The public domain is one of the most important resources we have at our disposal. On the first day of each year, a significant number of works acquire this legal status, enabling their free access depending on what intellectual property laws dictate in each country. Science fiction already has some very high-profile representatives in the public domain, and today we're going to present a humble list, picking nine of them so you can load them into your digital reader as soon as possible.
Intellectual property. Copyright. All rights reserved. Limited distribution. Licenses. These and other words only symbolize one of the oldest conflicts that exists. An author has multiple rights over their works, but if there's something the world is strongly questioning, it's that those same rights extend to their heirs for increasingly long periods. The public domain serves (among other things) as a fundamental limit; however, we will always find forces trying to minimize its scope. In general, the public domain is tied to what copyright laws establish in each country, but that won't prevent us from making some suggestions focused on science fiction books and stories that you should be able to read or download without committing infringements.
The Nine Picks
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
The chance of something alive on Mars was a million to one... but they came anyway. The War of the Worlds is a true icon of "invasion literature" and anticipated (with the help of the Martians) the horrors of the concept of "total war" that the world would come to know a few decades later. All of Wells's works have already entered the public domain in countries with a 70-year limit after the author's death, plus the correction toward the following year. In this case, 2017. You can grab a copy via this PDF from Educarchile.
Flatland - Edwin Abbott Abbott
A square, a sphere, a clear satire of Victorian society, and probably the best lesson we can receive about multiple dimensions. Personally, I prefer its original title, Flatland, but regardless of the version you decide to search for, the truth is that it deserves your time. Edwin Abbott Abbott passed away in October 1926, so his complete bibliography is in the public domain, even under strict laws like the Spanish one, which imposes 80 years of rights.
1984 - George Orwell
An essential text in any library, and an instruction manual for modern politics (which is very bad, of course). 1984 has no spaceships or aliens, but this development of "social science fiction" that Orwell has created is, in a word, masterful. The legal situation of 1984 is a bit complex. Orwell died in 1950, so his works are in the public domain in Uruguay, Australia (which offers an excellent online version), Canada, and Venezuela. The rest must wait.
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The debates on the Web comparing 1984 with Brave New World are endless. From a certain point of view, Huxley's text is "the other side of the coin," and the writer himself took care to carry out a deeper analysis through the essay "Brave New World Revisited." The novel is from 1932, and Huxley left us in November 1963. In most cases it will remain under copyright until 2034, with the exceptions of Canada and Uruguay, where it is already in the public domain.
A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
No one can deny its role as a source of inspiration for writers of the caliber of Bradbury, Heinlein, Clarke, and even Carl Sagan himself, and I admit that its film adaptation deserved a better fate than the one it found. It is Burroughs's first published novel, and the first of the long Barsoom saga, with ten additional books. Once again, its availability in the public domain reaches Australia, Canada, Uruguay, and Venezuela, due to Burroughs's death in March 1950.
Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
Who would have thought that a geology professor with a rather rotten character and his young nephew would become the heroes of one of the most epic stories of the 19th century? Well, in Verne's head that is exactly what happened, and the popularity of Journey to the Center of the Earth has been such that its adaptations have become very difficult to count. With Verne's departure in March 1905, all his stories automatically fall into the public domain.
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Some describe Shelley's work as "soft science fiction." A half-mad scientist carries out questionable experiments that allow him to create a creature he qualifies as a monster, one that only desires company and love... yes, "soft." That said, how many took the trouble to read the original novel? Frankenstein turned two centuries this very year, so it comfortably exceeds any public domain restriction, and the same happens with The Last Man.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Simple: If I recommend Frankenstein but decide to leave Jekyll and Hyde out of this list, someone is going to throw a frying pan at my head. The disturbing story of this strange and at the same time irresistible duo had such a great impact on its audience that the novel sold 40,000 copies in six months, not bad for a 19th-century publication. Everything written by Stevenson is in the public domain, including his classic adventure, Treasure Island.
The Colour Out of Space - H.P. Lovecraft
"Lisandro, Lovecraft is fantasy." Which is technically correct in most of his works, but there are no Great Old Ones in The Colour Out of Space. Tired of "too-human aliens," Lovecraft created a truly frightful being, capable of escaping any attempt at comprehension. The result? It speaks for itself. This story is one of Lovecraft's best, and with his departure in 1937, it passed into the public domain.
I had planned to suggest a tenth title, but a better idea occurred to me: Being convinced that I have forgotten some critical work along the way, I want number ten to be yours. Leave a comment with the name of the book that should complete this list, whether it's in the public domain or free with the author's authorization. That opens up many possibilities. Thanks for reading!
