground forts. This was
perhaps the first space
opera, although the term did not yet exist; it was perhaps the
most literal of the Edisonades.
Communication between astronauts requires a wire to be passed
between them; spaceships communicate by flags or lights. Although
the story was published in 1898 during the early real
experiments in radio, it contains no concept of radio.
Besides Edison and Serviss themselves, Edward Emerson Barnard, Lord Kelvin, Wilhelm
Röntgen, and Silvanus P. Thompson are all
depicted as being involved in building the invasion fleet and its
technology. A number of heads of state also appear, including William
McKinley and Queen Victoria. Wilhelm II and Mutsuhito are
depicted as being treacherous schemers attempting to put their own
power ahead of the good of the human race, while the Guangxu Emperor
is depicted as a child-like stereotype.
The book contains some notable "firsts" in science fiction: alien
abductions, spacesuits (called "air-tight suits"), aliens
building the Pyramids, space battles, oxygen pills and disintegrator
rays. [1]
Publication
history
1898 illustration by GY Kauffman.
- 1898, USA, New York Journal, Pub date 12
January - 10 February 1898, serialized in 30 parts[2]
- 1947, USA, Carcosa House
OCLC 2494245, Pub date 1947, Hardback, first book
publication[3]
- 1954, USA, Hanover House OCLC 2581070, Pub date 1954, Hardback, abridged
version included in The Treasury of Science Fiction
Classics, edited by Harold W. Kuebler[4]
- 1969, USA, Powell Publications OCLC 1184448, Pub date 1969, Paperback, slightly
abridged by Forrest J Ackerman as Invasion
of Mars[3]
- 1972, USA, Ace
Books, Pub Date 1972 - 1973, Paperback, serialized in Perry Rhodan,
nos 16 - 22 as The Conquest of Mars[3]
- 2006, Canada, Apogee Books ISBN 0-9738203-0-6, Pub Date
August 2006, Paperback, unedited unabridged version with the
original newspaper illustrations[5]
Notes
References
- Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998).
The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History,
1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd..
p. 138.
- Tuck, Donald H. (1978). The
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent.
p. 384. ISBN
0-911682-22-8.
See also
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