Odd John by Olaf Stapledon

An X-Men precursor from the 1930s

British science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon (1886-1950) is far from a household name these days, even among habitual readers of science fiction. Though an inductee into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, he is one of those figures who has faded into obscurity over time, even though he had a profound influence on subsequent authors in the genre. His writings have been acclaimed by literary figures as diverse as Arthur C. Clarke, Jorge Luis Borges, and Winston Churchill. Stapledon also wrote several nonfiction books of philosophy. His novel Odd John was published in 1935.

Odd John is based on the same premise as J. D. Beresford’s 1911 novel The Hampdenshire Wonder. Both novels are about a strange child born with superhuman intelligence. The narrator of Odd John mentions The Hampdenshire Wonder as if it were historical fact. Stapledon takes the idea much farther than Beresford, however. As a child, John Wainwright, the Odd John of the title, exhibits slow physical development but extremely rapid intellectual development. It soon becomes apparent that his mental abilities far surpass anyone he encounters, even some of the so-called great minds of England. John considers himself superior to, and in fact “more human,” than Homo sapiens. His unnatural intelligence also comes with strange behavior. John exhibits a stoic lack of emotion and a pronounced amorality. Stapledon even delves into John’s kinky sex life with Freudian gusto. John does not consider himself bound by the moral code of regular humans and looks at Homo sapiens more as cattle than as people. The one normal human he befriends is the narrator, a journalist and friend of the family. Beyond this one relationship, John finds normal human society disappointing and alienating, and he begins seeking out others of his kind.

Odd John reminded me a lot of Marvel Comics’ Uncanny X-Men, even to the point where it makes you wonder if Stan Lee or Jack Kirby read this novel. John’s manner of speech immediately called to mind the villain Magneto, especially his use of the term “Homo superior” to describe mutantkind. Both characters also have white hair. As more “supernormals”are discovered, they are of various races and with various enhanced skill sets—mind-reading, time travel, predicting the future, etc., calling to mind the “psionic”-powered mutants of Marvel Comics. Telekinesis—moving objects with the mind—is only hinted at in one scene. Almost all of Odd John’s fellow mutants are juveniles, and when they come together, the older adolescents instruct the younger children, much like at Professor Xavier’s Academy. They found an independent mutant republic reminiscent of the X-Men’s island nation of Genosha. Mankind is frightened of these young mutants, seeing them as the next step in evolution bound to render our kind obsolete and extinct, much like Homo sapiens eclipsed the Neanderthal.

What bothered me about Odd John is that Stapledon’s writing is just so long-winded. He gets so involved in his psychoanalyses of these characters that there is little room left for any actual action to take place. Everything is overexplained, to the point where it seems like Stapledon makes the same point five or six times in a chapter. While I admired the ambitiousness of his futuristic ideas, his lethargic storytelling was a chore to endure. I frequently found it difficult to stay awake while reading this novel. I do think, however, that Stapledon’s sci-fi vision shows enough promise to make me want to investigate more of his work. Considering the science fiction greats who cite him among their influences, he’s bound to have a few good novels in his body of work.