No Strings Attached

Del Rey, Lester, 1915-1993Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

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.No Strings Attached by Lester Del ReyAuthor: Del Rey, Lester, 1915-1993,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 16, 2010

Editor's review

Lester Del Rey's No Strings Attached is a notable early science fiction short story, made freely available to the public through Project Gutenberg. Del Rey later became deeply influential in science fiction editing and publishing, and this work lets readers observe his grasp of genre narrative from the creative side: though brief, it drives a speculative premise into a tense situation. For readers familiar with modern science fiction, it is more like a window showing how mid-twentieth-century American science fiction handled the relationship between technology, human nature, and unintended consequences. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to finish on a commute or in spare moments, and it also suits as an analytical sample for science fiction writing classes or reading groups, discussing how a short story completes setup, turn, and aftertaste within a limited word count. While reading, pay attention to how the meaning suggested by the title echoes the plot; this will enhance your engagement with the reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of science fiction editing and publishing
Writers who want to study the structure of early science fiction short stories
Readers who prefer short pieces they can finish in spare moments
Participants in science fiction reading groups who need a sample for discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting lengthy world-building and complex settings
Readers who prefer the fast pace and strong conflict of contemporary science fiction
Beginners unaccustomed to the narrative style of early English-language short stories

Reading tips

Read through once to feel the turn, then go back to how the title and plot echo each other.
After reading, write three sentences summarizing the setup, conflict, and aftertaste to test the short story's structure.
Read it alongside other short stories by the same author to observe the continuity of his narrative techniques.
It is suitable for reading in one sitting during spare moments like a commute, preserving a complete first-reading impression.

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 suitable for learning short story writing?

It works as a sample for structural analysis. It is not long, and its setup and turn are relatively concentrated, making it easy to break down how a short story advances the plot from one core idea. Writers can focus on how it establishes and resolves a situation within a limited word count, without expecting complex multi-threaded narrative.

What is Del Rey's place in science fiction?

Lester Del Rey was an early science fiction creator who later had a long-lasting influence in science fiction editing and publishing. Reading this book lets you understand his narrative orientation from the creative side; if you want to learn about his editorial work, look separately for materials on science fiction publishing history, as this book itself does not cover that.

Where can I get the electronic edition?

This book is released by Project Gutenberg and is a free public-domain ebook. Readers can search for it by title on Project Gutenberg platforms and download it; the specific available formats depend on what the platform provides. No purchase is required to read it.

What should I do if I don't understand early science fiction?

You can first read it as a short story, focusing on the characters' situation and the turn, without rushing to grasp setting details. If you are still interested after finishing, then look up background materials on the history of early science fiction as a genre. Early works have a different narrative pace from modern ones; slowing down and reading in sections will make it smoother.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Del Rey, Lester, 1915-1993 Author

Lester Del Rey (1915-1993) was an American science fiction writer, with 11 of his works held in this collection. Public information is limited, and details of his life are difficult to verify, but the surviving works show that his writing spanned novels and short stories, often dealing with space adventure, the ethics of technology, and catastrophic crises. Representative works include Badge of Infamy, No Strings Attached, Dead Ringer, Let ‘Em Breathe Space!, The Sky Is Falling, Operation Distress, Earthbound, and Victory. These titles suggest a concern with social order, identity, and the human condition, with narratives that carry reflections on the consequences of technology through tight plotting, in a popular style that nonetheless retains tension. His works had a certain influence among mid-twentieth-century American science fiction readers, and some pieces are still selected for science fiction anthologies, offering readers a view of the genre in that era.