The Tweener - Leigh Brackett

Short Story

Number of words : 7000
Percent of complex words : 5.1
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.4


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 6.2
Flesch : 81.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.44



CHARACTERS



Matt Winslow

Husband and father, brother of Fred.

Lucille Winslow

His wife.

Josh Winslow

His son.

Barbie Winslow

His daughter.

Uncle Fred

Army man who has been on Mars.


RACES

Tweener-John Carter

Uncle Fred brings one back to the Winslows: "On a mat of red sand and dry lichens a thing was crouching, a neat furry thing about the size of a big rabbit and not unlike one in outline, except that its ears were cup-shaped, and except that its coat was mottled in the exact rust red and greenish gray of the native sand and lichens."


PLOT

Uncle Fred brings the Winslows back a Martian creature that is more than an animal. Otherwise defenseless it has mental powers that can badly affect the human mind. The kids think of it as a pet, and are sad when it has escaped, and the adults let them think that a dog actually got it.


3.5 out of 5