Of Man and Manta

This short first-contact novel is quite well written and compelling, especially for sf of its age (1968), and it has some interesting things to say. The alien lifeforms found on Nacre are unusual, and good fictional creations. However, the peculiarities of the main human characters seem contrived, and I dislike the way the story ends, which I find both unconvincing and uncongenial.

It's quite a memorable book, but not one of my favourites. I like it better at the start than at the finish.

Piers Anthony has ability, but he also seems a rather peculiar man himself, though I don't know much about him and haven't read many of his books.

A minority of readers accuse this book of sexism, but I don't think the problem here is sexism, exactly. In this book and its sequels, the male and female characters relate to each other on a more or less equal basis; but they interrelate rather awkwardly, and they seem quite preoccupied with sex although they hardly ever do it. I think the author is just not very good at human relationships. Like some other sf authors, he seems more comfortable with other species than with humans.