The Defiant Agents

Andre Alice NortonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 321K words
Chapters: 33

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 Defiant Agents by Andre NortonAuthor: Norton, Andre, 1912-2005,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 21, 2008

Editor's review

The Defiant Agents is a work in Andre Norton's science-fiction oeuvre; the author was known for space adventure and alien-survival themes, prolific in her lifetime and much loved by genre readers. The book follows her familiar action-driven narrative: human agents face pressure and hard choices in an unfamiliar environment, and the word 'defiant' already signals the theme of resistance and unyielding spirit. For readers familiar with Norton's Solar Queen or Time Patrol series, this work fills out her creative map; for those studying mid-twentieth-century American science fiction, especially the lineage of women SF authors, it also has documentary value. When reading, attend to the characters' judgments and team relationships under extreme circumstances rather than to hard-SF-style technical argument. As a public-domain ebook of moderate length, it suits genre reading as an introduction or classroom discussion material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science-fiction readers who enjoy space adventure and alien-survival themes
Readers studying Andre Norton and twentieth-century American science fiction
Learners who want to understand early work by women SF authors
Those who need a moderate-length English genre text for extensive reading

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking hard-SF technical detail and rigorous worldbuilding
Readers who prefer strongly literary, slow-paced narrative
Readers unwilling to read the English original at all

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to establish the characters and mission background, then proceed chapter by chapter, noting the agents' logic of action.
Keep track of factions and character relationships as you read; this helps in understanding shifts of stance in the conflict.
Compare with Norton's other series to observe recurring motifs in her space-adventure narrative.
As English extensive-reading material, advance a fixed number of chapters each day; guess unfamiliar words first, then look them up.

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

Which of Norton's series does this book belong to?

The materials give only the title, author, and classification information and do not state a series affiliation. Readers concerned about series placement should rely on the actual ebook file or publisher information rather than inferring from the title.

Do I need to read other works first to understand it?

The materials do not indicate that this book depends on a predecessor. Many of Norton's works are standalone adventures and can usually be read directly; if series characters appear, follow the textual cues.

Is the science fiction here hard or adventure-oriented?

The materials provide no concrete plot or worldbuilding details. Given the author's usual creative orientation and the theme signaled by the title, it is generally more action- and adventure-oriented; readers should judge by their actual reading experience.

Is it suitable for middle-school students?

The materials do not specify an appropriate reading age. This is an English public-domain ebook, and its language difficulty and content appropriateness must be judged by readers themselves; teachers or parents are advised to look through it before recommending it to middle-school students.

Comments

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About the author

Andre Alice Norton Author · American · 1912–2005

Andre Norton (1912–2005), born Alice Mary Norton, was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She worked as a children's librarian at the Cleveland Public Library for eighteen years and published her first work under a pen name in 1934. Over her career she wrote more than 130 novels, and is best known for the Witch World series; in 1983 she received the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The library holds fourteen of her works, including The Time Traders, Star Born, Key Out of Time, Plague Ship, The Gifts of Asti, Star Hunter, Ride Proud, Rebel! and The Defiant Agents. Her writing often explores interstellar exploration, alien civilizations and adventurous coming-of-age, with brisk storytelling and vivid imagination, and has had a lasting influence on the development of American science fiction and fantasy.