Attention Saint Patrick

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 44K 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.Attention Saint Patrick by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 10, 2007

Editor's review

Attention Saint Patrick is a short science fiction story by Murray Leinster, one of the important American science fiction writers of the twentieth century, known for handling the collision of technology and everyday life in a light tone. As the title suggests, the story features a playful premise connected to Saint Patrick's Day; it is short, tightly focused, and carries the humor and gentle teasing of technological consequences common in Leinster's work. This Project Gutenberg edition is the original English text, suitable for reading a complete story in a short sitting and as an entry point into the style of Golden Age science fiction shorts. While reading, notice how the author builds conflict from a simple premise and handles the twist at the end. As an early science fiction short, its technological imagination bears the marks of its time; readers need not judge it by today's standards but are better served by appreciating its narrative ingenuity and light touch.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Golden Age science fiction shorts
Readers who want a complete English story in spare moments
Readers interested in humorous science fiction premises
Science fiction writers looking for short-story structure reference

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer hard science fiction and rigorous technical worldbuilding
Readers seeking a long novel with full worldbuilding
Readers not yet fluent in English who need Chinese support

Reading tips

Read it in one sitting, then revisit the opening foreshadowing and its echo at the end
While reading, note how Saint Patrick's Day elements are reworked into the science fiction premise
For writing practice, outline its conflict setup and reversal rhythm
After reading, compare with other Leinster shorts to sense the consistency of his style

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

How long is this story?

This is a short science fiction story by Leinster. It is fairly brief and can usually be finished in one or two sittings, well suited to fragmented reading time.

What does Saint Patrick in the title refer to?

The title borrows the cultural symbol of Saint Patrick's Day and connects it playfully with the story's science fiction premise. How exactly they combine can only be appreciated by reading the text; no spoilers here.

Can I read it without a science fiction background?

Yes. The premise is not complex and the language is fairly accessible; basic English reading ability is enough to enter the story, with no prior knowledge of science fiction history required.

Comments

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About the author

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975 Author

Murray Leinster (1896–1975) was an American science fiction writer whose real name was William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He was a prolific author of short stories and novels, and this site holds thirty-nine of his works, including The Mad Planet, The Pirates of Ersatz, The Machine That Saved The World, The Forgotten Planet, The Wailing Asteroid, The Invaders, The Runaway Skyscraper, and Scrimshaw. His science fiction often deals with interstellar adventure, strange planets, and technological speculation, with tightly plotted, boldly imaginative narratives that also reflect on human society and the conditions of survival; some works are also categorized as inspirational growth. Public information is limited, making biographical details difficult to describe, but the surviving works show his important place in twentieth-century American popular science fiction and his influence on later writers in the genre.