The First Men in the Moon by "the father of modern science fiction" H. G. Wells was originally published as a series in The Strand Magazine and later published in hardcover in 1901. The novel tells the story of two men a destitute businessman and an eccentric scientist as they set forth on a journey to the Moon. On the lunar surface they encounter "A Modern Utopia": an extraterrestrial society formed by creatures they call "Selenites".