Tarrano the Conqueror

Ray CummingsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 373K words
Chapters: 38

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.Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray CummingsAuthor: Cummings, Ray, 1887-1957,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 29, 2007

Editor's review

This early science-fiction novel has the distinct adventure flavor of the pulp magazines. Its core premise centers on a domineering figure bent on conquering the world, and the plot advances through escalating crises, technological spectacle, and factional conflict. Its value lies not in finely drawn psychology but in the picture it gives of early twentieth-century science-fiction imagination: exaggerated depictions of new energy sources, long-distance control, and global conflict reflect the era's excitement and anxiety about technological power. Read it as a specimen of genre literature and observe how adventure narrative organizes pacing, sets up villains and rescuers, and uses scientific terminology to create a sense of credibility. This electronic edition comes from public-domain digitization, is easy to obtain, and suits either reading in science-fiction history or casual entertainment. Measured by the standards of literary classics, characterization and stylistic depth are relatively thin, but as material for understanding early science-fiction conventions and popular reading tastes, it retains a distinctive significance.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early science fiction and pulp adventure
Fans and students studying the history of the science-fiction genre
Those seeking fast-paced, plot-driven English reading
Readers who want to practice English reading with public-domain texts

Not a good fit for

Readers of serious fiction who prefer literary depth and psychological characterization
Those impatient with exaggerated premises and simple good-versus-evil oppositions in early science fiction
Hard science-fiction readers who require rigorous scientific grounding and contemporary technological logic

Reading tips

Read it first as an adventure story and do not worry about the plausibility of the science.
Note the points where the villain appears and crises escalate, and observe the narrative pacing.
Pair it with material on science-fiction history and compare common themes and conventions in works of the same period.
When encountering unfamiliar technical terms in English, do not look up every word; first grasp the direction of the plot.

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 in the original English, and how difficult is it?

This electronic edition is in the original English. The language is generally popular narrative prose with fairly uncomplicated sentence structure, suitable for readers with intermediate English reading ability. Some early technical terms and period expressions may require checking, but they do not prevent understanding of the main plot.

Is the story a complete novel or part of a series?

It is a full-length adventure novel, with a complete narrative built around the central figure's conquest scheme and the opposition to it. The plot is driven by a succession of crises and is best read in chapter order rather than in scattered excerpts.

Is it suitable as an introduction to science fiction?

It can serve as introductory material for understanding early science fiction, but it is closer to popular adventure and differs considerably from contemporary science fiction. To build a sense of the genre's history, read it alongside other early science-fiction works.

Comments

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About the author

Ray Cummings Author · American · 1887–1957

Ray Cummings (real name Raymond King Cummings, 1887–1957) was an American science fiction writer born in New York and regarded as one of the founders of early science fiction. He once served as Thomas Edison's personal assistant and technical writer before turning to writing full time. His representative work The Girl in the Golden Atom blends a microscopic world with romantic adventure, and space operas such as Brigands of the Moon are also widely known. Eight of his works are included here, among them The White Invaders, Tarrano the Conqueror, Beyond the Vanishing Point, The Fire People, The World Beyond and Wandl the Invader. Their themes mostly involve space exploration, microcosmic worlds and alien invasions, with bold imagination and tight plotting characteristic of early science fiction adventure. He is said to have written about 750 works, exerting a lasting influence on later science fiction; public information on the details of his life is limited.