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Twenty Planets
Halfway Human
Tedla is young, beautiful and blond but is neither he nor she. On a far-off world, an asexual class of blands exists to serve their fellow humans, protected and isolated from contact with the rest of the universe. But no bland has ever left its sheltered homeworld--until now. Tedla has been found in an alley light-years away from its planet. And it has just tried to commit suicide. Val, an expert in alien cultures, helps Tedla recuperate and in doing so, uncovers the secret tortured world of the blands.
472 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1998
39 people are currently reading
1697 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Ives Gilman
86 books157 followersCarolyn Ives Gilman has been publishing science fiction and fantasy for almost twenty years. Her first novel, Halfway Human, published by Avon/Eos in 1998, was called “one of the most compelling explorations of gender and power in recent SF” by Locus magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies such as F&SF, Bending the Landscape, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, The Best From Fantasy & Science Fiction, Interzone, Universe, Full Spectrum, and others. Her fiction has been translated into Italian, Russian, German, Czech and Romanian. In 1992 she was a finalist for the Nebula Award for her novella, “The Honeycrafters.”
In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. Her most recent nonfiction book, Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide, was published in 2003 by Smithsonian Books. She has been a guest lecturer at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and Monticello, and has been interviewed on All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), History Detectives (PBS), and the History Channel.
Carolyn Ives Gilman lives in St. Louis and works for the Missouri Historical Society as a historian and museum curator.
In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. Her most recent nonfiction book, Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide, was published in 2003 by Smithsonian Books. She has been a guest lecturer at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and Monticello, and has been interviewed on All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), History Detectives (PBS), and the History Channel.
Carolyn Ives Gilman lives in St. Louis and works for the Missouri Historical Society as a historian and museum curator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
March 2, 2014
Intended Audience: Adult
Sexual content: Explicit
Ace/Genderqueer characters: yes
Rating: R for heavy sexual violence, suicidal characters and disturbing imagery
Writing style: 5/5
Likable characters: 4/5
Plot/Concepts: 4/5
Valerie has never met a Gammadian bland before, but when Tedla is found half-dead in an alley, Val is called in to make sense of this sexless being. Tedla’s life has not been easy, not least of all because blands are treated as a nonhuman slave class by the males and females of Gammadis.
I had misgivings about this book when I first heard the synopsis. Would this be another story in which a sexless asexual “non-human” would become human through discovering sexuality and gender? Given that so many becoming-human stories have such a discovery or relationship as an important milestone, I was worried this would be the same, and thus invalidate Tedla’s identity. I also balked at the name “bland”, since this seemed like just another instance of thinking that nonsexual means boring. And yes, this is another story in which the sexless characters are referred to as “it”. This serves the double purpose of not sexing the blands but also illustrating their nonhuman status in the eyes of the other Gammadians.
But this book is not just about sexuality or gender. There are so many social themes, from exploring information-based economies to eugenics to suicide and environmental responsibility. The Gammadian culture seems in some ways very backward, living as they are in a post-environmental-collapse sort of state, trying to balance their population carefully, deeply ingrained with the fear of waste. There is a lot of fear in this society, invisible at first as it often is in societies which depend on the support of a huge slave class. Despite the complexity of all these themes, I never felt wholly lost, and everything fit together so nicely and made so much sense. In fact, sometimes it fit together almost too nicely so that events became a sort of conspiracy in the end. That’s my only complaint with the plot structure of this book. That, and I often have difficulty swallowing the extremity of violence which is culturally accepted in these dystopian worlds as a reinforcement of power. Not to say that I don’t believe such atrocities have happened in our own world (I know they have, and that they've been hushed up), but to have them openly displayed is another matter entirely; I can’t wrap my head around such universal brutality.
Tedla is a wonderful character. It (and I say “it” because that is what Tedla prefers to be called, and what all blands are called) has a complexity of emotion and motivation that borders on the contradictory, but is still consistent within itself. I loved how when we meet it and ever after, its emotional state greatly informs its thoughts and decisions, and we see mirrored in Tedla our own state of constant change contrasted with the deep internal truth of who we are. The other characters the book actually spends time on are also well drawn and believable, each locked in their own cultural sphere, so that conversations actually contain a great deal of subtle and not-so-subtle conflict as each speaks from their own culture and tries to make sense of the other. There were even many instances of unspoken dialogue shouting from the page in the little pauses between each character’s words! We get to know each character so well that we can tell what they are not saying even without the author explaining this to us.
Tedla in particular stands up for Gammadian and bland culture at several points, calling Val out on her assumptions or biases, and this gives Tedla a strength that I appreciated. This especially soothed my worries that Tedla would be required to abandon its asexual and agender identity in order to achieve humanity. One of my favorite moments comes when Val’s husband, Max, is baffled at Tedla’s lack of anger at its misfortune.
“Unable to contain himself, Max burst out, ‘Don’t you have any anger, Tedla? Any indignation at what was done to you?’
Tedla gave him a sharp look. “What do you mean done to me? Nothing was done to me. I’m perfectly natural the way I am. Why can’t you humans ever understand that I might not want to be afflicted with gender?’”
I’m sure I’m not the only nonbinary person who often feels “afflicted with gender,” so this bit of dialogue really spoke to me, and it also illustrates an important aspect of Tedla’s journey in separating what parts of its identity as a bland are natural and healthy for it (asexuality and nonbinary identity) and which are socially imposed and unhealthy (such as feelings of inferiority or worthlessness, or a stagnant unquestioning mind). Gammadians are all more or less neutral in body before puberty, and are only considered “born” after their body develops sexual characteristics. Thus, Tedla looked forward to becoming human while simultaneously dreading the process of becoming male or female, even having a dysphoric nightmare the night before the ceremony. It also protests against being put in what it sees as male clothing, uncomfortable with being seen as a man. It is baffled and slightly annoyed by the fact that many well-meaning people recommend surgery to “correct” its “problem” of not having genitalia or an obvious sex.
Tedla also has some deep-seated disdain for how sexualized society is, although it has had to learn to deal with that in the worst possible ways. This is where things get truly difficult to read. Blands being childlike in their lack of sexual characteristics does not, unfortunately, prevent them from becoming objects of sexual desire quite frequently. The problem of consent is quite complex here, since from the Gammadian perspective blands don’t have the ability to really make decisions on their own. In that case, having sex with a bland can be considered a form of pedophilia or child molestation. And indeed Tedla is repeatedly raped, sometimes in gruesome fashion—it is a part of Gammadian culture which is simultaneously widespread and taboo. And yet at one point Tedla decides to willingly grant sexual favors to its guardian because it feels great affection for him and a debt of gratitude for his protection. Tedla even goes so far as to say that it is in love with its guardian, although it still never feels sexual attraction, just a desire to please. Knowing that Tedla is much more mentally and emotionally sophisticated than most Gammadians would admit, does this mean that its consent in this case is valid, or is it still trapped and merely choosing the lesser of many evils, using sex to please its master and keep itself safe from abandonment to some worse fate?
I believe that by the end of the book, Tedla is at least beginning to learn how to separate the injustice it has suffered from the truth of its identity. It has come to understand what parts of its life were due to class difference and oppression rather than its gender and sexual identity. It is learning not to see itself wholly through others eyes, nor throw out the good with the bad, the true with the false. I do have some concern that readers who are less familiar with the issues surrounding asexuality or nonbinary identities will not really “get” a lot of the messages here and instead fall prey to some of the stereotypes both Gammadians and humans have about gender and sexual development being an intrinsic part of human development. I think Gilman does a good enough job of portraying Tedla’s character that no one should walk away from this book believing that Tedla’s humanity rested on its ability to be not-a-bland. It was different from other blands in the sense that it was able to question whether it was inferior for being different from other humans. And I’m pretty sure it decided that being asexual and agender did not justify its being treated as less than human, even if it does struggle with irrational residual guilt. That’s realistic.
I’d say Halfway Human is a must-read for any ace or trans* person who can stomach the sexual violence that it covers. I mean, Tedla relates what has happened to it bluntly, not skirting around it nor wallowing in gory detail. Still, it might be a bit much for some readers. I found the story ultimately empowering because of how much I could relate to Tedla’s process of coming to own its own life, and how difficult that can be when you’ve relied on others to shape you and think for you for years. I feel like this novel needs to be read and discussed, and I’m sure that, given the multitude of themes it covers, there is something that will interest anyone who picks it up.
Sexual content: Explicit
Ace/Genderqueer characters: yes
Rating: R for heavy sexual violence, suicidal characters and disturbing imagery
Writing style: 5/5
Likable characters: 4/5
Plot/Concepts: 4/5
Valerie has never met a Gammadian bland before, but when Tedla is found half-dead in an alley, Val is called in to make sense of this sexless being. Tedla’s life has not been easy, not least of all because blands are treated as a nonhuman slave class by the males and females of Gammadis.
I had misgivings about this book when I first heard the synopsis. Would this be another story in which a sexless asexual “non-human” would become human through discovering sexuality and gender? Given that so many becoming-human stories have such a discovery or relationship as an important milestone, I was worried this would be the same, and thus invalidate Tedla’s identity. I also balked at the name “bland”, since this seemed like just another instance of thinking that nonsexual means boring. And yes, this is another story in which the sexless characters are referred to as “it”. This serves the double purpose of not sexing the blands but also illustrating their nonhuman status in the eyes of the other Gammadians.
But this book is not just about sexuality or gender. There are so many social themes, from exploring information-based economies to eugenics to suicide and environmental responsibility. The Gammadian culture seems in some ways very backward, living as they are in a post-environmental-collapse sort of state, trying to balance their population carefully, deeply ingrained with the fear of waste. There is a lot of fear in this society, invisible at first as it often is in societies which depend on the support of a huge slave class. Despite the complexity of all these themes, I never felt wholly lost, and everything fit together so nicely and made so much sense. In fact, sometimes it fit together almost too nicely so that events became a sort of conspiracy in the end. That’s my only complaint with the plot structure of this book. That, and I often have difficulty swallowing the extremity of violence which is culturally accepted in these dystopian worlds as a reinforcement of power. Not to say that I don’t believe such atrocities have happened in our own world (I know they have, and that they've been hushed up), but to have them openly displayed is another matter entirely; I can’t wrap my head around such universal brutality.
Tedla is a wonderful character. It (and I say “it” because that is what Tedla prefers to be called, and what all blands are called) has a complexity of emotion and motivation that borders on the contradictory, but is still consistent within itself. I loved how when we meet it and ever after, its emotional state greatly informs its thoughts and decisions, and we see mirrored in Tedla our own state of constant change contrasted with the deep internal truth of who we are. The other characters the book actually spends time on are also well drawn and believable, each locked in their own cultural sphere, so that conversations actually contain a great deal of subtle and not-so-subtle conflict as each speaks from their own culture and tries to make sense of the other. There were even many instances of unspoken dialogue shouting from the page in the little pauses between each character’s words! We get to know each character so well that we can tell what they are not saying even without the author explaining this to us.
Tedla in particular stands up for Gammadian and bland culture at several points, calling Val out on her assumptions or biases, and this gives Tedla a strength that I appreciated. This especially soothed my worries that Tedla would be required to abandon its asexual and agender identity in order to achieve humanity. One of my favorite moments comes when Val’s husband, Max, is baffled at Tedla’s lack of anger at its misfortune.
“Unable to contain himself, Max burst out, ‘Don’t you have any anger, Tedla? Any indignation at what was done to you?’
Tedla gave him a sharp look. “What do you mean done to me? Nothing was done to me. I’m perfectly natural the way I am. Why can’t you humans ever understand that I might not want to be afflicted with gender?’”
