The Big Engine

Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 9.8K words
Chapters: 1

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.The Big Engine by Fritz LeiberAuthor: Leiber, Fritz, 1910-1992,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 25, 2016

Editor's review

The Big Engine is a short science-fiction work by Fritz Leiber, included in Project Gutenberg's free e-book library. Leiber is known for his speculative sci-fi concepts, and this piece centers on a massive mechanical device, carrying the technological imagination and human questioning typical of Golden Age science fiction. It is short and serves as an accessible sample for understanding mid-twentieth-century American short sci-fi style. As you read, notice how the author builds a world within limited space and embeds social metaphor behind technological spectacle. For readers studying early science fiction or practicing English-language reading, this book is a light and interesting choice. Note that it is an English original in the public-domain e-book collection, with no Chinese translation included, so readers need some English reading ability. Reading it alongside Leiber's other short stories is recommended to appreciate his narrative rhythm and thematic preferences.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to understand mid-twentieth-century American short science-fiction style
Learners with some English proficiency who want light reading in the English original
Researchers interested in early science-fiction literary history and themes of technological imagination
Teachers who need short fiction material for reading classes or book-club discussions

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long-form, fully developed worlds and complex character arcs
Readers with weak English reading skills who want a Chinese translation
Science-fiction fans expecting contemporary hard-SF technical detail

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then revisit the opening setup to see how the author lays groundwork.
Keep pen and paper handy to note unfamiliar English expressions and build vocabulary in a science-fiction context.
After finishing, compare it with Leiber's other short stories to compare themes and narrative techniques.

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 Chinese or English?

This is the English original from Project Gutenberg's public-domain e-book library. The materials provide no information on a Chinese translation, so readers need appropriate English ability.

About how long is it—can it be finished in one sitting?

The materials do not give a specific word count, but as a short science-fiction piece it is brief and can usually be completed in one or two readings, suitable for fragmented time.

Do I need to know the author Leiber's background first?

Not necessarily. You can start directly with the text and look up the author's life and creative background afterward, which helps understand the origins and era of his sci-fi concepts.

Comments

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About the author

Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. Author · American · 1910–1992

Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, born in Chicago to parents who were both Shakespearean actors. His work spans several genres, with representative titles including The Big Time, Yesterday House, A Bad Day for Sales, The Moon Is Green, and A Pail of Air, as well as the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser sword-and-sorcery series created with Harry Fischer. He excelled at injecting the grotesque and the fearful into everyday settings, combining cool social satire with sharp imagination and a witty, dramatic prose style. Leiber won the Hugo Award six times and the Nebula Award three times, and in 1981 was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, leaving a lasting influence on later genre literature.