B. C. 30,000

Sterner St. Paul MeekProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 47K 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.B. C. 30,000 by S. P. MeekAuthor: Meek, S. P. (Sterner St. Paul), 1894-1972,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 21, 2008

Editor's review

B. C. 30,000 is a science fiction work by the American writer S. P. Meek, published in the first half of the twentieth century and available here in a public electronic edition from Project Gutenberg. Judging from the author's active years and the era indicated by the title, it belongs to the prehistoric or ancient-world imagination common in early science fiction, with the narrative pace and scientific ideas typical of popular science fiction of its day. Its value lies mainly in the history of the genre: readers can see how early American science fiction handled themes of time, civilization, and unknown technology, and understand where later science fiction traditions came from. As a public-domain e-book it is easy to obtain and cite, but the text has no modern editorial introduction, so readers must supply the historical context themselves. It suits reading as a sample of science fiction history or as light short-form reading; do not expect the strict consistency of contemporary hard science fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American science fiction and the history of popular fiction
Those looking for public-domain English-language short science fiction for casual reading
Students studying the evolution of science fiction themes in the first half of the twentieth century
Genre readers who enjoy prehistoric settings and adventure narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers who want the rigorous scientific consistency of contemporary hard science fiction
Those who read only simplified Chinese and do not want to engage with the English original
Readers who need modern annotations and detailed author biographies

Reading tips

Read it first as a sample of science fiction history, noting the scientific imagination and narrative conventions of the time.
Pair it with background material on early twentieth-century American pulp science fiction.
If length allows, read it in one sitting, then look back at how the author handles the time setting and conflict.

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?

Judging from its form in Project Gutenberg and the author S. P. Meek's background, it is an early science fiction work; its exact length can be judged from the e-book text, and readers can treat it as a genre work that can be finished in a relatively short time.

What does B. C. 30,000 in the title mean?

The title points to a setting of 30,000 B.C., suggesting a story connected to the ancient or prehistoric past. This is a common theme in early science fiction; the specific plot must be confirmed by reading the original, and the whole content should not be inferred from the title alone.

Why is it said to have value for science fiction history?

The author S. P. Meek was active in American popular science fiction writing in the first half of the twentieth century. Works like this reflect how science fiction magazines of the time handled themes of prehistory, civilization, and scientific adventure, and are useful for understanding the formation of later science fiction traditions.

Comments

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About the author

Sterner St. Paul Meek Author · American · 1894–1972

S. P. Meek (Sterner St. Paul Meek, 1894–1972) was an American Army chemist and an early writer of science fiction and children's literature. Born in Chicago and died in Palm Beach, Florida, he published more than twenty science fiction stories in pulp magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction and Amazing Stories between 1929 and 1933, becoming known for serialized tales. His representative works include The Solar Magnet, B. C. 30,000, Giants on the Earth, Poisoned Air, and The Great Drought. After retiring as a colonel in 1947, he turned to children's literature and published over twenty books about dogs and horses. Public information on his life and work is limited; his surviving works show a talent for blending scientific ideas into adventure narratives in an accessible style, making him a noteworthy figure of the pulp science fiction era.