Upward, Not Northward

A reader overhearing our conversation about FLATLAND asks: “What are you guys talking about? Is this some fantasy series I have overlooked?”

It is a rare pleasure to be able to introduce a literary treasure to one unaware of it! We are talking about the grandfather of all fantasy, or, at least, of mathematical fantasies. It is a classic, and I would urge every science fiction writer to add it once to his reading list.

FLATLAND A Romance of Many Dimensions by A Square is a very slim volume from 1884, the days before the readership was constrained by the categories of fantasy and mainstream, and so it is hard to categorize. Some call it a satire, but I would call it fantastical, both in its speculations and in its flights of fancy.

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Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.