The Forgotten Planet

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 328K 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 Forgotten Planet by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 16, 2012

Editor's review

The Forgotten Planet is a classic science fiction work by Murray Leinster, preserved and circulated free of charge through Project Gutenberg. Set on a forgotten colony planet, the novel follows human descendants struggling to survive in an environment where the ecosystem has run wild and species have grown out of control, reflecting early science fiction's serious engagement with evolution, environment, and the decline of civilization. Leinster was skilled at wrapping scientific speculation in tight adventure narrative: the pace is brisk, the imagery vivid, and the story offers both thrilling scenes of monstrous creatures and observations on how human societies reorganize themselves. Of moderate length and written in English, the book serves as an accessible introduction to the style of mid-twentieth-century science fiction novellas and novelettes. Readers may note how the author uses the food chain and ecological disaster to drive the plot, and what social allegory lies beneath the adventure surface. For those who enjoy retro science fiction, ecological themes, or tracing the evolution of the genre, this is a worthwhile free public-domain work.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers who enjoy classic science fiction and adventure stories
Science fiction fans interested in ecological imbalance and evolution
Students and enthusiasts studying the development of mid-twentieth-century science fiction
Readers who want to read English originals free through public-domain resources

Not a good fit for

Readers with limited English proficiency who need a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer contemporary hard science fiction or complex narrative structures
Literary readers expecting extensive psychological portrayal of characters

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the main adventure line, then revisit the ecological setting and species descriptions.
Take notes on the planet's food chain and changes in human settlements to better understand the author's design.
Read alongside other Golden Age science fiction short works to compare themes and techniques.
Do not pause to look up unfamiliar creature names; guess from context first and check them consistently afterward.

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?

According to the Project Gutenberg record, this is the original English-language ebook, labeled as English and classified under American and Canadian literature. The entry provides no information about a Chinese translation, so readers will need some English reading ability.

What is the story mainly about?

The novel is set on a forgotten colony planet, where human descendants struggle to survive and rebuild society in an environment of ecological collapse and giant creatures. The adventure narrative carries reflections on evolution, environment, and the decline of civilization, a common ecological-adventure type in early science fiction.

Is it suitable for readers new to science fiction?

Fairly suitable. The work is not long, the narrative pace is brisk, the adventure line is clear, and the scientific setting mainly serves the plot, so it poses few barriers to reading. Note, however, that it is in English and its style carries the characteristics of mid-twentieth-century science fiction.

How can I get this book for free?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg, one of the earliest projects to provide free ebooks. Readers can search and download it by title or author through its official channels; the specific formats and available versions are subject to the platform's pages.

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About the author

Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975 Author

Murray Leinster (1896–1975) was an American science fiction writer whose real name was William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He was a prolific author of short stories and novels, and this site holds thirty-nine of his works, including The Mad Planet, The Pirates of Ersatz, The Machine That Saved The World, The Forgotten Planet, The Wailing Asteroid, The Invaders, The Runaway Skyscraper, and Scrimshaw. His science fiction often deals with interstellar adventure, strange planets, and technological speculation, with tightly plotted, boldly imaginative narratives that also reflect on human society and the conditions of survival; some works are also categorized as inspirational growth. Public information is limited, making biographical details difficult to describe, but the surviving works show his important place in twentieth-century American popular science fiction and his influence on later writers in the genre.