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Praxis
A lifetime in the Labor Corps—or colonize a new world. For Jamie and José, not much of a choice. But Praxis wouldn’t be easy. To survive there, you had to depend on each other. And that requires honesty that few possess. Praxis is a bold experiment in society building, a monosexual colony, with no promises of survival and no return trip. But it’s got potential. You just have to build a new civilization—on the other side of the universe.
- GenresScience Fiction
182 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2024
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7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 18, 2024
Disclaimer: I am enrolled in an online writing seminar by the author of this book, but I promise my comments are a completely independent assessment of the work reviewed.
There is an old adage that says it’s the journey, not the destination. That, in a nutshell, is the premise of Praxis, a new novel by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author David Gerrold. Our protagonist, James, is a college student who goes a little too far celebrating his favorite soccer team’s victory and is arrested for urinating on a police vehicle. He lives in the totalitarian near-future Earth where incarceration results in mandatory indentured servitude in the Labor Corps. The problem is that you can never pay off your debt to society. You are charged for your room, food, clothes, and everything, leaving little or nothing to pay off your debt. The only way out is to immigrate to a colony planet called Praxis.
Praxis is in an all-male colony. A fellow student, José, who is barely an acquaintance, suggests that it will be in their favor to get chosen for emigration to Praxis if they are married. While both of them are straight, that doesn’t seem to matter. Apparently, it’s not uncommon in society for straight, same-sex couples to have a marriage contract.
The judge who hears their criminal case agrees to marry them and refers them to the colony representatives to see if their application will be accepted. It is. In the end, it is questionable whether or not their marital arrangement helped.
They are sent to a training camp to prepare them for life on this harsh planet. Although it is described as a shirt-sleeve world in which you do not need a spacesuit to survive, life on Praxis is going to be brutally difficult.
In addition to lessons about growing your own food and a variety of other skills that will be useful when you reach the colony, much of the training consists of teambuilding exercises and training sessions on interpersonal communication. Author Gerrold has personal experience with a variety of self-help training seminars, including Warner Erhard’s famous “est” seminars. He weaves his experience from those seminars into a compelling exploration of interpersonal relationships and effective communication. I get the feeling that the training that these conscripts are receiving is what Gerrold wishes some of those seminars he took and taught had been. That’s speculation on my part. The trainees are taught to strip away the bullshit and the masks that we routinely wear to hide our inner selves from others. Being 100% authentic with one another is essential to survival on this harsh planet. This exploration feels 100% natural in the context of the story.
There have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of stories in the genre about colonizing alien planets. Yet none of them have explored what preparation is required to live under the harsh conditions of an alien world. Gerrold weaves a compelling and believable exploration of this untapped topic.
Transportation to Praxis is via a network of interstellar portals that Gerrold explains away with reasonably well-thought-out hand-wavy physics. He even goes to the trouble of explaining the problems of the relative motion between the source and destination of the portals and the need to balance the amount of mass being transported each way. This is the kind of credible scientific rigor we have come to expect from the author. Unfortunately, there are some problems with his description of the planet's orbit and rotation.
On page 70 of the Kindle edition, it says, “Praxis takes a year and a half to circle its star. It has an orbit that is just elliptical enough to be annoying. At its nearest approach, twice in every orbit, it dips just enough inside the Goldilocks zone to pick up a lot of heat, but at the farthest point of its orbit, it slips outside the Goldilocks zone to give away that heat.”
The problem is the phrase “twice in every orbit.” This description seems to imply that the sun is at the center of the ellipse. That’s not how orbits work. You could have a Goldilocks zone that is passed through twice if you were too hot at the perihelion and you were too cold at the aphelion. On the other hand, you could have a single Goldilocks zone at “closest approach.” You cannot have two closest approaches in a single orbit.
Praxis is also said to have a highly oblate shape with flattened poles, but the only way that’s possible is if it spins exceptionally rapidly on its axis. On the contrary, the planet is described as having a day that is over 63 hours in length.
Apparently, the cover artist didn’t read the story because the cover depicts a rocket firing through space over a barren alien planet. There are no rockets in the story whatsoever. Everything travels through portals.
None of these mistakes significantly impact Gerrold's brilliant narrative. It is a deep dive into human interpersonal relationships and what it means to be intimate with someone in a Platonic relationship. If you are looking for action and adventure, you won’t find it here, but this is still well worth your time.
Here is a minor spoiler… The story ends with the completion of their training and their departure through the portal network. We never find out what happens when they arrive on the planet. But then again, as I said at the beginning of this review, it’s all about the journey. It seems rather obvious that there will be at least one if not many, sequels in this saga, and I anxiously await them.
At about 150 pages, this is a quick, enjoyable read that I highly recommend. I would give it a 9 out of 10 rating.
There is an old adage that says it’s the journey, not the destination. That, in a nutshell, is the premise of Praxis, a new novel by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author David Gerrold. Our protagonist, James, is a college student who goes a little too far celebrating his favorite soccer team’s victory and is arrested for urinating on a police vehicle. He lives in the totalitarian near-future Earth where incarceration results in mandatory indentured servitude in the Labor Corps. The problem is that you can never pay off your debt to society. You are charged for your room, food, clothes, and everything, leaving little or nothing to pay off your debt. The only way out is to immigrate to a colony planet called Praxis.
Praxis is in an all-male colony. A fellow student, José, who is barely an acquaintance, suggests that it will be in their favor to get chosen for emigration to Praxis if they are married. While both of them are straight, that doesn’t seem to matter. Apparently, it’s not uncommon in society for straight, same-sex couples to have a marriage contract.
The judge who hears their criminal case agrees to marry them and refers them to the colony representatives to see if their application will be accepted. It is. In the end, it is questionable whether or not their marital arrangement helped.
They are sent to a training camp to prepare them for life on this harsh planet. Although it is described as a shirt-sleeve world in which you do not need a spacesuit to survive, life on Praxis is going to be brutally difficult.
In addition to lessons about growing your own food and a variety of other skills that will be useful when you reach the colony, much of the training consists of teambuilding exercises and training sessions on interpersonal communication. Author Gerrold has personal experience with a variety of self-help training seminars, including Warner Erhard’s famous “est” seminars. He weaves his experience from those seminars into a compelling exploration of interpersonal relationships and effective communication. I get the feeling that the training that these conscripts are receiving is what Gerrold wishes some of those seminars he took and taught had been. That’s speculation on my part. The trainees are taught to strip away the bullshit and the masks that we routinely wear to hide our inner selves from others. Being 100% authentic with one another is essential to survival on this harsh planet. This exploration feels 100% natural in the context of the story.
There have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of stories in the genre about colonizing alien planets. Yet none of them have explored what preparation is required to live under the harsh conditions of an alien world. Gerrold weaves a compelling and believable exploration of this untapped topic.
Transportation to Praxis is via a network of interstellar portals that Gerrold explains away with reasonably well-thought-out hand-wavy physics. He even goes to the trouble of explaining the problems of the relative motion between the source and destination of the portals and the need to balance the amount of mass being transported each way. This is the kind of credible scientific rigor we have come to expect from the author. Unfortunately, there are some problems with his description of the planet's orbit and rotation.
On page 70 of the Kindle edition, it says, “Praxis takes a year and a half to circle its star. It has an orbit that is just elliptical enough to be annoying. At its nearest approach, twice in every orbit, it dips just enough inside the Goldilocks zone to pick up a lot of heat, but at the farthest point of its orbit, it slips outside the Goldilocks zone to give away that heat.”
The problem is the phrase “twice in every orbit.” This description seems to imply that the sun is at the center of the ellipse. That’s not how orbits work. You could have a Goldilocks zone that is passed through twice if you were too hot at the perihelion and you were too cold at the aphelion. On the other hand, you could have a single Goldilocks zone at “closest approach.” You cannot have two closest approaches in a single orbit.
