Erewhon and Erewhon Revisited by Samuel Butler

EREWHON AND EREWHON REVISITED include both of Samuel Butler's satirical "lost world" novels, set in the New Zealand-inspired mythical land of Erewhon (from 'Nowhere'). In Erewhon, Butler finds the freedom to ridicule aspects of British Victorian society, including religion, criminal punishment, and industrial society. Butler was one of the first authors to consider the dangers of artificial intelligence, speculating that machines could eventually achieve consciousness through a process analogous to natural selection.