Subversive

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

3.1

Word count: 41K words
Chapters: 5

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.Subversive by Mack ReynoldsAuthor: Reynolds, Mack, 1917-1983,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 26, 2007

Editor's review

Subversive is a science fiction short story by Mack Reynolds published in the mid-twentieth century, a public-domain work in the Project Gutenberg free ebook collection. Reynolds wrote steadily for pulp science fiction magazines and was skilled at using brisk storytelling to explore questions of social systems and ideology; the title itself signals this rebellious thematic bent. Readers should not expect hard-SF technical detail—its value lies more in showing how genre writers of the era used fiction to imagine politics and society, making it a useful sample of mid-century American popular science fiction. It is short and plainly written, suitable for reading in one sitting on a commute or in spare moments, and works as an entry-level text for reading English in the original; a brief familiarity with Cold War-era American society will help in appreciating its period tone.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice reading short original texts
Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American popular science fiction
Teachers and students who need free public-domain ebook resources
Readers who enjoy fiction that discusses questions of social systems

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for rigorous scientific worldbuilding and hard-SF detail
Readers expecting a full-length, fully built fictional world
Readers unaccustomed to reading English originals or unfamiliar with older popular-fiction style

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then revisit the title and key dialogue to sense its rebellious edge.
Briefly learn about Cold War-era American society beforehand to better grasp the text’s tone.
Read alongside other public-domain science fiction shorts to compare the social issues writers of the period addressed.
Guess unfamiliar words from context first and look them up after finishing a passage, to keep your reading rhythm.

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?

It is short with fairly plain sentences, so as a public-domain short story it can be attempted in the original, but the text is old enough that it may contain outdated expressions and colloquial dialogue. It is better to read it after acquiring a basic vocabulary, or with a dictionary and notes at hand; there is no need to understand every detail on a first pass.

Is this a novel or a short story?

According to its inclusion in Project Gutenberg, this is a short story by Mack Reynolds; the electronic edition is brief and can usually be read in one or two sittings. It suits reading in spare moments and is also convenient for rereading and analyzing its themes.

Does the content focus more on scientific setup or social issues?

Judging from the author’s usual style of popular science fiction, the work leans toward using a fictional plot to discuss social systems and ideology rather than dwelling on technical detail. Readers can treat it as an idea-driven short story of its time and should not expect much in the way of scientific speculation.

Comments

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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.