Short Story
Number of words : 7000
Percent of complex words : 7.8
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.9
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.1
Flesch : 75.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.2
SETTING
Sila
"Town buried on the edge of Venus' eastern swamp belt."
Darkside
Permanent sunless hemisphere of Mercury.
CHARACTERS
Barry Garth
Lover of Alice Webster. Crack pilot.
Alice Webster
Heiress given the death penalty for murdering her uncle.
Wilsey Stevens
Chief prosecution evidence and third-vice president of Mercurian Metals.
Gavin Webster
Mercurian Metals tycoon, dead.
'Black' Sandy MacDougal
The Scot. Owner of said ship. Ex-pilot who crashed on Mercury.
Brent
Friend of MacDougal.
Akal
Brent's Martian henchman.
ORGANISATIONS
Interplanetary Court
Justice may be served.
Mercurian Metals
Corporation run by Gavin Webster, when alive.
Scotia Salvage Co
Wherefrom Garth nicks a ship to go to Mercury.
Interplanetary Mails
Former employer of MacDougal.
TECHNOLOGY
Yttrium
Rare metal, popular for smuggling.
VEHICLES
Hermes
Stevens' ship.
Bruce
Said purloined ship of MacDougal's.
FOOD
Venusian whiskey
Pungent stuff.
RACES
Crystals
Lifeforms on Mercury that unwittingly drive people crazy: "We build up thought impulses by simple oscillation of our facets," the voice explained. "During this exchange of vibrations, energy is liberated in the form of light. When all of us oscillate to the same frequency, we have quite a powerful output. Solar radiations destroy our thoughts by introducing counter-vibrations. That's why we're powerful only in the screening shadow of this planet."
PLOT
Barry Garth is drinking in a dive on Venus when news that his girlfriend's appeal on a murder charge has failed and she will be executed. He decides to make a mad run for Mercury because the chief prosecution witness has crashed there and he smells a rat.
So he steals a ship, hijacks its owner and heads for the planet, where he does find a rat, plus the lifeforms responsible for people going crazy on the Darkside.
4 out of 5
Showing posts with label mercury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercury. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Shannach the Last - Leigh Brackett
Novella
Number of words : 20000
Percent of complex words : 5.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.10
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.0
Flesch : 78.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.3
SETTING
Caves
In Mercury's Twilight Belt.
Solar City
On Mercury.
CHARACTERS
Trevor
Downed on Mercury.
Jen
Escaped slave.
Galt
Korin hunt leader.
Hugh
Taken escaped slave.
Saul
Slave man.
Shannach
An alien, last of his group. A silicon based lifeform and as such very long-lived.
TECHNOLOGY
Sun-stone
Used in electronics, and for the Korins to control the hawk-lizards. Very valuable.
ANIMALS
Hawk-lizard
Jet black except for a saffron belly.
Crested beasts
"The beasts they rode were taller and slighter than horses. They were not hoofed, but clawed. They had narrow, vicious-looking heads with spiny crests that stood up erect and arrogant."
ORGANISATIONS
Korins
The Lords of Korith, descended from convicts.
PLOT
A man downed on Mercury stumbles into an air-filled pocket of habitability on Mercury, where he finds hawk-lizards flying and hunting a woman. He goes to her aid and finds she is an escaped slave, from the Korins.
The Korins in turn are controlled by an alien, Shannach - and he has used the sunstones to help the Korins control the animals and rule the slaves for him.
The slaves resist, but Trevor is captured and made to work on the shat that brought the humans here. Trevor fights, and finds a way to get outside help for himself and the rest.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 20000
Percent of complex words : 5.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.10
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.0
Flesch : 78.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.3
SETTING
Caves
In Mercury's Twilight Belt.
Solar City
On Mercury.
CHARACTERS
Trevor
Downed on Mercury.
Jen
Escaped slave.
Galt
Korin hunt leader.
Hugh
Taken escaped slave.
Saul
Slave man.
Shannach
An alien, last of his group. A silicon based lifeform and as such very long-lived.
TECHNOLOGY
Sun-stone
Used in electronics, and for the Korins to control the hawk-lizards. Very valuable.
ANIMALS
Hawk-lizard
Jet black except for a saffron belly.
Crested beasts
"The beasts they rode were taller and slighter than horses. They were not hoofed, but clawed. They had narrow, vicious-looking heads with spiny crests that stood up erect and arrogant."
ORGANISATIONS
Korins
The Lords of Korith, descended from convicts.
PLOT
A man downed on Mercury stumbles into an air-filled pocket of habitability on Mercury, where he finds hawk-lizards flying and hunting a woman. He goes to her aid and finds she is an escaped slave, from the Korins.
The Korins in turn are controlled by an alien, Shannach - and he has used the sunstones to help the Korins control the animals and rule the slaves for him.
The slaves resist, but Trevor is captured and made to work on the shat that brought the humans here. Trevor fights, and finds a way to get outside help for himself and the rest.
3.5 out of 5
Cube From Space - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.0
Flesch : 81.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Jovian Gulf
Non-travelled area of space.
Mercury
Where the aliens land, it is being cautiously worked.
CHARACTERS
Red
A hijacker, pirate, and all around dodgy customer.
Korah
Alien traveller in the Cube, from another star.
Wick
Broke Red's nose with a spanner.
Saran
Another Rakshi.
Crom
Warrior of Yf, opponent of the Rakshi.
Markham Chandler
Runner of outpost on Mercury.
Jat
Chandler's Martian enforcer.
Hildegarde Smith
A farmer's daughter.
ORGANISATIONS
Triangle
The Inner Worlds.
Spaceguard
Police body. Job is to catch people like Red.
TECHNOLOGY
Venusian spider-silk
Used for clothing.