I’m sure I’m not the only nonbinary person who often feels “afflicted with gender,” so this bit of dialogue really spoke to me, and it also illustrates an important aspect of Tedla’s journey in separating what parts of its identity as a bland are natural and healthy for it (asexuality and nonbinary identity) and which are socially imposed and unhealthy (such as feelings of inferiority or worthlessness, or a stagnant unquestioning mind). Gammadians are all more or less neutral in body before puberty, and are only considered “born” after their body develops sexual characteristics. Thus, Tedla looked forward to becoming human while simultaneously dreading the process of becoming male or female, even having a dysphoric nightmare the night before the ceremony. It also protests against being put in what it sees as male clothing, uncomfortable with being seen as a man. It is baffled and slightly annoyed by the fact that many well-meaning people recommend surgery to “correct” its “problem” of not having genitalia or an obvious sex.
Tedla also has some deep-seated disdain for how sexualized society is, although it has had to learn to deal with that in the worst possible ways. This is where things get truly difficult to read. Blands being childlike in their lack of sexual characteristics does not, unfortunately, prevent them from becoming objects of sexual desire quite frequently. The problem of consent is quite complex here, since from the Gammadian perspective blands don’t have the ability to really make decisions on their own. In that case, having sex with a bland can be considered a form of pedophilia or child molestation. And indeed Tedla is repeatedly raped, sometimes in gruesome fashion—it is a part of Gammadian culture which is simultaneously widespread and taboo. And yet at one point Tedla decides to willingly grant sexual favors to its guardian because it feels great affection for him and a debt of gratitude for his protection. Tedla even goes so far as to say that it is in love with its guardian, although it still never feels sexual attraction, just a desire to please. Knowing that Tedla is much more mentally and emotionally sophisticated than most Gammadians would admit, does this mean that its consent in this case is valid, or is it still trapped and merely choosing the lesser of many evils, using sex to please its master and keep itself safe from abandonment to some worse fate?
I believe that by the end of the book, Tedla is at least beginning to learn how to separate the injustice it has suffered from the truth of its identity. It has come to understand what parts of its life were due to class difference and oppression rather than its gender and sexual identity. It is learning not to see itself wholly through others eyes, nor throw out the good with the bad, the true with the false. I do have some concern that readers who are less familiar with the issues surrounding asexuality or nonbinary identities will not really “get” a lot of the messages here and instead fall prey to some of the stereotypes both Gammadians and humans have about gender and sexual development being an intrinsic part of human development. I think Gilman does a good enough job of portraying Tedla’s character that no one should walk away from this book believing that Tedla’s humanity rested on its ability to be not-a-bland. It was different from other blands in the sense that it was able to question whether it was inferior for being different from other humans. And I’m pretty sure it decided that being asexual and agender did not justify its being treated as less than human, even if it does struggle with irrational residual guilt. That’s realistic.
I’d say Halfway Human is a must-read for any ace or trans* person who can stomach the sexual violence that it covers. I mean, Tedla relates what has happened to it bluntly, not skirting around it nor wallowing in gory detail. Still, it might be a bit much for some readers. I found the story ultimately empowering because of how much I could relate to Tedla’s process of coming to own its own life, and how difficult that can be when you’ve relied on others to shape you and think for you for years. I feel like this novel needs to be read and discussed, and I’m sure that, given the multitude of themes it covers, there is something that will interest anyone who picks it up.
June 3, 2012
Halfway Human is pretty darn good. It's set in a rather well worked out variation of a common idea: sometime long in the past (story past, our future), Earth humans have colonized and terraformed many alien planets. After a period in which the planets fell out of contact, a subset of them have rediscovered each other, and have apparently formed a very loose confederation, including Capella Two, the planet (or actually a moon) on which the nominal viewpoint character, Valerie Endrada, lives. Travel is by matter transmitters, and is (logically) light speed. (The fairly rigorous insistence on light speed travel and the corresponding simultaneity problems is a good decision, and is used well in the story.) The tech behind all this is very much backgrounded (quite appropriately). At the time of the action, none of the unmanned probes which are trying to rediscover the colony planets have reported back in some time, except for the one at Gammadis (Gamma Disciplins), which is 51 ly away from Capella Two, and which harbors an odd variety of humans. The original mission to Gammadis ended 63 years previously in disgrace, with the ambassadors thrown off the planet (and arriving back on Cappella 12 years prior to the main action).
That's the setup, but what about the good part, the reason to read this novel? Well, the strange thing about Gammadis humans is that they are born neuter. At puberty, about 1/3 (very roughly, and the ambiguity about the actual numbers is a point of the novel) stay neuter, and the others turn half into males and half into females. There is no way to tell whether a given child will be male, female, or neuter. The kicker is that the neuters, also called blands, are condemned to life in "grayspace", literally underneath and "behind" the "human" world, and they live lives of slavery, performing the menial tasks of their society, leaving the "humans" free for the more intellectual and artistic pursuits. This is regarded on Gammadis as natural: neuters are supposed to be stupider, and less energetic, and literally to have no souls. The whole setup is monstrous, and at the same time quite clearly analogous in many ways to slavery in the US, and in many other cultures. In fact, though the novel seems to be promoted as a novel about gender roles, it really isn't. Certainly Gilman makes some such points, and it's not without value for its exploration of gender, but the central issue is definitely slavery and not gender. And it seems to me that many opportunities for a more probing (no pun intended, God help me) exploration of gender issues are missed: but I should emphasize that that's not a weakness, just a different focus than one might have expected.
The book works because of the believable but horrifying society revealed on Gammadis, with its uncomfortable parallels with our history and even to an extent our present. There are many disturbing scenes, and many moving scenes. The portrayal of the bland society, and the secret behind the Gammadian characteristics, is very well done, and at times has a "Ones who Walk Away From Omelas" sort of message to it: they have created a near-Utopia, at one level, and they try so hard to ignore the "screaming child in the back room": except it's not one child but 1/3 of their population. Much of the characteristics of the Gammadian society are very nicely shown, instead of told, and some important details are very subtly planted in the background. Details which seem trivial take on powerful new meaning later in the novel, after we understand the society better.
I had a few reservations with this book plotwise, but all in all it's a first-rate read, and very provocative. In many ways, this is a pure SF novel, in that its value derives mostly from the ideas it explores, rather than a particularly exciting plot (though the story moves nicely), or any outstanding "literary" values (though it's certainly well-written, and decently characterized.)
That's the setup, but what about the good part, the reason to read this novel? Well, the strange thing about Gammadis humans is that they are born neuter. At puberty, about 1/3 (very roughly, and the ambiguity about the actual numbers is a point of the novel) stay neuter, and the others turn half into males and half into females. There is no way to tell whether a given child will be male, female, or neuter. The kicker is that the neuters, also called blands, are condemned to life in "grayspace", literally underneath and "behind" the "human" world, and they live lives of slavery, performing the menial tasks of their society, leaving the "humans" free for the more intellectual and artistic pursuits. This is regarded on Gammadis as natural: neuters are supposed to be stupider, and less energetic, and literally to have no souls. The whole setup is monstrous, and at the same time quite clearly analogous in many ways to slavery in the US, and in many other cultures. In fact, though the novel seems to be promoted as a novel about gender roles, it really isn't. Certainly Gilman makes some such points, and it's not without value for its exploration of gender, but the central issue is definitely slavery and not gender. And it seems to me that many opportunities for a more probing (no pun intended, God help me) exploration of gender issues are missed: but I should emphasize that that's not a weakness, just a different focus than one might have expected.
The book works because of the believable but horrifying society revealed on Gammadis, with its uncomfortable parallels with our history and even to an extent our present. There are many disturbing scenes, and many moving scenes. The portrayal of the bland society, and the secret behind the Gammadian characteristics, is very well done, and at times has a "Ones who Walk Away From Omelas" sort of message to it: they have created a near-Utopia, at one level, and they try so hard to ignore the "screaming child in the back room": except it's not one child but 1/3 of their population. Much of the characteristics of the Gammadian society are very nicely shown, instead of told, and some important details are very subtly planted in the background. Details which seem trivial take on powerful new meaning later in the novel, after we understand the society better.
I had a few reservations with this book plotwise, but all in all it's a first-rate read, and very provocative. In many ways, this is a pure SF novel, in that its value derives mostly from the ideas it explores, rather than a particularly exciting plot (though the story moves nicely), or any outstanding "literary" values (though it's certainly well-written, and decently characterized.)
April 5, 2017
I am so glad I took time to sit down and start reading this book before giving it away unread as I've been doing with much of my tbr pile. It's been a very long time since I've read a book that was so engrossing.
The story revolves around a "bland" named Tedla and confronts issues of gender, slavery, love and despair. On Tedla's isolated planet there are males, females and blands -- the asexual class who live behind gray doors and spend their lives in servitude to the humans.
As a child, like all children on its planet, Tedla was raised to believe that it would one day be either male or female. After all, blands are dumb and Tedla is bright and beautiful but things don't work out well for Tedla and its beauty makes it more of a target as it matures and learns exactly how best to "serve" its cruel humans. Defenseless, heartbroken and torn between two worlds after being taken in by a kind human, Tedla's story is one I won't soon forget.
The story revolves around a "bland" named Tedla and confronts issues of gender, slavery, love and despair. On Tedla's isolated planet there are males, females and blands -- the asexual class who live behind gray doors and spend their lives in servitude to the humans.
As a child, like all children on its planet, Tedla was raised to believe that it would one day be either male or female. After all, blands are dumb and Tedla is bright and beautiful but things don't work out well for Tedla and its beauty makes it more of a target as it matures and learns exactly how best to "serve" its cruel humans. Defenseless, heartbroken and torn between two worlds after being taken in by a kind human, Tedla's story is one I won't soon forget.
February 21, 2023
Oh gee, I need to convey how much I loved this book to you but I must admit that I found it a terribly tedious read at times. I suppose I might sum it up by saying that it's just the kind of thing I look for in scifi while also being almost exactly not the kind of thing I'm looking for in storytelling.
I'm going to start with what I loved about it because the story deserves that and I'll probably bang on long enough so that most people won't read to the bottom of this review.
But first, a quick warning. There's a whole chapter that describes a vicious gang rape and some readers may be advised to skip it (chapter 4). I believe you'll still thoroughly enjoy the book without putting yourself through that chapter.
Alright. I love that this is so far in the future that Earth doesn't even come up. There's a society on Gammadis and another on Capella. It's sort of like a first contact scenario from both ends. When some Capellans make contact with the people on Gammadis it slowly but surely goes wrong and a little over 50 years later when the Gammadis delegates arrive at Capella it's basically another first contact about to go wrong because the original expedition had been covered up.
The cultures are both fairly alien to us, but in different ways. They both appear to be remotely related to us Earthlings but it's never discussed in great detail.
The Capellans resemble us in a future where information is a commodity, such that what you know about almost anything can be bought and sold. This seems at first a subtle difference but is eventually revealed to have far reaching consequences.
The people on Gammadis have also changed the structure of their society but it appears to have come about as a result of a genetic change in the species. Children are born without gender and even though differentiation occurs in puberty some individuals remain genderless for life. Those who remain without gender enter the bottom of the class structure.
Ethical values on both planets seem positively strange to us. A good example of this is that on Gammadis they say a person has "made room" for the rest when they die and the dead are celebrated but not publicly mourned.
So. As the blurb describes, a suicidal Gammadian is found on Capella and a mental health worker is employed to the task of helping this individual. In the process it is revealed that the events leading up to that situation involve corporate interests and interstellar politics gone awry.
