More Than Human

by Theodore Sturgeon

Book Overview

In this genre-bending novel--among the first to have launched sci-fi into the arena of literature--one of the great imaginers of the twentieth century tells a story as mind-blowing as any controlled substance and as affecting as a glimpse into a stranger's soul. There's Lone, the simpleton who can hear other people's thoughts and make a man blow his brains out just by looking at him. There's Janie, who moves things without touching them, and there...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375703713
• ISBN13: 9780375703713
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

So enthralling I read it in two sittings

I could not put this book down! I have not sat and read for a long time and I had missed it very much. I had a readers block and have not been able to focus on anything for at least a year now. This book broke that spell for me. I read this in two sittings because I so horribly needed to know what happened to these characters. The absolutely unique take on symbiotic life and how morals and ethics apply through the evolution of our human race was absolutely enthralling. The writing is flawless and hooked me in within the first page. By the last, I was sobbing. The ideas and thoughts they provoke were nothing short of magic printed on worn old pages. I took away from this a reverence for humanity that I had lost touch with and a caring and sense of hope for our future that I had forgotten. Sometimes, wrapped up in the times we live in, it is easy to become disenchanted with society as a whole. More Than Human reminded me that we and our current lifetimes are just a small blip in the grand scheme of a world much bigger and more complex than we as individuals will ever be. This piece was absolutely masterful. It did what I think all great books do- reach inside us and bring forth something greater than the self, presenting ideas that advance and alter our perceptions and inspire us to think deeply and with great passion. Definitely one of the best works of science fiction I’ve read since Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles.

A Defining Novel Of The Genre

"More Than Human" by Theodore Sturgeon is a ground-breaking novel and the winner of the International Fantasy award in 1954 for fiction. It was also recognized by the fans in 1956 when it tied for 3rd on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll, and in 1966 when it was rated 19th on the same poll. It ranked 9th on the Locus All-Time Poll in 1975 for All Time Novels, 12th in 1987 for All Time SF Novels, and 13th in 1998 for SF Novels before 1990. It was also nominated for the Retro Hugo in 2004 for works published in 1953. Sturgeon tells his story by using three shorter works. They tell the story of the next step in the evolution of man, which is named "Homo Gestalt". As separate people, Lone, Janie, Bonnie, Beanie, and Baby do not fit into society, but when they are together, they are a fully functional being. There are some tells in my description of the three parts of the story, so skip the rest if you don't want to risk any spoilers. The three parts of the story are: "The Fabulous Idiot" is a novelette which was first published in this book. It is the story of the creation of `Homo Gestalt'. It focuses largely on the story of Lone, who is the `idiot' from the title. For most of his life, he is largely ignored, although he does have telepathy and mind control powers that he uses, unknowingly, to get people to casually give him food or money so that he can survive. We also learn about of Janie (telekinesis), and the twins, Bonnie and Beanie (teleportation), and Baby (super-intelligent). This story jumps around from group to group, giving the reader the back-story for the characters, and eventually brings them together, and at the end they learn their roles in `Homo Gestalt'. "Baby Is Three" is a novella which was originally published in "Galaxy" in October of 1952. This story takes place a few years in the future, from the viewpoint of Gerry, who is seeking help from a psychiatrist to help him understand who he is. While exploring his past, we learn that Lone brought Gerry into the group and that when Lone died, the group stayed together seeking help from an old acquaintance of Lone, whom we met briefly in the first section. As Gerry gains understanding and recovers memories, we ultimately find that he is Lone's replacement in `Homo Gestalt', and while Lone's simplicity was a handicap for the group before, Gerry's lack of morals is the new challenge to their survival. "Morality" is a novelette which was originally published in this book. This part of the story follows Hip Barrows, who is desperately trying to recover his lost memories. Somewhat similar in style to the previous section, it takes place a few years farther in the future, and it is a character reconstructing the past. Hip is aided in his attempts to reconstruct his past by Janie. We learn that Gerry decided to destroy Hip's life and that even while trying to remember, they are being pursued by Gerry and the rest of `Homo Gestalt'. Hip's only chance for survival is

