[citation needed] Arthur C. Clarke credited the book with the first description of rocket-powered spaceflight, and with the invention of the ramjet.

The narrator explains to the governor that all matter is formed inside and expelled from stars, and that once the Sun has run out of fuel it will consume the planets and restart the cycle.

Though the craft crashes, local soldiers attach rockets to it, hoping that it will fly to celebrate the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

He meets the Moon's inhabitants, who have four legs, musical voices, and fantastical weapons that cook game for a meal as it's shot.

Inspired by Lucian's proto-science fiction work True History or True Story, The Other World went on to influence many other works seen as early science fiction, including Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, which is also an example of fantastic voyages exploring both contemporary social commentary, and some ideas of the unknown and "modern" science.