Diagnosis

Palmer, Ray, 1910-1977Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 23K words
Chapters: 3

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.Diagnosis by Ray PalmerAuthor: Palmer, Ray, 1910-1977,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 23, 2015

Editor's review

"Diagnosis" is a short work by the American writer Ray Palmer, one piece within his line of science fiction and popular fiction. The story revolves around the core concept of "diagnosis," building suspense within a tight length, with the directness and briskness common to early genre fiction. Palmer was long active in the popular magazine field, and his writing emphasizes plot momentum and the pleasure of reading; this piece likewise achieves a complete narrative closure in a relatively short span, making it a suitable sample for understanding the face of mid-twentieth-century American popular science fiction. As a public-domain e-book, it is not long and takes little time to read, yet it lets readers feel how genre literature of that era imagined issues such as science, identity, and judgment. For researchers, it is lightweight material for observing the writing style of popular magazines; for ordinary readers, it is a short diversion to be finished in a single commute or afternoon.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early American popular science fiction short stories
Casual readers who want to finish a complete story in a short time
Researchers interested in mid-twentieth-century genre magazine writing
Learners who need short materials for English extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers expecting lengthy world-building and complex settings
Readers who prefer strong literary quality and obvious linguistic experimentation
Readers sensitive to early genre fiction tropes and seeking novelty

Reading tips

Read through once without looking at any background introduction first, to preserve the suspense experience
After reading, revisit the title and key turns to consider the multiple meanings of "diagnosis" in the text
Can be read in comparison with other popular science fiction short stories of the same period to observe common tropes
When used as English extensive reading material, read through first and then look up unfamiliar words, to avoid interrupting the rhythm

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 a novel or a short story?

From the materials, it is a short work by Ray Palmer, not long, suitable for reading in one sitting. The exact length is subject to the actual content of the e-book; readers may regard it as a complete short narrative.

Can I read it without knowing the author?

Yes. This work does not depend on prior reading of the author's other works; the story itself is relatively standalone. Readers need not know Palmer's writing career in advance; they can enter the text directly and still have a complete reading experience.

Is it suitable for intensive English reading?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but is not very suitable as a main textbook for intensive reading. It is in the style of early popular magazines, with direct sentence patterns and limited length, suitable for quick reading to develop language sense; for intensive reading, one would need to supplement vocabulary and cultural background notes oneself.

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About the author

Palmer, Ray, 1910-1977 Author · American · 1910–1977

Ray Palmer (Palmer, Ray, 1910–1977) was an American science fiction editor and publisher who edited magazines such as Amazing Stories, leaving his mark on mid-twentieth-century American science fiction publishing. Two of his works are held in the collection, The Hell Ship and Diagnosis. Judging by their titles, the former has the flavor of space adventure and suspenseful narrative, while the latter tends toward diagnosis and deduction, suggesting that beyond his editorial work he also wrote fiction drawing on varied subjects. Because public information is limited, details of his life, editorial philosophy, and the reception of his works are hard to set out at length; yet as an editor and publisher he played a role in magazine operations and in circulating science fiction. His writing and editorial practice may be seen as one facet of the popular science fiction publishing ecology of that era, offering some reference value for understanding the editorial tastes and thematic preferences of science fiction magazines at the time.