This book is apparently a sci-fi classic. When I found it in a charity shop, I thought it would be an interesting read, but it turned out to be 600 pages of religious philosophy, misogyny and boredom. I only kept on reading to discover what eventually happened to Valentine Michael Smith, a man who grew up on Mars and was brought to Earth.

I don’t want to waste too many words on this book, which wasted about three weeks of reading time. As with a lot of 1960s science fiction supposed to be set in the future, it feels very 1960s. Even the dialogue and names made no attempt at being futuristic. The characters are awful. I wasn’t sure if Valentine Michael Smith was supposed to be a parody of trashy b-movie aliens, as one of his superpowers is to dissolve people’s clothes so that they are naked and want to participate in orgies with him. I like the concept of a human from Mars adjusting to life on Earth and discovering why and how people behave in certain ways, but I strongly dislike how this was explored in the book. The first hundred pages or so were not bad, relating how a nurse builds up a friendship with Smith and manages to smuggle him from the hospital, but then it descends into waffle about religion and legal issues. The story could have been so much better.

First published in 1961. This edition published by Ace, 1987.