Venus Plus X [Paperback]

My reaction to this book seems to be a little different than that of others. Had I not read others' favorable reviews, this book would have frustrated me. The second running commentary about a "modern" family and its neighbors did provide a little humor but mainly just served to interrupt the flow of the main story. I expected some kind of grand ending which would embrace the secondary story and clearly show its meaning and purpose, but the ending did not really accomplish that to my satisfaction. As far as the presentation of homosexual themes in this story, I found nothing very controversial or nontraditional in its presentation. Our "homo sap." protagonist Charlie Johns encounters homosexuality, is confused by its practice, and actually delivers a biting criticism of that kind of lifestyle; he in fact goes so far as to say that over 99% of the men in his world would want to destroy the Ledom just because they accept and practice homosexuality. In an even larger sense, the utopian aspects of Ledom society seem to be overstated by some reviewers and certainly by the guy who wrote the words on the front and back covers of my rather old copy of the book. While Charlie Johns is seemingly very impressed by Ledom society at one point, I didn't really understand why he suddenly felt that way. Moreover, his views quickly change as his guide Philos shows him some of Ledom's secrets. I can't really go into the heart of this matter without giving something away to the future reader, so let me just say that clearly all of the Ledom are not blissfully happy nor do they even claim to be an ideal society.

This book does succeed in delivering a powerful ending. While I expected a late twist, I did not really expect the ending Sturgeon gave me, and this largely made up for the dissatisfaction I felt regarding the secondary "modern life" story. The ending makes this book the classic it is, but the main story is thoroughly enjoyable throughout. A man is somehow snatched from his own world into that of a strange new world inhabited by a small, largely sexless society which purports to keep all its citizens equal, happy, and free. In return for a trip back home, Johns agrees to study the society objectively (objectivity being something the Ledom lack); the new society rather quickly reveals a layer of conflict and isolated unhappiness hidden behind a mask of equality and utopia. Interestingly, Charlie Johns (and the Ledom) learns more about home sap. society than he does Ledom society. In essence, the book serves not as a critique but more of a study of human life, honing in on two issues: sexuality and religion. Sturgeon offers a number of interesting ideas on society, but these seem to me to be ideas only and not prescriptions or even suggestions. To my mind, Sturgeon actually lauds the greatness of human society despite whatever ills it certainly possesses.

Venus Plus X is an important, influential, successful example of social science fiction, proving that science fiction is at its best when it deals with the large, abstract issues of mankind rather than focusing exclusively on the technical aspects and believability of a future or alternative science. You can learn something about yourself by reading this book, and that is a grand accomplishment indeed for any writer in any genre.

Charlie Johns wakes up after a plane crash only to find himself in a strange new world of advanced technology, unique social forms, and a conspicuous absence of gender. That's right, folks, all the citizens of the land of Ledom are functionally both male and female and consequently there are no longer two different sexes. Charlie's (and our) guide is a man/woman named Philos, a historian who wants Charlie's unbiased opinion about their utopia. At Charlie's side, we learn about Ledom's architecture, its clothing styles, its scientific achievements, its educational system, its worship of children, and of course, its total lack of sexually-derived problems, a theme that is driven home again and again.

For contrast, there are brief interludes that provide snapshots of life in 1950's-era America. These scenes invariably point out the failings in 20th Century society that the Ledom have ostensibly solved by abandoning two separate sexes. Many involve the subtle and almost harmless-seeming ways in which women are subjugated to men. Of course in today's climate of political correctness, many of these practices are dying out, but when this book was written in 1960, Sturgeon was expressing some pretty radical notions, (i.e. that financial competition between men was fundamentally sexual, or that it was not necessarily "natural" that a woman's place was in the home). There isn't much shock value in this book today, but it was the general availability of ideas like these that led to the massive social changes of the '60's and early '70's.

As the story is told from Charlie's point of view, we readily sympathize with his confusion, his loneliness, and his fear in this radically alien environment. Where is he? When is he? What happened to the world that he spent his life in? And what hope does he have of ever getting back? The gradual unraveling of these mysteries provides the tension that drives this fairly short novel. Not short enough, perhaps, since the lack of action and thinness of the characters wears pretty quickly. Skillful as Sturgeon is at making his point, he rarely manages to capture this reviewer's imagination. The beginning and middle sections of this book both seemed unnecessarily slow. Only toward the very end does the plot pick up as Charlie starts getting closer to finding out the truth about Ledom.

As is too often the case with Sturgeon's novels, he comes up with a truly brilliant idea for a story, but stretches it beyond his own ability to keep it interesting. Fans of "classic" science fiction will enjoy this novel, and those whose gender consciousness needs raising may find this book enlightening; but for the most part, time has caught up with the ideas in this book, and it isn't successful enough as an entertainment to stand without their psycho-social punch.

Theodore Sturgeon was really bold and brave advancing gender and sex issues in the tame 1960! Love the description of the strange society and the ever-intriguing finale. This book predates Left Hand of Darkness of Ursula LeGuin and the Wraeththu series of Storm Constantine.I'd have appreciated less socio-anthropological dissertations and a more dynamic plot. The "everyday's life" inserts are really dull and uninteresting. But the time-travel story and the description of the androgynous Ledom is perfect! Charlie Johns' reaction on apprehending the truth reveals the age of the book, but for some aspects it is still shocking!