The Electric Vampire

The turn of the 19th–20th centuries is a special era in human history. It is a time when religious belief in miracles gave way to an equally fervent faith in the miracle of science: armed with knowledge, a person can achieve the boldest goals and projects. This conviction gave birth to science fiction as a new branch of literature—and to a new hero: the scientist who transforms reality. Revolutionary ideas come to his mind; he makes astonishing discoveries and invents fantastic devices and mechanisms. On these pages, Western European and American sci-fi authors of the early 20th century reflect—both with a smile and seriously—on scientists, their inventions, and the situations created by them. These texts are unfamiliar to the modern reader, because they were taken from the pages of literary magazines from that distant era. Let’s travel through these pages. We guarantee: the journey will be not only thrilling, but also educational—you’ll meet unknown, yet remarkable texts published more than a hundred years ago.