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A review by christytidwell
The Huge Hunter, Or, the Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis
2.0
This is by no means a well-written or significant book--except in its historical significance. It is generally recognized as the first American science fiction dime novel and this fact is the only reason anyone ever reads it any more, I do believe.
It is an "Edisonade," a story of an inventor and his inventions, in this case Johnny Brainerd, a teenage dwarf who invents a steam man (basically a steam engine on legs instead of a railroad track or a river) and takes it out to the Western prairies with three men who are looking for gold. They find their gold and battle Indians before finally making it back home safe, sound, and wealthier than before. This is an adventure story before anything else, though. More attention is paid to the men's battles with the Indians (described in extremely racist terms, of course, given the time and place of the book's writing) than to the creation of the steam man and the technology involved therein.
It is an "Edisonade," a story of an inventor and his inventions, in this case Johnny Brainerd, a teenage dwarf who invents a steam man (basically a steam engine on legs instead of a railroad track or a river) and takes it out to the Western prairies with three men who are looking for gold. They find their gold and battle Indians before finally making it back home safe, sound, and wealthier than before. This is an adventure story before anything else, though. More attention is paid to the men's battles with the Indians (described in extremely racist terms, of course, given the time and place of the book's writing) than to the creation of the steam man and the technology involved therein.