Odd John - [Paperback]

Olaf Stapledon - (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Galaxy Publishing Corp. (1936)
• ASIN: B00200WF4M
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate superman novel, March 18, 2002

By 

Jerald R Lovell (Clinton Township, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ODD JOHN (The Garland Library of Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

This is one of the first superman novels, and still, by all that is holy, simply the best. John Wainwright, born in England of mixed ancestry parentage has super abilities, a very slow maturation rate, extreme longevity, and amazing mental powers, among other things. He is to Homo sapiens as Homo sapiens is to Australopithecus. How does John cope in a world of what, to him, are hardly more than savage apes?

I can't tell of course; that would be unsporting. Prepare to say that your sense of what is moral may receive a long-overdue examination upon completion of this absolutely fascinating book about how a superior being would cope with early 20th century mores, technology, politics, and social convention. You will never forget the book, or John's answer to his plight.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homo Superior Arrives to This World., October 22, 2006

By 

Maximiliano F Yofre "Maxi" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) is believed to be the generational link between H. G. Wells (with whom he corresponded) and more recent British sci-fi authors as Arthur C. Clark (who recognizes Stapledon's influence on his "Childhood's End").

Born in England, spent his infancy at Port Said, absorbing the influence of the multicultural environment. He was a conscientious-objector but served as ambulance driver in WWI. In 1925 he was awarded with a Ph.D. in Philosophy and this is clearly perceptible in his novels.
He had a powerful imagination and humanistic, scientific and philosophical interests that he poured in his four major opus: "Last an First Men" (1930), "Odd John" (1935), "Star Maker" (1937) and "Sirius" (1944).

The present story follows the life and deeds of a Super Human. He is the product of an evolutionary jump and graced with super human intelligence.
This intelligence needs time to evolve and grow, so John maintain infant characteristic by a longer period than normal.
He is in permanent conflict with his surroundings, mastering them is a hard task. In order to receive help he recruits/bewitch a family's friend, who is the narrator in this novel.
John grows up and discovers he is not alone; there are other specimens of Homo Superior around the world. He sets out to search and recruit them for a unique project: establishing a Colony of his kind.

Stapledon use the different anecdotes to illustrate his reflections about human kind, religion, politic, justice, ethic and more, many more subjects of transcendence.

It is thought provoking book, not what you'll expect from an ordinary sci-fi novel, not easy to read either but nevertheless a gripping story.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly strange, May 3, 2004

By 

Luke Dunn (Ramsgate, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ODD JOHN (The Garland Library of Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

The main character learns to talk as a baby and his first utterance surprises his parents. From then on he develops many superior abilities. He goes forth into the world on his life's odyssey and meets other superhumans, including one evil one, a superior mind utterly filled with malice (which is terrifying to read about). Another is seen as mad and lives in an asylum, showing that these mutants don't always have an easy ride.

While some say Stapledon's style is dry (it's always been fashionable to accuse sci fi writers of a geeky inability to depict humans and moods), i find it very easy to read and you can zip through Odd John quickly and effortlessly.

The full title - "Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest" implies that Stapledon may have felt much of the story carries an irony. Each reader must let this mysterious work perform its alchemy on them and make their own mind up.