Chapter 2 of The Vanisher is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Vanisher is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Falk hadn't answered. But then, neither had Dundon. "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected." The whole thing had gone blank. Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
Chapter 2 of The Vanisher is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading “"Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."”
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Falk hadn't answered.”
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “The whole thing had gone blank.”
(music) marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply
From this reading “"Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “"Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."”
not one and not the other of two
From this reading “But then, neither had Dundon.”
medium for communication
From this reading “"Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."”
the process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid
From this reading “"Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."”
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.
In this reading “The whole thing had gone blank.”
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.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Falk hadn't answered.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading The whole thing had gone blank.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But then, neither had Dundon.
(music) marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But then, neither had Dundon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Falk hadn't answered.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The whole thing had gone blank.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But then, neither had Dundon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Falk hadn't answered.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
and nothing more
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
not one and not the other of two
From this reading But then, neither had Dundon.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
medium for communication
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
the process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading But then, neither had Dundon.
a special situation
From this reading The whole thing had gone blank.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well hell," he said aloud, sweating, "so the radio got disconnected."
which person or people
From this reading Now, if it was just Falk who hadn't answered....
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole thing had gone blank.
Chapter 2 of The Vanisher by Michael Shaara holds 465 sentences, grouped into 93 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 2 holds 465 sentences of The Vanisher, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Vanisher by Michael Shaara exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 465 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 2 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 The Vanisher by Michael Shaara on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1853 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 154 minutes of reading across 371 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vanisher section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Vanisher 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 The Vanisher, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