Temple of the Flame
Alien stasis transport chamber and power supply.
Blaster
Energy pistol.
RACES
Rakshi
Korah's people. "There were shoulders, narrow but powerful, and long wiry arms ending in strong, slender hands with seven fingers. There was a head, magnificently domed, and a face that was rather too small, though the features were beautiful and cut with uncompromising strength. Crowning that splendid skull was a crest of something soft and feathery that shimmered iridescently.
The whole creature glowed with a faint, pulsing phosphorescence.
The eyes that watched Red were long and opalescent, slightly tilted. They burned with little flickering points of fire. ... The creature laughed. Its teeth were pointed like a cat's and its tongue was blue.
"
Yf
Crom's people
PLACES
Circe
The Pleasure World.
Treasure City of Mars
A good place to plunder for aliens.
PLOT
The disreputable Red is in trouble in space when he is picked up by aliens. They decide to go to Mercury, to take the world. On board is a prisoner, Crom, from another alien race--enemies of the Rakshi.
On Mercury Red falls in with the locals, including their leader Chandler and finally agrees to help oppose the aliens, and frees Crom to attack them with his specialist sword weapon.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.0
Flesch : 81.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Jovian Gulf
Non-travelled area of space.
Mercury
Where the aliens land, it is being cautiously worked.
CHARACTERS
Red
A hijacker, pirate, and all around dodgy customer.
Korah
Alien traveller in the Cube, from another star.
Wick
Broke Red's nose with a spanner.
Saran
Another Rakshi.
Crom
Warrior of Yf, opponent of the Rakshi.
Markham Chandler
Runner of outpost on Mercury.
Jat
Chandler's Martian enforcer.
Hildegarde Smith
A farmer's daughter.
ORGANISATIONS
Triangle
The Inner Worlds.
Spaceguard
Police body. Job is to catch people like Red.
TECHNOLOGY
Venusian spider-silk
Used for clothing.
Temple of the Flame
Alien stasis transport chamber and power supply.
Blaster
Energy pistol.
RACES
Rakshi
Korah's people. "There were shoulders, narrow but powerful, and long wiry arms ending in strong, slender hands with seven fingers. There was a head, magnificently domed, and a face that was rather too small, though the features were beautiful and cut with uncompromising strength. Crowning that splendid skull was a crest of something soft and feathery that shimmered iridescently.
The whole creature glowed with a faint, pulsing phosphorescence.
The eyes that watched Red were long and opalescent, slightly tilted. They burned with little flickering points of fire. ... The creature laughed. Its teeth were pointed like a cat's and its tongue was blue.
"
Yf
Crom's people
PLACES
Circe
The Pleasure World.
Treasure City of Mars
A good place to plunder for aliens.
PLOT
The disreputable Red is in trouble in space when he is picked up by aliens. They decide to go to Mercury, to take the world. On board is a prisoner, Crom, from another alien race--enemies of the Rakshi.
On Mercury Red falls in with the locals, including their leader Chandler and finally agrees to help oppose the aliens, and frees Crom to attack them with his specialist sword weapon.
3.5 out of 5
A World Is Born - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.5
Flesch : 77.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
Eros prison blocks
On Mercury, part of the Moulton project.
Darkside
Permanent cold side of Mercury.
Sunside
Permanent hot side of Mercury.
Twilight Belt
The zone in-between.
CHARACTERS
Mel 'Duke' Gray
28 year old war veteran and prisoner.
Tom Ward
Fellow project worker.
John Moulton
Architect of prison on Mercury and the Moulton Project.
Jill Moulton
His daughter, a project leader.
Dio
Martian prisoner.
Caron of Mars
Chairman of the IPA
ORGANISATIONS
Interstellar Police
Chasers of Mel Gray.
Moulton Project
Involved with work on Mercury.
Interplanetary Prison Authority
Also called the IPA.
League of Worlds
Political body, interplanetary.
CONCEPTS
Second Interplanetary War
Yet another outbreak.
ANIMALS
Fire-things
Like to consume lightning.
PLOT
Mel Gray, an ex-criminal and soldier is forced to work as a laborer on Mercury for the Moulton Project. The Moultons want to make Mercury a productive planet, but have a Martian rival in Caron who would rather see it destroyed.
Gray arranges to escape, but comes into conflict with Caron and also has Jill Moulton along. Rather taken with her he decides that he is willing to help her fight for Mercury.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.5
Flesch : 77.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
Eros prison blocks
On Mercury, part of the Moulton project.
Darkside
Permanent cold side of Mercury.
Sunside
Permanent hot side of Mercury.
Twilight Belt
The zone in-between.
CHARACTERS
Mel 'Duke' Gray
28 year old war veteran and prisoner.
Tom Ward
Fellow project worker.
John Moulton
Architect of prison on Mercury and the Moulton Project.
Jill Moulton
His daughter, a project leader.
Dio
Martian prisoner.
Caron of Mars
Chairman of the IPA
ORGANISATIONS
Interstellar Police
Chasers of Mel Gray.
Moulton Project
Involved with work on Mercury.
Interplanetary Prison Authority
Also called the IPA.
League of Worlds
Political body, interplanetary.
CONCEPTS
Second Interplanetary War
Yet another outbreak.
ANIMALS
Fire-things
Like to consume lightning.
PLOT
Mel Gray, an ex-criminal and soldier is forced to work as a laborer on Mercury for the Moulton Project. The Moultons want to make Mercury a productive planet, but have a Martian rival in Caron who would rather see it destroyed.
Gray arranges to escape, but comes into conflict with Caron and also has Jill Moulton along. Rather taken with her he decides that he is willing to help her fight for Mercury.
3.5 out of 5
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