If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? Explained

"If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" is a science fiction short story by American writer Theodore Sturgeon. It first appeared in Harlan Ellison's anthology Dangerous Visions in 1967.

Plot

An Earthman visits the planet Vexvelt, which is shunned by the rest of the colonized universe for unknown reasons. He finds it a utopian paradise, but then discovers to his shock and horror that incest is actively encouraged there.

Reception

Paul Kincaid has called it "beautifully constructed" and "oddly lyrical", and a story "upon which Sturgeon's reputation can comfortably rest", but noted that its tone can be "loud and hectoring", and conceded that the basic premise of Vexvelt being shunned for a reason nobody knows "doesn't altogether make sense".[1] Brian Stableford has described it as a "curious moral parable", whose "wild optimism (...) is as unappealing as it is unconvincing",[2] while Brian Aldiss felt that the title was "cutesy",[3] and Algis Budrys called it "just plain terrible".[4]

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: . The SF Site Featured Review: The Nail and the Oracle, Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon . . 2007 . October 14, 2017.
  2. Book: Stableford, Brian M.. Outside the Human Aquarium: Masters of Science Fiction . 124 . 1995-01-01. Wildside Press LLC. 978-0-89370-457-5. en.
  3. Book: Aldiss, Brian W.. The Detached Retina: Science Fiction and Fantasy. 88 . 1995-05-01. . 978-0-8156-0370-2. en.
  4. Budrys . Algis . April 1968 . Galaxy Bookshelf . Galaxy Science Fiction . 155–163 .
  5. Web site: If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?. 2023-01-26. The Nebula Awards® by the Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA®). en-US.