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Titan's Daughter
Would you want your son to marry a girl nine feet tall?Sena, the heroine of this remarkable novel, is a tetraploid giantess - taller, stronger, longer-lived than normal men and women...For Sena, who was not yet thirty, the whole small world was in the endless throes of an endless springtide; a youth that would last more than a century, with toy bridges and houses clustered at her feet.But would the jealous "normals" let her live...?
- GenresScience Fiction
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
454 books327 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 14, 2021
I'm not going to waste anymore time on this when I can be reading something else that I can get into, so I'm bailing on this because I'm just not into it. 🤷♂️
It's dated and slow-paced...so seeya! 👎
It's dated and slow-paced...so seeya! 👎
September 3, 2024
A competently-written novel but one which does very little with its central premise. The novel is about genetically-engineered giants who are eight feet tall or higher and the social problems this causes, but there's very little to do with the difficulties of being a giant in a world of smaller people.
The opening chapter seems to serve solely to titillate the (presumed male and heterosexual) reader with a description of a stunning giant blonde, the Titan's Daughter of the title, but after this she quickly disappears from the plot, at least until Blish seems to remember what the book is called and makes her a major part of the plot's climax and resolution.
It also ends quite abruptly with very little answers as to what might happen next. There's a giant dog in it, if that's your thing.
I'm being a little harsh. There are some standout moments in this book. I like the gizmo that counteracts Newton's Third Law, and the courtroom scene is, while strangely devoid of anything science-fictional outside of the presence of the aforementioned giants, pretty competently written. Blish clearly had a knack for character writing.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite come together. The bad guy is entertainingly evil, the hero is hard done by, but it all feels a bit juvenile. It feels almost like the entire story is in service to the opening chapter, like Blish wanted to reel a (again, presumed male, heterosexual) sucker at the book store in with the promise of a story about a sexy giantess embarking on a mission of world domination, only to pull the rug out from underneath him and write about a bunch of very tall men arguing.
One to read if you want some light popcorn literature, but hardly the finest hour of 60s SF.
The opening chapter seems to serve solely to titillate the (presumed male and heterosexual) reader with a description of a stunning giant blonde, the Titan's Daughter of the title, but after this she quickly disappears from the plot, at least until Blish seems to remember what the book is called and makes her a major part of the plot's climax and resolution.
It also ends quite abruptly with very little answers as to what might happen next. There's a giant dog in it, if that's your thing.
I'm being a little harsh. There are some standout moments in this book. I like the gizmo that counteracts Newton's Third Law, and the courtroom scene is, while strangely devoid of anything science-fictional outside of the presence of the aforementioned giants, pretty competently written. Blish clearly had a knack for character writing.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite come together. The bad guy is entertainingly evil, the hero is hard done by, but it all feels a bit juvenile. It feels almost like the entire story is in service to the opening chapter, like Blish wanted to reel a (again, presumed male, heterosexual) sucker at the book store in with the promise of a story about a sexy giantess embarking on a mission of world domination, only to pull the rug out from underneath him and write about a bunch of very tall men arguing.
One to read if you want some light popcorn literature, but hardly the finest hour of 60s SF.
September 1, 2018
A fan of James Blish, I had picked up Titan's Daughter as an impulse buy to collect as much of Blish's works as I could. Titan's Daughter tells the experimental story of transhumans (the tetrapoloids), who are under the social wing of a research center of Pasadena. Blish restricts a sense of emotion to these people while generating a sense of social fear as they are slowly being killed by the "normals."
I can see cultural relevance to events today that he predicted in the storyline - genetically modified superhumans as we see in athletes and the military today, as well as, people transitioning and dealing with cultural misunderstandings that all to commonly have led to bad societal reactions.
Unfortunately, Blish does not offer more than a monochrome personality to the story. I'm not sure if segregation led to him putting a future twist on this idea of outcasting, but deep into World War II when he published an abbreviated version of this story for Beanstalk, that is one of the few things history can point to. Even the intrigue of modern technology cannot bring to life Blish's vision.
I can see cultural relevance to events today that he predicted in the storyline - genetically modified superhumans as we see in athletes and the military today, as well as, people transitioning and dealing with cultural misunderstandings that all to commonly have led to bad societal reactions.
Unfortunately, Blish does not offer more than a monochrome personality to the story. I'm not sure if segregation led to him putting a future twist on this idea of outcasting, but deep into World War II when he published an abbreviated version of this story for Beanstalk, that is one of the few things history can point to. Even the intrigue of modern technology cannot bring to life Blish's vision.
March 18, 2025
Rating: 3.5
Blish study in villainy, clearly retitled for unfair advertising purposes, has its highs and lows.
Dr. Maurice St. George is a convincing psychopath, well rounded, and well described, and Sam Ettinger also holds his own as a slow thinker with a heart (almost) of gold that steadily finds his way to the culprit of it all.
