Genre: Sci-Fi
Reviewer: Scott
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About The Book
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.
The Review
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.
The Reviewer
Scott is the founder of Queer Sci Fi, and a fantasy and sci fi writer in his own right, with more than 30 published short stories, novellas and novels to his credit, including two trilogies.
