The Mind Digger

Marks, Winston K. (Winston Kinney), 1915-1979Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 33K words
Chapters: 4

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 Mind Digger by Winston K. Marks. Author: Marks, Winston K. (Winston Kinney), 1915-1979. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: May 12, 2010

Editor's review

The Mind Digger is a short English-language science fiction story by Winston K. Marks. Compact in length, it serves as an accessible introduction to the style of mid-twentieth-century North American science fiction magazines. Built around the concept of "mind digging," the narrative revolves around thought reading or consciousness probing, and displays the era's characteristic concept-first approach and tight plotting. Marks is adept at creating suspense and delivering a twist within a limited space; the read is brisk and undemanding. This edition is a free Project Gutenberg e-text, easy to obtain and suited to reading on an electronic device in spare moments. For readers seeking to trace the development of the science fiction genre or study the structure of early English-language short stories, the book offers a very low-cost sample; it can also serve as extensive English reading material for experiencing the language rhythms and narrative habits of last century's science fiction. Note that this is a public-domain electronic text with no modern annotations or introduction, so readers must supply the background themselves.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers seeking a low-cost introduction to early English-language science fiction short stories
Language learners needing light English extensive reading material
Enthusiasts of science fiction premises involving thought reading
Those studying the style of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazines

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers who prefer full-length, fully built worlds
Beginners who need detailed annotations and introductory guidance
Readers uncomfortable with reading English originals

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot and the twist, then revisit the passages where key premises appear.
Read alongside short stories from the same period to compare themes and techniques.
When using it for extensive English reading, skip unfamiliar words first and keep your reading rhythm.
After reading, try restating the core premise in a few sentences to check whether you have grasped the essentials.

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 a novel or a short story?

Judging from the Project Gutenberg record, it is a short English-language science fiction work, suitable for reading in one or two sittings rather than scheduling time as you would for a novel.

Can I read it without any background in science fiction?

You can try. The concepts are relatively concentrated and the length is limited, but the text is in English and unannotated; if your English reading is not yet fluent, it is advisable to use a dictionary or read alongside a translation first, then gradually work through it independently.

Does this edition include an introduction or annotations?

This is a public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg, typically containing only the main text and basic bibliographic information, without a modern introduction, annotations, or analysis; readers must fill in the background themselves.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Marks, Winston K. (Winston Kinney), 1915-1979 Author

Winston K. Marks (1915–1979) was an American science fiction writer, born Winston Kinney Marks. Public information about his life and education is limited, and what is known comes mainly from his published work. The library holds 15 of his works, including "...So They Baked a Cake," "The Mind Digger," "Tabby," "Mate in Two Moves," "Unbegotten Child," "Brown John's Body," "Backlash," and "Breeder Reaction." These are mostly short science fiction stories dealing with technological ethics, human weakness, and social absurdity. They often use a light, humorous tone to frame a cool-headed look at technology out of control and the human condition; some titles are also classified under inspirational growth. He was active during the mid-twentieth-century boom of American science fiction magazines, and his stories appeared in popular science fiction periodicals, exerting some influence on later short-form science fiction writing.