Praxis is also said to have a highly oblate shape with flattened poles, but the only way that’s possible is if it spins exceptionally rapidly on its axis. On the contrary, the planet is described as having a day that is over 63 hours in length.
Apparently, the cover artist didn’t read the story because the cover depicts a rocket firing through space over a barren alien planet. There are no rockets in the story whatsoever. Everything travels through portals.
None of these mistakes significantly impact Gerrold's brilliant narrative. It is a deep dive into human interpersonal relationships and what it means to be intimate with someone in a Platonic relationship. If you are looking for action and adventure, you won’t find it here, but this is still well worth your time.
Here is a minor spoiler… The story ends with the completion of their training and their departure through the portal network. We never find out what happens when they arrive on the planet. But then again, as I said at the beginning of this review, it’s all about the journey. It seems rather obvious that there will be at least one if not many, sequels in this saga, and I anxiously await them.
At about 150 pages, this is a quick, enjoyable read that I highly recommend. I would give it a 9 out of 10 rating.
November 13, 2024
They say that adventure is the journey. In the case of David Gerrold’s latest book, Praxis, this is very true.
Praxis is a “shirtsleeve” world, shorthand for a world where humans can survive on the surface without needing to wear space suits or other protective gear. It’s one of only a handful of such worlds that has been discovered by humanity since the first portals were opened from Earth. Most worlds on the other side of these portals are barren, or too hot, or too cold for human life, but even those worlds are useful for the resources they provide.
Jamie, or James, as he is often referred to, is a student who got a little carried away celebrating the win of his soccer team. He finds himself in jail, in a near future version of Earth, threatened with being sent to the Labor Corps – basically an indentured servitude working on construction projects – for the rest of his life. Then he’s presented with a tantalizing alternative. Agree to immigrate to Praxis, an all-male colony, and if accepted, he can live out the rest of his life there in relative freedom. The catch? He has a better chance getting the assignment if he is married. One of his student friends, José, who was also been swept up in the police action, suggests they marry each other.
In no time, they find themselves a couple, carted off to a training camp to prepare for life on Praxis. Their trainers break down more than 300 men, trying to get them to give up their tendency to bullshit their way through life and their status as assholes. The group is gradually winnowed down. James, who is heterosexual, tries to come to terms with the curveball life has thrown him, and his future with José.
At 182 pages, it’s a fairly short read, but man is it packed full of stuff. The backdrop to the story is a culture where it’s possible to change your sex drive, your body from one sex to another, and even into something like a devil or a porcupine or any other of thousands of different forms. Not unlike today, people find themselves divided and unsure where the future is headed. It’s fascinating watching this group of young men navigating their biases and their own bullshit, and figuring out how to become a team that can survive on the harsh colony world.
At the same time, James undergoing his own personal evolution, feeling like José is his family but also very unsure about how they could ever live a life together. It’s a fascinating look at the male gender, and how men relate to one another in our culture. Themes of homosexuality, asexuality, and basic human relationships all come into play. I wish there had been a little exploration of how transgender folks fit into the world and the idea of creating monosexual colony worlds. But that’s a minor quibble.
Spoiler alert – I realized about three quarters of the way through that we were never going to actually get to Praxis. That’s all right, because, as I mentioned the outset, the adventure really is in the journey. This is very much an internal story, told in the first person and taking place inside James’ head.
I hope that Gerrold returns to this tale, because I really want to see what Praxis itself is like. It sounds like a fascinating place, fertile ground for additional stories. But in the meantime, I am content with what he has presented here.
A deep dive into what it means to be a man, a human, and where our society might be going in the next hundred years. Very well, written, and highly recommended.
Praxis is a “shirtsleeve” world, shorthand for a world where humans can survive on the surface without needing to wear space suits or other protective gear. It’s one of only a handful of such worlds that has been discovered by humanity since the first portals were opened from Earth. Most worlds on the other side of these portals are barren, or too hot, or too cold for human life, but even those worlds are useful for the resources they provide.
