영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 W. 크렙스의 거대한 방
"H. L. 골드와 로버트 W. 크렙스의 '거대한 방'은 1950년대 초에 쓰인 공상과학 소설입니다. 이야기는 롤러코스터 탑승이 잘못되어 외계인 실험실에 갇히게 된 인물들의 그룹을 중심으로 전개됩니다. 이야기의 중심에는 산림 관리원인 존 서머스비와 신혼부부를 포함한 다양한 납치된 개인들이 있으며, 이들은 기이한 상황과 그들을 통제하는 이상한 존재들을 헤쳐나가야 합니다. 책의 도입부는 독자를 롤러코스터 위의 혼란스러운 장면으로 안내하는데, 여기서 승객들은 갑자기 의식을 잃고 이상한 물체들과 나무 줄기로 가득 찬 특이한 방에서 깨어납니다. 당황한 그룹이 그들의 주변 환경을 이해하려고 노력하면서, 그들은 곧 자신들이 아이들처럼 행동하며 매혹적이면서도 불길한 장난감을 가지고 노는 거대한 외계 종족의 포로라는 것을 깨닫게 됩니다. 초기의 혼란은 외계인 중 하나가 녹색 막대를 들고 나타나 그들을 몰아다니기 시작하면서 더욱 고조됩니다. 이로써 서스펜스, 외계인 조우, 그리고 납치자들의 기이한 동기에 대한 탐구를 혼합한 흥미진진한 모험의 무대가 마련됩니다."
Classics Read in English _ The Enormous Room by H. L. Gold and Robert W. Krepps
"The Enormous Room" by H. L. Gold and Robert W. Krepps is a science fiction novel from the early 1950s that follows a group of characters who mysteriously find themselves trapped in an alien laboratory after a roller coaster ride goes terribly wrong. At the center of the narrative are figures such as John Summersby, a forest ranger, and various abducted individuals including a newlywed couple, all of whom must navigate their extraordinary predicament and the bizarre entities controlling them.
The novel opens with a chaotic scene aboard a roller coaster, where passengers suddenly lose consciousness only to awaken in a strange chamber filled with peculiar objects and tree trunks transplanted from their natural environment. As the disoriented group struggles to comprehend their surroundings, they gradually realize they've become prisoners of a gigantic alien species that behaves like children playing with fascinating yet disturbing toys.
The initial confusion intensifies when one of the aliens appears wielding a green rod and begins herding them about like laboratory specimens. This unsettling encounter establishes the power dynamic between the humans and their massive captors, setting the stage for a compelling adventure that combines elements of psychological suspense, alien contact, and an exploration of their captors' enigmatic motivations.
Through this premise, Gold and Krepps create a narrative that not only delivers thrilling science fiction adventure but also explores deeper questions about humanity's place in a potentially vast and indifferent universe. The "enormous room" becomes both a physical space and a metaphor for the characters' suddenly expanded—and terrifying—understanding of cosmic reality and their own vulnerability within it.
Among the contents
The roller coaster's string of cars, looking shopworn in their flaky blue and orange paint, crept toward the top of the incline, the ratcheted lift chain clanking with weary patience. In the front seat, a young couple held hands and prepared to scream. Two cars back, a heavy, round-shouldered, black-mustached man with a swarthy skin clenched his hands on the rail before him. A thin blond fellow with a briefcase on his lap glanced back and down at the receding platform, as though trying to spot a friend he had left behind. Behind him was a Negro youth, sitting relaxed with one lean foot on the seat; he looked as bored as someone who'd taken a thousand coaster rides in a summer and expected to take ten thousand more.
In the last car, a tall broad man put his elbows on the backboard and stared at the sky without any particular expression on his lined face.
The chain carried its load to the peak and relinquished it to the force of gravity. The riders had a glimpse of the sprawling amusement park spread out below them like a collection of gaudy toys on the floor of a playroom; then the coaster was roaring and thundering down into the hollow of the first big dip.
서평(Book Review)
H. L. 골드와 로버트 W. 크렙스의 '거대한 방'은 1950년대 초 SF 소설로, 롤러코스터 사고 후 외계인 실험실에 갇힌 사람들의 이야기를 그립니다. 산림 관리원 존 서머스비와 신혼부부를 포함한 다양한 납치된 인물들이 그들을 장난감처럼 다루는 거대한 외계 종족의 손아귀에서 살아남기 위해 고군분투합니다. 이 소설은 서스펜스와 외계인 조우를 결합하며, '거대한 방'은 물리적 공간이자 광활하고 무관심한 우주에서 인류의 위치와 취약성에 대한 은유로 작용합니다.
"The Enormous Room" by H. L. Gold and Robert W. Krepps is an early 1950s science fiction novel depicting the plight of people trapped in an alien laboratory after a roller coaster accident. Forest ranger John Summersby and various abductees, including a newlywed couple, struggle to survive under the control of gigantic alien beings who treat them like toys. The novel combines suspense with alien encounters, where the "enormous room" serves as both a physical space and a metaphor for humanity's position and vulnerability in a vast, indifferent universe.
로버트 W. 크렙스(Robert Wilson Krepps, 1919-1980)는 미국의 작가로 주로 'Geoff St. Reynard'라는 필명으로 과학소설과 판타지 작품을 발표했습니다. 피츠버그에서 태어나 플로리다에서 생을 마감한 그는 1945년 "Wink Van Ripple"이라는 작품으로 문학계에 데뷔했습니다. 그의 작품은 주로 'Fantastic Adventures'와 'Imagination' 같은 잡지에 실렸으며, "The Buttoned Sky"와 "The Giants from Outer Space" 같은 상상력 넘치는 작품으로 기억됩니다. 크렙스는 과학소설 외에도 서부 소설, 역사 소설, 모험 이야기를 썼고, 'The Courts of the Lion'과 같은 작품을 발표했습니다. 그는 또한 'Beatrice Brandon'이라는 여성 필명으로 고딕 로맨스를 집필했으며, 영화의 소설 버전도 여러 편 썼습니다. 그의 과학소설은 대부분 스페이스 오페라 장르였으며, 그가 남긴 작품의 절반은 과학소설과 판타지였고, 나머지 절반은 서부물과 아프리카 모험 이야기였습니다.
Robert Wilson Krepps (1919-1980) was an American writer who primarily published science fiction and fantasy works under the pseudonym "Geoff St. Reynard." Born in Pittsburgh and passing away in Florida, he made his literary debut in 1945 with "Wink Van Ripple." His works frequently appeared in magazines like "Fantastic Adventures" and "Imagination," and he is particularly remembered for imaginative novellas such as "The Buttoned Sky" and "The Giants from Outer Space." Beyond science fiction, Krepps wrote western novels, historical fiction, and adventure stories, publishing works like "The Courts of the Lion." He also wrote gothic romances under the female pseudonym "Beatrice Brandon" and created novelizations of films. His science fiction was mostly in the space opera genre, and while about half of his literary output consisted of science fiction and fantasy, the other half comprised westerns and African adventure tales.