The Keeper by H. Beam Piper
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"The Keeper" by H. Beam Piper is a science fiction novella published in the mid-20th century. Set in a distant future where humanity has ventured into space and civilizations have risen and fallen, the book revolves around themes of legacy, guardianship, and the battle against greed. The story follows Raud, an elderly man designated as the Keeper of a powerful artifact, the Crown, which holds significant historical importance. In the narrative, Raud
lives a solitary existence in the Northland, protecting the Crown and his home with the help of his two dogs. When his home is invaded and the Crown is stolen by a group of thieves, including Vahr Farg's son and three Southron deserters, Raud embarks on a perilous quest to retrieve it. Amidst harsh weather conditions and the dangers of the Ice-Father, he faces internal conflicts regarding his duty as a Keeper and the realities of aging. His journey culminates in a confrontation where he fights to reclaim the Crown, ultimately recognizing both the value of the artifact and his own inadequacies as its guardian. The story explores the relationship between the past and present, emphasizing the importance of responsibility and the surprising resilience of the human spirit. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Piper, H. Beam, 1904-1964 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Keeper |
| Series Title | Produced from Venture Science Fiction, July 1957. |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keeper_(Piper_short_story) |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 89.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 19338 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-19338-0 |
| Release Date | Sep 20, 2006 |
| Last Update | Jan 17, 2009 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 586 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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