Second Sight

Nourse, Alan Edward, 1928-1992Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 26K 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.Second Sight by Alan Edward NourseAuthor: Nourse, Alan Edward, 1928-1992,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 16, 2007

Editor's review

Alan Edward Nourse's Second Sight is a short science fiction story available in the public-domain electronic texts of Project Gutenberg. Built around the premise of "second sight," it belongs to the idea-driven stories common in the mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazine tradition: brief in length, it moves forward around an anomalous ability and its consequences, focusing on the conflict and speculation generated by the premise rather than on elaborate world-building. Its value lies in giving readers low-cost access to the narrative mode of early science fiction short stories—plunging straight in, leading with the concept, and often ending with a twist or a warning. For Chinese readers, it works well as an introductory sample of the English-language science fiction short story and as a small text for analysis by those interested in the history of the genre or in extrasensory themes. While reading, note how the author establishes rules, builds suspense, and draws the theme together within a limited space.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to encounter a classic English-language science fiction short story in a short time
Readers interested in science fiction premises such as extrasensory perception and anomalous abilities
English learners who want to practice reading with a complete short story
Beginning readers interested in the mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine tradition and genre history

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers expecting a long-form world and a complex ensemble of characters
Readers who prefer contemporary hard science fiction with technical detail and rigorous extrapolation
Readers who need a Chinese translation or sentence-by-sentence annotations to assist their reading

Reading tips

Read it through in one sitting first, then go back to key passages; a short story's suspense and twist depend more on the complete reading experience.
While reading, note the rules and limits of "second sight" and observe how the author uses the premise to drive the conflict.
After finishing, summarize the premise, the conflict, and the ending in three sentences to check whether you have grasped the core.
If you are doing genre research, compare it with extrasensory-themed short stories of the same period and compare how they handle the material.

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 a novel or a short story? How long does it take to read?

According to the available information, this is a science fiction short story of limited length, usually finishable in one or two sittings. The exact page count varies with the layout of the electronic edition, but overall it suits as a short English-language science fiction sample.

What does the title "Second Sight" refer to in the story?

The title generally points to extrasensory perception or the ability of "second sight." The story unfolds around this anomalous ability and its consequences; the specific premise and plot should be judged by the original text. While reading, note how the author defines the limits of the ability and creates conflict.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable as an introduction to science fiction?

As a mid-twentieth-century science fiction short story, its language consists mainly of narration and dialogue and is on the whole not very difficult, though it may contain period expressions. Readers with basic English reading ability can attempt it, and it works well as introductory material for the English-language science fiction short story.

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About the author

Nourse, Alan Edward, 1928-1992 Author

Alan Edward Nourse (1928-1992) is a science fiction author with 24 works held in this collection, though public information about him is limited and biographical details remain to be filled in. Judging from the available titles, he wrote both novels and short stories, often centering on space exploration, medical ethics, and the risks of technology: titles such as Star Surgeon and Brightside Crossing suggest an interest in the intersection of interstellar travel and surgery, while An Ounce of Cure, Consignment, and Marley's Chain reveal a cool scrutiny of technological consequences. He was skilled at carrying speculation through tight plotting, placing ordinary people in extreme situations and using professional detail to heighten realism. Some short pieces, such as Meeting of the Board, adopt a satirical tone, showing that his style was not monolithic. His work had some influence among mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction readers, but details of awards and sales cannot be verified and are therefore not speculated upon.