The characters are sensational and the tricky political BS is delightfully woven into the narrative. In both societies there is an element of secretiveness which fields excellent justification for things that we as readers might find outrageous in principle. It's satisfyingly frustrating. It's enough to make you want to push on in the hope that somebody will eventually talk sense, but I also felt it respectfully suggested that our idea of the sensible or ethically correct path is not intrinsically so. Just perfect in that regard.
So I adored the characters and I was keenly interested in learning about these cultures right from the beginning. The dialogue is exceptionally mature and that's something I always appreciate. I loved the discourse and when the story was flowing it was entirely compelling.
Onto the tedium. There were two main things which made this a challenging read for me. The chapters are quite long, which doesn't bother me so much now that I mostly listen, but in this case it had the affect of amplifying the parts I didn't love.
Firstly, there was a whole lot of chapter-long exposition. This took the form of either one character retelling their version of events, or another character reading through the mission reports from that initially covered up expedition. Almost every second chapter was made up of the former, while a large portion of the remaining chapters were made up of the latter. When the story was in the present and events were moving it was so much more pleasant to read through.
The second thing is that being a story which involves a species with a genderless community, there was a lot of discussion of and description of sexual activities and I just generally don't enjoy a lot of that. The discussion could lead to very interesting insights, especially from alien perspectives, but the descriptions could be fairly graphic at times. The long chapters didn't help.
Well that's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's a lot more good that I could say but I didn't take notes while listening. So I'll just note that even though I could describe a large chunk of the reading experience as tedious, I still gave this my 5-star rating in the end.
I'm going to start with what I loved about it because the story deserves that and I'll probably bang on long enough so that most people won't read to the bottom of this review.
But first, a quick warning. There's a whole chapter that describes a vicious gang rape and some readers may be advised to skip it (chapter 4). I believe you'll still thoroughly enjoy the book without putting yourself through that chapter.
Alright. I love that this is so far in the future that Earth doesn't even come up. There's a society on Gammadis and another on Capella. It's sort of like a first contact scenario from both ends. When some Capellans make contact with the people on Gammadis it slowly but surely goes wrong and a little over 50 years later when the Gammadis delegates arrive at Capella it's basically another first contact about to go wrong because the original expedition had been covered up.
The cultures are both fairly alien to us, but in different ways. They both appear to be remotely related to us Earthlings but it's never discussed in great detail.
The Capellans resemble us in a future where information is a commodity, such that what you know about almost anything can be bought and sold. This seems at first a subtle difference but is eventually revealed to have far reaching consequences.
The people on Gammadis have also changed the structure of their society but it appears to have come about as a result of a genetic change in the species. Children are born without gender and even though differentiation occurs in puberty some individuals remain genderless for life. Those who remain without gender enter the bottom of the class structure.
Ethical values on both planets seem positively strange to us. A good example of this is that on Gammadis they say a person has "made room" for the rest when they die and the dead are celebrated but not publicly mourned.
So. As the blurb describes, a suicidal Gammadian is found on Capella and a mental health worker is employed to the task of helping this individual. In the process it is revealed that the events leading up to that situation involve corporate interests and interstellar politics gone awry.
The characters are sensational and the tricky political BS is delightfully woven into the narrative. In both societies there is an element of secretiveness which fields excellent justification for things that we as readers might find outrageous in principle. It's satisfyingly frustrating. It's enough to make you want to push on in the hope that somebody will eventually talk sense, but I also felt it respectfully suggested that our idea of the sensible or ethically correct path is not intrinsically so. Just perfect in that regard.
So I adored the characters and I was keenly interested in learning about these cultures right from the beginning. The dialogue is exceptionally mature and that's something I always appreciate. I loved the discourse and when the story was flowing it was entirely compelling.
Onto the tedium. There were two main things which made this a challenging read for me. The chapters are quite long, which doesn't bother me so much now that I mostly listen, but in this case it had the affect of amplifying the parts I didn't love.
Firstly, there was a whole lot of chapter-long exposition. This took the form of either one character retelling their version of events, or another character reading through the mission reports from that initially covered up expedition. Almost every second chapter was made up of the former, while a large portion of the remaining chapters were made up of the latter. When the story was in the present and events were moving it was so much more pleasant to read through.
The second thing is that being a story which involves a species with a genderless community, there was a lot of discussion of and description of sexual activities and I just generally don't enjoy a lot of that. The discussion could lead to very interesting insights, especially from alien perspectives, but the descriptions could be fairly graphic at times. The long chapters didn't help.
Well that's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's a lot more good that I could say but I didn't take notes while listening. So I'll just note that even though I could describe a large chunk of the reading experience as tedious, I still gave this my 5-star rating in the end.
March 21, 2025
This was one of the more thought-provoking books I’ve read. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, per se, but it was excellent.
This is a 1990s science fiction novel set in a far future where humanities colony worlds, long-sundered, are reconnecting. Though everyone involved is human, there are nevertheless differences that have popped up on different worlds. One of the more drastic changes was on a just-newly-contacted world, where newborn humans are completely sexless and genderless, each with the potential to develop male or female. At adolescence, one set of characteristics matures, and one atrophies. And, in about a third of the cases, neither set develops, and the person continues without any gender or sex.
This book tells the story of Tedla, one of these “neuters.” Most of their world regards the neuters, more or less, as developmentally disabled; they’re near-universally assumed to be slow, dull, and in need of guidance by gendered men and women. They wear grey, are known as “blands,” are each in the guardianship of an individual or organization of gendered men and women, and are relegated to menial work. Except that Tedla has ended up on another world and received an education.
The story starts with Tedla arriving in an emergency care facility, having attempted suicide. The doctors are perplexed by Tedla’s completely genderless biology, and call in a cultural anthropologist to try to figure out Tedla’s story. We as readers gradually learn how Tedla came to the point of attempting suicide, in a story told in three parts. Parts of it are in the present, where Tedla is a person of great interest for various reasons as their homeworld makes its way into galactic society. Parts of it are Tedla’s recountings of their past. And parts of it are notes from an anthropologist that was part of the first contact team on Tedla’s world.
Now I’ve been referring to Tedla using the pronoun “they” as the currently-accepted gender-neutral singular. The book uses the pronoun “it” for Tedla, exclusively - everyone from Tedla’s world, including Tedla, insists it is correct. Tedla is neither male nor female, so “he” and “her” are both completely wrong. It makes many of the people in the book uncomfortable to refer to a person as “it,” and it makes *me* extremely uncomfortable as well - I kept wanting to say “just call them they!” But this is intentional on the author’s part; she wants to push boundaries, and being a 30ish year old book transgenderism was much less known and much less accepted (as far as it currently is) than today.
This book addresses a ton of topics. If I were to try to settle on a single theme for it, I would say this is a book about the societal problems caused by having an oppressed class, and the way that the oppressors tend to blame the oppressed for it. But it also has a great deal to say about cultural relativism, and about capitalism - the world in which Tedla tells their story has an economy based entirely on the commoditization of information, which is obviously relevant in our current world (I’d really like to hear Gilman’s current thoughts on this).
As I implied above, just because this is a great book doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to read. It very much isn’t. Tedla lacks genitals, but that doesn’t mean Tedla can’t perform sexual acts, or be used for them. Very strong content warnings here: sexual coercion, brutal sexual assault, and grooming are all major elements of the story.
My blog
This is a 1990s science fiction novel set in a far future where humanities colony worlds, long-sundered, are reconnecting. Though everyone involved is human, there are nevertheless differences that have popped up on different worlds. One of the more drastic changes was on a just-newly-contacted world, where newborn humans are completely sexless and genderless, each with the potential to develop male or female. At adolescence, one set of characteristics matures, and one atrophies. And, in about a third of the cases, neither set develops, and the person continues without any gender or sex.
This book tells the story of Tedla, one of these “neuters.” Most of their world regards the neuters, more or less, as developmentally disabled; they’re near-universally assumed to be slow, dull, and in need of guidance by gendered men and women. They wear grey, are known as “blands,” are each in the guardianship of an individual or organization of gendered men and women, and are relegated to menial work. Except that Tedla has ended up on another world and received an education.
The story starts with Tedla arriving in an emergency care facility, having attempted suicide. The doctors are perplexed by Tedla’s completely genderless biology, and call in a cultural anthropologist to try to figure out Tedla’s story. We as readers gradually learn how Tedla came to the point of attempting suicide, in a story told in three parts. Parts of it are in the present, where Tedla is a person of great interest for various reasons as their homeworld makes its way into galactic society. Parts of it are Tedla’s recountings of their past. And parts of it are notes from an anthropologist that was part of the first contact team on Tedla’s world.
Now I’ve been referring to Tedla using the pronoun “they” as the currently-accepted gender-neutral singular. The book uses the pronoun “it” for Tedla, exclusively - everyone from Tedla’s world, including Tedla, insists it is correct. Tedla is neither male nor female, so “he” and “her” are both completely wrong. It makes many of the people in the book uncomfortable to refer to a person as “it,” and it makes *me* extremely uncomfortable as well - I kept wanting to say “just call them they!” But this is intentional on the author’s part; she wants to push boundaries, and being a 30ish year old book transgenderism was much less known and much less accepted (as far as it currently is) than today.
This book addresses a ton of topics. If I were to try to settle on a single theme for it, I would say this is a book about the societal problems caused by having an oppressed class, and the way that the oppressors tend to blame the oppressed for it. But it also has a great deal to say about cultural relativism, and about capitalism - the world in which Tedla tells their story has an economy based entirely on the commoditization of information, which is obviously relevant in our current world (I’d really like to hear Gilman’s current thoughts on this).
As I implied above, just because this is a great book doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to read. It very much isn’t. Tedla lacks genitals, but that doesn’t mean Tedla can’t perform sexual acts, or be used for them. Very strong content warnings here: sexual coercion, brutal sexual assault, and grooming are all major elements of the story.
My blog
November 2, 2022
Jo Walton's take: https://www.tor.com/2019/12/06/jo-wal...
"This is an absorbing and fascinating anthropological SF novel that gives us two far future cultures like and unlike our own, with interesting angles on gender, families, society, and the way changes in transportation and contact with others transform cultures. If you like either A Million Open Doors or A Woman of the Iron People you should read this. If you like the POV in Murderbot you should definitely read this. I don’t know how I missed it in 1998. Glad to have found it now."
I don't have anything substantial to add to her review, though I didn't like it as much as she did. For me, 3.5 stars, rounded up. Now I'm wobbling over whether to round up or down. Cautiously recommended. I bought a copy, and have it in the "should I keep this?" pile.
"This is an absorbing and fascinating anthropological SF novel that gives us two far future cultures like and unlike our own, with interesting angles on gender, families, society, and the way changes in transportation and contact with others transform cultures. If you like either A Million Open Doors or A Woman of the Iron People you should read this. If you like the POV in Murderbot you should definitely read this. I don’t know how I missed it in 1998. Glad to have found it now."
I don't have anything substantial to add to her review, though I didn't like it as much as she did. For me, 3.5 stars, rounded up. Now I'm wobbling over whether to round up or down. Cautiously recommended. I bought a copy, and have it in the "should I keep this?" pile.
January 15, 2024
Since reading "Exile's End" at Tor.com last year, I've been steadily hunting down and reading more of Carolyn Ives Gilman's work and falling progressively in love with it. Halfway Human left me awed and with *so* many questions: how in the HELL was this someone's first novel?? How was this absolute gem not a nebula or hugo winner?? How can it possibly have less than 1K ratings on GR? Maybe even more realistically astounding, how was this extremely intersectional and transgressive work published in 1998?
