86 Although it not cited in the bibliography, Camille Flammarion’s La Fin du monde (1895), whose first part describes an international conference to discuss possible courses of action in the face of an impending comet strike, seems to be a significant influence on this chapter. The other two named individuals are the American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) and Baron Paul-Henri d’Estournelles de Constant de Rebeque (1852-1954), who had won the Nobel Peace prize in 1909 for his tireless work organizing peace conferences and ententes and attempting to further the cause of European Union. Charles Richet, who provided the novella with one of its head-quotes, was also famous for his pacifist beliefs as well as his scientific achievements. Although Mas’ characters make very free use of their hunting-rifles, it is worth noting that the underlying philosophy of the novella is a pacifist one; in effect, Mas is proposing the colonization of space as a glorious alternative to the Great War that was very obviously impending in Earth, and the nationalist views expressed in the story are undercut by an irony that actual history only served to re-emphasize.
87 I have translated the English titles that Mas cites in French back into English; in this particular instance, I have retained the title Mas cites, which was that of the serial version of Griffith’s work; it was reprinted in book form as A Honeymoon in Space.
88 I have translated the title that Mas gives, although I presume that the reference is to Collins’ Transmigration (1874); it might have been retitled in French translation.
89 ISBN 978-1-934543-41-2.
FRENCH SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTION
Henri Allorge. The Great Cataclysm
G.-J. Arnaud. The Ice Company
Richard Bessière. The Gardens of the Apocalypse
Albert Bleunard. Ever Smaller
Félix Bodin. The Novel of the Future
Alphonse Brown. City of Glass
Félicien Champsaur. The Human Arrow
Didier de Chousy. Ignis
C. I. Defontenay. Star (Psi Cassiopeia)
Charles Derennes. The People of the Pole
J.-C. Dunyach. The Night Orchid; The Thieves of Silence
Henri Duvernois. The Man Who Found Himself
Achille Eyraud. Voyage to Venus
Henri Falk. The Age of Lead
Nathalie Henneberg. The Green Gods
Michel Jeury. Chronolysis
Octave Joncquel & Théo Varlet. The Martian Epic
Gérard Klein. The Mote in Time’s Eye
André Laurie. Spiridon
Georges Le Faure & Henri de Graffigny. The Extraordinary Adventures of a Russian Scientist Across the Solar System (2 vols.)
Gustave Le Rouge. The Vampires of Mars
Jules Lermina. Mysteryville; Panic in Paris; To-Ho and the Gold Destroyers; The Secret of Zippelius
José Moselli. Illa’s End
John-Antoine Nau. Enemy Force
Henri de Parville. An Inhabitant of the Planet Mars
Georges Pellerin. The World in 2000 Years
Maurice Renard. The Blue Peril; Doctor Lerne; The Doctored Man; A Man Among the Microbes; The Master of Light
Jean Richepin. The Wing
Albert Robida. The Clock of the Centuries; Chalet in the Sky
J.-H. Rosny Aîné. Helgvor of the Blue River; The Givreuse Enigma; The Mysterious Force; The Navigators of Space; Vamireh; The World of the Variants; The Young Vampire
Marcel Rouff. Journey to the Inverted World
Han Ryner. The Superhumans
Brian Stableford (anthologist) The Germans on Venus; News from the Moon; The Supreme Progress; The World Above the World
Jacques Spitz. The Eye of Purgatory
Kurt Steiner. Ortog
Eugène Thébault. Radio-Terror
C.-F. Tiphaigne de La Roche. Amilec
Théo Varlet. The Xenobiotic Invasion
Paul Vibert. The Mysterious Fluid
English adaptation and introduction Copyright 2009 by Brian Stableford.
Cover illustration Copyright 2007 by Gil Formosa.
Visit our website at www.blackcoatpress.com
ISBN 978-1-934543-56-6. First Printing. March 2009. Published by Black Coat Press, an imprint of Hollywood Comics.com, LLC, P.O. Box 17270, Encino, CA 91416. All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The stories and characters depicted in this anthology are entirely fictional. Printed in the United States of America.
The Germans on Venus Page 29
