a day late and a dollar short. story of my life lately. but, good news is, me and the kids safely arrived in the great state of colorado last night. [who knew they made places with so. much. sky. i can feel my whole soul stretching its arms and unraveling in the sun.]

and with the help of a few zillion prayers [and i don't think zillion is an exaggeration or a fake form of measure] violet only blew out the diaper and down her legs, arms, and back while we were waiting to board and [gasp] our gate was right next to a family restroom. [the family restroom: the best thing since sliced bread.]

henry’s only two major tantrums were the moment i turned to find him using the armrest as a harmonica and told him he couldn’t, under any circumstances, put his mouth on the armrest. [imagine the consternation of a budding musician.] and then when he absolutely refused to put his seatbelt back on for the descent. the unlucky college co-ed next to us reluctanly aided me in the wrangle to get him on his butt. once seated, i had to hold his seat belt in an iron grip for the rest of the flight—all this, of course, while violet was having one of those noodle tantrums where it’s impossible to get a grip on her body.

worth it? yes. no matter the years i’ve spent in the midwest, colorado is always home.

i can’t decide whether i’m more excited to just be here, or to go to the AWP conference [!] tomorrow.

but, back to matters at hand. here is a review of more than human by theodore sturgeon from the lovely and capable kate. and if you haven’t finished yet, no sweat. as you notice in the sidebar, our discussion begins today, but it certainly doesn’t have to end. if you didn’t read it, read it. because it’s good. among other things.

‘In 1951, Sturgeon coined what is now known as Sturgeon’s Law: “Ninety percent of SF [science fiction] is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud.”‘

Well, Theodore Sturgeon’s 1953 novel “More Than Human” is certainly in the 10 percent of science fiction that is incredibly non-cruddy. In my humble opinion. Which should be yours, too, because this lyrical, mystic and perfectly oblique work of fiction unwound a story that kept me glued to the book and also lit up my mind, little previously unused circuits firing away up there, churning.

So let me unpack that gushing a little bit. Lyrical, yes. So much of sci-fi is action- and plot-driven. Short sentences and lots of sloppy dialog and the same old aliens and tropes trooped out for inspection. And I like that sometimes, we all need those books. But “More Than Human” proves that science fiction can be beautifully and creatively constructed, both the words themselves and the plot line, the latter of which I’ve never, ever seen grace a page before. (Homo gestalt?)

Next, “perfectly oblique.” Perhaps this concept is something that only hits my buttons, but I absolutely love it when an author doesn’t lay out exactly what is happening and why to the reader. Certainly, mystery novels always keep back some information until the ah-ha moment, but it’s always all there at the end, laid out like evidence. “Here is a hammer. I’d like you to hit me over the head with the point of your story. Thank you!”

No, not so much for me. Instead, Sturgeon creates a story where we are immersed in the plot as if we were a character. There are loose ends, hints at meaning with no resolution, questions unanswered, characters’ thoughts and motivations left obscured, revelations left un-spelled out. For instance, as Lone puts together his concept of what the group is in his mind, we’re there with him, picking up the pieces one by one, figuring it out. No one ever lays down what is going on or why. How the characters work their skills? We know as much as they do, it remains mystic.

And at the end of the book (I admit I found the ending a little abrupt for my tastes, my one big quibble), we’re left there saying both “Wow, that was amazing” and “But how? What if?” And so the neurons fire and the story continues, in its way, as we ponder. Try to answer the question, “But what was the book about?” and you’ll see what I mean. It’s amorphous and sticky and fascinating in a way you can’t get across by laying out the events of the plot. It so much thicker than that.

All in all, it was simply a satisfying book to read, full of beauty and surprises and words strung together. Words combined in such lovely and tangled ways that as I read certain phrases, they resonated like perfectly struck notes the author plucked from thin air. As a reader and as a writer, you’ll get me at the first sentence when you strike those chords.

kate and i met in second grade. we quickly formed a duo known as “the bookworms.” i was bookworm #2. i’m never sure why i had to play second string, but i can’t argue that kate always has been and always will be bookworm #1.