Project Gutenberg
2021-03-06
Public domain in the USA.
115
Whiteside, Stanley
The Sun-Death
Produced from Planet Stories January 1953
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
"The Sun-Death" by Stanley Whiteside is a science fiction novel set in a futuristic universe where space travel and mutinies aboard interplanetary ships unfold. Written during the early 1950s, the narrative revolves around Captain Lodar of the spaceship Vulcan, whose desperation to return to Earth stems from the deeply human instinct to seek the familiar in the face of imminent death. The story grapples with themes of morality, survival, and the exploitation of sentient beings, particularly the Venus Mutes—a group depicted as alien yet eerily humanlike. In the tale, Lodar's crew, desperate and morally compromised, engage in a mutiny led by resentment against their captain's decisions, which include the heinous act of killing Mutes to avoid detection by Earth patrols. The protagonist, Ray Burk, navigates his complex emotions towards both the beautiful but fiery missionary Ellenor and the morally questionable actions of his captain. As the story unfolds, tension rises aboard the Vulcan, leading to confrontation and chaos amidst an inevitable downfall. Ray’s internal conflict ultimately leads him to take a stand against the inhumanity displayed by Lodar and the crew, culminating in a gripping moral and existential reckoning as they all confront their fates. Through Ray's transformation and newfound purpose, the book also emphasizes themes of redemption and the fight for ethical principles in a universe marred by exploitation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 87.1 (6th grade). Easy to read.
en
Science fiction
Adventure stories
Smugglers -- Fiction
Space ships -- Fiction
Mutiny -- Fiction
PS
Text
Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
Category: Novels
100362
2025-07-25T13:21:10.663704
text/html
77645
2024-10-18T11:41:01
text/html
551427
2025-07-25T13:21:13.346684
application/epub+zip
552025
2025-07-25T13:21:11.288710
application/epub+zip
103308
2025-07-25T13:21:11.006680
application/epub+zip
601498
2025-07-25T13:21:14.985693
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
593961
2025-07-25T13:21:13.099706
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
145560
2022-09-29T06:56:20.694827
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
91196
2025-07-25T13:21:10.444705
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
71429
2024-10-18T11:41:01
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
16919
2025-07-25T13:21:15.130669
application/rdf+xml
28953
2025-07-25T13:21:11.112715
image/jpeg
5040
2025-07-25T13:21:11.058692
image/jpeg
467430
2025-07-25T13:21:10.685688
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