Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books are public domain. They’ve got those on Project Gutenberg, but they may be too much “stock characters” for you.
Would some of the Lewis Carroll stuff scratch the “science fiction” itch?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court at least has the character development. And, strictly speaking, it is time travel. ;)
Finally, if quasi-fantasy and mythopeia do anything for you, there are things like George Macdonald’s Phantastes and G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Both those authors were influences on C. S. Lewis. But we’re really straying away from anything that’s strictly science fiction there.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books are public domain. They’ve got those on Project Gutenberg, but they may be too much “stock characters” for you.
Would some of the Lewis Carroll stuff scratch the “science fiction” itch?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court at least has the character development. And, strictly speaking, it is time travel. ;)
Finally, if quasi-fantasy and mythopeia do anything for you, there are things like George Macdonald’s Phantastes and G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Both those authors were influences on C. S. Lewis. But we’re really straying away from anything that’s strictly science fiction there.