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Lumen
Lumen was first published by Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) in 1872 as part of the Stories of Infinity collection. Flammarion was a well-known French astronomer, writer and highly successful popularizer of science during the late 19th century.
This famous novel, written in the form of a philosophical dialogue, features a cosmic spirit named Lumen who reveals the scientific wonders of the celestial universe to Quaerens, a young seeker of knowledge. Within its pages, the author mixes empirical observations about the nature and speed of light with vivid speculations about such diverse subjects as reincarnation, time travel, the reversibility of history and the ecospheres of alien planets. Lumen is one of the first science fiction novels to include detailed descriptions of alien life forms and the first to imagine (30 years before Einstein's theory of relativity) the differences in perception that might result from traveling at velocities close to and beyond the speed of light.
This Wesleyan edition is the first English translation of the original French text in over a hundred years. The volume includes notes, appendices and a critical introduction.
This famous novel, written in the form of a philosophical dialogue, features a cosmic spirit named Lumen who reveals the scientific wonders of the celestial universe to Quaerens, a young seeker of knowledge. Within its pages, the author mixes empirical observations about the nature and speed of light with vivid speculations about such diverse subjects as reincarnation, time travel, the reversibility of history and the ecospheres of alien planets. Lumen is one of the first science fiction novels to include detailed descriptions of alien life forms and the first to imagine (30 years before Einstein's theory of relativity) the differences in perception that might result from traveling at velocities close to and beyond the speed of light.
This Wesleyan edition is the first English translation of the original French text in over a hundred years. The volume includes notes, appendices and a critical introduction.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1872
About the author
Camille Flammarion
593 books37 followersNicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer & author.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 8, 2020
This book is unique.
Not just because it was written hundreds of years ago and bombards the reader (then and now) with scientific principles, which were cutting edge at the time, but also because Flammarion introduces, or reminds, the reader that what we think of as reality is really just a small sliver of something much grander--the Infinite.
I found this book enthralling and a quick read. I love the language; the use of obscure words was fun.
You might find a kind of magical treasure if you're willing to read Lumen with an open mind.
I highly recommend Lumen.
Not just because it was written hundreds of years ago and bombards the reader (then and now) with scientific principles, which were cutting edge at the time, but also because Flammarion introduces, or reminds, the reader that what we think of as reality is really just a small sliver of something much grander--the Infinite.
I found this book enthralling and a quick read. I love the language; the use of obscure words was fun.
You might find a kind of magical treasure if you're willing to read Lumen with an open mind.
I highly recommend Lumen.
May 26, 2022
QUICK SUMMARY:
A curious little work of proto sci-fi, perhaps more of historical interest than anything else.
DETAILED THOUGHTS:
Ostensibly a novel, “Lumen” reads like a philosophical dialogue between two characters: Quaerens (a living human) and Lumen (Quaerens’ deceased friend who has returned in spirit form). In each of the book’s five “conversations,” Lumen shares with Quaerens (and the reader) a discovery about the universe that he has made since being freed from his corporeal limits.
Lumen presents his discoveries by describing voyages he has made to other planets and stars in spirit-form, which enables him to move faster than light. This allows him to learn some of the remarkable implications of astronomical scales of distance. For instance, Lumen describes how, when he looked back at earth from other stars, he could see back into earth’s past—sometimes decades, sometimes centuries—sometimes eons. He then explains the science behind this phenomenon—namely that because it takes light from earth so long travel to these great distances individuals dwelling around other stars who are looking at earth right now would not be seeing the planet as it currently is, but rather the planet as it was when the light left it. The final conversation is perhaps the most imaginative. In it, he discusses the various forms of life—including intelligent, sentient life—that he has observed on other planets, noting how on each world, life evolved in ways that were unique to the specific conditions of that world. He describes a host of intelligent beings from other worlds: tentacled-underwater dwellers, floating air-absorbers, plants smarter than humans, etc. (I’m reminded a bit of Olaf Stapeldon’s “Star Maker” here.)
Most of the ideas relayed in “Lumen” reflect an imaginative extrapolation from the cutting-edge physics, astronomy, and biology of the mid-19th century. However, the book also discusses matters that might be better described spiritual or metaphysical— for instance, about the immortality of the soul, the difference between matter and spirit, the illusory nature of time, and the nature of divine omniscience. It also explores the notion of reincarnation and in particular, the idea that our past lives would include lives in other forms, on other worlds, around other stars.
I can’t honestly say that “Lumen” is a great book— or one that I’d recommend to others. However, I do think it is a intriguing example of an attempt to fuse disparate genres and concerns (particularly spiritualism and science) into something new, at a time before SF had come into being as a distinct, definable genre of its own.
A curious little work of proto sci-fi, perhaps more of historical interest than anything else.
DETAILED THOUGHTS:
Ostensibly a novel, “Lumen” reads like a philosophical dialogue between two characters: Quaerens (a living human) and Lumen (Quaerens’ deceased friend who has returned in spirit form). In each of the book’s five “conversations,” Lumen shares with Quaerens (and the reader) a discovery about the universe that he has made since being freed from his corporeal limits.
