Chapter 1 of Sword of the Seven Suns is here in full — 474 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sword of the Seven Suns is here in full — 474 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Their world was dark. Their Machine-God was dead. Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them. What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword? The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
Chapter 1 of Sword of the Seven Suns is here in full — 474 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a projectile that is fired from a gun
From this reading “The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.”
plural of “horde” — a vast multitude
From this reading “Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.”
the state of nonexistence
From this reading “The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.”
invade in great numbers
From this reading “Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.”
hit hard
From this reading “Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.”
a spacecraft designed to carry a crew into interstellar space (especially in science fiction)
From this reading “What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?”
(of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered
From this reading “Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.”
something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
From this reading “What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
Having no one else present.
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
a projectile that is fired from a gun
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Their world was dark.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Their Machine-God was dead.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
plural of “horde” — a vast multitude
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their Machine-God was dead.
the state of nonexistence
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
invade in great numbers
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading The spaceship fled like a silver bullet across black nothingness.
hit hard
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
a spacecraft designed to carry a crew into interstellar space (especially in science fiction)
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their world was dark.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
(of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Savage hordes threatened to overrun them, smash them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Their world was dark.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
in the company of; together with
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Their world was dark.
something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
From this reading What, then, was Flane doing out in the desert, alone with the wreck of a spaceship--and a strangely-wrought sword?
Chapter 1 of Sword of the Seven Suns by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox holds 474 sentences, grouped into 95 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 474 sentences of Sword of the Seven Suns, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sword of the Seven Suns by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 474 sentences, grouped into 95 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Sword of the Seven Suns by Gardner F. (Gardner Francis) Fox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sword of the Seven Suns section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Sword of the Seven Suns to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Sword of the Seven Suns, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
