After Shelley, Jules Verne and H. G. Wells opened two great doors for science fiction. Both looked towards the future, but they did so in very different ways. Jules Verne stood for technology, travel, discovery and scientific possibility. His novels showed a world in which inventions could move boundaries. Submarines, journeys to the Moon, expeditions beneath the Earth or around the world – in Verne, technology became adventure. Scientific curiosity became a narrative force. His future was often an extension of human ingenuity.

H. G. Wells, by contrast, looked at the future with a darker, sharper and more political eye. In The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Island of Doctor Moreau, the future was not merely admired. It was interrogated. Wells was interested in evolution, class division, colonialism, war, power and the fragility of civilisation. His machines were not only wonders. They were instruments for examining the human condition. From that point onwards, science fiction became a literary experiment. It placed humanity inside laboratories: on alien planets, in distant centuries, under foreign rule, inside machine worlds, artificial paradises, ruined cities and political systems that feel disturbingly familiar.

The important point is this: science fiction appears to move away from reality in order to approach it more directly. It relocates conflicts into the future, onto other worlds or into alternative societies so that we can see them more clearly. An alien invasion can speak about imperialism. A time machine can expose social inequality. A remote island of experiments can reveal scientific arrogance. That is why science fiction is never merely an escape from reality. Very often, it is the most direct route back into the present. It does not only show what might come. It asks why it might come – and who would be responsible.

Discover the book series YESTERDAY, TOMORROW WAS ALREADY DIFFERENT — and take a first look at the “SF Short Stories” section on the website. There you will find selected sample stories that offer a glimpse into Barry Redhead’s dark, visionary, and cinematic futures. Start reading. Dive in. Discover the series.