Project Gutenberg 2019-11-17 Public domain in the USA. 100 Sohl, Jerry 1913 2002 Sohl, Gerald Allan Counterweight Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1959 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Counterweight" by Jerry Sohl is a science fiction novel that was published in the late 1950s. Set during a time of burgeoning space exploration, the story focuses on the societal dynamics and psychological pressures faced by individuals aboard a space vessel traveling to a new planet, Antheon. The narrative delves into themes of human nature, particularly the darker impulses that may arise under extreme conditions. The novel follows Keith Ellason, a trained observer, who is sent aboard the "Weblor II" to document the colonists' journey to Antheon. As tensions rise among the passengers, triggered by a series of thefts and assaults by a figure known as Red Mask, Ellason witnesses the disintegration of order and the emergence of violence amid the confinement of space. In a twist, it is revealed that the chaos was orchestrated by a crew member, Harrel Critten, who poses as Red Mask, a scapegoat designed to absorb the passengers' frustrations and fears. This engineered conflict serves to prevent violence among the colonists, putting to the test the concepts of control and societal stability in the face of isolation. Ultimately, the book critiques human behavior and the fragility of social structures when placed under duress. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 75.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Psychological fiction Crime -- Fiction Journalists -- Fiction Interstellar travel -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 53767 2025-07-24T07:42:21.898305 text/html 30046 2024-10-17T14:37:41 text/html 85469 2025-07-24T07:42:23.882308 application/epub+zip 84319 2025-07-24T07:42:22.458306 application/epub+zip 84319 2025-07-24T07:42:22.141317 application/epub+zip 123215 2025-07-24T07:42:25.171344 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 115853 2025-07-24T07:42:23.672334 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 115988 2022-09-27T12:35:40.472109 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 47144 2025-07-24T07:42:21.789305 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 27429 2024-10-17T14:37:41 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17494 2025-07-24T07:42:25.305312 application/rdf+xml 23869 2025-07-24T07:42:22.252316 image/jpeg 4240 2025-07-24T07:42:22.196327 image/jpeg 275100 2025-07-24T07:42:21.908360 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