Competition

Causey, James, 1924-2003Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 18K words
Chapters: 2

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.Competition by James CauseyAuthor: Causey, James, 1924-2003,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 7, 2009

Editor's review

Competition is a short science-fiction work by James Causey (1924–2003), published in the mid-twentieth century and made available as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Causey's science fiction often uses spare narration to probe human nature and competition, and this short piece serves as a sample of early American science-fiction magazine style. The Gutenberg edition is the original English text with no modern annotations, so readers should have a reasonable command of English. Its value lies not in an elaborate world but in a compact hypothetical situation worth reflecting on; it can be read in one sitting during a commute or a break, and works well as English extensive-reading material or a supplementary text for a discussion class on science fiction. Readers expecting complex world-building or a long narrative should adjust their expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want short English science fiction for extensive reading
Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American science-fiction short stories
Teachers of science-fiction topics who need a short text for class discussion
Readers who like to finish a complete story in fragmented time

Not a good fit for

Hard science-fiction readers expecting a long world-building narrative and complex settings
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers unaccustomed to the pacing of early science fiction

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then revisit key dialogue and note how the theme of competition is presented.
Guess unfamiliar words from context first and look them up afterward to avoid breaking the rhythm.
Use it as English extensive-reading material and write a three-sentence summary of the story and theme after each reading.
For a discussion class, prepare one question in advance: is the competition in the story inevitable or manufactured?

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 in Chinese or English?

Project Gutenberg offers the original English text, with no Chinese translation. Readers with solid English can read it directly; beginners should use a dictionary or a bilingual comparison tool, getting the gist first and then reading closely.

How long is it, and how long does it take to finish?

This is a short science-fiction work, usually finishable in one reading; the exact page count depends on the layout. It suits commuting or break-time reading and need not be split across sessions.

Do I need to know the author's background beforehand?

Not necessarily. James Causey was a mid-twentieth-century American science-fiction writer, and this piece can be read on its own. For deeper understanding, briefly look into the science-fiction magazine publishing environment of the time after reading.

Why does the Gutenberg edition have no annotations?

Project Gutenberg aims to provide free electronic texts and generally preserves the original work without adding modern annotations or introductions. Readers who need background material can consult relevant literary histories or author entries themselves.

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About the author

Causey, James, 1924-2003 Author

James Causey (1924–2003) was an American writer of science fiction and popular fiction who remains little known to Chinese readers, and publicly available information about him is limited. Five of his works are held in the collection: Competition, Teething Ring, Exploiter's End, Inhibition and Felony. Judging from these titles and their genre characteristics, his writing often revolves around tense themes such as competition, control and transgression, and he was skilled at using the short-story form to create suspense and a reflective atmosphere, earning a place in the mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine landscape. His works are concise and briskly paced, often using the shell of genre fiction to explore the boundaries of human nature and order, and thus retain reading value for fans of the field and offer useful samples for studying popular science fiction writing of that period.