The Wailing Asteroid

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

3.6

Word count: 329K words
Chapters: 33

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 Wailing Asteroid by Murray LeinsterAuthor: Leinster, Murray, 1896-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Sep 20, 2015

Editor's review

The Wailing Asteroid is a science-fiction novella by Murray Leinster, in the original English, and a typical sample of the golden age of American popular science fiction. The “wailing” in the title points to the work's central mystery: a signal from space, an unknown threat, and humanity's technological response. Leinster excels at advancing plot with an engineer's imagination, weaving radio, spaceflight, and crisis decision-making into a tight narrative with a clear “problem–solution” structure. For Chinese readers its value lies not in profound philosophical speculation but in understanding how mid-twentieth-century science fiction shaped the narrative templates of the “space signal” and “alien contact,” and the pacing of pulp-magazine science fiction. As a public-domain e-book of moderate length, it suits as an introductory sample for reading science-fiction history or as English extensive-reading material. A caveat: the work carries the technological imagination and social and gender conventions of its era, and readers should view it with historical perspective.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in science-fiction history and golden-age popular science fiction
Learners who want to use English public-domain texts for extensive reading practice
Those who enjoy themes of space signals, crisis response, and technological puzzles
Science-fiction writing enthusiasts who want to study the pacing and suspense of short novels

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking hard scientific detail and contemporary technological accuracy
Science-fiction readers who prefer strong literary quality and deep character psychology
Those sensitive to the social conventions of older works and unwilling to read them in historical context

Reading tips

First read it as a suspense story for the pacing, then revisit how the signal and the crisis are set up.
For English extensive reading, mark technical terms and period expressions and look them up in batches to avoid constant interruption.
After reading, compare it with other “space signal” works to compare how different eras handled the theme.
For writing study, break down its structure of opening mystery, mid-story pressure, and closing 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

Can I read this book without a science-fiction background?

Yes. The work is short and driven by suspense and problem-solving, so the entry threshold is not high. But it is mid-twentieth-century popular science fiction, and its technological imagination and social descriptions bear the marks of the era; rather than judging it by contemporary standards, it is easier to enter by treating it as a genre sample.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It is suitable as extensive-reading material. The original is in English, sentences and dialogue move quickly, technical vocabulary is limited, and the overall difficulty is moderate. It is best to focus on understanding the plot without looking up every word; record recurring terms in batches and review key passages after finishing.

What does “wailing” in the title refer to?

Judging by the title and genre, “wailing” points to an anomalous signal from an asteroid or from space, the central mystery that drives the plot. Its specific meaning and explanation are revealed in the reading; no spoilers here—enter the text with the question of where the signal comes from and what it means.

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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.