Flesh

A ship captain returns to a very different earth. A quite amusing religious satire, with the odd sport joke, too. A strange Earth religion has started, with priestesses holding the power. Other political systems do exist, including one that is very straitlaced and rejects this new, female based, sexual worship.

This is one of Philip Jose Farmer's very early books, and long-time fans of his more mature work will enjoy this clever satire that must have been pretty racy in its day. A group of astronauts returns to Earth after 800 years-- only a few years in their relative experience-- to find the world utterly changed. Farmer's love of religion and atavism and provocative sexual situations is in fine fettle here, and a light adventure results. It's not as transgressive as his best works, but enjoyable. You'll get a kick out of the game baseball has become after 800 years: the ball has metal spikes in it and frequent fatalities are common. Would that we could speed up time and spice up the game per Farmer's thinking... then A-Rod might be worth what the Yankees are paying him....

If you root for the monster in monster movies, this one's for you. I loved Commander Stagg's opponents in this "voyagers return from the stars to a strange future world" story. Of all the post apocalytic futures in sci-fi, this is one of the most palatable--a racier version of Robt. Graves' Watch the North Wind Rise. PJF can spin a terrific, fast reading tale! Take a ride with an old time writer who puts the modern genre stuff to shame.

Thrilling post-apocalyptic America at it's best. The new order thrown away science and it's ecology damaging side effects and gone back to mother earth. Imagine what happens when a starship lands after an 800 year voyage of exploration. Don't miss it