A World Apart

Sam Merwin Jr.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 42K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A World Apart by Sam MerwinAuthor: Merwin, Sam, 1910-1996,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 8, 2010

Editor's review

Sam Merwin's A World Apart is a short, fast-paced popular novel with science-fiction elements, typically reflecting the narrative pleasures of mid-twentieth-century American genre fiction. The story centers on a situation cut off from the familiar world, using characters' choices and conflicts in a strange environment to explore the boundaries of perception, identity and belonging, and trust. The author drives the plot through crisp dialogue, with frequent twists, making it a good sample for understanding early science-fiction magazine style. Its value lies not in grand world-building but in a complete inversion of worldview achieved in a light, short form—reading it brings the pleasure of solving a puzzle. For researchers, it offers a view of the thematic preferences and narrative conventions of genre writing at the time; for general readers, it is an easy yet memorable reading experience. It is best read in one sitting, lest fragmented reading weaken the suspense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early science fiction and genre fiction
Commuters who want a complete story in a short form
Enthusiasts studying twentieth-century American popular literature
Readers who prefer suspense and worldview-inversion setups

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking hard science-fiction technical detail and rigorous world-building
Readers who prefer long epics and complex ensemble casts
Beginners who find reading the English original quite difficult

Reading tips

Try to read it in one sitting to preserve the full effect of suspense and twists.
Before reading, learn about the science-fiction magazine context of the author's era to better understand the conventions.
On a second reading, notice how dialogue drives the reveal of information and shifts in stance.
After reading, note your initial assumptions about the world and compare them with the ending to see where they diverged.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book hard science fiction or more of an adventure story?

It is closer to popular adventure narrative with science-fiction elements, focusing on characters' situations and plot twists rather than technical extrapolation. If you expect strict scientific world-building, it may feel light; if you enjoy suspense and worldview inversions, it reads smoothly.

What reading situations does its length suit?

It is short and suits concentrated reading on a commute, while traveling, or on a quiet afternoon. Because the suspense depends on continuous reading, it is best to minimize interruptions and avoid spoiler-filled reviews beforehand to preserve the puzzle-like experience.

Is the English original difficult to read?

The language is generally accessible, with a lot of dialogue and not overly complex sentences, though there are period expressions and genre conventions. Readers with intermediate English can finish it with a dictionary; if it proves difficult, read a Chinese summary first and then try the original.

Comments

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About the author

Sam Merwin Jr. Author · American · 1910–1996

Sam Merwin Jr. (1910–1996) was an American science fiction and mystery writer and editor, born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and a graduate of Princeton University. From 1945 to 1951 he edited the magazines Astonishing Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories, and under the anonymous persona of "Sergeant Saturn" he wrote commentary and columns that helped raise the literary standards of science fiction magazines of the time. His own fiction spans science fiction and mystery, with representative works including The House of Many Worlds and The Final Figure. Six of his works are held in the collection, among them The Ambassador, A World Apart, The Final Figure and Judas Ram, whose themes often involve otherworldly settings and suspenseful mystery. He died in Los Angeles in 1996. Public information on his life and writing is limited and remains to be further organized.