Ludvig Holberg (1682–1754)

Part sci-fi, part satire, this story predates Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth by over a century. It was originally written in Latin and tells the story of Niels Klim, who falls to the centre of the Earth and discovers a whole other planet inside our own, populated by various sentient plant and animal species (and my favourite, the sentient musical instruments). Klim is treated variously as a savage and as a god, and his fortunes rise and fall with each new land he visits.

I found this via Serial Reader and probably wouldn’t have thought to otherwise. It’s pretty odd and can get repetitive as he has to learn the customs of each new land, but interesting nonetheless. Although frankly it got very weird when he was in the lands with sentient animals and the rulers of those lands were offering their female relatives as spouses. Ew, interspecies romance! Fortunately, Klim declines and sticks to marrying humans.

To sum up, this is strange, but in Serial Reader only 11 issues, so worth trying a bit to see if you like it.… (more)

[Neils Klim’s Journey Underground] by Ludvig Holberg, subtitled: being a narrative of his wonderful descent to the subterranean lands; together with an account of the sensible animals and trees inhabiting the planet Nazar and the Firmament.

Published in 1741 in Germany in Latin because Holberg feared repercussions from his native Denmark-Norway for a work that is satirical of governments and culture. Translated into English for todays readers it proves to be a fast moving account of Neils Klim’s travels around the planet of Nazar which embellishes the theory of a hollow earth. Neils sets off one morning to explore a deep pothole with a friend who lowers him down on a rope, this breaks on a sharp edge and Neils finds himself falling downwards for about 15 minutes. He eventually falls into another atmosphere seeing lands and seas and where he is attacked by an eagle like bird. He stabs the eagle and flutters down to the ground holding onto the mortally wounded bird. He finds himself in a land of tree people and after being presented to the governor he is taught their language in an attempt to make him into a useful citizen. Neils is impressed with the humanity of the tree people, (they even fasten branches to his body to make him look like them) but they are not impressed with him. They do not value his quick witted perception being more inclined to value thoughtful judgement and they assign him the task as running camp footman delivering important messages around the planet. Neils therefore gets to travel all over Nazar, he can move much faster than the tree people and describes all he sees along the way. Different varieties of trees have different cultures much of which is opposite to European ways of doing things and so Holberg takes the opportunity to satirise both Nazar and Europe.

He visits a land where there is a role reversal of the sexes; the reasoning being that males are endowed with greater bodily strength and endurance and so nature must have intended them to do all the work and this will keep them so busy that they will not have time to think, moreover continual physical work degrades the mind, therefore it is plain that the women should direct public affairs - do the thinking. In another land it is the women who take their chastity to market and the young men act as prostitutes selling them sex. All over the planet people are judged as insane if they indulge in religious disputes and are immediately imprisoned. On his travels Neils discovers a diary left by an inhabitant of the firmament who journeyed to the earth above and whose descriptions of what he sees there is like a sort of alien viewing Earth through a telescope and wondering at the stupidity on the planet. Here is an example:

“The presence of vice and crime in Europe may be perhaps be fairly inferred from the great number of gallows and scaffolds to be seen everywhere. Each town has its own executioner. I must for justice sake, clear England from this stigma: I believe there are no public murderers in that country: the inhabitants hang themselves.”

Neils eventually travels to the firmament where he at last discovers some homo sapiens, but they are woefully uncivilised. Neils is soon able to make himself king of these people and on the discovery of saltpetre he manufactures guns and trains them into an army. It is then only a short step to conquer other lands, but of course he is never satisfied and soon becomes tyrannical killing and maiming at his pleasure. Perhaps the ultimate satire on the human race.

This is the earliest published book that I have read that reads something like a modern day fantasy novel. It is light hearted and while the satire might have been feared back in the eighteenth century it has the effect of being more popular and amusing rather than literary when read today. I enjoyed the book and together with its historical value I rate it at 3.5 stars.… (more)