Super Man and the Bug Out

Doctorow, Cory, 1971-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.9

Word count: 65K words
Chapters: 7

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.Super Man and the Bug Out by Cory DoctorowAuthor: Doctorow, Cory, 1971-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 20, 2005

Editor's review

This is an early short work by Cory Doctorow, circulated as a free eBook through Project Gutenberg. The story revolves around a superhero and an accidental "escape," carrying the author's characteristic technological imagination and his playful treatment of media and power relations. It is short and briskly paced, suitable as an introductory sample of Doctorow's creative interests and for reading in one sitting on a commute or in spare moments. Because it is a public-domain electronic text, the main hurdle is the feel of the English original and a small number of science-fiction terms; readers can use bilingual comparison or an electronic dictionary for support. The work is better suited to light reading of short science fiction than to systematic research; if used for classroom discussion, it can focus on how the hero narrative is rewritten and how technology intervenes in daily life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want a short piece to sample Cory Doctorow's early style
Science fiction fans who like superhero themes but want an anti-formula story
English learners who need short English texts for extensive reading practice
Readers looking for lightweight e-reading on commutes or in spare moments

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a long, fully built world and deep character arcs
Readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual edition for easy reading
Those who have great difficulty reading the English original and do not wish to use tools

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the direction of the story, then read again to look up unfamiliar words and expressions related to the science-fiction setting.
Read it alongside other Doctorow short stories to compare his technological imagination and narrative tone.
After finishing, retell the core conflict in three to five sentences to check whether you have grasped the anti-formula point.

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 a long work or a short one?

Judging from the Project Gutenberg entry, it is a short work of modest length, suitable for reading in one or two sittings. The exact page count varies with the e-edition's layout, but the overall reading burden is light.

Does the lack of a Chinese edition affect reading?

The original is in English. If your English reading is adequate, an electronic dictionary will suffice; if you are more comfortable in Chinese, read a Chinese summary first and then try the original, or look for bilingual materials for support.

Is it suitable as classroom discussion material?

Yes. It is short and focused in theme, convenient for discussion of rewriting the hero narrative and technology's intervention in life, but teachers should supply background material and should not use it as the sole text.

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About the author

Doctorow, Cory, 1971- Author

Cory Doctorow (1971– ) is a Canadian science fiction writer, journalist and internet activist known for young adult science fiction and writing on internet culture. Thirteen of his works are held in the collection, including Little Brother, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Makers, Eastern Standard Tribe, A Place So Foreign and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. His novels often centre on young people growing up and resisting digital surveillance and corporate power, with fast pacing and close engagement with real technological issues, combining entertainment with social critique; the nonfiction Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books discusses digital publishing and copyright. Because public information is limited, his education, awards and specific biography are not detailed here, but his work has had a notable influence on English-language young adult science fiction and writing about internet culture.