Lumen presents his discoveries by describing voyages he has made to other planets and stars in spirit-form, which enables him to move faster than light. This allows him to learn some of the remarkable implications of astronomical scales of distance. For instance, Lumen describes how, when he looked back at earth from other stars, he could see back into earth’s past—sometimes decades, sometimes centuries—sometimes eons. He then explains the science behind this phenomenon—namely that because it takes light from earth so long travel to these great distances individuals dwelling around other stars who are looking at earth right now would not be seeing the planet as it currently is, but rather the planet as it was when the light left it. The final conversation is perhaps the most imaginative. In it, he discusses the various forms of life—including intelligent, sentient life—that he has observed on other planets, noting how on each world, life evolved in ways that were unique to the specific conditions of that world. He describes a host of intelligent beings from other worlds: tentacled-underwater dwellers, floating air-absorbers, plants smarter than humans, etc. (I’m reminded a bit of Olaf Stapeldon’s “Star Maker” here.)
Most of the ideas relayed in “Lumen” reflect an imaginative extrapolation from the cutting-edge physics, astronomy, and biology of the mid-19th century. However, the book also discusses matters that might be better described spiritual or metaphysical— for instance, about the immortality of the soul, the difference between matter and spirit, the illusory nature of time, and the nature of divine omniscience. It also explores the notion of reincarnation and in particular, the idea that our past lives would include lives in other forms, on other worlds, around other stars.
I can’t honestly say that “Lumen” is a great book— or one that I’d recommend to others. However, I do think it is a intriguing example of an attempt to fuse disparate genres and concerns (particularly spiritualism and science) into something new, at a time before SF had come into being as a distinct, definable genre of its own.
July 6, 2018
Sort of Plato meets Olaf Stapleton - kind of fun and surprisingly entertaining.
October 16, 2020
Not exactly a novel - because it has no real plot, it’s more a philosophical-spiritual dialogue in five parts. The first part (on the impermanence of matter) and the fifth (a vivid picture of life on other worlds) are the most interesting. Three stars for the ideas it presaged in SciFi.
February 1, 2025
Romandan çok ikili diyalog şeklinde yazılmış, yazarın temelde ışık hızı üzerine düşüncelerini anlattığı kitap. Yazıldığı zaman düşünülürse oldukça ilgi çekici ve aydınlatıcı olduğu söylenebilir. Ancak günümüz insanı içinde ışık hızı,evrende yaşam vb konularda aydınlatıcı olabilir.
January 30, 2021
Amazing if you open your mind!
November 9, 2025
I didn't love this only because I couldn't get into it.
There's no plot it is basically written as a long interview, I was intrigued but it was also really dry.
There's no plot it is basically written as a long interview, I was intrigued but it was also really dry.
January 5, 2009
"Lumen" by Camille Flammarion is the third book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series from Wesleyan University Press. First published as part of Flammarion's "Stories of Infinity" collection in 1872, Lumen is one of the first examples of science fiction exploring the different nature of alien life forms. Camille Flammarion was an Astronomer, who helped to popularize science. He was a founder of the Société Astronomique de France and the first president of that organization.
It is the story of conversations between the spirit (Lumen) of a recently deceased man and Quaerens, a still living man who is seeking answers about the nature of the universe. Flammarion touches on subjects such as relativity (before Einstein), the speed of light and sound, the continuation of the human spirit after death, and the variation of alien life forms on different worlds. As one might expect, given the advances in science since it was written, there are certainly many mistakes in his thinking. However, this is still a remarkable work, and one which can be appreciated for its influence on the genre of science fiction. I would not be surprised if Olaf Stapledon had read this, as there are clear similarities between "Lumen" and Stapledon's "Star Maker".
This is a very short work, only 117 pages long, but it is supplemented with a through set of notes, and a superb introduction by Brian Stableford who provided a new translation for this edition.
It is the story of conversations between the spirit (Lumen) of a recently deceased man and Quaerens, a still living man who is seeking answers about the nature of the universe. Flammarion touches on subjects such as relativity (before Einstein), the speed of light and sound, the continuation of the human spirit after death, and the variation of alien life forms on different worlds. As one might expect, given the advances in science since it was written, there are certainly many mistakes in his thinking. However, this is still a remarkable work, and one which can be appreciated for its influence on the genre of science fiction. I would not be surprised if Olaf Stapledon had read this, as there are clear similarities between "Lumen" and Stapledon's "Star Maker".
This is a very short work, only 117 pages long, but it is supplemented with a through set of notes, and a superb introduction by Brian Stableford who provided a new translation for this edition.
October 22, 2013
Not as good as Fontenelle's similarly constructed two-person dialogue "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds" nor even Flammarion's own "Omega: The Last Days of the World".
It certainly lacks the verve of "Conversations" and comes across way more stilted in comparison although it was written about 2 centuries later. Lumen tries to address a bit too much and attempts to hold it all together with a spiritualism (in the 19th century sense of the word) wrapper.
Just barely ekes out 4 stars here. In my opinion, it was very up and down.
It certainly lacks the verve of "Conversations" and comes across way more stilted in comparison although it was written about 2 centuries later. Lumen tries to address a bit too much and attempts to hold it all together with a spiritualism (in the 19th century sense of the word) wrapper.
Just barely ekes out 4 stars here. In my opinion, it was very up and down.
February 16, 2013
As first science fiction this book is as well the best in imagination development!!!
December 2, 2014
Full of awesome ideas but hard to finish.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews