Revolution

Reynolds, Mack, 1917-1983Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 7

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.Revolution by Mack ReynoldsAuthor: Reynolds, Mack, 1917-1983,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 20, 2007

Editor's review

Revolution is a science fiction work by Mack Reynolds, released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Reynolds's writing often engages with social systems, economic formations, and political change, and this book continues his speculative treatment of the theme of revolution. As an early example of digital publishing, it features clean formatting and English-language text, making it a suitable introductory read for understanding the tradition of social critique in mid-twentieth-century American science fiction. Readers need not focus on the thrill of the plot; instead, they should attend to how the author uses an imagined society to explore institutional change and how he handles the boundary between utopia and dystopia. Because the work is relatively old, some of its technological assumptions and social views now seem dated, but precisely for that reason it serves as a mirror for observing how science fiction responds to real-world issues. Readers are advised to approach the text with a questioning mind and to treat revolution as a thought experiment rather than a mere action narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of American science fiction and socially critical science fiction
Those who want to understand Reynolds's style through public-domain eBooks
Learners who need English-language science fiction short works for reading practice
Speculative readers concerned with institutional change and utopian themes

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting high-tempo action and strong plot conflict
Those who struggle with reading English originals and lack辅助 tools
Science fiction fans hoping for contemporary cutting-edge technological settings

Reading tips

Read a Chinese summary or author background first, then move on to the English original to lower the barrier to understanding.
Read "revolution" as a thought experiment, taking notes on the author's speculative institutional design as you go.
Read it alongside social science fiction by contemporaries such as Le Guin and Dick to observe thematic differences.
Use the search function of the Gutenberg eBook to mark recurring key concepts and revisit them.

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 a novel or a short story?

According to the Project Gutenberg catalog information, this book is an English-language literary work included on the platform, of moderate length. The exact word count is not given in the materials; it is advisable to download it and check the file information before deciding whether to read it in one sitting or in several.

Can I read it if my English is not good?

The original text is in English and its style reflects the vocabulary habits of mid-twentieth-century science fiction. If you have limited experience reading English, you can use a dictionary or a bilingual companion tool, first grasping the main plot and then returning to the detailed descriptions.

Why is it recommended to focus on "institutions" rather than "technology"?

Reynolds's writing often takes social institutions and economic formations as the core of its speculation, with technology serving more as background. Paying attention to how institutions are imagined and challenged will better capture the work's problematic than tracking gadgets.

Is this book suitable as classroom discussion material?

It is suitable as supplementary reading for courses on the history of science fiction or social thought, especially when discussing utopian and revolutionary narratives. Note, however, that the work is relatively old; instructors should supply historical background to prevent students from equating fictional settings directly with real-world proposals.

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About the author

Reynolds, Mack, 1917-1983 Author

Mack Reynolds (1917–1983) was an American science fiction writer, born Dallas McCord Reynolds. Because public information is limited, no speculation is made here about his early life or education. The collection holds twenty-five of his works, including I’m a Stranger Here Myself, The Common Man, Happy Ending, Dogfight—1973, Black Man’s Burden, Off Course, Summit, and Ultima Thule. These titles suggest that he excelled at short stories and novellas, often addressing social issues, race relations, political conflict, and future warfare. His titles are frequently blunt and ironic, his narratives tight, and he makes effective use of suspense and reversal to discuss real-world problems within the framework of popular science fiction. His work appeared mainly in mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazines and has had some influence on later socially engaged science fiction.