Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Vintage (1999), Edition: 1st Vintage Books ed, Paperback, 224 pages
Description
Charlie Johns has been snatched from his home on 61 North 34th Street and delivered to the strange future world of Ledom. Here, violence is a vague and improbable notion. Technology has triumphed over hunger, overpopulation, pollution, and even time and space. But there is a change that Charlie finds even more shocking: gender is a thing of the past. Venus Plus X is Theodore Sturgeon's brilliant evocation of a civilization in which tensions between male and female and the human preoccupation with sex no longer exist. As Charlie Johns explores Ledom and its people, he finds that the human precepts he holds dear are profane in this new world. But has Charlie learned all there is to know about this advanced society? And why are the Ledom so intent on gaining Charlie's approval? Unsettling, compelling, and no less than visionary, here is science fiction at its boldest, a novel with the wisdom and lyricism to make it one of the most original and insightful speculations on gender ever produced.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
In his introduction to The Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley wrote: "Observe for yourselves the decay of the sense of sin, the growth of innocence and irresponsibility, the strange modifications of the reproductive instinct with a tendency to become bisexual or epicene, the childlike confidence in
These are precisely the observations that undergird Sturgeon’s prescient 1960 novel Venus Plus X, about human gender, religion, and social control. The protagonist Charlie Johns is transported into a strange time in which the not-quite-any-longer-homo sapiens seem to have realized the Law of Thelema on the level of an entire society. One of its advocates explains its religion thus:
"We worship the future, not the past. We worship what is to come, not what has been. We aspire to the consequences of our own acts. We keep before us the image of what is malleable and growing--of that which we have the power to improve. We worship that power within ourselves, and the sense of responsibility which lives with it. A child is all of these things."
In common with Sturgeon’s work generally, this book has an awareness of the tragic aspects of human interaction, and an assertion of the redemptive power of love. Parallel to the exotic utopian scenario, he presents vignettes from the life of an American middle class family, highlighting the relevance of the issues addressed by Charlie Johns’ adventures in the strange country of Ledom. The deft prose style makes the reading an easy pleasure throughout, despite the extensive descriptions and lean plot. One substantial “sermon” is compensated by an equally substantial plot twist.
While this book is not about homosexuality (although some thickheaded reviewers have understood it thus), it is certainly a timely read when the issue of gay marriage is an object of political contention. And it should be abidingly provocative to those of us who have affirmed our entrance into the Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child.
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progress combined with nightmare fear of catastrophe, against which we are yet half unwilling to take precautions." These are precisely the observations that undergird Sturgeon’s prescient 1960 novel Venus Plus X, about human gender, religion, and social control. The protagonist Charlie Johns is transported into a strange time in which the not-quite-any-longer-homo sapiens seem to have realized the Law of Thelema on the level of an entire society. One of its advocates explains its religion thus:
"We worship the future, not the past. We worship what is to come, not what has been. We aspire to the consequences of our own acts. We keep before us the image of what is malleable and growing--of that which we have the power to improve. We worship that power within ourselves, and the sense of responsibility which lives with it. A child is all of these things."
In common with Sturgeon’s work generally, this book has an awareness of the tragic aspects of human interaction, and an assertion of the redemptive power of love. Parallel to the exotic utopian scenario, he presents vignettes from the life of an American middle class family, highlighting the relevance of the issues addressed by Charlie Johns’ adventures in the strange country of Ledom. The deft prose style makes the reading an easy pleasure throughout, despite the extensive descriptions and lean plot. One substantial “sermon” is compensated by an equally substantial plot twist.
While this book is not about homosexuality (although some thickheaded reviewers have understood it thus), it is certainly a timely read when the issue of gay marriage is an object of political contention. And it should be abidingly provocative to those of us who have affirmed our entrance into the Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child.
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LibraryThing member clong
Wow! What a great, great book this is. Theodore Sturgeon, that most empathic of all science fiction authors, has long been one of my favorites. In this book he turns a harsh mirror on man, and finds his subject wanting, but not, in the end, utterly without hope of redemption.
Charlie Johns is a man
This is a clearly a cold war book written in the shadow of impending nuclear holocaust, but it also tackles quite directly issues around sex, prejudice, gender and religion. The first half of the book did a beautiful job of capturing that bewildering wonderful sense of the truly alien in a way that reminded me of another of my favorite authors, Stanislaw Lem.
