Project Gutenberg 2008-02-04 Public domain in the USA. 218 Baily, Peter Schoenherr, John 1935 2010 Schoenherr, Jack Schoenherr, John (John Carl) Accidental Death Produced from Astounding Science Fiction February 1959. Produced by Greg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Accidental Death" by Peter Baily is a science fiction novella published in the late 1950s. The story centers on aerospace exploration and the unforeseen dangers that come with it, reflecting the period's fascination with space travel and the unknown. The narrative delves into themes of luck and human error in the face of technological advancement. The protagonist, Matt Hennessy, recounts his harrowing experience aboard the starship "Whale" during its first long jump to a distant star. Following a series of catastrophic errors, the crew finds themselves crashing back near Earth. Hennessy’s story unfolds through his recorded message after landing in the snowy wilderness, where he reflects on the crew's misfortunes and their encounters with a feline-like alien species known as the Chingsi. As he struggles to survive against the odds, he philosophizes about luck, chance, and the peculiarities of their tragic adventure. Ultimately, his survival raises questions about the nature of luck and the implications of their exploration, serving as a cautionary tale about the unpredictable outcomes of human endeavors in space. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Space flight -- Fiction Luck -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 45112 2025-08-10T07:46:09.840767 text/html 40724 2008-02-04T08:25:42 text/html 105181 2025-08-10T07:46:13.578262 application/epub+zip 103927 2025-08-10T07:46:11.476285 application/epub+zip 80508 2025-08-10T07:46:10.432265 application/epub+zip 212923 2025-08-10T07:46:15.117272 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 205673 2025-08-10T07:46:12.946265 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 135829 2022-09-11T10:25:53.995039 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 38341 2025-08-10T07:46:09.597793 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 38238 2008-02-04T08:25:42 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19810 2025-08-10T07:46:15.421239 application/rdf+xml 12284 2025-08-10T07:46:10.922269 image/jpeg 3169 2025-08-10T07:46:10.679269 image/jpeg 39947 2008-02-04T08:25:42 application/octet-stream application/zip 15126 2008-02-04T08:25:42 application/octet-stream application/zip 103149 2025-08-10T07:46:09.850263 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia