The Raid on the Termites

Ernst, Paul, 1899-1985Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 153K words
Chapters: 16

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 Raid on the Termites by Paul ErnstAuthor: Ernst, Paul, 1899-1985,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 12, 2008

Editor's review

The Raid on the Termites is a short science fiction piece by Paul Ernst from his pulp magazine days, digitized as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. The story revolves around termites and carries the tight pacing and imaginative flair typical of early science fiction and adventure fiction. Ernst excelled at building suspense within a limited word count, magnifying ordinary insects into threats or spectacles, giving readers a vivid sense of scene in short order. Its value lies not in profound thought experiments but in offering a window into the tastes of early twentieth-century American pulp fiction: back then science fiction was not yet a fully separate category, and adventure, thrills, and scientific imagination were often blended together. For those studying the evolution of genre literature, or simply looking for a short, exciting English read, it is a light and suitable choice. The digital edition is easy to read in segments on a phone or tablet, well suited to commutes or short bedtime reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice reading with short English science fiction
Readers interested in early American pulp magazine science fiction
People who need fragmented reading material for commutes or bedtime
Enthusiasts studying the evolution of genre literature in the early twentieth century

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers expecting hard science settings and rigorous logic
Readers who prefer long-form narratives and deep character development
People who are uncomfortable with or averse to insect subject matter

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then read again to look up unfamiliar words and note the narrative conventions of early science fiction.
Read alongside other pulp magazine short stories from the same period to appreciate the style of a genre in its formative years.
Use the eBook's text-to-speech feature to listen while reading, lowering the barrier to the original English.

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 novel or a short story?

Judging from the author Paul Ernst's background and how Project Gutenberg has included it, this is a short work of popular fiction, suitable for reading in one sitting or over a few sessions, rather than a long novel requiring sustained commitment.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for beginners?

The work was written in the early twentieth century, and its vocabulary and sentence patterns bear the marks of that era; it is not the simplest modern English. Readers with intermediate reading ability who are willing to look up words will find it fairly accessible; complete beginners are advised to use a translation or text-to-speech tools.

Why are Project Gutenberg books free?

Project Gutenberg was founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and was the earliest project to offer free eBooks, specifically digitizing works whose copyright has entered the public domain, so these eBooks can be freely downloaded and read.

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About the author

Ernst, Paul, 1899-1985 Author

Paul Ernst (1899–1985) was a science fiction author whose background, including his nationality and the details of his life, is sparsely documented in publicly available sources. Five of his works are currently held in this collection: The Radiant Shell, The Red Hell of Jupiter, The Raid on the Termites, The Planetoid of Peril, and Mask of Death. Judging from these titles, his writing often drew on themes of planetary exploration, alien perils, and catastrophic crises, showing the characteristic appeal of early twentieth-century pulp science fiction: tight plotting, bizarre settings, and a knack for building tension through unknown worlds and deadly threats. Because public information is limited, the details of his life and the full scope of his work remain difficult to establish; the works listed above are the main basis for understanding his writing and offer useful texts for the study of early pulp science fiction.