Project Gutenberg 2021-02-19 Public domain in the USA. 155 Knight, Damon 1922 2002 Knight, Damon Francis Fleming, Stuart Conanight Vestal, Herman B. 1916 2007 Vestal, H. B. (Herman B.) Vestal, Herman Beeson Beeson The Star Beast Produced from Planet Stories Spring 1949 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Star Beast" by Damon Knight is a science fiction novel written in the mid-20th century, specifically in the years following World War II. The story revolves around an alien creature named Oscar and explores themes of communication, identity, and the consequences of advanced science. It highlights the complexities and misunderstandings that can arise when different forms of intelligence and perception interact. The plot begins with the murder of Professor Thomasson aboard a spaceship called the "President Marcus". Security agents Philip Horitz and his team must unravel the mystery of the murder while racing against time to recover the Thomasson Equations, essential for faster-than-light travel. Oscar, the tentacle-headed alien, is the only witness to the crime but communicates in a way that is foreign to human understanding. As they navigate a lineup of suspects, tensions rise among the ship's crew and passengers, but the true twist reveals that Oscar's perception may be more complex than anyone could imagine. Ultimately, the story challenges preconceived notions about intelligence and life, culminating in a shocking realization that blurs the lines between friend and foe. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 86.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction Space ships -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Mystery fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery 52058 2025-06-25T11:48:47.458948 text/html 28222 2024-10-18T11:06:07 text/html 388578 2025-06-25T11:48:49.227927 application/epub+zip 387394 2025-06-25T11:48:47.878971 application/epub+zip 84851 2025-06-25T11:48:47.642944 application/epub+zip 425198 2025-06-25T11:48:50.420961 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 417593 2025-06-25T11:48:49.021987 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 115109 2022-09-29T05:54:35.129050 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 45202 2025-06-25T11:48:47.347928 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 25399 2024-10-18T11:06:07 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18467 2025-06-25T11:48:50.543916 application/rdf+xml 36515 2025-06-25T11:48:47.741951 image/jpeg 5619 2025-06-25T11:48:47.691920 image/jpeg 504406 2025-06-25T11:48:47.471964 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