Starman's Quest

Robert SilverbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 264K words
Chapters: 27

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.Starman's Quest by Robert SilverbergAuthor: Silverberg, Robert, 1935-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 7, 2008

Editor's review

This is an early novel by science fiction writer Robert Silverberg, a public-domain text within Project Gutenberg's free eBook system. The story centers on the quest of the "Starmen," with the flavor of classic space adventure and a coming-of-age narrative; the pacing is brisk and the setting clear, making it a suitable introduction to mid-twentieth-century science fiction style. The electronic edition is easy to search and quote, and works well for teaching discussions or reading-group selections in genre literature. Note that this is the original English edition, with language difficulty above average, and that the book is early, so some technological imaginings and gender depictions bear the marks of their era; readers should view them in the light of genre history. Overall, it is a convenient low-cost way to encounter the early phase of a classic science fiction author, rather than a representative work of his career.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science fiction readers who want a low-cost way to encounter Silverberg's early work
Teachers and reading groups needing English science fiction texts for teaching
Genre literature fans interested in mid-twentieth-century space adventure
Students who want to practice reading English novels through public-domain eBooks

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want Silverberg's mature representative works
Beginner to intermediate English readers not yet able to handle a full novel
Readers expecting contemporary hard science fiction settings or complex worldbuilding

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters first to gauge language difficulty and narrative pace, then decide whether to read the whole book.
Read alongside a chronology of Silverberg's career and note the differences between his early style and later works.
Proceed at one or two chapters a day, skimming technical descriptions when needed to keep the story flowing.
After finishing, compare it with other public-domain Golden Age science fiction to discuss how genre conventions evolved.

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 representative work of Silverberg's?

No. It is one of the novels from an earlier stage of Silverberg's career, useful for understanding where his style began, but it is not usually regarded as his most mature or most acclaimed work. To encounter his representative works, choose one of his later novels instead.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for learning English?

As a mid-twentieth-century English science fiction novel, the language is generally fluent but contains some descriptive vocabulary and period usage, with difficulty above average. Readers with a college-level English reading foundation can attempt it; beginners are advised to sample the opening first.

Why is this book published by Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg aims to provide free public-domain eBooks. The original English edition has entered the public domain, so it has been prepared and released as a free electronic text, convenient for downloading and classroom use, though the edition contains no modern annotations.

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About the author

Robert Silverberg Author · American · 1935

Robert Silverberg (1935– ) is an American science fiction writer born on January 15, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, and a 1956 graduate of Columbia University. He began publishing in 1955 and was known in his early career for his high output, later turning to more literary science fiction. His works include Nightwings, Dying Inside, and Lord Valentine's Castle. He has won the Hugo and Nebula Awards multiple times and received the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Award in 2004. Seven of his works are included in this collection, among them Master of Life and Death, Postmark Ganymede, and Starman's Quest. His themes often involve space exploration, alien adventures, and human dilemmas, combining accessible storytelling with deep portrayals of his characters' predicaments, and he has influenced science fiction readers in China and abroad.