I'm bessotted, intrigued, unsettled, challenged. The book is layered complex, nuanced as hell, and brilliant without being pedantic or overexplaining to the reader, which wowed me. Gilman has as deft a hand as any I can think of when it comes to building richly believable social groups and aliens, imagining different sets of cultural norms that actually feel new and different (rather than renamed analogs for cultures you recognize), and--though this one is less on display in this novel--alien ecosystems (goodness gracious, go look up and read Umbernight, from Clarkesworld 137, Feb. 2018; it was one of my favorite short stories I read last year). Her ability to hold up the alien / the Other to peel back blinders on cultural truths close to home for the reader is magnificent. Gender (both for itself and as a foil for class and race and other forms of othering) takes center stage and our protagonist is ace (aro is debatable), though I should note that the MC's use of "it" as preferred pronoun makes for uncomfortable reading (though as revealed in the text, this is intentional; it sounds pejorative because it is... "it" is the standard term in its own language and reflects the discrimination against biologically+psychosocially asexual / third-gender folks on their home planet). The content warnings that I notice are prominent in other reviews are worth noting, but the difficult parts to read aren't cheap shots by a writer using assault as a lazy plot device, and this isn't a misery-tale wallowing in sensationalizing a NB character as tragic (nothing in this book is that simple). CW for but in case you'd like a sense of scale, there were 3 scenes of violence I found difficult to read over nearly 500 pages. I frequently skip books over sexual violence or torture, and of course YMMV & I can't speak for anyone else, but it was worth it for this reader.
I don't feel that the book's blurb does a good job of conveying what makes this novel special, but the more I thought about the psychological nuances, plot twists and turns, and gradual, revealing perspective shifts that made it so impactful--the things I wanted to articulate to give a better idea of why this knocked me over--the more evident it seemed that my experience had been so much better for going in without knowing about them. Sorry.
If you're on the fence, a number of the author's short stories are available online to read for free. Try any of them (I especially loved Umbernight and Exile's End) and you should come away with a good feel for whether this author is for you. She's thoroughly in my "shut up and take my money" camp after this, though. If you're a Nicola Griffith fan, she blurbed this book as "the best SF novel I've read in a long time" on the cover of my copy. Comparisons to Le Guin abound, and for once, they're apt.
I want this author to keep writing and would really, really like more people to find her work.
I'm bessotted, intrigued, unsettled, challenged. The book is layered complex, nuanced as hell, and brilliant without being pedantic or overexplaining to the reader, which wowed me. Gilman has as deft a hand as any I can think of when it comes to building richly believable social groups and aliens, imagining different sets of cultural norms that actually feel new and different (rather than renamed analogs for cultures you recognize), and--though this one is less on display in this novel--alien ecosystems (goodness gracious, go look up and read Umbernight, from Clarkesworld 137, Feb. 2018; it was one of my favorite short stories I read last year). Her ability to hold up the alien / the Other to peel back blinders on cultural truths close to home for the reader is magnificent. Gender (both for itself and as a foil for class and race and other forms of othering) takes center stage and our protagonist is ace (aro is debatable), though I should note that the MC's use of "it" as preferred pronoun makes for uncomfortable reading (though as revealed in the text, this is intentional; it sounds pejorative because it is... "it" is the standard term in its own language and reflects the discrimination against biologically+psychosocially asexual / third-gender folks on their home planet). The content warnings that I notice are prominent in other reviews are worth noting, but the difficult parts to read aren't cheap shots by a writer using assault as a lazy plot device, and this isn't a misery-tale wallowing in sensationalizing a NB character as tragic (nothing in this book is that simple). CW for but in case you'd like a sense of scale, there were 3 scenes of violence I found difficult to read over nearly 500 pages. I frequently skip books over sexual violence or torture, and of course YMMV & I can't speak for anyone else, but it was worth it for this reader.
I don't feel that the book's blurb does a good job of conveying what makes this novel special, but the more I thought about the psychological nuances, plot twists and turns, and gradual, revealing perspective shifts that made it so impactful--the things I wanted to articulate to give a better idea of why this knocked me over--the more evident it seemed that my experience had been so much better for going in without knowing about them. Sorry.
If you're on the fence, a number of the author's short stories are available online to read for free. Try any of them (I especially loved Umbernight and Exile's End) and you should come away with a good feel for whether this author is for you. She's thoroughly in my "shut up and take my money" camp after this, though. If you're a Nicola Griffith fan, she blurbed this book as "the best SF novel I've read in a long time" on the cover of my copy. Comparisons to Le Guin abound, and for once, they're apt.
I want this author to keep writing and would really, really like more people to find her work.
July 31, 2012
I think this one is somewhere between a 3 and a 4.
It is bascially a book of two stories - one story is of Tedla, an asexual being from another planet, and how it became the person it is, with its history, maltreatment and societal misconceptions. The second story is that of Val, a capellan who lives in a similar society to us except that information is the currency of life, people tell others nothing for free.
I found the capellan parts fairly boring, the writing in those parts seemed quite clumsy and the story wasnt really deep enough to keep my interest. The Gammadian (tedla's world) story I found very compelling, it was very interesting to see a world created with such a difference from our own, not only was there a 3rd sex but they all lived underground with complex social structure. Parts of Tedla's story were horrific, in particular there is a very disturbing and detailed rape scene, which will probably stay with me for life unfortunately. Despite that it is a very interesting look at how different society could be and the rights and moral treatments of an underclass of people.
I would have rated this at 4 stars if the ending hadnt just petered out. There wasnt really much reward for wading through the entire novel, but having said that I did enjoy it for the most part.
It is bascially a book of two stories - one story is of Tedla, an asexual being from another planet, and how it became the person it is, with its history, maltreatment and societal misconceptions. The second story is that of Val, a capellan who lives in a similar society to us except that information is the currency of life, people tell others nothing for free.
I found the capellan parts fairly boring, the writing in those parts seemed quite clumsy and the story wasnt really deep enough to keep my interest. The Gammadian (tedla's world) story I found very compelling, it was very interesting to see a world created with such a difference from our own, not only was there a 3rd sex but they all lived underground with complex social structure. Parts of Tedla's story were horrific, in particular there is a very disturbing and detailed rape scene, which will probably stay with me for life unfortunately. Despite that it is a very interesting look at how different society could be and the rights and moral treatments of an underclass of people.
I would have rated this at 4 stars if the ending hadnt just petered out. There wasnt really much reward for wading through the entire novel, but having said that I did enjoy it for the most part.
February 2, 2015
Imagine a world without gender roles. A world where gender itself only develops during puberty.
A world where there is no concept of "family" - people stay and live with the ones they love, but there is no marriage, and no children to take care of.
Imagine a world where children are being raised in a commune, educated by professionals, away from any intrusion, and away from any gender-bias they might encounter. And when they reach adulthood, they go back to society to the place that best fits them, regardless of who their parents are.
All the adults were raised the same, and instead of traditional gender roles, or any hereditary roles, people are being evaluated by their abilities and actions, without prejudice or bias.
Sadly, there are a few problems with this process of growing-up - some of the children, when they reach puberty age, stay genderless and never become truly human...
Instead, they become "the blands" - the genderless.
Soon after, their mind starts to deteriorate. They become unable to learn new skills, unable to develop intellectually, unable to take care of themselves without guidance and help.
Luckily, the (real) humans take care of them - they give them food, and shelter, and purpose, and work (mostly menial work, such as cleaning and cooking and serving - simple things that their simple minds can still grasp)...
This is the premise of the book.
The book follows the tragic story of one such bland - Tedla - who was found on a different planet, in a dark alley, after it tried to commit suicide.
It tells the story of Tedla's childhood and life - and through it the story of its entire world.
I will stop here to avoid spoilers, but will say this is a well written book, which left me with open questions both about the characters themselves and about society (ours and theirs).
A world where there is no concept of "family" - people stay and live with the ones they love, but there is no marriage, and no children to take care of.
Imagine a world where children are being raised in a commune, educated by professionals, away from any intrusion, and away from any gender-bias they might encounter. And when they reach adulthood, they go back to society to the place that best fits them, regardless of who their parents are.
All the adults were raised the same, and instead of traditional gender roles, or any hereditary roles, people are being evaluated by their abilities and actions, without prejudice or bias.
Sadly, there are a few problems with this process of growing-up - some of the children, when they reach puberty age, stay genderless and never become truly human...
Instead, they become "the blands" - the genderless.
Soon after, their mind starts to deteriorate. They become unable to learn new skills, unable to develop intellectually, unable to take care of themselves without guidance and help.
Luckily, the (real) humans take care of them - they give them food, and shelter, and purpose, and work (mostly menial work, such as cleaning and cooking and serving - simple things that their simple minds can still grasp)...
This is the premise of the book.
The book follows the tragic story of one such bland - Tedla - who was found on a different planet, in a dark alley, after it tried to commit suicide.
It tells the story of Tedla's childhood and life - and through it the story of its entire world.
I will stop here to avoid spoilers, but will say this is a well written book, which left me with open questions both about the characters themselves and about society (ours and theirs).
December 4, 2011
Absorbing and fascinating, but hm, I dunno. It's as much about marginalisation and oppression as it is about gender -- well, more about that than gender, really. But I was surprised by the bit where Tedla says that there are blands in Val's world and it's all the people who don't have interests and do menial work and don't aspire to anything better. This was unexpected. I would've thought it'd've said that blands in Val's world are the perfectly ordinary, bright people who are crushed by poverty and oppression and treated like nothing by people who have marked themselves as superior. But maybe that's meant to be a sign of how Tedla's been kind of brainwashed itself by its society?
Ultimately I felt wary of what the book was saying, because e.g. there's the part where the Gammadis people admit to deliberately choosing people to be neuters. Which implies that they are right, to a certain extent, when they say most neuters are mentally deficient or whatever. When you read that as a metaphor for our world, what does that say? Seems kinda hinky.
Ultimately I felt wary of what the book was saying, because e.g. there's the part where the Gammadis people admit to deliberately choosing people to be neuters. Which implies that they are right, to a certain extent, when they say most neuters are mentally deficient or whatever. When you read that as a metaphor for our world, what does that say? Seems kinda hinky.
August 23, 2017
Halfway Human deals with a distant and very different future.In the novels tells the story of Tedla and its home planet of Gammadis-a human descended planet featuring three genders-male, female and neuter-called bland.
