The Dark Goddess

Richard Sharpe ShaverProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 28K 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.The Dark Goddess by Richard S. ShaverAuthor: Shaver, Richard S., 1907-1975,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 12, 2010

Editor's review

The Dark Goddess is a short work by Richard S. Shaver, made available as an electronic text by Project Gutenberg. Shaver is known for the fantasy and science fiction stories he published in the old pulp magazines, and this piece follows that kind of publication's preference for strange premises, an atmosphere of mystery, and swiftly moving plot. It is not long, and serves as a sample of mid-twentieth-century American pulp fiction. Its pleasures come more from the direct impact of atmosphere and imagination than from characterization or strict logic; to today's reader, some of its premises and phrasing will seem exaggerated or even dated. If you are examining the narrative formulas of the pulp era, or want an English short story you can finish in an hour or two, it is a lightweight choice. It is best read with an awareness of the magazine tradition it belongs to, enjoying its bizarre appeal while noting the marks of its time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American pulp magazine fiction
Those looking for a short English fantasy story as light reading
Enthusiasts studying the narrative formulas of popular fiction
Readers who enjoy bizarre premises and an atmosphere of mystery

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strict logic and fully built worlds
Readers sensitive to dated gender attitudes or exaggerated premises
Those hoping for the length and deep characterization of a novel

Reading tips

Read in one sitting: it is short enough for an hour or two of continuous reading, which keeps the atmosphere intact.
Compare with background: before reading, learn the common formulas of pulp magazine fiction, and note how they are used and varied here.
Take notes afterward: jot down the premises and narrative techniques for comparison with other short stories of the same period.

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

How long is this story?

It is a short work, usually readable in an hour or two. The exact page count varies with the electronic edition's layout, but the overall reading burden is very light, making it suitable for a single short reading session.

Do I need to know the author's other works first?

No. This piece can be read on its own and does not depend on prior events from other works. If its style interests you afterward, look up other short stories by the same author for comparison; his usual techniques will then be easier to see.

What genre is the story?

It is closer to the fantasy and weird tales of the old pulp magazines, with an atmosphere of mystery and exaggerated premises, rather than hard science fiction in the strict sense. It is best approached with the expectations of popular fiction.

Comments

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About the author

Richard Sharpe Shaver Author · American · 1907–1975

Richard Sharpe Shaver (1907–1975) was an American science fiction writer, born in Berwick, Pennsylvania, and died in Arkansas. From 1945 onward, he serialized the "Shaver Mystery" stories in Amazing Stories, set against a backdrop of a hidden underground world and the "Dero" robots. He claimed these accounts were based on personal experience, sparking heated reader debate and notably boosting the magazine's sales, making the affair a famous controversy in science fiction history. His representative works include Daughter of the Night, The Big Tomorrow, The Dark Goddess, and Of Stegner's Folly, along with the novel Beyond the Barrier. Because public information is limited, the details of his life and the full scope of his writing cannot be fully reconstructed, yet these works sufficiently reflect his distinctive focus on secret underground civilizations and his controversial influence in science fiction.