Wizard

Janifer, Laurence M., 1933-2002Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 41K words
Chapters: 5

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.Wizard by Laurence M. JaniferAuthor: Janifer, Laurence M., 1933-2002,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 21, 2008

Editor's review

This work comes from the American science fiction and popular fiction author Laurence M. Janifer and is a product of mid-twentieth-century American genre fiction. Judging from the title and the author's background, it is closer to a fantasy story aimed at a general audience than to dense, serious literary fiction. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, its value lies first in accessibility: readers can read an early American genre novel without paying, making it a suitable sample for understanding the popular literature of that period. When reading, it is worth noting how the narrative pace, character setup, and language style reflect the popular tastes of the time, and it can also be viewed against the history of e-book development—Project Gutenberg brought such old works back into public view. This is the original English edition; the language barrier is not especially high, but some familiarity with reading English is needed. Overall, it is better suited to light genre reading or as literary-historical material than to expectations of deep thematic exploration or intricate modern narrative structure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in twentieth-century American popular fiction and genre literature
English learners who want free original English ebooks for extensive reading practice
Readers who want to learn about Project Gutenberg public-domain resources and the history of ebooks
People who enjoy short or light fantasy stories and want an easy reading experience

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for contemporary high-concept science fiction or hard science fiction
Readers with limited English reading ability who are not used to original English texts
Research-oriented readers who need rigorous academic annotations and translator's introductions

Reading tips

Read the opening pages first to judge the narrative style, then decide whether to read closely or extensively, so as to avoid giving up midway.
Keep a vocabulary notebook and record recurring colloquial expressions, which helps in adjusting to the language of the period.
It can be read alongside American genre fiction of the same period to observe common patterns in popular literature.
After finishing, revisit the author and publication information to understand the source and circulation of public-domain ebooks.

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 Chinese or English?

This is an original English-language work, marked as English and included in Project Gutenberg. Readers need some English reading comprehension; the book provides no Chinese translation or annotations.

Can I read it without a background in science fiction?

You can try. This kind of early genre fiction is usually direct in narrative and not long, with low background-knowledge requirements. But if you rarely read English novels, it is advisable to start with short stories or graded readers before returning to this book.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free electronic texts, and this book is one of its public-domain ebooks. It is easy to obtain free of charge and to read across devices, but it usually lacks the introductions, annotations, or proofreading notes of modern publishers, so readers must judge textual details for themselves.

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About the author

Janifer, Laurence M., 1933-2002 Author

Laurence M. Janifer (1933–2002) was an American science fiction writer. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life are rarely covered in Chinese-language sources. The library holds 14 of his works, including Brain Twister, Supermind, The Impossibles, Charley de Milo, Occasion for Disaster, Lost in Translation, Sight Gag, and The Man Who Played to Lose. Judging from these titles, he was skilled at handling science fiction with a light, humorous touch, building plots around bizarre premises with irony and ingenuity; some works belong to series. His brisk, entertaining style earned him a place in the mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazine and paperback market, and he retains appeal for readers who enjoy traditional humorous science fiction.