It’s a short book, but quite dense and not at all an easy read. It's also in some ways not a particularly enjoyable read (for all the joy expressed quite convincingly in some parts of it). But it’s a book that might just change the way you look at the world, and you can’t really ask for more than that. I found the short author's afterward particularly compelling.
Charlie Johns is a man
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who finds himself awoken amongst a truly alien race on a truly alien world at some unknown time in the future. He is given and accepts their offer: a chance to return to his past, but only after understanding and passing judgement on their race. His subsequent studies reveal marvels, but also hints of hidden secrets not so wonderful. Interspersed with Charlie's story are short, telling vignettes from the lives of a contemporaneous family on Earth.This is a clearly a cold war book written in the shadow of impending nuclear holocaust, but it also tackles quite directly issues around sex, prejudice, gender and religion. The first half of the book did a beautiful job of capturing that bewildering wonderful sense of the truly alien in a way that reminded me of another of my favorite authors, Stanislaw Lem.
It’s a short book, but quite dense and not at all an easy read. It's also in some ways not a particularly enjoyable read (for all the joy expressed quite convincingly in some parts of it). But it’s a book that might just change the way you look at the world, and you can’t really ask for more than that. I found the short author's afterward particularly compelling.
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LibraryThing member Patentnonsense
I finally got around to reading this classic, and it's a book of ideas - not so sermonish as Heinlein, but tending in that direction. You can see echos of Plato, Heinlein, James Hilton, and Margaret Mead, but withal the book has something to say on its own. Most of the exploration is about gender,
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but there is some interesting exploration of the ties between gender definitions and religious hierarchy. There is a bit of science ex machina at the end, but it does define this book as SF rather than fantasy. There's two plot threads in parallel, but I would just skip the 20th century part - except for a nice excursus on a father's love, there isn't much to relish in that strand. It's interesting that this was published just a year before Stranger in a Strange Land - both naively revolutionary works with something to say, though I think Heinlein's is the stronger. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibrarybookslut
While I'm sure it was ground-breaking when it was published, I personally don't feel it's stood the test of time. About halfway through I began skimming the chapters, more to get a sense of what the final 'twist' would be, than to really follow the plot. A few late chapters detailing the nature of
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the hermaphrodite race caught my attention, and are probably the only reason I would recommend picking this one up. Show Less
LibraryThing member dragonasbreath
On the whole, not a bad story. As much about dealing with the culture shock of an alien society as about the preconceptions of male vs female.
It has a few amusing points - such as Charlie constantly asking when he finally gets one of those brightly colored Sporrans everybody is wearing to conceal
Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride.
It has a few amusing points - such as Charlie constantly asking when he finally gets one of those brightly colored Sporrans everybody is wearing to conceal
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their genetilia...Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride.
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LibraryThing member bsima
Everything that great, classic, science fiction should be: filled with fascinating concepts impelling you to question the world we live in on many levels: society, sex, religion, and love.
LibraryThing member Farree
Here is a book that I absolutely loved when I first read it (in 1965, when I was a junior in high school). Upon rereading, it shows some ambiguities. On the one hand, it has a really great depiction of a utopia where the ideas are startlingly innovative and thought provoking. This is interspersed
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with some not very good dystopic depictions of 1950s American social ambiguities that remind me a little bit of Kurt Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House." Still, I give it: Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Not a particularly memorable book dealing with human alien interactions, with a great mystery about the alien reproductive pattern.
LibraryThing member ragwaine
This is strike 2 for Sturgeon, for me. Only made it about 20 pages in before I felt like I was reading random words put together into sentences. Just kept on finishing paragraphs thinking, "What?" I was interested in what was happening with the aliens, but it was just too much of a task slogging
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through what seemed like extra just thrown in as filler. Show Less
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
I had a very difficult time following the main story. It seemed to lurch from place to place. And I never understood the purpose of the vignettes about the suburban families and how that was supposed to relate to the main story.
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1961)
Language
Original publication date
1960-09
Physical description
224 p.; 5.16 x 0.67 inches
ISBN
0375703748 / 9780375703744
Other editions
Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon (Paperback)