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luzulaOMG, this gem of a book deserves its own post. Hunting down rare SF totally pays off sometimes. \o/
This book is from 1962; the author was born in 1897, and she was a politically active socialist and feminist. She was also the sister of the famous biologist J B S Haldane, and corresponded with Tolkien, and apparently also proofread LotR.
The blurb on the back says "...this remarkable novel explores with compassion and wit the infinite possibilites of erotic relationships between a human space traveller and the bizarre incumbents of the planets she visits." You are curious about this book now, yes? : )
Okay, well, the blurb makes it sound like the book is a series of lascivious xeno adventures, which is just not the case. There's a bit of human-alien genital contact, but it's for communication, not sexual pleasure. Also she participates in an experiment where alien tissue is grafted onto her arm and it affects her mentally, trying unsuccessfully to enter into a symbiotic (or parasitic?) reproductive cycle with her. I guess you could label that sex, maybe?
Anyway. The book doesn't really have a plot, but is about the main character traveling around the galaxy FOR SCIENCE. Her specialty is communication with alien life. The book's themes are: thoughtfully constructed xenobiology (yay!), the ethical dilemmas of science, and what it means to be sentient.
Recommended! Unfortunately it's out of print and seems to be a bit hard to get hold of.
This book is from 1962; the author was born in 1897, and she was a politically active socialist and feminist. She was also the sister of the famous biologist J B S Haldane, and corresponded with Tolkien, and apparently also proofread LotR.
The blurb on the back says "...this remarkable novel explores with compassion and wit the infinite possibilites of erotic relationships between a human space traveller and the bizarre incumbents of the planets she visits." You are curious about this book now, yes? : )
Okay, well, the blurb makes it sound like the book is a series of lascivious xeno adventures, which is just not the case. There's a bit of human-alien genital contact, but it's for communication, not sexual pleasure. Also she participates in an experiment where alien tissue is grafted onto her arm and it affects her mentally, trying unsuccessfully to enter into a symbiotic (or parasitic?) reproductive cycle with her. I guess you could label that sex, maybe?
Anyway. The book doesn't really have a plot, but is about the main character traveling around the galaxy FOR SCIENCE. Her specialty is communication with alien life. The book's themes are: thoughtfully constructed xenobiology (yay!), the ethical dilemmas of science, and what it means to be sentient.
Recommended! Unfortunately it's out of print and seems to be a bit hard to get hold of.
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Date: 2014-01-14 09:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-14 10:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-15 10:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-15 10:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-16 12:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-03-07 04:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-03-08 04:45 pm (UTC)(I tend to avoid Amazon because of their poor record when it comes to labor conflicts--Better World Books is a good alternative.)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-13 11:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-13 11:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-14 02:14 am (UTC)I'll put it on my list of things to look for in used book stores. Sounds very cool!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-14 08:10 pm (UTC)