The Rat Racket

Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 39K 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 Rat Racket by David H. KellerAuthor: Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 12, 2008

Editor's review

The Rat Racket is a short work by David H. Keller, belonging to a strand of the early English-language science fiction and pulp tradition. Keller was active in genre magazines in the first half of the twentieth century, and his work often enters some strange or absurd premise through concise narration, carrying the rhythm and theatricality of old-style popular literature. Released as a public-domain electronic text by Project Gutenberg, this book is short and suitable as an introductory sample for understanding early English-language genre short fiction. Its reading value lies not in complex intellectual depth but in observing how an era handled bizarre subject matter with a light touch, and how public-domain e-books preserve such easily forgotten texts. It is suitable for reading in one sitting during fragmented time such as commuting or between classes, and also suitable for English learners as controllable-length original-text extensive reading material. Note that the work carries the language habits and narrative conventions of its time; readers should view it from the perspective of literary history and language learning rather than expecting rigorously constructed science fiction premises in the modern sense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners who want to practice English extensive reading with short original texts
Readers interested in early English-language science fiction and pulp magazine literature
Readers who need fragmented reading material for between classes or commuting
Enthusiasts studying public-domain electronic texts and the preservation of genre literature

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long-form complex worldbuilding and hard science fiction premises
Readers lacking patience for old-style popular narrative pacing
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or annotated edition to assist reading

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then look up unfamiliar words on the second pass to avoid interruptions that break the rhythm.
Pay attention to early twentieth-century English expression habits while reading, and compare with contemporary science fiction short stories.
After finishing, summarize the core premise in two or three sentences as a speaking or writing retelling exercise.
If interested in the author, look up genre short works from the same period in Project Gutenberg.

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 English beginners to read directly?

Not very suitable for readers with zero foundation. It is un simplified original English; although short in length, old-style expressions and narrative habits add to the comprehension burden. Readers with roughly intermediate reading ability who are used to reading original short stories are advised to try it; beginners may first find simplified or bilingual editions as a transition.

Why is this book published by Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free e-books, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. The project is dedicated to digitizing works that have entered the public domain; this book is such a public-domain text, so it can be obtained and read for free, but it usually contains no modern editorial notes.

What can one learn from reading this book?

Mainly gains at the language and literary history levels: on one hand, one can practice reading original English; on the other, one can observe how early genre short fiction set up suspense and twists. It is not a systematic knowledge book, and readers should not expect in-depth explanation of science or history.

Comments

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About the author

Keller, David H. (David Henry), 1880-1966 Author · American · 1880–1966

David H. Keller (1880–1966) was an American psychiatrist and a writer of science fiction and horror. His work appeared mainly in early pulp magazines, and two of his titles are held in this collection: Tiger Cat and The Rat Racket. Public information about his life is limited, so biographical details are difficult to set out; judged by the surviving works, however, he drew on his medical and psychiatric background to build tension in science fiction and horror, depicting strange and grotesque situations and characters' states of mind, with the brisk pacing and concentrated plotting typical of early pulp fiction. As an author combining professional medical training with popular literary creation, he holds a place in the field of early twentieth-century American genre fiction, and his work is still mentioned by enthusiasts of science fiction and horror literature.