Address: Centauri

Floyd Lee WallaceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 389K words
Chapters: 39

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.Address: Centauri by F. L. WallaceAuthor: Wallace, F. L. (Floyd L.), 1915-2004,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 21, 2015

Editor's review

Address: Centauri is a short work by American science fiction writer F. L. Wallace, a typical product of the mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine era. Wallace excelled at setting up a core premise within limited space and driving the plot through his characters' situations; the story is tightly paced and the concept clear. Its value lies not in grand world-building but in showing how the science fiction of that era imagined technology, identity, and the human condition, offering some reference for understanding American SF after the Golden Age. Readers might focus on how the author conveys background through concise dialogue and scenes—a technique useful for learning short-story structure. It suits supplementary reading for SF fans or for observing the historical evolution of genre fiction. Note that the work bears clear marks of its time, and some premises and expressions differ from contemporary SF sensibilities.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy mid-twentieth-century American science fiction
Fans wanting to understand short fiction from the SF magazine era
Writing students seeking short science fiction examples
General readers hoping to broaden their genre reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer contemporary hard SF or long series
Those uncomfortable with old-style SF pacing
Readers expecting deep character development and literary expression

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the core premise, then revisit how the author plants clues.
Note the compressed handling of dialogue and scene as a reference for short-story structure.
Read with background on the SF magazine era to understand the work's period context.
After finishing, try summarizing the premise and conflict in a few sentences to check your understanding.

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

What kind of science fiction is this?

It is a short work from the mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazine era, with the concept-driven, plot-oriented traits common to that period. The story revolves around a core premise, is limited in length, and moves quickly—closer to traditional genre SF than to contemporary literary science fiction.

Do I need to read other works first to understand it?

No. It is a standalone work with a self-contained story and no reliance on previous installments. Still, knowing a little about the history of the SF magazine era makes the author's approach and the expectations of contemporary readers easier to understand, and immersion stronger.

Is it suitable for learning to write short science fiction?

It can serve as a reference case. Within limited space the work establishes its premise and advances conflict, and its compressed handling of dialogue and scene is worth noting. But it bears a clear period style; learners should adapt rather than imitate directly, taking contemporary sensibilities into account.

Why do you say it bears the marks of its time?

The work emerged from a specific science fiction environment, and its technological imagination, characterization, and expression reflect the genre conventions of the time. Compared with contemporary SF, it falls short in character depth and conceptual freshness; readers need a historical perspective to appreciate these differences.

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About the author

Floyd Lee Wallace Author · American · 1915–2004

F. L. Wallace (Floyd Lee Wallace, 1915–2004) was an American science fiction and mystery writer and a mechanical engineer. He was born in 1915 in Rock Island, Illinois, and died in 2004 in Tustin, California. From the 1950s onward he wrote short stories for science fiction magazines such as Galaxy as well as novels. Thirteen of his works are held in this collection, including Delay in Transit, The Man Who Was Six, End as a World, Forget Me Nearly, Address: Centauri, Student Body, Bolden's Pets and Accidental Flight. His writing often starts from the practical details of engineering and technology, combining precise speculation with suspense and reversal, and his subjects frequently involve space travel, mistaken identity and sudden crises. Public information about his life and career is limited, and readers' knowledge of him and his work still rests mainly on these short stories and novels scattered across various publications.