******spoilers********
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On the surface Gammadis is humanity in a very real Utopian-like future making very real choices all human societies will have to make if we plan to continue as a species. I would almost consider Gammadians enlightened, if not for the status and treatment of blands. As a forward thinking "enlightened" culture they decided to make permanent cultural changes to forever change Gammadis's destiny from following the destructive path of earth.One such change made was not living on the surface of Gammadis. Instead they live completely underneath,no construction or environmental damages exist on the surface of Gammadis, there are elaborate living quarters under ground which have night and day settings and are very airy. Another cultural change is the family unit. This is a brilliant move, which changes much more than simply population control by abolishing familial ties, imagine what politics would look like in this nation if there were no family ties? Also serves to destroy differences caused by social castes-you can not inherit your families wealth, power and position if there is no family-which serves to level the playing field for everyone. Women still have babies, but after the babies are born they go to a creche.In the creche children are primarily taken care of by blands and are over-seen by the humans in charge of each particular creche. Abolishing families also abolishes much of the population problem.Lack of family units also acts as a societal equalizer, there are no family ties or bonds to cause preferential treatment in employment or education. Of course preference still exists, but it is much minimized by lack of family unit. Fascinating solution for population control but the methods to control the population do not stop with an end to families. Gammadis goes one step further all children on Gammadis are born neuter with the "potential" to become human(male/female) in their teen years. All children are primarily treated equally, of course more attractive children are doted on. At the entrance to the teens,12-13, all Gammadian children become either human (male/female) or non-human-bland (neuter). Blands are considered to be slow, stupid, alternately sullen and happy, lazy and a responsibility for the poor humans (male and females) responsible for making all decisions and caring for them. Tedla has the great misfortune to go to sleep a neutered "potential" human child and wake up a non-human bland. Blands live in what is referred to as "grayspace"-a sister community built side-by-side underground with humans. Blands ease their weight on society by being maids, cooks, gardners, butlers, etc to the humans entrusted with the care and responsibility of the world and of course, blands. In essence blands become slaves. No "human" washes clothes or toilets or cooks their own food or even puts their own clothes away. Blands wait until humans have left for their "important" responsibilities to society and then come in through their own doors from grayspace and clean up unseen after the humans. They also prepare all of their food and some blands even serve as "personals"-like a butler, maid and assistant all in one. Tedla is attractive and intelligent and as such starts training as a personal. What Tedla uncovers is the complex social, sexual and personal relationship between an owner and ownee, including respect and love as well as pain and depravity. This social situation explores what power does to those that have it, whether they recognize it or not and not only what it does to those without power but as important the power structure created by those that have no power amongst themselves. Inevitably Tedla is sexually assaulted by the 'humans' (men and women) she is assigned to. Tedla is neutered and as such does not seem to have any sexual feelings but it can still love and hate. The abuse is horrible and compounded by the fact that Tedla can not even share its pain with any of its bland contemporaries because it is forbidden for humans to have sexual contact with a bland. In addition is considered distasteful and disgusting for a human to have sex with a bland. Gammadis social position on sex between humans and blands is of course that it NEVER happens and if it does is probably inititaed by the blands. Yet like most of societial taboos, occurring everywhere, participated in by most and ignored by everyone. The most interesting part of the book for me is how Tedla views itself. It feels it is not human as blands are considered little better than trained animals and not really considered more intelligent. Tedla never questions its place in Gammadian society nor feels itself mistreated until it comes into contact with a representative from the newly united old earth. Old Earth finds and contacts Gammada and sends a team of researchers to study Gammadian society and its drift from old earth society. Tedla is assigned as "personal" to a researcher who is part of the first contact team from old earth allowed onto Gammada. He is appalled at the treatment and classification of blands and attempts to teach Tedla some pride and at the same time study the role of a bland in Gammadian society. What follows is Tedla's characters growth from a bland into a human. With all of the guilt that goes along with stepping so completely out of the place society has made for you, whatever society that may be and whatever role you may play in it, to a place where you alone are the first to live this change. No one else like Tedla exists and to even exist as it is Tedla must leave home, Gammadis. Yet once away from Gammadis, Tedla gains a university education and has many interesting insights into human culture both Gammadian and old-earth. How much sexuality effects our everyday life, aspects of human culture that is rarely even examined. Its horror at constantly being related to as either male or female. People do not know how to treat or handle a neutered gender, even the word "it" carries derogatory connotations in reference to a person. Choosing, upon leaving Gammadis, not to have a sexual gender but to continue to be neuter. Its startling observation that blands exist in every society, that "blands" are in fact the fodder that allows the wheels of society to turn. Tedla comes to not be angry at what was done to it. To, in fact, see that it began with the best of intentions, as a way to control population.
The real weak point of the novel is the fact that the 'blands' don't have more resistance. The idea for blands as well ss the treatment (not human) is similar to US style chattel slavery. However enslaved person's were constantly resisting in big ways and small. They could only be held down with unspeakable acts of violence perpetrated regularly. Even with the brutality running and revolting consistently happened. With children not labeled as 'blands' until puberty this would be even harder to maintain realistically in a society.
My other concern is the perhaps transphobia implied in the handling of gender. I'm not transgender so that's not for me to label but this feels like a 90's view of gender.
The Gammadian solution to eco-friendly living fascinates me. I can see how it could have begun as a few simple steps to change so humans can live in harmony with their environment. I can even see how neuters were created, as a way to selectively control who procreates. At first I am sure blands were simply members of the population that were learning disabled and/or truly not fit for much more than manual labor and even that heavily supervised. Yet, as with many things that start out with the best of intentions, it went wrong from there. As the society grew and became more compled, there became a need for more and more blands. After all who was going to do the laundry and cook the meals and clean the rooms while the others were involved in the important business of running the world. Then, it became a reward for achievement or a status symbol to have a "personal" bland to see to all of your needs. Well, who wants an unattractive learning disabled neuter as their personal maid, butler and assistant? So, of course, more children were needed to become blands, whether they fit the original "bland" ideal or not. How can this problem be addressed, ever, when it is a societal standard to ignore the existance of blands all together? How often do societies ignore and not speak about or even develop taboos problems or solutions to problems that are not effecting the important or normal members of society? Yet, if Gammadians admit that this practice has gotten out of control, that blands are being mistreated, are in fact becoming slaves-what does that say about their advanced society? Gammadis is a near Utopia allowed to exist by the sacrifice of blands, eerily relevant to how we live as a "civilized" society today. How many on this planet go to bed every single night hungry and malnourished-how much food do I throw away a week? How many people on this planet are dehydrated or unable to grow crops or even maintain basic hygiene and how much water do I waste everyday while I brush my teeth and take 2 showers/baths a day?I have never read a book like this before. One of the main reasons I enjoy sci fi so much, good sci fi, is that it allows the reader to safely look at the failings of our present and past society-morals, values and equality. Sci fi allows us the opportunity to see from a view not clouded by gender, sexual preference, racial ethnicity, religious trappings or often even humanity, not triggering the readers own identification and therefore biased view of a group or class of people. With a fresh eye we are able to see and compare horrors from this fictional world and race of beings to our very real world and human beings. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to have an equal or equitable society? Is it possible to be truly advanced, civilized, enlightened and treat everyone fairly-will we ever have such a society? The world of the Gammadians almost reminds me of the idealistic world of Star Trek where people are honest and work to better themselves-not for personal gain. It also brings to mind where were the unseen "blands" of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek world? For the one thing Halfway Human taught me without a doubt is that the station that blands fill exist in all societies, even or should I say most especially ours.
******spoilers********
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
On the surface Gammadis is humanity in a very real Utopian-like future making very real choices all human societies will have to make if we plan to continue as a species. I would almost consider Gammadians enlightened, if not for the status and treatment of blands. As a forward thinking "enlightened" culture they decided to make permanent cultural changes to forever change Gammadis's destiny from following the destructive path of earth.One such change made was not living on the surface of Gammadis. Instead they live completely underneath,no construction or environmental damages exist on the surface of Gammadis, there are elaborate living quarters under ground which have night and day settings and are very airy. Another cultural change is the family unit. This is a brilliant move, which changes much more than simply population control by abolishing familial ties, imagine what politics would look like in this nation if there were no family ties? Also serves to destroy differences caused by social castes-you can not inherit your families wealth, power and position if there is no family-which serves to level the playing field for everyone. Women still have babies, but after the babies are born they go to a creche.In the creche children are primarily taken care of by blands and are over-seen by the humans in charge of each particular creche. Abolishing families also abolishes much of the population problem.Lack of family units also acts as a societal equalizer, there are no family ties or bonds to cause preferential treatment in employment or education. Of course preference still exists, but it is much minimized by lack of family unit. Fascinating solution for population control but the methods to control the population do not stop with an end to families. Gammadis goes one step further all children on Gammadis are born neuter with the "potential" to become human(male/female) in their teen years. All children are primarily treated equally, of course more attractive children are doted on. At the entrance to the teens,12-13, all Gammadian children become either human (male/female) or non-human-bland (neuter). Blands are considered to be slow, stupid, alternately sullen and happy, lazy and a responsibility for the poor humans (male and females) responsible for making all decisions and caring for them. Tedla has the great misfortune to go to sleep a neutered "potential" human child and wake up a non-human bland. Blands live in what is referred to as "grayspace"-a sister community built side-by-side underground with humans. Blands ease their weight on society by being maids, cooks, gardners, butlers, etc to the humans entrusted with the care and responsibility of the world and of course, blands. In essence blands become slaves. No "human" washes clothes or toilets or cooks their own food or even puts their own clothes away. Blands wait until humans have left for their "important" responsibilities to society and then come in through their own doors from grayspace and clean up unseen after the humans. They also prepare all of their food and some blands even serve as "personals"-like a butler, maid and assistant all in one. Tedla is attractive and intelligent and as such starts training as a personal. What Tedla uncovers is the complex social, sexual and personal relationship between an owner and ownee, including respect and love as well as pain and depravity. This social situation explores what power does to those that have it, whether they recognize it or not and not only what it does to those without power but as important the power structure created by those that have no power amongst themselves. Inevitably Tedla is sexually assaulted by the 'humans' (men and women) she is assigned to. Tedla is neutered and as such does not seem to have any sexual feelings but it can still love and hate. The abuse is horrible and compounded by the fact that Tedla can not even share its pain with any of its bland contemporaries because it is forbidden for humans to have sexual contact with a bland. In addition is considered distasteful and disgusting for a human to have sex with a bland. Gammadis social position on sex between humans and blands is of course that it NEVER happens and if it does is probably inititaed by the blands. Yet like most of societial taboos, occurring everywhere, participated in by most and ignored by everyone. The most interesting part of the book for me is how Tedla views itself. It feels it is not human as blands are considered little better than trained animals and not really considered more intelligent. Tedla never questions its place in Gammadian society nor feels itself mistreated until it comes into contact with a representative from the newly united old earth. Old Earth finds and contacts Gammada and sends a team of researchers to study Gammadian society and its drift from old earth society. Tedla is assigned as "personal" to a researcher who is part of the first contact team from old earth allowed onto Gammada. He is appalled at the treatment and classification of blands and attempts to teach Tedla some pride and at the same time study the role of a bland in Gammadian society. What follows is Tedla's characters growth from a bland into a human. With all of the guilt that goes along with stepping so completely out of the place society has made for you, whatever society that may be and whatever role you may play in it, to a place where you alone are the first to live this change. No one else like Tedla exists and to even exist as it is Tedla must leave home, Gammadis. Yet once away from Gammadis, Tedla gains a university education and has many interesting insights into human culture both Gammadian and old-earth. How much sexuality effects our everyday life, aspects of human culture that is rarely even examined. Its horror at constantly being related to as either male or female. People do not know how to treat or handle a neutered gender, even the word "it" carries derogatory connotations in reference to a person. Choosing, upon leaving Gammadis, not to have a sexual gender but to continue to be neuter. Its startling observation that blands exist in every society, that "blands" are in fact the fodder that allows the wheels of society to turn. Tedla comes to not be angry at what was done to it. To, in fact, see that it began with the best of intentions, as a way to control population.
The real weak point of the novel is the fact that the 'blands' don't have more resistance. The idea for blands as well ss the treatment (not human) is similar to US style chattel slavery. However enslaved person's were constantly resisting in big ways and small. They could only be held down with unspeakable acts of violence perpetrated regularly. Even with the brutality running and revolting consistently happened. With children not labeled as 'blands' until puberty this would be even harder to maintain realistically in a society.
My other concern is the perhaps transphobia implied in the handling of gender. I'm not transgender so that's not for me to label but this feels like a 90's view of gender.
