The Peacemaker

Coppel, Alfred, 1921-2004Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 25K words
Chapters: 3

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 Peacemaker by Alfred CoppelAuthor: Coppel, Alfred, 1921-2004,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 25, 2010

Editor's review

The Peacemaker is an English-language science fiction novel by Alfred Coppel (1921–2004), released free as an ebook by Project Gutenberg. Coppel was a twentieth-century American genre writer whose work often revolves around space exploration, conflict, and individual choice; the title itself signals the central figure of the "peacemaker," and readers can expect dramatic explorations of violence and reconciliation, responsibility and cost against an interstellar or futuristic backdrop. As a public-domain ebook it is short and its language is moderately accessible, making it suitable as extensive reading material for English-language science fiction short fiction, and for fans tracing the narrative pleasures of late Golden Age popular science fiction. Read it as a story to be finished in one sitting, and focus on the logic of the characters' choices in crisis rather than expecting lengthy world-building.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classic English-language science fiction short stories and want low-cost extensive reading
Science fiction fans interested in twentieth-century American popular science fiction
Learners who need lightweight English reading material and can accept an older narrative pace

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting hard science fiction technical detail or grand world-building
Readers who prefer contemporary long-form science fiction and have little patience for older styles
Beginners whose English reading is still labored and who need annotations or bilingual editions

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the main conflict and the peacemaker's stance, then revisit the key moments of choice.
Mark unfamiliar older expressions as you go and look them up after finishing a chapter, so as not to break the rhythm.
Read alongside other American science fiction short stories of the same era, noting period features of characterization and conflict resolution.

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?

This is the original English-language ebook released by Project Gutenberg; the language is English and the text contains no Chinese translation. It suits readers with some foundation in English reading.

Is it suitable for science fiction beginners?

It can serve as beginner extensive reading, but note that it is older popular science fiction whose pacing and language habits differ from contemporary work. If you can accept a short length and a quick plunge into conflict, it is a good try; if you are more used to modern long-form fiction, it may not suit your taste.

Do I need to know the author's background to read this book?

No. The story stands relatively on its own, and you can read it without knowing about Coppel's life. For an extra layer of understanding, you might briefly look into the publishing context of twentieth-century American science fiction magazines and popular fiction after finishing.

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

Coppel, Alfred, 1921-2004 Author

Alfred Coppel (1921–2004) was an American author of science fiction and popular fiction whose career spanned several decades, with works known for taut plotting and clear storytelling. Seven of his books are held in this collection: The Peacemaker, The Invader, Double Standard, Turnover Point, Turning Point, The Hills of Home, and Community Property. Judging from these titles, his writing touches on space adventure, future societies, and human conflict, and he was skilled at building suspense and twists within genre frameworks. Public information is limited, and little is known about the details of his life and career, yet these works show his steady output in mid-to-late twentieth-century genre fiction. Coppel's novels are direct in language and brisk in pace, suited to readers who enjoy traditional narrative and science-fictional imagination.