Alarm Clock

Cole, Everett B., 1918-1977Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 68K words
Chapters: 7

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.Alarm Clock by Everett B. ColeAuthor: Cole, Everett B., 1918-1977,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 6, 2008

Editor's review

Everett B. Cole's "Alarm Clock" is an English-language science fiction short story, a product of the mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazine tradition. The author was active in the twilight of science fiction's Golden Age, and his work is characterized by clear plotting and the technological imagination of the period. This story revolves around a seemingly ordinary premise that sets off a chain of consequences; it is short and tightly paced, suitable for reading in one sitting on a commute or in spare moments. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, it offers a low-barrier entry point into early English-language science fiction. It can be read as light entertainment, or with attention to the author's plain-spoken reflections on technology and human nature, and to how science fiction of that era projected onto everyday life. For readers studying the history of science fiction or practicing English reading, the story is short and plainly written, making it relatively easy to approach.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction short stories
Intermediate learners who want to practice reading with short English-language originals
Enthusiasts studying the tradition of early American science fiction magazines
Readers who want to finish a complete story in spare moments on a commute

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a lengthy world-building or complex character arcs
Readers who prefer contemporary science fiction and have little tolerance for older prose styles
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition

Reading tips

Read it in one sitting on a commute, following the plot first without looking up every word.
On a second reading, note how the technological premise corresponds to the characters' reactions.
English learners can mark short sentences describing actions and dialogue as models for imitation.
After reading, compare it with contemporary science fiction short stories to sense differences in subject matter and technique.

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 a novel or a short story?

According to the Project Gutenberg entry, this is a short English-language science fiction work by Everett B. Cole, short enough to finish in one or two sittings; there is no need to plan reading time as you would for a novel.

How difficult is the English?

The style is mid-twentieth-century popular science fiction narrative; sentence structures are not very complex, but there are period expressions and technical vocabulary. Readers with intermediate English reading ability can finish it with a dictionary, and advanced learners can read it straight through.

Why read this old science fiction?

It is short and has a complete plot, offering a direct sense of a common approach in the twilight of science fiction's Golden Age: a technological premise drives the story, which then turns to human reactions. It is a useful sample for understanding the themes and language style of early English-language science fiction.

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About the author

Cole, Everett B., 1918-1977 Author

Everett B. Cole (1918–1977) was an American science fiction writer whose biography and educational background are poorly documented; only a limited body of work survives, mainly from the mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine era. Seven of his works are held in this collection: The Best Made Plans, The Weakling, Final Weapon, Millennium, Indirection, Alarm Clock, and The Players, all short stories or short science fiction pieces. They generally revolve around future technology, social systems, and human weakness, often using ingenious premises and ironic narration to show the consequences of technology out of control or rigid institutions, and frequently ending with unexpected twists. Cole's style is concise and brisk, with attention to narrative pace and suspense, making him a reasonably representative writer of the popular science fiction magazines of his time.