The Mad Planet

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

3.8

Word count: 124K words
Chapters: 13

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 Mad Planet by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 28, 2011

Editor's review

The Mad Planet is a fairly representative work from Murray Leinster's early science fiction. Set on an alien world whose environment has undergone drastic change and whose ecology has spun out of control, it shows human beings struggling to survive and adapt under extreme natural pressure. The author does not turn the adventure into a simple monster-fighting, level-up story; instead, he focuses on how environment shapes behavior, courage, and judgment. From a relatively simple framework, readers can see early science fiction's plain thinking about the relationship between ecology and civilization. The style is brisk, the pacing fairly traditional, and the chapters advance clearly, making it suitable as an introductory read for understanding early twentieth-century science fiction. It can be enjoyed as a tightly paced alien adventure, and readers can also note the ideas about environmental change and the human condition. For readers used to contemporary hard science fiction, the technical detail and depth of world-building may feel thin, but as a historical specimen of genre fiction it still has value.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early science fiction and alien adventures and want to understand the origins of the genre
Casual readers who want to experience traditional adventure narrative in a shorter length
Beginning readers interested in ecological change and human adaptation
English-language readers who prefer briskly paced science fiction with straightforward premises

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking rigorous scientific world-building and hard science fiction detail
Literary readers who prefer complex character psychology and modern narrative techniques
Readers sensitive to the style and limitations of early science fiction

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get a feel for the environmental premise, then proceed chapter by chapter; there is no need to work out all the background at once.
As you read, pay attention to how the author uses environmental change to drive the characters' choices, and jot down key premises as you go.
If the English original is difficult, read through the plot first, then go back to the passages describing the environment.
After finishing, compare it with other early science fiction works and consider how the genre's themes have continued and changed.

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 suitable for readers new to science fiction?

Fairly suitable. Its premise is direct, the narrative is clear, and it is not long, so the barrier to entry as an introduction to early science fiction style is low, but readers need to accept a more traditional narrative pace and relatively simple scientific premises.

Do I need to know the author or historical background before reading?

Not much preparation is needed. Knowing that this is an early twentieth-century science fiction work is enough to understand the period features in its premises and writing. A brief familiarity with common early science fiction themes will make it easier to enter the context.

Is this book more adventure-oriented or more science-speculation-oriented?

Overall it leans more toward adventure narrative; the scientific speculation serves the environmental premise and plot development rather than centering on rigorous technical extrapolation. Reading it as an alien survival story will set the right expectations.

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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.