Free summaries
Science-Fiction & Fantasy — page 10
446 public-domain science-fiction & fantasy books, summarised. Page 10 of 10.
The Doors of Death
Arthur B. Waltermire
The terror of being buried alive haunts the final hours of a wealthy, dying banker, who devises a desperate technological scheme to escape a premature grave. This grim narrative explores the intersection of cold scientific skepticism and the profound human need for spiritual certainty.
The fastest draw
Larry Eisenberg
An obsessed entrepreneur recruits a talented engineer to build the perfect mechanical dueling partner, only to find that his quest for an authentic frontier shootout requires more than just high-end electronics.
Death of a mutant
Charles V. De Vet
A silent, gentle-faced mutant with the power to end suffering is hunted down by a world that fears what it cannot understand.
Snowstorm on Mars
Merwin, Sam, Jr.
A storm breaks across a rugged, terraformed Mars where invisible, electricity-devouring entities have seized control of the station's prize cattle, threatening the fragile frontier world as a heavily pregnant pioneer gives birth.
The Maugham Obsession
August Derleth
An eccentric inventor creates a robot so startlingly realistic that the boundary between creator and machine begins to dissolve with terrifying ambiguity.
Doorway to Destruction
Garold S. Hatfield
It was the doorway to Earth's destruction, and Kelvin Martin, the only man who could lock it, had lost the key.
Felony
James Causey
A man obsessed with puzzles discovers a stranger in his factory who is building a device to escape his exile on Earth. This encounter offers the protagonist a glimpse of a world beyond his imagination.
Trees Are Where You Find Them
Arthur Dekker Savage
An old-timer named Doc Yoris uses a mysterious, innate power to transport a ruthless, timber-hungry mill owner straight to Mars after a tense tavern dispute over forest preservation.
When the Spoilers Came
Robert Moore Williams
On a mineral-starved Mars governed by an unyielding high priest, an aging Terran trader faces a greedy corporate syndicate led by his own ruthless estranged son.
Blessed are the meek
G. C. Edmondson
A group of explorers lands on a new planet, only to discover a civilization of humanoid beings who have been serving as slaves for millions of years. As the explorers dig deeper, they uncover a profound philosophy of survival and the true meaning of strength.
The Doorway
Evelyn E. Smith
An unhappy husband steps through his study door at a pretentious salon gathering, only to step into an alternate reality where he married his old flame instead.
Card Trick
John Berryman
A biochemist’s life is upended when a run of incredible luck at a poker table leads to a confrontation with a clandestine society of individuals possessing psychic abilities.
Survivor
Cox, Irving E., Jr.
A man strips away his humanity in the name of raw survival, only to meet the tragic logic of a world where everyone else is doing the same.
The Most Sentimental Man
Evelyn E. Smith
The story follows a man named Johnson who chooses to remain behind on Earth as the rest of humanity migrates to the stars. Left with an entire world to himself, he confronts the quiet, encroaching wilderness of a post-human landscape.