The Devolutionist and the Emancipatrix

by Homer Eon Flint

Bringing proofs which will satisfy the most skeptical Dr. William G. Kinney G. Van Emmon E. Williams Jackson and John W. Smith who left the earth on December 9 in a powerful sky-car of the doctor's design returned on the 23rd after having explored the two planets which lie between the earth and the sun. (Goodreads)

Genres: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Born Homer Eon Flindt.

Reviews

[Two Envelopes And A Phone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read as part of my 2021 Summer Reading Project, which will focus on Radium Age SF - that is, Science Fiction from 1904-1933. This is considered a neglected era when it comes to overall interest in the genre, but it turns out that I have already read a few key texts, thanks to taking suggestions from a reading guide called Fantasy: The 100 Best Books (Cawthorn & Moorcock), once I acquired that guide in the late 1980s. Stand-outs from that earlier list of books, whether we call some of them SF or Fantasy, are Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith, and Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I did also enjoy The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle - hey, a dinosaur adventure, what could go wrong (for the reader, I mean).

My first pick for this summer was The Poison Belt by Doyle again, and things went okay...but this Homer E. Flint stuff is a decided improvement. Inventive, thought-provoking, and just plain exciting - I absolutely adored The Devolutionist, and had almost as fabulous a time with The Emancipatrix. Things are lookin’ up, for my reading project!

SF from one hundred years ago, bursting forth with SF concepts and imagery that I encountered first in much later books, like Ringworld by Larry Niven, The Ragged Astronauts by Bob Shaw, and Memories by Mike McQuay. So, this was all going on back in the 1920s...I’m dazzled! Yes, the “thought-provoking” praise only stretches so far - some of the political and philosophical discussion is too simplistic or dated - but I was more focused on the ring world, the pair of planets traveling side by side through their orbit, the telepathic links over space, the hive mind, and the two battles against totalitarian, elitist rule that take place on two different worlds.

I had a blast with this; bring on 1904-1933!

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining fantasy listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy Sci-Fi space adventure thriller short stories by Homer Eon Flint. Two stories of mentally traveling in space and contacting 👽 aliens on car away planets with various success. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy space novels. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of eye damage and health issues. 2022 👑👒😆

[Tony Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the first book in this series, it seems clear that this was originally written as two short stories before being combined into one edition. These stories feature the same characters as the first two, but this time they are exploring planets in other solar systems - using a telepathic technique taught to them by the Venusians.

Again, as in the first stories, the science is very dodgy, but these were written in 1919 or 1920. And these stories also explore social issues that would have been very daring for the day, in this case examining the nature of democracy. However, there is a level of sexism and racism that would have been considered normal for the day, but readers with modern sensibilities may find jarring.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that whole thing was...er, a bit naive. But if you can overlook the wobbly premises and conjectures, it makes for a pretty good read. Homer keeps the story fairly crackling along, in addition to having one of the cooler names to ever appear on a title page. Also the different-viewpoints technique oddly presages the Phil Dick approach. Then there was the story of Flint's death (legend has it as the result of a botched bank robbery)...

[bluetyson]

The Devolutionist And The Emancipatrix by Homer Eon Flint (2000)

[Tommy Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole book, but I narrated several chapters for Librivox. It had some interesting concepts for 1920, but not much imagination about "non human."

[Lew · Rating 2 out of 5]

These two stories were written in 1921. It is interesting to read these old stories especially for the author's social commentary. Otherwise the science fiction aspect was a bit far fetched.