MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

Home All New Browse Search About

...
Little Zero the Seafarer [Captain One's frigate] (1968)
Vladimir Levshin
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
...

Contributed by Sergey Shakhness

[This Russian children's novel] is about the titular character (who appears in the other books [by Levshin]), sailing from the A bay through arithmetical, algebraical and geometrical seas, learning about convergent series, conic sections, integrals and a lot more.

The beloved books by Levshin do not seem to have been translated into English, but can be read for free in Russian at lib.rus.ec.

More information about this work can be found at lib.rus.ec.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Little Zero the Seafarer [Captain One's frigate]
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Three Days in Karlikania by Vladimir Levshin
  2. The Number Devil [Der Zahlenteufel] by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
  3. The Magic Two-Horn by Sergey Pavlovich Bobrov
  4. Jayden's Rescue by Vladimir Tumanov
  5. Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers by Pendred Noyce
  6. New Tales of the The Absent-Minded Master by Vladimir Levshin
  7. The Thesis of the Absent-Minded Master by Vladimir Levshin
  8. The Travel Notes of the Absent-Minded Master by Vladimir Levshin
  9. Black Mask of Al-Jabr by Vladimir Levshin
  10. Harvey Plotter and the Circle of Irrationality by Nathan Carter / Dan Kalman
Ratings for Little Zero the Seafarer [Captain One's frigate]:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
(unrated)

PLEASE HELP US OUT BY ENTERING YOUR OWN RATINGS FOR THIS WORK.

Categories:
GenreFantasy, Didactic, Children's Literature,
Motif
TopicAlgebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory, Analysis/Calculus/Differential,
MediumNovels, Picture Book,

Home All New Browse Search About

Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)