The Gammadian solution to eco-friendly living fascinates me. I can see how it could have begun as a few simple steps to change so humans can live in harmony with their environment. I can even see how neuters were created, as a way to selectively control who procreates. At first I am sure blands were simply members of the population that were learning disabled and/or truly not fit for much more than manual labor and even that heavily supervised. Yet, as with many things that start out with the best of intentions, it went wrong from there. As the society grew and became more compled, there became a need for more and more blands. After all who was going to do the laundry and cook the meals and clean the rooms while the others were involved in the important business of running the world. Then, it became a reward for achievement or a status symbol to have a "personal" bland to see to all of your needs. Well, who wants an unattractive learning disabled neuter as their personal maid, butler and assistant? So, of course, more children were needed to become blands, whether they fit the original "bland" ideal or not. How can this problem be addressed, ever, when it is a societal standard to ignore the existance of blands all together? How often do societies ignore and not speak about or even develop taboos problems or solutions to problems that are not effecting the important or normal members of society? Yet, if Gammadians admit that this practice has gotten out of control, that blands are being mistreated, are in fact becoming slaves-what does that say about their advanced society? Gammadis is a near Utopia allowed to exist by the sacrifice of blands, eerily relevant to how we live as a "civilized" society today. How many on this planet go to bed every single night hungry and malnourished-how much food do I throw away a week? How many people on this planet are dehydrated or unable to grow crops or even maintain basic hygiene and how much water do I waste everyday while I brush my teeth and take 2 showers/baths a day?I have never read a book like this before. One of the main reasons I enjoy sci fi so much, good sci fi, is that it allows the reader to safely look at the failings of our present and past society-morals, values and equality. Sci fi allows us the opportunity to see from a view not clouded by gender, sexual preference, racial ethnicity, religious trappings or often even humanity, not triggering the readers own identification and therefore biased view of a group or class of people. With a fresh eye we are able to see and compare horrors from this fictional world and race of beings to our very real world and human beings. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to have an equal or equitable society? Is it possible to be truly advanced, civilized, enlightened and treat everyone fairly-will we ever have such a society? The world of the Gammadians almost reminds me of the idealistic world of Star Trek where people are honest and work to better themselves-not for personal gain. It also brings to mind where were the unseen "blands" of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek world? For the one thing Halfway Human taught me without a doubt is that the station that blands fill exist in all societies, even or should I say most especially ours.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2012
I started out really excited reading this. I liked the writing style, the idea was really awesome, and I immediately liked the main character. I was interested in the society of Gammadis the whole time I was reading about it, and I really felt for the blands' struggles, and lack of personhood/rights. Some of the scenes are very brutal and hard to read, but there's an honesty in that. Overall, the story was intriguing, and I kept reading, I kept wanting to read. However, then the book began to wind down. The ending of the book dropped my rating from five stars to three. NONE of the major conflicts introduced in the book are ever solved. Tedla is left basically in the same state its been it its whole life, hidden and secret and reliant on humans, bound to fall into old patterns, with no one offering it any help for all the trauma its suffered - both as a child, and as an adult. Nothing about the Gammadian society is really ever mentioned after Tedla's escape from the planet. It leaves the reader questioning what the fate of the blands on Gammadis is, if there's even any progression towards the rights of the neuters. It leaves the reader questioning what will actually happen to Tedla, since locking it in a hotel room forever seems really stupid and unrealistic. There are also huge holes in the story, to me (such as the fact that twelve years of Tedla's life are compressed into like two pages). Also, the light-year math doesn't make sense consistently in the book, and that drove me a little bonkers. I feel like the book ignored its own rules on that in a couple instances just for convenience's sake and that really stood out. So overall, the book is really a good read and the characters are mostly very intriguing and enjoyable (even in their badness, in some cases), but it's just a huge let down in the end. For that reason I probably wouldn't recommend it to others without caution. People who like satisfying endings should definitely steer clear of this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2012
I got this book as a free Kindle download. I was intrigued by the reviews and description of the book as a kind of feminist sci fi. The writing is a bit uneven, but the story is compelling. The plot centers around Tedla, a non-gendered "bland" from an alien world who meets Val, a Capellan xenologist. The Capellan society thrives on information, its major currency, and Val is eager to learn more about Tedla and its society (and eventually capitalize on that information).
The book alternates between Tedla's first person narratives of its life on its home world and a third person narrative of Val and her reactions to Tedla. Tedla's society has a radically different approach to gender from Val's Capellan (which is quite similar to a modern Western view of gender). All of the major characters are either trained in the study of alien societies or are social reformers, so there is a lot of discussion between characters about gender and class issues.
The author does a good job of creating internally consistent worlds and you can easily be drawn into the story. As I mentioned, at times the writing is uneven and occasionally clumsy, but not enough to disrupt your reading pleasure. The social and philosophical issues around gender roles, class and caste systems, sexuality, freedom and responsibility, and the ethics of intercultural contact are dealt with intelligently.
I would recommend this book for sci fi fans interested in a thought provoking and relatively quick read.
The book alternates between Tedla's first person narratives of its life on its home world and a third person narrative of Val and her reactions to Tedla. Tedla's society has a radically different approach to gender from Val's Capellan (which is quite similar to a modern Western view of gender). All of the major characters are either trained in the study of alien societies or are social reformers, so there is a lot of discussion between characters about gender and class issues.
The author does a good job of creating internally consistent worlds and you can easily be drawn into the story. As I mentioned, at times the writing is uneven and occasionally clumsy, but not enough to disrupt your reading pleasure. The social and philosophical issues around gender roles, class and caste systems, sexuality, freedom and responsibility, and the ethics of intercultural contact are dealt with intelligently.
I would recommend this book for sci fi fans interested in a thought provoking and relatively quick read.
November 7, 2009
This book is so good. It's an engrossing book with a plot that just races along. It has political intrigue, personal drama, and a really fascinating alien culture that is explored in depth from a sort of behind-the-scenes perspective. It manages to be intellectually intriguing and emotionally engaging all the while raising tough ethical and sociopolitical questions about gender, freedom, and what it means to be human.
November 5, 2017
Wow! I had no real desire to read this book,but I've had it on my shelf for quite some time. I saw Caroline when she was guest of honor at a book convention in Stockholm. She is a very interesting and warm person. Right now I'm so glad I picked up this book. It's without a doubt the best book I've read in a couple of years. It bringa up so many topics it's hard to even list them all. Besides the obvious ones about gender it dels with slaveri, class, cultural differences, beauty, sexuality, honesty, secrecy and trust issues, legal systems and corruption, and probably a few more that I can't come to think of at the top of my mind. This is the first time I'm a 100% convinced a book deserves all the praise it got. I would deffenitely recomend everyone to pick up a copy of this book for themselves. It's a story that can be read and analysed a 100 different ways. The story is very complex and full of twist and turns. The worldbuilding and technology feels believable and interesting. The characters are alive and eclectic, and the end is realistiskt and bitter-sweet with a speck of hope for the future. Reading this story without assigning the protagonist a gender was a enormous challenge in itself, and made me realize how indoctrinated we human are in assigning gender to everything around us. It's almost hard to even look at bugs with out giving them a gender based on their looks. Are butterflies male or female? And what are ants? Had the book been given a more appealing cover, and marketed differently I'm sure it could have attracted a wider audience, much like "The Handmaid's Tale" for example. I will deffenitely reread this book again and hope to see some one brave enough making a movie out of it before I die. I absolute ly loved this book.
February 9, 2022
4.5 stars. Refugee Tedla is a bland, a neuter from an isolated planet whose tripart gender system uses blands as a slave caste. I find that work with the premise "wouldn't it be interesting if [absolutely real facet of queer experience; here, agender/asexual identities] existed in a speculative context" begins at a natural disadvantage, even if it was groundbreaking for its time. This also has issues with structure--the chronological first-person testimony is awfully convenient, and conveniently interrupted by cliffhanger mysteries and plot reveals and found documents.
But yanno what, those cliffhangers may be manipulative but they're also effective; and more importantly this builds into something surprisingly nuanced. It answers almost every flaw in narratives of this type, where a social justice issue is endemic to an alien people encountered by outsiders. It's a developed, thoughtful part of an alien culture, but its repercussions aren't endemic; the protagonist is a complete and complex person as well as an avenue of speculative exploration; outsider "savior" characters are put under intense scrutiny, and change comes slowly & from within.
So I don't like this as much as Dark Orbit, which I loved--distinctly there's no atmosphere, no sense of beauty; beauty here is innately tied to class and exploitation. But it defied all my initial doubts. An engaging read but only grows better as it goes. ...And now I really want to read more Gilman.
But yanno what, those cliffhangers may be manipulative but they're also effective; and more importantly this builds into something surprisingly nuanced. It answers almost every flaw in narratives of this type, where a social justice issue is endemic to an alien people encountered by outsiders. It's a developed, thoughtful part of an alien culture, but its repercussions aren't endemic; the protagonist is a complete and complex person as well as an avenue of speculative exploration; outsider "savior" characters are put under intense scrutiny, and change comes slowly & from within.
So I don't like this as much as Dark Orbit, which I loved--distinctly there's no atmosphere, no sense of beauty; beauty here is innately tied to class and exploitation. But it defied all my initial doubts. An engaging read but only grows better as it goes. ...And now I really want to read more Gilman.
February 16, 2019
This book was so thought-provoking and suspenseful, I'm surprised it isn't more well known. There's a lot of similarities to LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness, and as a diehard LeGuin fan it pains me to say this but this is a better book.
The weaving of the three narrations was at times unnaturally clunky, but the characters were so captivating it was easy to forgive. I really enjoyed reading the protagonist Tedla's life story from a speculative scifi viewpoint but also as an adventure novel. I was surprised at how gripping this story was, as most of the reviews focused on the philosophical aspects.
This book in summary is all at the same time a utopian/dystopian sci-fi story, a slave narrative, and a love story of sorts. Very good agender/asexual characters, if I may say from a position of being neither.
Very firm trigger warning for rape, suicide, and implied pedophilia.
The weaving of the three narrations was at times unnaturally clunky, but the characters were so captivating it was easy to forgive. I really enjoyed reading the protagonist Tedla's life story from a speculative scifi viewpoint but also as an adventure novel. I was surprised at how gripping this story was, as most of the reviews focused on the philosophical aspects.
This book in summary is all at the same time a utopian/dystopian sci-fi story, a slave narrative, and a love story of sorts. Very good agender/asexual characters, if I may say from a position of being neither.
Very firm trigger warning for rape, suicide, and implied pedophilia.
June 5, 2025
A stunning, beautiful, and at times brutal story. For the past couple of years I've been reading all the novels and short stories by Carolyn Ives Gilman, but I didn't pick this one up at first because the cover is very "bland" (pardon the pun) I'm a visual person, and beautiful covers jump out at me. But the story itself is excellent and immersive, and drew me in immediately. The writing style and world building, and thought provoking theme is reminiscent of Ursula K. Le Guin, my favorite author. It is hard to write a review without spoilers. Let me just say that Tedla is one of the best characters that have graced the pages of a book, and even though this was written over 25 years ago, the themes are still relevant today. I was so invested in Tedla's story... and I cried several times. This is now one of my favorites. 😭
December 10, 2018
I loved everything about this book. It's so compelling; one of the main things I loved about the setting is that the book is set in a futuristic world that bears many similarities to our own. All information is a commodity to be bought and sold, the main export and import of a civilization spread out across the galaxy. It is largely controlled by two companies that are constantly at odds with one another.
The book itself is a great commentary on modern day slavery and how we sweep a lot of ugliness under the rug in order to look better, both to ourselves and others. It also offers a chilling insight into how easy it is to regard those that are different from us as lesser, and how arbitrary that decision really is, as well as the consequences of what happens when those determined to be less human than the rest of us organize and attempt to rise up.
Overall, a great read. I bought it as an ebook and could barely put my phone down all weekend. I highly recommend it.
