Pariah Planet

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

3.1

Word count: 202K 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.Pariah Planet by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 18, 2009

Editor's review

Pariah Planet is a science fiction work by Murray Leinster, available through Project Gutenberg's public-domain ebook program. Leinster was a twentieth-century American science fiction writer known for tight plotting and an accessible style, often presenting interstellar adventure alongside human dilemmas. The book centers on an outcast planet and marginalized groups, using a space-opera shell to explore prejudice, segregation, and communal identity; the narrative moves briskly and the premise is imaginative. As a public-domain ebook, it is freely accessible and serves as a useful sample of how early science fiction handled social issues. Readers might note how the author uses genre-fiction techniques to address real-world concerns, and how group exclusion and individual choice are portrayed. It suits fragmented reading on commutes or journeys, and works as an introductory or supplementary text for science fiction fans.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science fiction readers who enjoy classic space opera and interstellar adventure
Literature enthusiasts curious about twentieth-century American science fiction
Learners who need free public-domain ebooks for English reading practice
Readers interested in social prejudice and group exclusion in science fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting contemporary hard science fiction or rigorous scientific worldbuilding
Readers who prefer long, complex worldbuilding and deep character development
Readers unaccustomed to the layout and reading experience of English public-domain ebooks

Reading tips

Read through the plot first, then revisit how the author maps real social issues onto the interstellar setting.
Read alongside other Leinster short stories to observe his narrative patterns and thematic preferences.
Note key conflicts and character choices while reading to organize thematic threads and discussion points.
Take advantage of the ebook's searchability to annotate unfamiliar expressions as you go.

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 suitable for English beginners to read directly?

The language is generally accessible, but there are still many early science fiction conventions and long sentences. Beginners might first use annotations or a translation to grasp the plot, then gradually read the original; it is not ideal as a first English book.

Why is it said to carry social themes?

The word "Pariah" in the title points to the excluded, and the story revolves around isolation and group prejudice. The author places real-world exclusion in an interstellar setting, letting readers see reflections on community and individual circumstances within the adventure plot.

What is the reading experience of the public-domain ebook like?

The Project Gutenberg edition is mainly plain text, easy to search and copy, but the layout is plain and lacks the tables of contents and annotations of modern ebooks. Reading software that supports font size adjustment and bookmarks is recommended.

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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.