Null-ABC

Henry Beam PiperProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 205K words
Chapters: 21

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.Null-ABC by John Joseph McGuire and H. Beam PiperAuthor: Piper, H. Beam, 1904-1964,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 8, 2006

Editor's review

Null-ABC, co-written by John Joseph McGuire and H. Beam Piper, is a mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction work released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Set in a society where literacy is deliberately suppressed, the story revolves around the conflict between policies of enforced illiteracy and an underground literate community, and carries a distinct dystopian flavor. Its value lies in using an accessible adventure narrative to carry reflections on education, power, and information control; the pacing is brisk and the conceptual setup clear, making it a suitable primer for understanding the early science fiction tradition of social allegory. The English original is not especially difficult, and the plot moves forward directly, so readers can enjoy the pleasures of genre fiction while pondering what "literacy" means as an instrument of power. For science fiction fans, this is a public-domain short work worth catching up on; for English learners, it is a friendly-length, interestingly themed choice for extensive reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science fiction readers who enjoy dystopian and social-allegory themes
Learners who want to practice extensive reading with short English originals
Readers interested in information control and education issues

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer contemporary hard science fiction and complex world-building
Those who find reading English originals difficult and dislike looking up words
Literary readers expecting in-depth character development in a long novel

Reading tips

Read a plot summary first before entering the original text to lower the initial pressure of reading in English.
Note as you read how "literacy" symbolizes power relations in the story, and organize your notes afterward.
Compare it with works such as Fahrenheit 451 to see how different writers handle similar themes.

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

How difficult is the language in this book?

The English original uses relatively plain vocabulary and short sentences, in the regular style of early popular science fiction. Readers with intermediate English reading ability can finish it with the help of a dictionary.

Is the story long or short?

This is a science fiction work of modest length, suitable for reading in one or two sittings or for reading in sections as English extensive-reading material.

Is it suitable for middle school students?

The subject matter involves social control and power issues, but the expression is accessible; high school students with good English can read it, and discussion is recommended to help them understand the allegory.

Comments

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About the author

Henry Beam Piper Author · American · 1904–1964

The American science fiction writer H. Beam Piper (1904–1964) was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Self-taught, he worked for many years for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He published his first science fiction story in 1947 and went on to write prolifically; 35 of his works are held in this collection. His best-known works include Little Fuzzy, Space Viking, Omnilingual, and The Cosmic Computer, as well as the Terro-Human Future History series. His fiction often centers on contact with alien civilizations, problems of linguistics and translation, interstellar politics, and future history, driving its plots through solid technical and social world-building and combining adventure with speculative reflection; his depiction of deciphering alien documents in Omnilingual is especially admired. He died in 1964. Public information about him is limited and biographical details remain sparse, yet his work still finds readers in English-language science fiction.