Inside John Barth
Inside John Barth
Free DownloadEvery man wants to see a Garden of Eden. John Barth agreed with his whole heart--he knew that he'd rather see than be one!
Book Excerpt
he great voyage through space settled first here in a frightful wilderness some four generations back. But we are neither pioneers nor immigrants. We are citizens born."
"Invaders! Squatters!"
"Citizens of Barthland."
"Invaded! Good Lord, of all the people in the world, why me? Nothing like this ever happened to anyone. Why did I have to be picked to be a territory--the first man to have queer things living in me?"
"Oh, please, gracious Fatherland! Permit us to correct you. In the day of our fathers, conditions were, we can assure you, chaotic. Many horrible things lived here. Wild beasts and plant growths of the most vicious types were everywhere."
"There were----?"
"What you would call microbes. Bacteria. Fungi. Viruses. Terrible devouring wild creatures everywhere. You were a howling wilderness. Of course, we have cleaned those things up now. Today you are civilized--a fine, healthy individual of your species--and our revered Fatherland. Surely you have noted the v
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Readers reviews
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I have mixed feelings about this story. The writing, characterization, and plot are all good. It is an interesting read. However, I find the idea appalling that alien beings force humans to mate so that the aliens can expand their colonies. Though the story was intended to be somewhat on the light side, to me there was an overriding darkness because of the control factor. This still disturbs me, and I can't give a good rating because of it.
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An amusing short story about the adventures of a man colonized by aliens--lots of them. Well-plotted, and John Barth makes a hapless character.
Worth reading.
Worth reading.
01/22/2013
