Fifty Per Cent Prophet

Garrett, Randall, 1927-1987Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

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.Fifty Per Cent Prophet by Randall GarrettAuthor: Garrett, Randall, 1927-1987,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 25, 2009

Editor's review

Fifty Per Cent Prophet is an English-language science fiction short story by Randall Garrett, published in the mid-twentieth century and brought back to readers' attention through Project Gutenberg's free electronic edition. Garrett excelled at wrapping logical, puzzle-like ingenuity in brisk storytelling, and this piece continues his habitual humorous tone, using the classic science fiction motif of "prophecy" to launch an ironic reflection. It is short but structurally complete, making it a good introductory sample of late Golden Age American science fiction short stories. Since the original is in English and brief, the reading focus is not on character depth or world-building but on how the author uses dialogue and reversal to drive a concept to its limit. Readers are advised to treat it as a short mental game: first follow the narrative and accept its premise, then look back at the clues the author planted at the ending. The electronic edition is easy to obtain; it can be finished in half an hour during a commute, before bed, or ahead of a class discussion, and is also suitable as English reading practice or a conversation starter for a science fiction book club.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to finish a complete English-language science fiction short story in fragmented time
Those interested in the tradition of twentieth-century American science fiction short stories
Learners who need lightweight original English material for reading practice
Science fiction fans who enjoy conceptual puzzles and ending reversals

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long-form world-building and complex character arcs
Those who prefer contemporary realistic science fiction or hard-tech detail
People unaccustomed to reading original English and unwilling to use reference tools

Reading tips

Read through once without looking up words, grasp the plot direction, then revisit key dialogue
After finishing, note how the author handles the "prophecy" premise and compare it with similar works
If using it for English study, select ten lines of dialogue for close reading and retelling practice
Best read in one commute or before bed; avoid splitting it over several days

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?

According to the Project Gutenberg entry, this is an English-language short story by Randall Garrett. The electronic edition is limited in length, usually finishable in one sitting, and not suited to chapter-by-chapter planning as with a novel.

What English level is needed to read it?

The work is mid-twentieth-century popular science fiction narration, with short sentences but colloquial dialogue and period expressions. Readers with roughly CET-4 reading ability who are willing to use a dictionary can generally finish it; the focus is on understanding the logic of the dialogue rather than word-for-word translation.

Where can the electronic edition be obtained?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook and can be searched and downloaded on its official site by title or author. Common formats include plain text and e-reader formats; the exact available formats are subject to the site page.

Is it suitable for book club discussion?

Yes. It is short enough for members to read beforehand; discussion can focus on the plausibility of the "prophecy" premise, the narrator's reliability, and whether the ending reversal works, and it is also easy to compare with other short stories by the same author.

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About the author

Garrett, Randall, 1927-1987 Author

Randall Garrett (1927-1987) was an American science fiction writer active in the mid-twentieth century. Public information about his life is limited, and details such as his exact birth and death dates and nationality still require further verification. The library holds 43 of his works, including The Highest Treason, Dead Giveaway, The Foreign Hand Tie, Thin Edge, The Asses of Balaam, Anything You Can Do!, That Sweet Little Old Lady, and The Bramble Bush. Judging from these titles, his output consists mainly of short stories and novellas, often built around tricks, misunderstandings, and reversals. He was skilled at creating suspense within a limited space, advancing plots through witty dialogue and a brisk pace, and frequently ending with an unexpected twist. His titles often carry a playful, ironic tone, showing a confident command of science fiction conventions and a humorous attitude toward them. Although public information is limited, these works remain useful samples for studying mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction short fiction.