The venerable Dr. Fred is also an interesting character, while the titular Titan's Daughter, although promising, is mostly absent from the plot.
Indeed my whole problem with the book is that it promises a lot, and then delivers way too fast, leaving you wanting for more character development and more realistic outcomes.
Still a very enjoyable read of social sci-fi, where technology is just a plot device to discuss the way humans interact with each other.
Blish study in villainy, clearly retitled for unfair advertising purposes, has its highs and lows.
Dr. Maurice St. George is a convincing psychopath, well rounded, and well described, and Sam Ettinger also holds his own as a slow thinker with a heart (almost) of gold that steadily finds his way to the culprit of it all.
The venerable Dr. Fred is also an interesting character, while the titular Titan's Daughter, although promising, is mostly absent from the plot.
Indeed my whole problem with the book is that it promises a lot, and then delivers way too fast, leaving you wanting for more character development and more realistic outcomes.
Still a very enjoyable read of social sci-fi, where technology is just a plot device to discuss the way humans interact with each other.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2024
I rated this novel " B " when I read it March 23, 1972.
My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.
October 28, 2024
This is barely a story. I would love to know what the author's intention was in writing it because it's only partially coherent. It sets up it's premise and explores the science well enough but it's so obtuse and obscure in it's story, tossing out random additions like flying cars and moon bases, buries itself to the point of irrelevance.
September 30, 2025
I like James Blish. But this isn't one of his best.
June 13, 2014
Plot: Dr. Fredrick Hyatt has created a genetic process to unlock the human genome.. 'giants' that literally tower of regular 'duploid' humans, and have exceptional intelligence. They just just want to live in a world that hates and fears them. After a disaster 15 years ago, a fragile peace between the races exists. Magneto, er Maurey, is one of the 2nd generation of giants, and sets about to create a tipping point to start a war, using a young engineer and his breakthrough discovery to do it.
Wow, so, anyone know if Chris Claremont ever read this? If you substitute in crazy superpowers for the more general size and intelligence stuff here, you totally get the X-Men... it's, well, Uncanny. Great beginning and end, the middle is a kinda a drag, and consists of quite a bit of wool gathering by the characters.. I'm starting to see why y'all like the short stories better ;). I do wonder how much was added to novelize it.. it's not clear, and it's pretty short anyway ( only 142 pages of 'pocket' size).
The only down side is that there was no 'future' stuff in the world... just the genetics and the one invention the book is sorta based around...until the end. Otherwise, they're using paper notes, operator driven phones, worrying about Russian Communists, etc. It certainly works fine as far as the plot goes, it just felt odd since it was clearly meant to be in the future (30 years since the genetics breakthrough, and they mention WWII as 'decades ago').
Shout outs here to Alice in Wonderland and Buck Rogers Artist Dick Calkins.
Wow, so, anyone know if Chris Claremont ever read this? If you substitute in crazy superpowers for the more general size and intelligence stuff here, you totally get the X-Men... it's, well, Uncanny. Great beginning and end, the middle is a kinda a drag, and consists of quite a bit of wool gathering by the characters.. I'm starting to see why y'all like the short stories better ;). I do wonder how much was added to novelize it.. it's not clear, and it's pretty short anyway ( only 142 pages of 'pocket' size).
The only down side is that there was no 'future' stuff in the world... just the genetics and the one invention the book is sorta based around...until the end. Otherwise, they're using paper notes, operator driven phones, worrying about Russian Communists, etc. It certainly works fine as far as the plot goes, it just felt odd since it was clearly meant to be in the future (30 years since the genetics breakthrough, and they mention WWII as 'decades ago').
Shout outs here to Alice in Wonderland and Buck Rogers Artist Dick Calkins.
August 22, 2024
Updated version of H.G. Wells's "Food of the Gods." In its day this must have been a stunning piece of work, but it has not aged well in that it is sociologically naive and handicapped with a psychotic bad guy.
(Updating. Second, possibly third, read. My remarks about the sociological naïveté...I'm partially retracting them, given the last 12 years, and the current state of world affairs. The "superman" impulse is all too alive and well and we have real world examples crowding the news who are psychotic bad guys. Blish's narrative suffers mainly from brevity. As good as it is, stretching out the narrative to add nuance and more detail might have made it brilliant, even timeless.)
(Updating. Second, possibly third, read. My remarks about the sociological naïveté...I'm partially retracting them, given the last 12 years, and the current state of world affairs. The "superman" impulse is all too alive and well and we have real world examples crowding the news who are psychotic bad guys. Blish's narrative suffers mainly from brevity. As good as it is, stretching out the narrative to add nuance and more detail might have made it brilliant, even timeless.)
March 30, 2011
Meh... Decent premise, it just didn't click for me...
March 5, 2011
Grade A-
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews