Juju

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 143K words
Chapters: 15

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.Juju by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 19, 2015

Editor's review

Juju is an early science fiction work by Murray Leinster, a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg. Leinster was known for short science fiction and for blending supernatural atmosphere with scientific speculation; this work reflects his interest in unknown forces. The story revolves around a mysterious thing called "Juju," with exotic color and suspenseful tension; it is short but tightly paced, creating suspense and reversal within limited space. For readers wanting to understand early twentieth-century American popular science fiction, it is a light and interesting sample, showing an early form of the later SF motif of the "mysterious object/force." Read it as a slice of its era and note how the author builds narrative between scientific discourse and mysterious tradition. Suitable for a short commute or bedtime read, and as supplementary material for the history of science fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers wanting to understand early American popular science fiction
Casual readers who enjoy short suspense and mystery
Literature fans studying the evolution of the science fiction genre
Those needing light English public-domain reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern hard SF settings and rigorous extrapolation
Readers who prefer long, complex worldbuilding and ensemble casts
Those unaccustomed to early twentieth-century narrative pacing

Reading tips

Read through once for the suspense rhythm, then revisit the foreshadowing at key turns.
Compare with other Leinster short stories to observe common techniques in his mystery themes.
Mark unfamiliar cultural words in the English original and infer meaning from context.
For SF history reading, briefly note after reading how its motifs connect to later works.

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 long or short?

Based on the public-domain listing, Juju is a short narrative work, suitable for reading in one or two sittings. It is closer to the short science fiction style of the pulp magazine era, tightly paced, and should not be approached as a novel.

Can I read it if my English is not good?

The work is an English public-domain ebook; the language is generally early twentieth-century popular narrative, not very difficult in syntax, but contains exotic cultural vocabulary. Basic English reading ability should suffice; skip unfamiliar words and grasp the main plot.

Why recommend it to readers of SF history?

Leinster was an important early author of science fiction and popular fiction, and this work shows a blend of mysterious forces and scientific speculation. It helps readers understand the early form of the later SF motif of the "unknown object/force" and is valuable as a sample of genre evolution.

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About the author

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975 Author

Murray Leinster (1896–1975) was an American science fiction writer whose real name was William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He was a prolific author of short stories and novels, and this site holds thirty-nine of his works, including The Mad Planet, The Pirates of Ersatz, The Machine That Saved The World, The Forgotten Planet, The Wailing Asteroid, The Invaders, The Runaway Skyscraper, and Scrimshaw. His science fiction often deals with interstellar adventure, strange planets, and technological speculation, with tightly plotted, boldly imaginative narratives that also reflect on human society and the conditions of survival; some works are also categorized as inspirational growth. Public information is limited, making biographical details difficult to describe, but the surviving works show his important place in twentieth-century American popular science fiction and his influence on later writers in the genre.