Big Pill

Gallun, Raymond Z., 1911-1994Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 46K 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.Big Pill by Raymond Z. GallunAuthor: Gallun, Raymond Z., 1911-1994,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 9, 2010

Editor's review

Big Pill is a science fiction short story by Raymond Z. Gallun published in the mid-twentieth century, now reissued as a public-domain eBook by Project Gutenberg. Gallun excelled at building a future scenario with a technological conceit within a limited space, and this work continues his focus on the tension between scientific invention and its social consequences. The story revolves around a "pill"-like device of exaggerated size and significance, drawing readers through the characters' encounters into a world where scale and power must be understood anew. A product of the early science fiction magazine era, its narrative pace is direct and its premise striking, without relying on elaborate world-building, making it suitable for a single commute or bedtime read. For readers curious about the short fiction of the American science fiction Golden Age and how early SF handled themes of technological ethics, this work offers a short but representative sample. As you read, note how the author builds and resolves suspense within a minimal span, and the era's fondness for imagining "gigantism."

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want a quick taste of early American science fiction short stories
Researchers and enthusiasts studying the magazine era of twentieth-century science fiction
Science fiction newcomers who enjoy technological conceits and light suspense
Language learners who need short English texts for extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, complex world-building and deep character development
Readers expecting rigorously reasoned hard science fiction in the contemporary mode
Those who find early science fiction's pacing and language style hard to acclimate to

Reading tips

Read it in one sitting, treating it as a short specimen to feel the rhythm and the resolution of suspense.
After reading, compare it with short stories from the same period and note shared traits in the imagination of "gigantism."
The English original is short; read it through first, then revisit the key premise passages.

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 work suitable for science fiction beginners?

Yes. It is short, its premise is striking, and the narrative is direct; you can finish it without any prior knowledge of complex background. It is more like a short sketch with a technological conceit, a good entry sample for understanding the style of early science fiction magazines.

Do I need a science background to read it?

No. As an early science fiction short story, its scientific setup serves the suspense rather than rigorous reasoning; ordinary readers can simply follow the narrative and need not worry about the feasibility of technical details.

What is the nature of this edition?

This is a public-domain eBook edition provided by Project Gutenberg, a free electronic text open to the public. It is not a new translation or an annotated edition; what readers see is an electronic presentation of the work itself.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Gallun, Raymond Z., 1911-1994 Author

Raymond Z. Gallun (1911–1994) was an American writer of early science fiction. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life remain unknown. Eight of his works are held in this collection, including The Eternal Wall, Asteroid of Fear, The Planet Strappers, Comet's Burial, People Minus X, The Revolt of the Star Men, Stamped Caution, and Big Pill. Judging from these titles, his writing often centers on space adventure, alien threats, and the ethical dilemmas brought about by technology. He typically drew readers with tight plotting and accessible prose, bearing the clear stamp of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine fiction. Although his works have not entered the mainstream canon, they added a distinctive shade to the landscape of Golden Age science fiction and offered some inspiration for later space-themed writing.