The Cosmic Rape

Readers of "To Marry Medusa" (or "The Cosmic Rape" in its longer version) may be interested to learn that in chapter 63 of Kurt Vonnegut's last novel, "Timequake" (1997) a speech given to the character Kilgore Trout (Vonnegut's parody version of Theodore Sturgeon) was clearly borrowed from Chapter 29 of "To Marry Medusa" - a meditation on how the human eye and mind can travel from star to star faster than light.

I read this book under its sensational alternate title, "The Cosmic Rape.""Medusa," a galaxy-spanning hive mind, seeks to extend its realm by seeding space with spores in the hopes that some will land on inhabited worlds. Containing a bit of "connected" living tissue, consumption of a spore by a local life form would intantly convert the planet's population to Medusa's way of thinking.When a spore falling to Earth is consumed by a alienated, raging derelict, he alone is converted. The book follows his/its efforts to find out why humanity is resistant to Medusa's sway.Meanwhile, we peek into the lives of others, leading typical human (and therefore, for many, unhappy) lives, who will soon play a part in a remarkable drama._To Marry Medusa_ is a sort of defiant, humanist reply to Arthur C. Clarke's _Childhood's End_. A sad and wonderful story.

This book is amazing, comparable to great science fiction works like the Hyperion and Dune series, and yet it captures their scope and literary beauty in a fraction of the pages. In only a few hundred pages an epic tale of conquest, brief (oh so brief) insurrection, and triumph unfolds. Sturgeon is one of those precious few science fiction writers that elevates the genre above the social stigma hoisted upon it, and he does it with style. This work is not just good science fiction, its great fiction period. His writing style is fluent and dignified. To Marry Medusa is science fiction condensed into its purest, most moving form, and trust me, I know my science fiction. Please, please pick up this book and give it a chance. If you like LeGuin, Blish, Bester or any of the founders of science fiction, you will love this book.

This is an excellent book by the inspiration for Kilgore Trout. Excellent Sci-fi, with deeper meaning

If you're already a fan of Theodore Sturgeon, you need no coaxing from me buy this book. If you haven't read Sturgeon before, don't hesitate. He's one of the finest writers around and this book is a great introduction to his work.