Jamie, or James, as he is often referred to, is a student who got a little carried away celebrating the win of his soccer team. He finds himself in jail, in a near future version of Earth, threatened with being sent to the Labor Corps – basically an indentured servitude working on construction projects – for the rest of his life. Then he’s presented with a tantalizing alternative. Agree to immigrate to Praxis, an all-male colony, and if accepted, he can live out the rest of his life there in relative freedom. The catch? He has a better chance getting the assignment if he is married. One of his student friends, José, who was also been swept up in the police action, suggests they marry each other.
In no time, they find themselves a couple, carted off to a training camp to prepare for life on Praxis. Their trainers break down more than 300 men, trying to get them to give up their tendency to bullshit their way through life and their status as assholes. The group is gradually winnowed down. James, who is heterosexual, tries to come to terms with the curveball life has thrown him, and his future with José.
At 182 pages, it’s a fairly short read, but man is it packed full of stuff. The backdrop to the story is a culture where it’s possible to change your sex drive, your body from one sex to another, and even into something like a devil or a porcupine or any other of thousands of different forms. Not unlike today, people find themselves divided and unsure where the future is headed. It’s fascinating watching this group of young men navigating their biases and their own bullshit, and figuring out how to become a team that can survive on the harsh colony world.
At the same time, James undergoing his own personal evolution, feeling like José is his family but also very unsure about how they could ever live a life together. It’s a fascinating look at the male gender, and how men relate to one another in our culture. Themes of homosexuality, asexuality, and basic human relationships all come into play. I wish there had been a little exploration of how transgender folks fit into the world and the idea of creating monosexual colony worlds. But that’s a minor quibble.
Spoiler alert – I realized about three quarters of the way through that we were never going to actually get to Praxis. That’s all right, because, as I mentioned the outset, the adventure really is in the journey. This is very much an internal story, told in the first person and taking place inside James’ head.
I hope that Gerrold returns to this tale, because I really want to see what Praxis itself is like. It sounds like a fascinating place, fertile ground for additional stories. But in the meantime, I am content with what he has presented here.
A deep dive into what it means to be a man, a human, and where our society might be going in the next hundred years. Very well, written, and highly recommended.
October 16, 2025
A Brilliant Exploration of What It Takes to Prepare for Interstellar Colonization from a Science Fiction Master
What a remarkable gem of a novella courtesy of one of our great writers of science fiction, David Gerrold. What he has accomplished in "Praxis" should be seen as an important reexamination of how humanity will prepare for interstellar colonization on distant worlds. Much to his credit, Gerrold devotes the novel to how some male humans train rigorously for their one-way journey to the remote, recently colonized, world of "Praxis". Even though "Praxis" is definitely classic space opera science fiction from someone who is truly a master of writing space opera science fiction, whether it's been writing scripts for various incarnations of "Star Trek" starting with his magnificent "The Trouble with Tribbles" script to his series on humanity's war with the Chtorr, here Gerrold offers us a realistic depiction as to what training for interstellar colonization might be like, for a colony world inhabited solely by male humans. It is also a fascinating character study showing how the two main protagonists - and couple - James and Jose - deal with their personal issues as they undergo rigorous training for their future lives as Praxis' colonists that may be substantially more rigorous than any military training.
"Praxis" will be remembered as an important contribution to Gerrold's already impressive body of work in science fiction. Those who may doubt this should note the elegant, quite eloquent, foreword written by another superb science fiction writer, John Shirley, which stresses the importance of "Praxis" as a work of fiction about the rigors of interstellar colonization. Having met Gerrold again recently at the 2025 New York Comic Con, I am not surprised that he is writing still at the height of his powers, worthy of comparison with the likes of earlier masters like Bradbury and Asimov. Without question, I am looking forward to reading future volumes in this series, and hopefully, I suspect many will find this novel memorable for the very reasons stated by yours truly and John Shirley.
