Project Gutenberg 2010-01-07 Public domain in the USA. 130 Slesar, Henry 1927 2002 Leslie, O. H. Mitchell, Clyde Jarvis, E. K. Llewellyn Llewellyn, William Llewellyn, Bill Llew Heart Produced from Amazing Stories January 1957. Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Heart" by Henry Slesar is a science fiction short story published in the mid-20th century. The narrative centers around Fletcher Monk, an industrialist with a failing heart, who believes he can manipulate circumstances and wealth to secure his health. The story explores themes of mortality, the limits of money, and human resilience in the face of physical decline, set against a backdrop of futuristic medical possibilities and space colonization. In the story, Fletcher Monk visits Dr. Rostov, who informs him of the dire state of his heart condition, which has been neglected for years. Monk refuses to accept that his health cannot be improved through financial means and sets out on a quest to escape to Mars, where he believes the lower gravity will save him. Throughout the tale, Monk’s dogged pursuit of medical solutions, akin to buying his way out of trouble, ultimately leads him to a stark realization about life in the Mars Colony, where hard work and collaboration are essential for survival. Despite a brief period of improvement, Monk’s insistence on maintaining his old identity and ways ultimately results in his demise, hinting at a deeper emotional struggle as he is metaphorically "dying of a broken heart." (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Rich people -- Fiction Mars (Planet) -- Fiction Space colonies -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 57903 2025-08-12T14:08:38.386492 text/html 54324 2010-01-07T06:20:42 text/html 124787 2025-08-12T14:08:42.202474 application/epub+zip 123585 2025-08-12T14:08:39.922476 application/epub+zip 74376 2025-08-12T14:08:38.929475 application/epub+zip 174058 2025-08-12T14:08:43.905478 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 167118 2025-08-12T14:08:41.653512 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 99630 2022-09-14T08:56:26.949419 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 50902 2025-08-12T14:08:38.120498 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 50773 2010-01-07T06:20:42 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20061 2025-08-12T14:08:44.036450 application/rdf+xml 7480 2025-08-12T14:08:39.437491 image/jpeg 2119 2025-08-12T14:08:39.188500 image/jpeg 67659 2010-01-07T06:20:42 application/octet-stream application/zip 19742 2010-01-07T06:20:42 application/octet-stream application/zip 119694 2025-08-12T14:08:38.401484 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