Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who like science fiction short stories and want to finish an original English work quickly
- People who want free access to public-domain ebooks and to practice English reading
- Enthusiasts interested in the character of mid-twentieth-century science fiction
- Students who want something short to read in spare moments on the commute or between classes
Not a good fit for
- Science fiction readers who need deep, long-form narrative and complex world-building
- Readers who struggle with English and would prefer a direct Chinese translation
Reading tips
- Read through once for the plot, then revisit vocabulary and sentence patterns, balancing reading fluency with language learning.
- Set aside one commute or bedtime session to finish it; a short story should not stretch over many days.
- After reading, jot down one sentence about the theme or ending to help the impression settle.
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
Is this book in Chinese or English?
Why is this book free?
Is it long? Is it suitable as an introduction to science fiction?
Comments
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About the author
Charles L. Fontenay (1917–2007) was an English-language writer known mainly for his short science fiction, though public information about his life and nationality is limited; what can be confirmed is chiefly his work itself. The library holds fifteen of his works, including The Jupiter Weapon, Service with a Smile, Rebels of the Red Planet, The Gift Bearer, Family Tree, Wind, Disqualified, and Atom Drive. Judging from these titles, he excelled at setting ingenious science-fictional premises within a limited narrative span, often involving planetary adventure, future technology, and human relationships. His tone tends toward light humor or satire, his plots are tight, and his endings frequently carry an unexpected twist. His stories appeared mostly in mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazines, making him an active participant in the popular short science fiction of that era. In the absence of complete biographical material, his literary standing should not be overestimated, yet his short stories are still read by science fiction enthusiasts today.