What a remarkable gem of a novella courtesy of one of our great writers of science fiction, David Gerrold. What he has accomplished in "Praxis" should be seen as an important reexamination of how humanity will prepare for interstellar colonization on distant worlds. Much to his credit, Gerrold devotes the novel to how some male humans train rigorously for their one-way journey to the remote, recently colonized, world of "Praxis". Even though "Praxis" is definitely classic space opera science fiction from someone who is truly a master of writing space opera science fiction, whether it's been writing scripts for various incarnations of "Star Trek" starting with his magnificent "The Trouble with Tribbles" script to his series on humanity's war with the Chtorr, here Gerrold offers us a realistic depiction as to what training for interstellar colonization might be like, for a colony world inhabited solely by male humans. It is also a fascinating character study showing how the two main protagonists - and couple - James and Jose - deal with their personal issues as they undergo rigorous training for their future lives as Praxis' colonists that may be substantially more rigorous than any military training.
"Praxis" will be remembered as an important contribution to Gerrold's already impressive body of work in science fiction. Those who may doubt this should note the elegant, quite eloquent, foreword written by another superb science fiction writer, John Shirley, which stresses the importance of "Praxis" as a work of fiction about the rigors of interstellar colonization. Having met Gerrold again recently at the 2025 New York Comic Con, I am not surprised that he is writing still at the height of his powers, worthy of comparison with the likes of earlier masters like Bradbury and Asimov. Without question, I am looking forward to reading future volumes in this series, and hopefully, I suspect many will find this novel memorable for the very reasons stated by yours truly and John Shirley.
December 13, 2024
David Gerrold has done it again. He has taken a tried-and-true science fiction trope, colonizing a distant planet, and given it a sharp new edge. This is a story set in an all-too-believable near future where the criminal justice system is controlled by multinational (and multiplanetary) corporations. A capitalist dystopia. Our main characters Jamie and José are on their way to a planet being settled with an all-male crew, and this short novel (I read it in two sittings; it really is a page-turner) is about their training and preparation for the planet Praxis, which will be their home for the rest of their lives. This is a future where people can take body modification to extremes, including changing their gender and sexual orientation. Jamie and José get married by a judge in a marriage-of-convenience, in order to escape harsher sentences and get sent to Praxis. A large part of the novel is about their relationship as it develops. Gerrold's own experiences and trainings with est (Erhard Seminars Training), the Odyssey Workshop, and other human potential trainings shines through in the chapters about team building, an important part of the training en route to Praxis.
This is a novel of ideas, big ideas about what it means to be human, to be in a relationship, and to be part of a team. There are passages of exposition and conversation that remind me of Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov at their best. Ideas take precedence over action in this novel. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a science fiction novel with ideas and relationships at its heart.
This is a novel of ideas, big ideas about what it means to be human, to be in a relationship, and to be part of a team. There are passages of exposition and conversation that remind me of Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov at their best. Ideas take precedence over action in this novel. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a science fiction novel with ideas and relationships at its heart.
February 23, 2025
A fantastic novella by one of my favorite authors. Praxis is a colonization story of a different sort. Without giving too much away, the story is less about what happens at the colony than what happens before you get there, the training - physical and psychological - that is needed in order to survive. If you've anything by Gerrold before, then you know to be prepared for some deep explorations of community and personal responsibility. It was a quick, fun read, and I can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommended.
November 7, 2024
lotta talk
Lots of dialogue, but not much action. There was one whole chapter that was just one guy lecturing a class. Also there was a lot of psychological drama that didn’t seem to move the story along. The story was supposed to have about a planet, Praxis. However we never got there. Too bad. Also, I would have liked to find out what “rechanneling” is. It is an interesting read if you are in to psychology, but if you like more action in your stories this falls short. Ciao.
Lots of dialogue, but not much action. There was one whole chapter that was just one guy lecturing a class. Also there was a lot of psychological drama that didn’t seem to move the story along. The story was supposed to have about a planet, Praxis. However we never got there. Too bad. Also, I would have liked to find out what “rechanneling” is. It is an interesting read if you are in to psychology, but if you like more action in your stories this falls short. Ciao.
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November 12, 2025Excellent examination of the psychological and physical rigors required to prepare a group of men to survive as a team when they emigrate to a off-world colony, focused in great detail on the psychology.
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