The book itself is a great commentary on modern day slavery and how we sweep a lot of ugliness under the rug in order to look better, both to ourselves and others. It also offers a chilling insight into how easy it is to regard those that are different from us as lesser, and how arbitrary that decision really is, as well as the consequences of what happens when those determined to be less human than the rest of us organize and attempt to rise up.
Overall, a great read. I bought it as an ebook and could barely put my phone down all weekend. I highly recommend it.
April 25, 2018
I couldn't put this down! I was so compelled by the world that Gilman has created in this novel. I raced through my first reading in just a few days so that I could learn the answers to all the questions that came up in the reading and find out how the stories intersect. I've now read it multiple times (more slowly) and I've found it even more interesting and thought-provoking than the first read.
There are so many themes that are touched on in this book. Some are brief, some are more fleshed out. This book may appeal to you if you're interested in themes of gender, sexuality, asexuality, class oppression, the ethics and practices of anthropology (or xenology as they call it in sci-fi), or culture clash between alien planets. Not to mention the many other provocative topics that will probably leave you thinking about this book for a long time.
In terms of structure, the book alternates between narrators, switching from third-person to two different first-person backstories. I personally like this style - where the plots intertwine and meet in the middle of the timeline. Tedla's backstory is very compelling, and contains a lot of beautiful and interesting world building. The backstories also have another interesting component: the author does a really nice job of introducing the idea that one or both of the narrators may be unreliable. Something that I found wonderful and frustrating about this book is that some ambiguities like that one are never resolved and the reader is left to speculate about what the truth might be. Like I said, I've been thinking about this book so much even after reading it twice.
Some other reviewers may have noted this, but there is some disturbing, graphic material in the book. It's pretty short and isn't referred to explicitly after the scene ends, but it's something to be aware of. Don't let it stop you from reading the book though; it's not a vital scene so you could definitely skip it if you wanted to.
All in all, I recommend this book highly! I'm actually surprised that it isn't more popular, but I hope people will continue to discover it and enjoy it. I think it would make an excellent book club selection, because there is definitely a lot to talk about when you're done.
Also, if you enjoyed this book I recommend checking out Gilman's most recent novel Dark Orbit. You'll find some familiar characters referred to, and one that even makes a cameo appearance.
There are so many themes that are touched on in this book. Some are brief, some are more fleshed out. This book may appeal to you if you're interested in themes of gender, sexuality, asexuality, class oppression, the ethics and practices of anthropology (or xenology as they call it in sci-fi), or culture clash between alien planets. Not to mention the many other provocative topics that will probably leave you thinking about this book for a long time.
In terms of structure, the book alternates between narrators, switching from third-person to two different first-person backstories. I personally like this style - where the plots intertwine and meet in the middle of the timeline. Tedla's backstory is very compelling, and contains a lot of beautiful and interesting world building. The backstories also have another interesting component: the author does a really nice job of introducing the idea that one or both of the narrators may be unreliable. Something that I found wonderful and frustrating about this book is that some ambiguities like that one are never resolved and the reader is left to speculate about what the truth might be. Like I said, I've been thinking about this book so much even after reading it twice.
Some other reviewers may have noted this, but there is some disturbing, graphic material in the book. It's pretty short and isn't referred to explicitly after the scene ends, but it's something to be aware of. Don't let it stop you from reading the book though; it's not a vital scene so you could definitely skip it if you wanted to.
All in all, I recommend this book highly! I'm actually surprised that it isn't more popular, but I hope people will continue to discover it and enjoy it. I think it would make an excellent book club selection, because there is definitely a lot to talk about when you're done.
Also, if you enjoyed this book I recommend checking out Gilman's most recent novel Dark Orbit. You'll find some familiar characters referred to, and one that even makes a cameo appearance.
September 12, 2016
Fairly simple world building; two planets that are offshoots from Earth, they reconnect and a culture shock ensues due to the way each has adapted and developed biologically and socially to their new worlds( more social, so much easier to write about).
The novel deals with slavery. Gilman looks at it through the lens of a planet that has adapted into 3 different sexes m,f and asexual. The asexuals are called blands and are used as slaves for the humans, they are also sexually abused. She contrasts this with a more Earth like planet with the two(mf) sexes. Gilman is an emotional writer and relies on emotional hooks to pull you in as a reader, I don't mind indulging my emotions...to an extent.
I found myself engaged in this book from the first page, unfortunately, the story ran out of steam half way thru. Gilman threw very horrific scenes at me and then pulled everything back. It then became very "mum(Val) saves the day and Telda from evil aliens".
Changed my appreciation of what I initially thought was an amazing book.
The novel deals with slavery. Gilman looks at it through the lens of a planet that has adapted into 3 different sexes m,f and asexual. The asexuals are called blands and are used as slaves for the humans, they are also sexually abused. She contrasts this with a more Earth like planet with the two(mf) sexes. Gilman is an emotional writer and relies on emotional hooks to pull you in as a reader, I don't mind indulging my emotions...to an extent.
I found myself engaged in this book from the first page, unfortunately, the story ran out of steam half way thru. Gilman threw very horrific scenes at me and then pulled everything back. It then became very "mum(Val) saves the day and Telda from evil aliens".
Changed my appreciation of what I initially thought was an amazing book.
April 7, 2016
This is excellent entertainment, thought provoking and fascinating!!! On one level this is a fascinating tale of alien contact, well-told and exciting, with well-developed characters. Yet on another level it’s an intriguing look at how people can be socialized into their roles, those of gender and those of class, and raises intriguing questions about our own socialization.
June 13, 2019
Anthropology can be devastating when it turns back in on itself. This book is about that. It's also well written and in the Le Guin vein of ethnographic SF.
Falls just short of 4 for me because allegory only works if it's subtle, and allusion is NO FUN if it's obvious.
Falls just short of 4 for me because allegory only works if it's subtle, and allusion is NO FUN if it's obvious.
June 25, 2011
You really got to know and care about the characters and places. Some of the insights revealed in the book can be mirrors looking back at us.
December 2, 2018
I stumbled across this book while looking for a more recent release by the author, and I’m so glad that I walked away with this book instead. Parts of the story were almost too intense to me (it needs a major sexual assault trigger warning), but the worldbuilding and commentary on power/class/gender were wonderful.
Tedla is a major standout character for me; a person with no gender or sex, Tedla is part of the class of ‘blands’ on the planet Gammadis, and relegated to serving the men and women on the planet. The book alternates point of view with that is Val, a ‘xenologist’ from the planet Capella Two. Tedla’s story was almost too painful to read at times, but I was compelled to go through even the worst bits by Tedla’s voice: it (Tedla—this is the pronoun used in the book) has such an impressive, sometimes contradictory, balance between intellect and emotion; it is both intelligent while also vulnerable and raw, sometimes unsure, but overall quite captivating. Tedla is probably one of the most complex characters I’ve read recently; it has so many layers, some which contradict each other, and it shows such engaging (and sometimes rather subtle) character growth from the start of the ‘current’ story on Capella Two to the end.
I also liked Val, but I found her less remarkable and scene-stealing than Tedla. I did appreciate Val fo making the choices that I, the reader, wanted her to make, and I enjoy her friendship with Tedla and want to see even more. Capellan society seems much more like our own, and therefore some of its customs much less alien-like, yet its own structures and ways of thinking also really challenged my worldview. (I will say, having characters named “Valerie” and “Joan” and so on in a far off future world with pseudo-futuristic names for other things was incredibly jarring at first.)
I wish I had more to say about this book. I feel like despite the gender aspect, it perhaps says a little less about gender specifically, and more about class (or perhaps ‘caste’). That said, I appreciate the way it did challenge me to engage with my view of gender—it is incredibly difficult to try to let go of gendered assumptions even when characters are explicitly agender/asexual.
I was mostly satisfied by this book; I knew it was mostly about Tedla’s story, and because of that, I’m okay that the ending didn’t involve the toppling of entire social structures. That said, I find myself wanting to know so much more.
Tedla is a major standout character for me; a person with no gender or sex, Tedla is part of the class of ‘blands’ on the planet Gammadis, and relegated to serving the men and women on the planet. The book alternates point of view with that is Val, a ‘xenologist’ from the planet Capella Two. Tedla’s story was almost too painful to read at times, but I was compelled to go through even the worst bits by Tedla’s voice: it (Tedla—this is the pronoun used in the book) has such an impressive, sometimes contradictory, balance between intellect and emotion; it is both intelligent while also vulnerable and raw, sometimes unsure, but overall quite captivating. Tedla is probably one of the most complex characters I’ve read recently; it has so many layers, some which contradict each other, and it shows such engaging (and sometimes rather subtle) character growth from the start of the ‘current’ story on Capella Two to the end.
I also liked Val, but I found her less remarkable and scene-stealing than Tedla. I did appreciate Val fo making the choices that I, the reader, wanted her to make, and I enjoy her friendship with Tedla and want to see even more. Capellan society seems much more like our own, and therefore some of its customs much less alien-like, yet its own structures and ways of thinking also really challenged my worldview. (I will say, having characters named “Valerie” and “Joan” and so on in a far off future world with pseudo-futuristic names for other things was incredibly jarring at first.)
I wish I had more to say about this book. I feel like despite the gender aspect, it perhaps says a little less about gender specifically, and more about class (or perhaps ‘caste’). That said, I appreciate the way it did challenge me to engage with my view of gender—it is incredibly difficult to try to let go of gendered assumptions even when characters are explicitly agender/asexual.
I was mostly satisfied by this book; I knew it was mostly about Tedla’s story, and because of that, I’m okay that the ending didn’t involve the toppling of entire social structures. That said, I find myself wanting to know so much more.
November 25, 2018
This was okay. This would probably make a good book group book, as there are things to talk about, but I didn't actually enjoy reading it.
The Twenty Planets series is set up like the Hainish Cycle, and Halfway Human is clearly an homage to The Left Hand of Darkness. After taking to the stars, different human settlements lost contact with each other and evolved in different ways. Capella 2, the center of universal civilization is reaching out to the stars and bringing humanity together. Our initial protagonist, Val, is a xenologist on Capella 2, and is called in when an alien (a human alien) tries to kill itself. The alien, Tedla, is the only immigrant ever from Gammadis, a world where all children are born as genderless neuters. Around puberty, the children undergo a process which makes them male or female. But the process fails on a percentage of the population, who remain neuters. The neuters are considered not human, who remain immature adult-children incapable of taking care of themselves. They are kept as servants, property of their guardians. Tedla is a neuter.
Most of the book is Tedla dictating its story to Val. This is interspersed with the present of the book in which the government of Capella is debating over the best way to handle Tedla's situation.
Ostensibly, this book is about gender. But once a Gammadian becomes male or female, the gender roles are pretty stereotypical and the gender roles on Capella 2 aren't much different. Certainly this is a book about a truly asexual character written before ace individuals were a major part of the conversation. But really, this is a book about class. Gammadians don't think neuters can take care of themselves or act in their own self-interest, which is paralelled by the authorities of Capella 2 debating on whether Tedla can be trusted to act in its own self-interest after its suicide attempt. And it's also about how idealists talk about respecting other cultures but their idealism falters in the face of a practice they disagree with.
The thing is, the majority of these resonating topics don't hit home until the last hundred pages. And, for me, it was a slog to get there. I found most of the writing tedious. The set up, as I said, was similar to The Left Hand of Darkness, but the concept wasn't as intriguing. The characters didn't grab me. I didn't like or care about the book until the end. I may have to go back and reread it now that I find it more interesting.
