Nature’s Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction

Stories of ecological disaster have been a long-term science fiction trend, but are finding new relevance in the current climate. The growing interest in ecological fiction connects to a readership increasingly interested in nature and the preservation of it, as its fragility becomes more obvious outside of the fictional world. Nature’s Warning features stories from big names in science fiction such as Aldiss and Simak as well as newly rediscovered gems from writers such as Margaret St Clair and Elizabeth Sanxay Holding. “I don’t understand,” Mason muttered. “How could they wreck a whole planet?” “We wrecked Earth in thirty years.” Science fiction has always confronted the concerns of society, and its greatest writers have long been inspired by the weighty issue of humanity’s ecological impact on the planet. This volume explores a range of prescient and thoughtful stories from SF’s classic period, from accounts of exhausted resources and ecocatastrophe to pertinent warnings of ecosystems thrown off balance and puzzles of adaptation and responsibility as humanity ventures into the new environments of the future. Featuring stories crucial to the evolution of eco-science fiction from Philip K. Dick, Margaret St Clair, J. D. Beresford and more, this timely collection is a trove of essential reading. Introduction Philip K. Dick – Survey team Fred M. White – The dust of death J.D. Beresford – The man who hated flies Laurence Manning – The man who awoke Nathan Schachner – The sterile planet Elizabeth Sanxay Holding – Shadow of wings Margaret St. Clair – The gardener Clifford D. Simak – Drop dead Jack Sharkey – A matter of protocol Richard McKenna – Hunter, come home Alfred Bester – Adam and no Eve