Baby Is Three: Volume VI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon

This is Volume VI of Sturgeon's short stories. Most of these are close to novella length. Sturgeon was one of the great, classic writers of mid-century science fiction, and these are fine examples of his craft. In these stories, he chews over his ideas of what humans might be capable of in terms of interpersonal relationships. What if we formed triads instead of couples? What if several individuals, each with unique abilities, were joined together into one vast meta-being, coordinated by a central mind? The tone may seem dated at times - often resembling the hard-bitten prose of tough-guy detective stories of the same era. (Indeed, one of the tales in this book is both science fiction and detective story.) Interesting ideas, presented in a time when ideas weren't supposed to be interesting (the Fifties were a tough time for imagination). Give them a read.

Ted Sturgeon was a nudist, a wild man, a tortured soul who reinvented himself and turned around to help the rest of us reinvent ourselves. It's a pleasure to watch his mind work, and a pleasure to see his stories still running wild and free without him. But his stories may upset you and make you wonder about things you've always taken for granted. His were the real dangerous visions, and his tears are mixed into his work. Reading Sturgeon is like grabbing a live wire, except being shocked never made me bellow with laughter.

Baby Is Three is the wonderful sixth volume in the Sturgeon collection. The collection is organized chronologically by story creation date. Having read and enjoyed the first five volumes, it was hard for me to imagine that I could possibly like Baby Is Three even better. But I did! Sturgeon's writing shows an impressive maturity of idea and flow in this volume, and Paul Williams' story notes kept me flipping to the back of the book to read about what was happening in Sturgeon's life at the time he penned each story. As a psychologist who is also a science-fiction fan, I enjoyed the intra- and interpersonal dynamics within each story, as well as the opportunity to understand and deconstruct the context in which Sturgeon wrote the stories, as offered by Williams' story notes. A bonus: two of Sturgeon's own short, autobiographical pieces are included at the end. For those who love science fiction that is thoughtful, playful, and psychologically based, Baby Is Three is a must-read. And for those who have read Sturgeon's well-known More Than Human, Baby Is Three will add to your understanding and appreciation of that tale, as well.