Hystereo by Maurice Baudin
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"Hystereo" by Maurice Baudin is a science fiction short story published in the early 1960s. The narrative focuses on Woodard, a reclusive man who finds himself in a peculiar situation involving a hi-fi enthusiast named Nodus and his unsettling sound apparatus. The story explores themes of technology, isolation, and the often absurd extremes of human behavior within mundane settings. In "Hystereo," Woodard reluctantly attends a hi-fi concert hosted by the eccentric Nodus,
who has converted a garage into an elaborate sound studio. As the evening progresses, Woodard is subjected to a series of bizarre and overwhelming sound effects, meant to highlight the extremes of sound reproduction. Each demonstration becomes increasingly unsettling, leading him to feel trapped and anxious. The story escalates as Woodard's discomfort grows, eventually culminating in his mental collapse amid Nodus's obsession with sound. The narrative serves as a critique of technological obsession and social alienation, leaving readers to ponder the human experience in a rapidly evolving world. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Baudin, Maurice, 1892- |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Adkins, Dan, 1937-2013 |
| Title | Hystereo |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1961. |
| Series Title | Produced from Amazing Stories November 1961. |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 77.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Summer resorts -- Fiction |
| Subject | Stereophonic sound systems -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 73296 |
| Release Date | Mar 30, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 306 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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