The Unthinking Destroyer

Rog PhillipsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 21K 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 Unthinking Destroyer by Rog PhillipsAuthor: Phillips, Rog, 1909-1965,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 15, 2009

Editor's review

Rog Phillips was an active author in the American science fiction pulp magazine era of the mid-twentieth century, and this long work continues that era's style of tense, bizarre, concept-driven science fiction. According to available information, this book is an English-language original electronic text, edited and released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain science fiction work that readers can access and read freely. Its value lies in providing a primary textual sample for studying the early American science fiction lineage, the narrative appeal of pulp magazines, and technological imagination around the Cold War; it is better read with an eye for genre literature, appreciating its pacing and premises, rather than judged by the strict standards of contemporary hard science fiction. For enthusiasts of science fiction history, researchers of popular literature, and readers who wish to understand the composition of the Project Gutenberg catalog, this is a lightweight but documentary reading. Its overall length and language difficulty make it suitable as an entry point or diversion for short English science fiction reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Genre readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American science fiction.
Researchers studying pulp-era science fiction narrative and the history of science fiction.
General readers who wish to read English public-domain ebooks for free.

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the rigorous scientific premises of contemporary hard science fiction.
Readers unaccustomed to reading English originals and who need a Chinese translation.

Reading tips

Read the opening premise first, then focus on character motivation, and appreciate the pacing of pulp science fiction.
Treat it as a sample of science fiction history and read it alongside similar early English science fiction short stories for comparison.
If English reading is difficult, use a dictionary or bilingual tools to work through it paragraph by paragraph.

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 English or Chinese?

According to the information, this book is an English-language original released as an electronic text by Project Gutenberg. It is a public-domain work suitable for readers with some English reading ability.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

No specialized scientific knowledge is required. A little familiarity with the writing traditions of mid-twentieth-century American popular science fiction magazines will make the work's conceptual premises and narrative appeal easier to understand.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to science fiction?

It can serve as short English reading or as introductory genre material, but it is more documentary in nature than contemporary bestselling science fiction. For a systematic introduction, it is best read alongside science fiction anthologies with introductions and commentary.

Comments

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About the author

Rog Phillips Author · American · 1909–1965

Rog Phillips (1909–1965), pen name of Roger Phillip Graham, was an American science fiction writer born on February 20, 1909, in Spokane, Washington. He was active in science fiction magazines during the 1940s and 1950s, publishing mainly in outlets such as Amazing Stories and known for his short fiction. Seven of his works are included in the collection, among them The Old Martians, Unthinkable, The Gallery, The Unthinking Destroyer, Tillie, Ye of Little Faith, and Cube Root of Conquest. His notable short story "The Yellow Pill" was nominated for a Hugo Award, and he also wrote the fan commentary column "The Club House." Public information on his life and full body of work is limited, and existing accounts center on these magazine short stories, the award nomination, and his science fiction fan activities.