The Twenty Planets series is set up like the Hainish Cycle, and Halfway Human is clearly an homage to The Left Hand of Darkness. After taking to the stars, different human settlements lost contact with each other and evolved in different ways. Capella 2, the center of universal civilization is reaching out to the stars and bringing humanity together. Our initial protagonist, Val, is a xenologist on Capella 2, and is called in when an alien (a human alien) tries to kill itself. The alien, Tedla, is the only immigrant ever from Gammadis, a world where all children are born as genderless neuters. Around puberty, the children undergo a process which makes them male or female. But the process fails on a percentage of the population, who remain neuters. The neuters are considered not human, who remain immature adult-children incapable of taking care of themselves. They are kept as servants, property of their guardians. Tedla is a neuter.
Most of the book is Tedla dictating its story to Val. This is interspersed with the present of the book in which the government of Capella is debating over the best way to handle Tedla's situation.
Ostensibly, this book is about gender. But once a Gammadian becomes male or female, the gender roles are pretty stereotypical and the gender roles on Capella 2 aren't much different. Certainly this is a book about a truly asexual character written before ace individuals were a major part of the conversation. But really, this is a book about class. Gammadians don't think neuters can take care of themselves or act in their own self-interest, which is paralelled by the authorities of Capella 2 debating on whether Tedla can be trusted to act in its own self-interest after its suicide attempt. And it's also about how idealists talk about respecting other cultures but their idealism falters in the face of a practice they disagree with.
The thing is, the majority of these resonating topics don't hit home until the last hundred pages. And, for me, it was a slog to get there. I found most of the writing tedious. The set up, as I said, was similar to The Left Hand of Darkness, but the concept wasn't as intriguing. The characters didn't grab me. I didn't like or care about the book until the end. I may have to go back and reread it now that I find it more interesting.
January 11, 2020
A well written story that explores human nature, sexuality, societal mores and, the inevitable conflicts when two different cultures meet for the first time. This first novel by a long time writer of shorter fiction and non-fiction leaves the reader hoping that Gilman will produce more.
Tedla is a beautiful person both inside and outside but, neither male nor female. Through Tedla we learn how sexuality permeates every aspect of our society. On Tedla's world, children are born sexless and don't become male or female until their early teens. Once their gender is determined, they are separated. The male and female "humans" choose professions and live a relatively pampered life while they follow their pursuits in art, administration, science, education, etc.. The neuters or "blands" are relegated to a life of subservience and service to the humans. They do all the menial and manual labor, from cooking meals to equipment maintenance, to raising children and other services for the humans. The "blands" are considered unfortunate products of nature that are underdeveloped physically as well as mentally.
When contact is first established from humans of another planet, a team arrives to study the planet of Gammadis where Tedla lives. Fifty years later Tedla is found injured, lying in a street on Capella Two, another human world. Tedla becomes the object of study and much more on Capella Two. One of the people charged with learning about Tedla is Valerie Endrada, a scholar of sorts and an information marketer. Through interviews by Val, Tedla's story is learned and her tenuous future is decided.
This book is a great read. Well developed characters, especially Tedla and Val, add to an interesting and provocative story. I look forward to reading another SF novel by Gilman if she chooses to offer one.
Tedla is a beautiful person both inside and outside but, neither male nor female. Through Tedla we learn how sexuality permeates every aspect of our society. On Tedla's world, children are born sexless and don't become male or female until their early teens. Once their gender is determined, they are separated. The male and female "humans" choose professions and live a relatively pampered life while they follow their pursuits in art, administration, science, education, etc.. The neuters or "blands" are relegated to a life of subservience and service to the humans. They do all the menial and manual labor, from cooking meals to equipment maintenance, to raising children and other services for the humans. The "blands" are considered unfortunate products of nature that are underdeveloped physically as well as mentally.
When contact is first established from humans of another planet, a team arrives to study the planet of Gammadis where Tedla lives. Fifty years later Tedla is found injured, lying in a street on Capella Two, another human world. Tedla becomes the object of study and much more on Capella Two. One of the people charged with learning about Tedla is Valerie Endrada, a scholar of sorts and an information marketer. Through interviews by Val, Tedla's story is learned and her tenuous future is decided.
This book is a great read. Well developed characters, especially Tedla and Val, add to an interesting and provocative story. I look forward to reading another SF novel by Gilman if she chooses to offer one.
July 14, 2019
3.5 rounded up I think. This was an interesting story with some parallels it wants to draw with our own society. It centres around a "bland", a human from another planet who belongs to their third, sexless gender. This gender is raised to become their servant class, who are basically slaves. We find out more about their society and how they approach sex and class divisions via the protagonist, Tedla (who is uncomfortably referred to as "it").
The story felt problematic to me in places, particularly around sex, but perhaps that was the point. In some places I can't tell if things were handled badly or it just intended to make me uncomfortable. Its exploration of sex is certainly interesting in places but not particularly deep, and other books, notably The Left Hand of Darkness, have explored similar ideas better. There was less on sex and gender, and more on "othering" and dehumanisation. In this way I found the parallels between "blands" and historical slavery here in the real world more interesting. There's also some interesting world-building around the society Tedla escapes to, where information is a commodity and copyrights are important assets. This plays a fairly background role, however.
The writing on a micro level is pretty good, although only a few characters beyond the protagonist get the honour of being fleshed out.
On a macro level, the plot is pretty convenient and hand-wavy and mostly a vehicle to explain the world the author has created (in a scifi book? Gasp! That never happens!) and the more I think about it now, the less charitable I feel about it. At the time, it moved at a decent pace and kept me engrossed — I was happy to go along with it.
If you're looking for an exploration of the themes mentioned I'd recommend it, but not otherwise.
The story felt problematic to me in places, particularly around sex, but perhaps that was the point. In some places I can't tell if things were handled badly or it just intended to make me uncomfortable. Its exploration of sex is certainly interesting in places but not particularly deep, and other books, notably The Left Hand of Darkness, have explored similar ideas better. There was less on sex and gender, and more on "othering" and dehumanisation. In this way I found the parallels between "blands" and historical slavery here in the real world more interesting. There's also some interesting world-building around the society Tedla escapes to, where information is a commodity and copyrights are important assets. This plays a fairly background role, however.
The writing on a micro level is pretty good, although only a few characters beyond the protagonist get the honour of being fleshed out.
On a macro level, the plot is pretty convenient and hand-wavy and mostly a vehicle to explain the world the author has created (in a scifi book? Gasp! That never happens!) and the more I think about it now, the less charitable I feel about it. At the time, it moved at a decent pace and kept me engrossed — I was happy to go along with it.
If you're looking for an exploration of the themes mentioned I'd recommend it, but not otherwise.
August 15, 2025
Halfway Human is one of those books I suspect is going to stay with me forever and always. It's rare for a story to so completely shock me, not because of some sneaky twist but because it made me reevaluate and come to terms with the feelings about messy characters doing messy things.
No one in this book is a wholly good person, and it isn't a story necessarily about inciting change or ignite revolution even as its sorely needed. Rather, it's all about the central character, Tedla, a member of a non-gendered and asexual class treated as dehumanized slaves by the men and women of their home planet. Tedla holds many internalized prejudices against its own kind, often defends the system which oppresses it, and holds a generally negative opinion of those not following the societal norms and rules. It's made uncomfortable by those few men and women who treat it as a person and who argue for its rights.
Tedla isn't a revolutionary. Tedla is just one of countless others trapped within a system its been raised from birth to believe right and just and necessary, taught its own dehumanization like something inherent. This isn't a story about the oppressed class rising up and becoming equal, so much as it is a snapshot into their reality, a glimpse of the first step of emancipation as we see nuggets of new ideas and solidarity begin to spread. It feels a bit like reading a memoir, like I'm learning about a historical person whose true importance will take generations to fully form. It's one single person realizing and gaining personhood, and in doing so proving that it can be done by others, and that there is hope for the future.
I also appreciated that it isn't a story of an enlightened world stomping in and fixing another, more primitive one. Sure, Tedla's world is a clusterfuck, but in reaching first contact with another human world both societies begin to destabilize, both showing the cracks which their inhabitants prefer to turn a blind eye to or even defend. The other human world has its own messes, its own dehumanization, and the people from there grow and learn as much from knowing Tedla as Tedla does from them.
No one in this book is a wholly good person, and it isn't a story necessarily about inciting change or ignite revolution even as its sorely needed. Rather, it's all about the central character, Tedla, a member of a non-gendered and asexual class treated as dehumanized slaves by the men and women of their home planet. Tedla holds many internalized prejudices against its own kind, often defends the system which oppresses it, and holds a generally negative opinion of those not following the societal norms and rules. It's made uncomfortable by those few men and women who treat it as a person and who argue for its rights.
Tedla isn't a revolutionary. Tedla is just one of countless others trapped within a system its been raised from birth to believe right and just and necessary, taught its own dehumanization like something inherent. This isn't a story about the oppressed class rising up and becoming equal, so much as it is a snapshot into their reality, a glimpse of the first step of emancipation as we see nuggets of new ideas and solidarity begin to spread. It feels a bit like reading a memoir, like I'm learning about a historical person whose true importance will take generations to fully form. It's one single person realizing and gaining personhood, and in doing so proving that it can be done by others, and that there is hope for the future.
I also appreciated that it isn't a story of an enlightened world stomping in and fixing another, more primitive one. Sure, Tedla's world is a clusterfuck, but in reaching first contact with another human world both societies begin to destabilize, both showing the cracks which their inhabitants prefer to turn a blind eye to or even defend. The other human world has its own messes, its own dehumanization, and the people from there grow and learn as much from knowing Tedla as Tedla does from them.
December 12, 2017
A really fantastic book, with so much going on. I recommended this to an English teacher friend of mine right away as it's layered with so many different potential readings.
The primary reading is likely to always be a gender one, as one of the main characters in the book is asexual and comes from a planet where this is a normal third gender. This allows Gilman to talk about a lot of gender inequality issues in an indirect manner, and makes for some thoughtful points reading where I found I'd accidentally assigned genders to the asexual characters in my head without meaning to.
There's also race, slavery, caste, capitalism, ecology, etc all going on here. For instance, there's an interesting dichotomy setup between an info-capitalist culture living on a barren moon with relatively equal gender relations, and the ecologically founded culture living on a lush planet with a 3rd gender who are treated as a slave caste.
In terms of the actual story, it starts off feeling a lot like a classic science fiction - the manners of description and context of the story seem more like something from the 70s than the 90s. This is definitely present throughout the book, but get's pushed to the background by the fantastic themes that start coming to the fore. That said, some of the characters are a little wooden, and if you're really sensitive to this you might find it frustrating - for me, it was something I just noted in passing, but it didn't impinge upon my reading experience at all (and could be read as a homage to classic sci-fi in itself).
The primary reading is likely to always be a gender one, as one of the main characters in the book is asexual and comes from a planet where this is a normal third gender. This allows Gilman to talk about a lot of gender inequality issues in an indirect manner, and makes for some thoughtful points reading where I found I'd accidentally assigned genders to the asexual characters in my head without meaning to.
There's also race, slavery, caste, capitalism, ecology, etc all going on here. For instance, there's an interesting dichotomy setup between an info-capitalist culture living on a barren moon with relatively equal gender relations, and the ecologically founded culture living on a lush planet with a 3rd gender who are treated as a slave caste.
In terms of the actual story, it starts off feeling a lot like a classic science fiction - the manners of description and context of the story seem more like something from the 70s than the 90s. This is definitely present throughout the book, but get's pushed to the background by the fantastic themes that start coming to the fore. That said, some of the characters are a little wooden, and if you're really sensitive to this you might find it frustrating - for me, it was something I just noted in passing, but it didn't impinge upon my reading experience at all (and could be read as a homage to classic sci-fi in itself).
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