The Door into Infinity

Edmond Moore HamiltonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 76K words
Chapters: 8

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 Door into Infinity by Edmond HamiltonAuthor: Hamilton, Edmond, 1904-1977,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 17, 2010

Editor's review

Edmond Hamilton's The Door into Infinity is a short work with cosmic horror and strange-adventure coloring, a page in the early pulp science fiction/fantasy lineage. Its appeal lies in concept-first storytelling: a "door into infinity" setup generates a sense of the unknown, and the tight length pushes readers to the edge of extraordinary experience. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook, the text is easily available, suited to readers who want a quick taste of Hamilton-style imagination. When reading, do not seek rigorous scientific worldbuilding; focus instead on atmosphere and suspense. If you are familiar with Lovecraftian cosmic horror, you will enter its context more easily. It works better as a specimen of genre literature than as a long immersive read; it suits a single sitting, after which you can look back at how the author implies a worldview within limited space.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Genre readers who enjoy early science fiction, fantasy, and cosmic horror
Readers who want a quick introduction to Edmond Hamilton's style through a short work
English learners who need public-domain English short stories for extensive reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer hard science fiction with rigorous setup and scientific extrapolation
Readers expecting lengthy character growth and complex plot development

Reading tips

Set aside an uninterrupted stretch and read it in one go to preserve the continuity of suspense.
After finishing, revisit the opening atmosphere to see how the author plants seeds for "infinity."
If cosmic horror interests you, read it alongside other short works of the same type for comparison.

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

What genre does this work belong to?

It sits closer to the intersection of early pulp science fiction and cosmic horror, building atmosphere through strange premises and unknown dread rather than strict hard science fiction.

Is it long? Does it take a long time to finish?

It is a short work of limited length, usually finishable in one or two hours. It suits a single short reading session or a quick taste of genre literature.

Can I read it without having read other Hamilton works?

Yes. It is a standalone short story that does not depend on prior works. If you like its imaginative style, seek out the author's other works for further reading.

Comments

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About the author

Edmond Moore Hamilton Author · American · 1904–1977

Edmond Hamilton (1904–1977) was an American science fiction writer and one of the representative authors of the space opera genre. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he began publishing in magazines such as Weird Tales in 1926, became known for the Interstellar Patrol and Captain Future series, and later wrote Batman and Superman stories for DC Comics. Six of his works are included here, among them The Man Who Saw the Future, The Sargasso of Space, The World with a Thousand Moons, The Stars, My Brothers, The Legion of Lazarus, and The Door into Infinity. These works mainly involve cosmic adventure, visions of the future, and interstellar exploration, with brisk plotting and sweeping imagination characteristic of early space opera. In 1946 he married the writer Leigh Brackett, and he died in Lancaster, California, in 1977. Publicly available information on his early education and detailed writing career is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.