The Dark Other

Stanley Grauman WeinbaumProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 291K words
Chapters: 30

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 Other by Stanley G. WeinbaumAuthor: Weinbaum, Stanley G. (Stanley Grauman), 1902-1935,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 27, 2015

Editor's review

The Dark Other is a work by American science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902–1935), released free in English as an ebook by Project Gutenberg. Weinbaum is known in science fiction history for his short stories, whose work often touches on themes of identity, consciousness, and the alien. The book's title and the author's style suggest it may continue an exploration of "the other" and psychological suspense, but the available material provides no specific plot summary, so readers should approach the text with an open mind. As a public-domain ebook, it is suitable for observing the narrative techniques, language style, and genre elements of early American science fiction, and for reading in comparison with science fiction of the same period. The electronic edition makes it easy to search keywords and excerpt passages, making it suitable material for genre-literature research or book-club discussion. Note that the book is in the original English and has no modern annotations, so readers new to science fiction may need supplementary material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American science fiction and genre literature
Students, teachers, and enthusiasts studying the history of science fiction or Weinbaum's work
Readers who enjoy narratives about identity, consciousness, and the alien
General readers able to do close reading of the original English text

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed background annotations
Readers expecting modern hard science fiction settings and fast-paced narrative
Readers unaccustomed to reading original English texts or public-domain ebooks

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to confirm the narrative point of view and genre tone, then plan your reading pace.
Note keywords and sentences related to "the other" and identity, and sort out the thematic threads after finishing.
Compare with other short stories by Weinbaum or science fiction of the same period to observe similarities and differences in genre elements.
Use the ebook's search function to locate key passages for easy citation in book-club discussion.

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 genre does this book belong to?

Given Weinbaum's background in science fiction and the hints in the title, the book can be classified as early American science fiction or a genre novel with psychological suspense. However, the available material provides no specific plot summary, so readers should rely on the actual content of the text.

Is the Gutenberg edition the complete novel?

The material shows that the book was released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook, but it does not state whether it includes the complete text or appendices. Readers can check the ebook's table of contents and copyright page before reading to confirm the edition.

Can someone with no background in science fiction read it?

You can try, but it is advisable first to learn about common themes and narrative conventions of early science fiction and to have an English dictionary or辅助 tools ready. If you find it difficult, start with Weinbaum's short stories or works of the same period before returning to this book.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Stanley Grauman Weinbaum Author · American · 1902–1935

Stanley Grauman Weinbaum (1902–1935) was an American science fiction writer born in Louisville, Kentucky. He rose to fame in 1934 with the short story A Martian Odyssey, whose alien creature Tweel broke away from the stereotyped depictions of extraterrestrial life common at the time and deeply influenced later writers such as Isaac Asimov. His work consists mainly of short stories, exploring alien exploration, future technology, and the mismatches between human perception and reality, written with wit and unconventional imagination. Seven of his works are included here; besides A Martian Odyssey, they include Valley of Dreams, Pygmalion's Spectacles, The Worlds of If, The Point of View, The Ideal, and The Dark Other. Weinbaum died of lung cancer less than two years after achieving fame, at only thirty-three; his writing career was brief and concentrated, and his work is still regarded as an important legacy of early science fiction.