Brazilian science fiction

Brazilian science fiction has its roots in authors such as Augusto Emílio Zaluar in the novel O Doutor Benignus and Machado de Assis in the short story O Imortal (1882).

[1] The genre grew in popularity over the 20th century, reaching its first “golden age” in the late 1950s, bolstered by the work of publisher Gumercindo Rocha Dorea.

[3] The new cadre of Brazilian writers began incorporating science fiction motifs, like imaginary societies studied with scientific rigor, and futuristic voyages.

While admittedly derivative of the scientific romance story models of European science fiction,[4] the works were often based around the specific geographical and social landscape of 19th century Brazil.

Between January and October 1907, the children's magazine O Tico-Tico published the novel Viagens maravilhosas do Dr. Alpha ao mundo dos planetas, written and illustrated by Oswaldo Silva, possibly the first space travel story in Brazilian literature.

As a notable example, Gastão Cruls' A Amazônia Misteriosa from 1925 was based around the discovery of a secluded tribe deep within the Amazon, being experimented on by a German scientist.

a presidente da República (en: His Excellency, the president of the Republic) (1929) also explores these themes, with a utopian tone overlying a sinister, eugenicist socieity.

The “First Wave” of Brazilian science fiction began in earnest in the late 1950s, owing in large part to the towering influence of the publisher Gumercindo Rocha Dorea.

Dorea published two influential  collections of short stories in 1961, the first of their kind: “Histórias do Acontecerá” and the authoritatively titled  “Antologia Brasileira de Ficção-científica”.

Tupinipunk drew from the aesthetics of cyberpunk, such as cyborg augmentation and body modification,  increasing rates of societal control through technology, and an alien, technology-dominated existence.