#11. LAST AND FIRST MEN By Olaf Stapledon

Published : 1930
Pages : 307
Overall Mark : 6/10

Last and First Men is not so much a novel as a history of the future, written with breathtaking imagination. Over the course of 2,000 million years it describes the evolutionary rise and fall of eighteen distinct races of men, of which Homo sapiens is the first and most primitive. Apart from Stapledon himself, in the equally ambitious Star Maker, no other science fiction writer has attempted, let alon achieved, a work on this scale.

W. OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950)
Stapledon was educated at Oxford and Liverpool University, where he later lectured in psychology and philosophy. His wartime experiences made him a committed lifetime pacifist. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, his influence on the development of SF ideas is 'probably second only to that of H. G. Wells'.

VERDICT
This book reads more as a history of the future than an actual novel. Fans of science fiction may not enjoy it, but those who enjoy the works of AJP Taylor will find it insightful and filled with interesting theories on the future. Although the writing is imaginative, it can get repetitive and become boring at points, but toward the end things speed up and it becomes a far more enjoyable read.