Unwise Child
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy brisk, humorous science fiction short stories
- Science fiction readers interested in the work of Randall Garrett
- Readers looking for free English-language science fiction e-texts
- Enthusiasts studying mid-twentieth-century American short science fiction
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer hard science fiction with technical detail and rigorous worldbuilding
- Readers who need a Chinese translation and do not read the English original
- Readers expecting a long series and grand narrative
Reading tips
- Read the opening paragraphs first to get a feel for the narrative voice, then decide whether to read it in one sitting.
- Pay attention to the humor and irony in the characters' dialogue; this is key to understanding the work's style.
- Read it alongside other public-domain science fiction short stories from the same era to appreciate differences in subject matter and technique.
- After finishing, note one or two of the most memorable plot turns for later review.
About the publisher
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.
Contents
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FAQ
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About the author
Randall Garrett (1927-1987) was an American science fiction writer active in the mid-twentieth century. Public information about his life is limited, and details such as his exact birth and death dates and nationality still require further verification. The library holds 43 of his works, including The Highest Treason, Dead Giveaway, The Foreign Hand Tie, Thin Edge, The Asses of Balaam, Anything You Can Do!, That Sweet Little Old Lady, and The Bramble Bush. Judging from these titles, his output consists mainly of short stories and novellas, often built around tricks, misunderstandings, and reversals. He was skilled at creating suspense within a limited space, advancing plots through witty dialogue and a brisk pace, and frequently ending with an unexpected twist. His titles often carry a playful, ironic tone, showing a confident command of science fiction conventions and a humorous attitude toward them. Although public information is limited, these works remain useful samples for studying mid-twentieth-century English-language science fiction short fiction.
