The Final Figure

Sam Merwin Jr.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 46K 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.The Final Figure by Sam MerwinAuthor: Merwin, Sam, 1910-1996,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 14, 2012

Editor's review

Sam Merwin's The Final Figure is a short English-language work published in the mid-twentieth century, digitized by Project Gutenberg and made available to readers again. Merwin wrote for pulp magazines for many years, and his work often carries an air of suspense and speculative fiction; this piece is no exception. The story is concise, built around a central premise with a hook, and moves at a tight pace, making it suitable for reading in one sitting. For readers studying American pulp-magazine fiction or mid-twentieth-century genre literature, this piece can serve as a sample of the narrative style of the period. Note that the available information provides only the author, language, and classification; it does not cover the specific plot, so readers should not expect too much in terms of length or thematic depth. It is better read as a small slice of genre-literary history than as a major long-form representative work.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American pulp-magazine fiction
General readers looking for short genre pieces to read in spare moments
Students and enthusiasts studying the narrative style of early science fiction or suspense short stories
Those who enjoy tightly paced English short stories with a striking premise

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long, complex plots and deep character development
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are not comfortable reading the English original
Scholars seeking systematic literary criticism or author-study materials

Reading tips

Read through once first to grasp the direction of the suspense, then revisit key passages to appreciate the narrative pacing.
Understand its style in light of the mid-twentieth-century American pulp-magazine publishing context.
The English text is short, making it suitable as one entry in a daily short-story reading plan.
After reading, compare it with similar short stories from the same period to observe Merwin's choices in premise.

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?

According to the available information, Merwin often wrote suspenseful and speculative fiction for pulp magazines, and this piece is a mid-twentieth-century English-language short genre work. The specific plot is not detailed in the available information; readers can approach it as a short story from the pulp-magazine era.

Is it long? How long does it take to finish?

This is a short work of limited length, usually finishable in one or two readings. It suits reading in spare moments and works as one entry in a short-story reading plan; there is no need to schedule time as you would for a novel.

Is there a Chinese translation?

The available information indicates that the work is an English text released by Project Gutenberg and does not mention a Chinese translation. Readers not used to reading English may need a dictionary or bilingual tools, or may first look for related Chinese introductory material before deciding whether to read the original.

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About the author

Sam Merwin Jr. Author · American · 1910–1996

Sam Merwin Jr. (1910–1996) was an American science fiction and mystery writer and editor, born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and a graduate of Princeton University. From 1945 to 1951 he edited the magazines Astonishing Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories, and under the anonymous persona of "Sergeant Saturn" he wrote commentary and columns that helped raise the literary standards of science fiction magazines of the time. His own fiction spans science fiction and mystery, with representative works including The House of Many Worlds and The Final Figure. Six of his works are held in the collection, among them The Ambassador, A World Apart, The Final Figure and Judas Ram, whose themes often involve otherworldly settings and suspenseful mystery. He died in Los Angeles in 1996. Public information on his life and writing is limited and remains to be further organized.