Project Gutenberg 2016-04-07 Public domain in the USA. 154 Westlake, Donald E. 1933 2008 Westlake, D. E. (Donald E.) Westlake, Donald Edwin Edmund West The Spy in the Elevator Produced from Galaxy Magazine October 1961 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Spy in the Elevator" by Donald E. Westlake is a satirical science fiction novella written in the early 1960s. Set in a dystopian future where society lives in vertical Projects due to a devastated outside world, the story follows a young man, Edmund Rice, who is faced with the absurdity of life when an unexpected event disrupts his plans to propose to his girlfriend, Linda. The book explores themes of love, anxiety, and societal paranoia against the backdrop of a space-age setting filled with spies and military oversight. The narrative details Rice's frantic day as he struggles against a series of misfortunes, primarily centered around a malfunctioning elevator that traps a spy within it. As he battles his frustration and tries to reach Linda, the plot unfolds with dark humor and absurd twists. When Rice finally encounters the spy, a frenzied maniac who believes he can convince the world that life outside the Projects is safe, tensions rise amid philosophical debates about freedom, survival, and the human condition. Ultimately, Rice’s ordeal culminates in his heroism, resulting in unexpected romance prospects, even as he grapples with his dashed dreams of love. The novella's blend of humor, social commentary, and unexpected action makes it an engaging read for those interested in speculative fiction. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.9 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Apocalyptic fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour Category: Novels 64596 2025-08-20T15:39:08.654696 text/html 40988 2024-10-23T00:18:36 text/html 245433 2025-08-20T15:39:10.587686 application/epub+zip 244252 2025-08-20T15:39:09.094691 application/epub+zip 79701 2025-08-20T15:39:08.826708 application/epub+zip 284555 2025-08-20T15:39:11.907662 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 277529 2025-08-20T15:39:10.380676 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 113422 2022-09-23T14:24:22.782438 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 57141 2025-08-20T15:39:08.519698 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 37291 2024-10-23T00:18:36 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17616 2025-08-20T15:39:12.043664 application/rdf+xml 28408 2025-08-20T15:39:08.959704 image/jpeg 4728 2025-08-20T15:39:08.921701 image/jpeg 221263 2025-08-20T15:39:08.668706 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