Always a Qurono

James Judson HarmonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 27K 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.Always a Qurono by Jim HarmonAuthor: Harmon, Jim, 1933-2010,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 2, 2016

Editor's review

Always a Qurono is a short science fiction work by the American writer Jim Harmon, released free in English as an eBook by Project Gutenberg. Harmon was active in the American genre-fiction magazine era of the mid-twentieth century, and his work often features clever premises and a brisk narrative pace. This short story serves as an accessible introduction to the look of science fiction short stories from the Golden Age onward: it is not long, its premise is clear, and it reads easily, yet it lets readers experience both the pleasures and the limitations of early science-fiction-magazine writing. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy to finish in one sitting on a commute or between classes, and it also suits science fiction reading groups as discussion material, prompting conversation about the logic of the premise, character motivation, and the tastes of the era. As you read, watch for how the author establishes the rules and creates a twist within a limited space.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want a quick taste of early American science fiction short stories
Science fiction book club members looking for short discussion material
English learners who want to build reading volume with short genre fiction
Fans of light premises and short science fiction

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers who prefer long-form worldbuilding and deep character development
Readers expecting contemporary hard science fiction's technical detail and rigorous extrapolation
Readers uninterested in the style of mid-twentieth-century genre fiction

Reading tips

Read it straight through first, then go back to the setup clues planted at the beginning to appreciate the short story's structure.
After reading, note how the author establishes the rules and creates the twist; this can be used for writing practice.
English learners can pick out dialogue and exposition passages for close reading and retelling practice.
Book clubs can organize discussion around the plausibility of the premise, character motivation, and the tastes of the era.

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

What kind of work is this?

It is a short science fiction story by the American writer Jim Harmon, a short work from the mid-twentieth-century genre-fiction magazine era, with a clear premise and a short length that make it easy to finish in one sitting.

Do I need to read other works first?

No. It is a standalone short story that does not depend on previous works or series background, so you can read it directly. If you want to understand its historical context, you can learn more about the development of American science fiction magazines in the mid-twentieth century.

Is it suitable for English beginners?

Its short length and direct narration make it fairly accessible as genre fiction, but it still contains science fiction vocabulary. English beginners can read it with a dictionary, focusing on understanding the exposition and dialogue.

Why can I read it for free on Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg provides public-domain eBooks. This work is released as an English eBook as part of its free eBook library, and readers can access the original text directly.

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About the author

James Judson Harmon Author · American · 1933–2010

Jim Harmon (Harmon, Jim, 1933–2010), born James Judson Harmon in Mount Carmel, Illinois, was an American short-story writer and historian of popular culture. In the 1950s and 1960s he contributed dozens of short stories to science fiction magazines such as Galaxy and If, writing with a light, ingenious touch and finding fantasy in everyday situations; his representative pieces were collected in Harmon's Galaxy. Other titles in the collection, including Confidence Game, Break a Leg, Measure for a Loner, No Substitutions, Name Your Symptom, Charity Case, The Air of Castor Oil and Always a Qurono, show the variety of his short fiction. He is also known for his studies of the golden age of American radio, notably The Great Radio Heroes, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Nostalgia." Public information on the details of his life is limited, and existing accounts center on his science fiction shorts and his writing on nostalgia and popular culture.