Monkey On His Back

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

3.2

Word count: 28K 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.Monkey On His Back by Charles V. De VetAuthor: De Vet, Charles V., 1911-1997,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Sep 10, 2008

Editor's review

This is an English-language science fiction short story by Charles V. De Vet, published in the mid-twentieth century and part of the early science fiction available in public-domain ebooks. The story revolves around the metaphorical premise of "the monkey on his back"; it is short, tightly paced, and carries the suspense and twist-ending appeal common to the science fiction of its era. Its value lies in giving readers a direct sense of how short stories were written around the golden age of science fiction: premise first, concentrated conflict, and a crisp ending, making it a good sample for understanding the style of early science fiction magazines. Readers should not expect an elaborate world-building; the focus is on how the author creates tension, plants clues, and brings the story to a close within a limited space. For science fiction fans, genre scholars, or English learners, this is a very low-cost textual experience that can be read in one or two evenings, then revisited in key passages to appreciate the structure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early English-language science fiction short stories and fast-paced reading
Enthusiasts studying the history of the science fiction genre and magazine short story methods
Learners who want to practice reading with original short stories in English
People looking for free public-domain ebooks for leisure reading

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers who prefer long-form, grand premises, and complex world-building
Readers with little patience for mid-twentieth-century narrative styles
Those expecting modern technological detail and hard science fiction extrapolation

Reading tips

Read it through in one sitting first to preserve the suspense, then go back to the opening foreshadowing and the ending's echo.
After finishing, summarize the premise, conflict, and twist in a few sentences to check whether you grasped the structure.
English learners can choose a passage for close reading, organize vocabulary and period expressions, and need not translate sentence by sentence.
If early science fiction interests you, compare it with short stories from the same period to observe common themes and methods.

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

What kind of science fiction is this story?

It is a mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction short story that emphasizes premise and suspense, driven by concentrated conflict and a twist ending rather than hard technological extrapolation or elaborate world-building. It can be read as a sample of the genre magazine style of that era.

Is it long? How long does it take to read?

It is a short story of limited length, usually readable in one or two evenings. It is best to read it continuously the first time to preserve the suspense, then revisit the foreshadowing and structure for a fuller experience.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for reading practice?

As an early English-language science fiction short story, the language is generally readable but includes some period expressions and colloquial dialogue. Intermediate learners can try reading it through, guessing unfamiliar words before looking them up, and focusing on expressions that recur.

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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.