One of SF's most challenging, thought-provoking novels

Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human is, quite simply, one of the best and most original science fiction novels of all time; it is also one of the more neglected classics in the field. This magnificent example of literary science fiction belongs on the same shelf as Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Alfred Bester's first two novels. I was already a Sturgeon fan before reading More Than Human, but even I almost scoffed at comparisons of this novel with the work of William Faulkner (my literary hero). Much to my surprise, though, there is indeed a Faulknerian aspect to this novel. The narrative radiates traces of stream of consciousness and moves quietly back and forth in time from place to place as it approaches the essence of a philosophical revelation from multiple levels. For this reason, you will most likely either love or hate the book, for its greatest strength is very likely, to some readers, its greatest weakness.More Than Human is such a unique novel that some individuals may not consider it science fiction at all; the science wrapped into these pages is of the most abstract and philosophical sort, centering on the question of the future evolution of the human race. The novel is broken up into three very distinct sections, each division marked by a shift in both emphasis and viewpoint. Initially, it can be a little difficult to get your bearings after one of these jumps, but all of the pieces of this giant puzzle come together in the end; I would qualify this by saying that the ultimate resolution happens in the reader's mind and is not necessarily spelled out by the author on the final page. The novel features some rather surprising plot twists along the way, and sometimes the reader may think Sturgeon has wandered far off the beaten track. In a sense he has because More Than Human marks the birth of a new kind of science fiction; rest assured that Sturgeon knows exactly where he is going from page one.The novel opens with a self-described and self-acknowledged idiot living the only life he has ever known, one of utter loneliness and nothingness. His one gift is an ability to make people do things for him by looking at them in a certain way. His encounter with a unique, incredibly over sheltered little girl in the woods leads to an early scene of great tragedy and a turning point in the young man's life. Lone, as he manages to name himself, is taken in by a farming couple and introduced to the life he had never known. Elsewhere, a young girl named Janie lives a life of unhappiness under the roof of her unfit mother. She has her own special gift, the ability to move things with her mind, and one day she comes to know a pair of black children who can disappear and reappear at will. All of these characters somehow find each other and begin to see themselves as something more than human after a mongoloid baby is added to the strange little family. Taken together, they are one person: Lone is the head, Janie and the twi

Still Astounding 50 Years Later

Okay, how many science fiction novels from the 50's have REALLY stood the test of time? `More Than Human' is devoid of slimy aliens, ray-guns, faster than light travel, time machines, robots, or any of the other "stereotypes" non-sf people associate with 50's science fiction. Well, what DOES it have going for it? How about:GREAT WRITINGSturgeon was a thinker with a tremendous imagination. I caught myself grinning often at several of his lines, at how he avoided clichés and gave fresh ideas to simple scenes and concepts. In the first section, "The Idiot," I was reminded of the opening of Faulkner's `The Sound and the Fury.' (Yes, comparing Sturgeon to Faulkner is NOT a stretch!) The way Sturgeon gets inside Lone's head and lives there is amazing. Wonderful writing that still reads with freshness 50 years later.GREAT IDEASSix misfit outcasts, each with a unique gift, form a new step in man's evolution, a gestalt of unbelievable power. I won't go into the social, political, and moral implications of such an idea (Read the book), but the concept by itself is interesting. What Sturgeon does with it is fascinating. GREAT STORYTELLINGI have not researched Sturgeon very much, but from what I have gathered, he was somewhat of a rogue who loved to examine the dark side of the human psyche. This and his inability to be confined to a nice neat label come across in the writing to present a story that is exciting, awe-inspiring, and most important, honest. If you've only read a few sf writers from the 50's (such as Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury, Bester, Simak, etc.), expand your horizons with Sturgeon. You won't be sorry. 233 pages

The ending makes the story

A very good tale. According to Sturgeon ,the next step in human evolution is not only about having mental powers ,but also functioning on a sinergetic level.That is ,a number of psychics ,all with different powers such as teleportation ,telekinesis ,hypnotic-telepathy and human-cumputer abilities (idiot-savant etc') ,all becoming one entity who looks upon itself as Homo-gestalt ,and upon the rest of humanity as a herd of sheep.the book is divided into three parts. The first depicting the Homo-gestalt's forming ,the second ,the replacment of it's "head" ,the individual who makes everyone be one ,and the third- how and why that man becomes moral though no human rules aply to him. He is superior ,not only in his own mind but truly in every aspect. why should he obey our rules? if you were all alone would you conform to the social rules and mores of mice?But there is something ,and the few last paragraphs turn the whole story into really wide-scale ,optimistic and exciting science fiction.Very modern concepts there ,by the way ,on mental powers ,such as I would not expect from a 1953 book. recommended.

Wonderful

This book is deserving of the absolute highest praise. The Washington Post said that More than Human "marked a quantum leap in the development of science fiction as an art," and they are absolutely correct. This book, as well as all of Sturgeon's works, has a strong, involved plot which alone is enough to read the book. However, also true of all of Sturgeon's works, the focus of this story is on the characters. Deep, sensitive, intelligent, hurt, scarred, wonderful characters which you will without a doubt see some part of yourself in. This is not a great science-fiction novel, it is one of the most powerful novels of this century.