Lucianus van Samosata was een Grieks-geschoolde Syrische redenaar en satiricus die in de Griekse taal schreef. Hij staat bekend om zijn geestige en spottende aard. Lucianus gebruikte meesterlijk ironie en absurditeit om de conventies van zijn tijd te ondermijnen. Lezers zullen zijn scherpe observaties en compromisloze kritiek op de wereld vandaag de dag nog steeds waarderen.
The Greek satirist Lucian was a brilliantly entertaining writer who invented the comic dialogue as a vehicle for satiric comment. This lively new translation is both accurate and idiomatic, and the introduction highlights Lucian's importance in his own and later times.
Widely hailed as the first science fiction story, A True Story, by Lucian of Samosata is a voyage to the edges of the universe and reason. The title is the first clue that this will be a tall tale. As much a predecessor of Douglas Adams as Jules Verne, Lucian's fantasy explores not only outer space (where he brokers war and peace between the inhabitants of the sun and moon), but also the Elysian fields, the geography of the Odyssey, and the interior of a giant whale. We get to meet Homer, Pythagoras, Socrates, and other immortals, as well as a host of bizarre creatures. The text is riddled with puns, innuendo, parody and satire; however most of this humor will escape the modern reader. Suffice it to say that this was considered pretty funny in the second century [AD]. The narrative breaks off in the second book. Whether there were more adventures or Lucian just ran out of ideas is unknown.