Metamorphosis

De Vet, Charles V., 1911-1997Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 27K 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.Metamorphosis by Charles V. De VetAuthor: De Vet, Charles V., 1911-1997,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 9, 2016

Editor's review

Metamorphosis is a short work by Charles V. De Vet published during the Golden Age of science fiction, made freely available in an English electronic edition through Project Gutenberg. De Vet is skilled at constructing suspenseful science-fiction premises with concise prose; this piece revolves around the core image of "metamorphosis," and though short, it is tightly paced, making it a good sample for understanding mid-twentieth-century American science-fiction short stories. The electronic edition is easy to obtain and can be read in one sitting during fragmented time such as a commute or lunch break, and it is also suitable as introductory material for reading science fiction in English. One caveat: this is a public-domain English-language e-book without a Chinese translation or annotations, so reading it requires some English proficiency; moreover, the work is from an earlier era, and its science-fiction premises and narrative methods bear the marks of their time. Readers might appreciate it from the dual perspectives of literary-historical document and genre reading, rather than judging it by the complexity of contemporary long-form science fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to understand mid-twentieth-century American science fiction through short stories
Readers with basic English who want to try original English short stories
Office workers and students who need to finish a complete story in fragmented time
Collector-type readers interested in public-domain e-books and the history of science fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation and do not wish to face the English original
Contemporary science-fiction fans who prefer long-form world-building and complex premises
Beginner learners who need annotations, introductions, and other supporting materials

Reading tips

First read through to grasp the plot direction, then look back at the setup in the opening to appreciate the short story's foreshadowing.
Note unfamiliar vocabulary as you read, and look it up afterward, balancing the story with English learning.
Read alongside other Golden Age science-fiction short stories to observe how writers of the same period handled the theme of "metamorphosis" differently.

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?

This is an English public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English and contains no Chinese translation. It suits readers with some English reading ability; if you only want to read the story in Chinese, you will need to find a translation separately.

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

This is a short science-fiction work of modest length; readers with basic English ability can usually finish it in one or two readings, making it suitable for fragmented time such as a commute or lunch break.

Do I need to know the author's background before reading?

Not necessarily. The story itself is relatively self-contained; you can go straight into the text. If you become interested afterward, you can learn about the development of mid-twentieth-century American science-fiction magazines to help understand the work's place in its era.

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About the author

De Vet, Charles V., 1911-1997 Author

Charles V. De Vet (1911–1997) is an English-language science fiction author about whom little biographical information is publicly available; the library holds nine of his works. Judging from titles such as There is a Reaper ..., Infinity's Child, Monkey On His Back, Wheels Within, Vital Ingredient, Delayed Action, Metamorphosis, and Growing up on Big Muddy, he mainly wrote short science fiction, often centering on unknown threats, unusual situations, and individual choices under pressure, with the compactness and suspense typical of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine stories. Though his output was modest, his bizarre premises and brisk storytelling left an impression on readers. Because public information is limited, details of his life and the full scope of his work remain to be verified; this introduction is based only on the library's holdings and confirmed public common knowledge.