description More Than Human Overview
"More Than Human" is a 1953 science fiction novel by American author Theodore Sturgeon, originally published as a fix-up of several shorter stories. The narrative explores the concept of the next step in human evolution through a group of outcast children with various psychic and telekinetic abilities. Together, the children form a symbiotic "gestalt" being that represents a singular, more powerful human entity. The novel won the International Fantasy Award in 1954 and is considered a foundational work in the genre of social science fiction.
help More Than Human FAQ
Who are the unusual children in More Than Human?
The group includes Lone, the telepathic twins Bonnie and Beanie, the telekinetic Janie, and a baby called Baby with extraordinary mental abilities. Together they function as a single collective organism that the novel calls homo gestalt.
What does homo gestalt mean in More Than Human?
Homo gestalt is Sturgeon's imagined next stage of human evolution, formed when several incomplete outsiders operate as one being. The concept turns cooperation and moral responsibility into evolutionary questions rather than merely giving one hero superpowers.
Is More Than Human a collection of separate stories?
The 1953 novel is divided into three connected sections, and its opening portion developed from Sturgeon's earlier novella Baby Is Three. The sections follow different viewpoints but build one continuous account of the emerging gestalt.
Did More Than Human win a major science-fiction award?
It received the International Fantasy Award in 1954. The novel remains one of Theodore Sturgeon's best-known works and an influential treatment of collective consciousness in science fiction.
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