Odd John and Sirius

Olaf Stapledon was a visionary philosopher who utilized archetypal science fictional concepts, in the 1930s and 1940s, to comment brilliantly and movingly on the human condition. While Stapledon cannot be easily categorized as "sci-fi," he has had a wide, but currently unappreciated, influence on the field. His profound influence on Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury is quite obvious, and sci-fi historians will probably recognize Stapledon's wide-ranging influence immediately. This particular volume collects two novels with a related theme - the destruction of intelligence and dignity by an uncomprehending and hostile society. These stories are brilliantly written and astonishingly insightful, and are highly recommended for both sci-fi fans with a historical interest, and lovers of deeply philosophical literature. "Odd John" (1935) is a fascinating, though sometimes overly talky, tale of a weird misfit kid with strange physical powers and cosmic thought processes. Eventually John learns to harness his powers for great personal achievement, and to communicate telepathically with others of his kind around the world. John and his brethren are not mutant freaks as they appear on the surface, but the next step in human evolution (a premise borrowed directly by Clarke for "Childhood's End"). John organizes his superhumans on an island colony dedicated to scientific and philosophical research for the betterment of society. Unfortunately, the reaction they face from unenlightened old-style humans is both tragically sad and tragically predictable, allowing Stapledon to comment harshly on humanity's hatred of nonconformity and inherent backwardness. "Sirius" (1944) is the stronger of the two novels here, and its display of writing skill will amaze the reader. The story has a premise that soon became overused - a scientist hopes to engineer an advanced human, and in the course of his research creates a super-intelligent dog. You may find this to be cheesy comic book material, but Stapledon takes this simplistic premise to astonishingly philosophical lengths. With his human intelligence, Sirius faces human emotional challenges while also trying to cope with his wild canine side, finding himself unable to fully fit into either realm. Stapledon works wonders with an intelligent dog's potential thoughts and interests, with highly enjoyable examinations of what a dog would think about things like music, art, and religion. And through the eyes of a dog (the classic "outside observer" method), Stapledon mercilessly skewers the weaknesses of human society, turning a simple tale of a smart dog into a philosophical powerhouse. The conclusion of this story is also tragically predictable, and crushingly sad as well. Olaf Stapledon was a skilled and visionary writer with strengths that will open the minds of fans from any literary genre. [~doomsdayer520~]

Until 2002 Sirius was the only thing by Stapledon I had read. Now with Last and First Men, Star Maker, Nebula Maker and Odd John, plus a good few more years, behind me, it means a lot more to me. Like his author, the dog with an equal-to-human brain is one of a kind, but the main theme is Stapledon's familiar tragic theme of the futile destruction of what intellect, mind and spirit can achieve. This is a Stapledon story with some very unfamiliar ingredients like characters and humour. It may be the strangest love story ever, but it's a love story all right, and a harrowing one. This time Stapledon is not looking directly into the mind of the Creator, but the religious professionals still get it in the neck from him. That strikes a chord with me. At a recent college reunion I attended a service for which 'unctuous and complacently servile' would have been an excellent description. If there is a Creator, to behave to him in this manner seemed to me to be verging on blasphemous, and I was relieved to get out before a thunderbolt struck. 'Find your calling...or be damned' may be the main message of this book, but it seems that the forces of futility may still get to you whether you do or not. Bertrand Russell has a story that Macaulay never spoke until the age of 6, when hot tea was spilled over him at a children's party and he reassured his fussing hostess with 'Thankyou madam, the agony is abated'. The early story of Odd John Wainwright, the son of slightly eccentric and moderately talented parents, started by reminding me of this, but I knew I would soon have to take it seriously. Odd John is a superhuman and he knows it. He is not cruel or evil, but like Stapledon's Star Maker he has more important priorities than, say, human life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Life will be calmly sacrificed if it interferes with his mission. His 'property-is-theft' attitude to the local tycoon is probably a mask for the kind of early-20th century socialism that appealed to Stapledon, and John's early sexual mores have a touch of Bloomsbury about them -- the activity that dares not speak its name would seem to be obviously incest, except for the fact that it does not appear to create any downstream waves in his later relations with any of his family. The thought crossed my mind that I might be on the wrong track altogether. What could be equally unmentionable, something on which the taboo is almost as much cosmic as human? But on folk-dancing I dare not dwell.Odd John will not wring your emotions the way Sirius ought to do. It has other virtues. The creativity that conjured such a riveting series of human species in Last and First Men and would later create the planetary civilisations in Star Maker is at work here with the freakish superhumans, including one that is surely the most hellish being in all literature. The book is also obviously the main inspiration for Arthur C Clarke's Childhood's End, in which the writer surpasses himself and achieves a stu

Most people don't even know that Olaf Stapledon even existed as an author and those that do most often gravitate toward his more famous (and certainly more groundbreaking) novels Last and First Men and Starmaker (also available as a twofer job and well worth your time), but if they pass up these books they're definitely missing out. Far more accessible than either of his other books, mostly because if you're not ready for the almost textbook style of LAFM/SM it might just bore the heck out of you before you realize how awesome those books actually are. Here Stapledon gets to show off his narrative skills and he more than succeeds. The first story Odd John is about a bloke who basically is one of the Second Men, as advanced over the rest of mankind as we're advanced over dogs and cats. Stapledon has some fun with the idea, mostly with John's utter inability to figure us out (or he knows us too well and can't figure out our motivations), the only problem is that John himself is a bit of a hard character to like, he uses people mostly because he can and justifies every act he does no matter how bad it is based on the fact that he's far superior to us. Granted you still care about the big lug, but sometimes he's so snotty you just want to slap him. Still, Stapledon does a great job of taking some shots at humanity and pretty well rationalizing the thought processes of a guy who's just not like us. Thankfully Sirius has the compassion that Odd John lacks in parts. This one is even stranger, it's about a really smart dog who might as well be human. The fact that Stapledon manages to pull this one off without it seeming silly or far fetched is a testament to his writing genius, he makes Sirius, who could have just been a talking dog, into something three dimensional and worthy of your attention. I had thought Odd John was good but Sirius just blew me away with its emotion and depth. It's interesting to note that in Odd John, John thinks Communism isn't a bad idea (with a few modications) while Sirius hates it because he feels it crushes the spirit. Thought I'd point that out. Other side note, Stapledon writes the coolest narrators I've ever read, they come across as totally human and just regular guys who happened to be caught up in really strange events. Classics like this deserve to be remembered.

Never before have I read such a book that encompasses so much, in such a wonderful way. I've only read the second half of the volume, the strange, coldly scientific fairy tale of Sirius. After what I've read there, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to read Odd John. In due time I shall, but for now, I'll have to be contented with mulling over the life of Sirius, sitting, thinking, reflecting on its harsh mysticism.

Odd John is one of those books that you never forget. It is the odd biography of someone called John and his struggle to find himself. This struggle is made all the more difficult because John is not like the rest of us. Perhaps the best that can be said of him is that he is more human than the rest of us. His joys are brighter and his pain is deeper. This may be one of the first books that talk about what it means to be a "superman" and it is certainly the best. There are many hauntingly beautiful and a few terrible visions in this work that you will not forget, This book is a deep spring from which many subsequent works have sprung. It should be better known. If you enjoyed Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark or Stranager in A Strange Land by Robert Heinlien then find the source ... read this book!