To Marry Medusa

Rating:
Summary: An odd, elegiac Alien Invasion story
Review: I read this book under its sensational alternate title, "The Cosmic Rape."

"Medusa," a galaxy-spanning hive mind, seeks to extend its realm by seeding space with spores in the hopes that some will land on inhabited worlds. Containing a bit of "connected" living tissue, consumption of a spore by a local life form would intantly convert the planet's population to Medusa's way of thinking.

When a spore falling to Earth is consumed by a alienated, raging derelict, he alone is converted. The book follows his/its efforts to find out why humanity is resistant to Medusa's sway.

Meanwhile, we peek into the lives of others, leading typical human (and therefore, for many, unhappy) lives, who will soon play a part in a remarkable drama.

_To Marry Medusa_ is a sort of defiant, humanist reply to Arthur C. Clarke's _Childhood's End_. A sad and wonderful story.

Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: If you're already a fan of Theodore Sturgeon, you need no coaxing from me buy this book. If you haven't read Sturgeon before, don't hesitate. He's one of the finest writers around and this book is a great introduction to his work.

Rating:
Summary: Worthy of shameless homage
Review: This book is amazing, comparable to great science fiction works like the Hyperion and Dune series, and yet it captures their scope and literary beauty in a fraction of the pages. In only a few hundred pages an epic tale of conquest, brief (oh so brief) insurrection, and triumph unfolds. Sturgeon is one of those precious few science fiction writers that elevates the genre above the social stigma hoisted upon it, and he does it with style. This work is not just good science fiction, its great fiction period. His writing style is fluent and dignified. To Marry Medusa is science fiction condensed into its purest, most moving form, and trust me, I know my science fiction. Please, please pick up this book and give it a chance. If you like LeGuin, Blish, Bester or any of the founders of science fiction, you will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Worthy of shameless homage
Review: This book is amazing, comparable to great science fiction works like the Hyperion and Dune series, and yet it captures their scope and literary beauty in a fraction of the pages. In only a few hundred pages an epic tale of conquest, brief (oh so brief) insurrection, and triumph unfolds. Sturgeon is one of those precious few science fiction writers that elevates the genre above the social stigma hoisted upon it, and he does it with style. This work is not just good science fiction, its great fiction period. His writing style is fluent and dignified. To Marry Medusa is science fiction condensed into its purest, most moving form, and trust me, I know my science fiction. Please, please pick up this book and give it a chance. If you like LeGuin, Blish, Bester or any of the founders of science fiction, you will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Failed Experimentation
Review: While it's always good to see authors push the limits of fiction, sometimes exceeding the limits can be trying. Sturgeon's novella, while grounded in interesting concepts and ideas, is hard to follow. Just as a reader becomes interested in a certain character, Sturgeon jumps to something completely new. At times, some of the characters's thoughts are presented in a repeating stream of thought that's completely cumbersome. Recommended with reservation.

Rating:
Summary: Failed Experimentation
Review: While it's always good to see authors push the limits of fiction, sometimes exceeding the limits can be trying. Sturgeon's novella, while grounded in interesting concepts and ideas, is hard to follow. Just as a reader becomes interested in a certain character, Sturgeon jumps to something completely new. At times, some of the characters's thoughts are presented in a repeating stream of thought that's completely cumbersome. Recommended with reservation.