World Out of Mind

Really great book. Here, McIntosh takes some themes from
Brace New World (dividing people into distinct groupings depending on
intellect ) but really makes it his own. Here, people are not born into
Alphas, Betas, and Deltas but are tested with various intelligence tests
to move up from Blacks, Purples, Browns to White Circles, White
Crosses, and finally the ultimate White Stars. The caste system and
the alleged meritocracy are quite interesting as are the interactions
between these castes.
But this is not just a story about intelligence tests, McIntosh also
posits a stranger from another planet and his allies sent her as
embedded spies to await the invasion.
Also, he offers us the oddest love story imaginable with the stranger
who is show more too stiff to even mimic human emotions determined to wed
Allison, a White Star.
Although there are all kinds of ideas and themes in McIntosh's stories,
what really makes his stories and particularly this one great is how he
slowly develops the characters and the ideas. From where things start
in the beginning, it is hard to comprehend where they will end up
going. His writing style is rather captivating. show less

This was one of my father's old science fiction novels. I originally read it decades ago when (I think) I was in high school, and it made quite an impression on me. I've always meant to re-read it. Finally did.

It held up pretty well. The basic story is that a race of expansionist aliens have their eye on Earth. Their conquest hinges on spies planted throughout society. Humanity's colonies on Mars fall to the invaders in just an hour and thirty-four minutes. And now they're on their way here. The only hope Earth has lies in its leader, Eldin Raigmore. Based on a series of sophisticated tests that gauge people's capacities and slot them into suitable roles in society, Raigmore is one of the youngest of the small elite occupying the show more highest rank. But unknown to everyone, Raigmore is himself an alien spy.

My younger self was affected by Raigmore's internal conflict: knowing he was instrumental to the defeat of humanity, yet finding himself increasingly human. Today, I don't feel that so strongly, but that may only be because I already knew what was coming. Even so, I enjoyed revisiting the tale. It's not exactly deathless art. The writing is fairly ordinary, and in places its age definitely shows. (Women get judged a lot on their appearance, for one thing.) But the story is still an interesting one, and McIntosh's aliens are very different from us, to the point that their actions in invading seem surprisingly benign (even though we don't want them to win!).

I'm sure this book is long out of print, but if you stumble across a copy, it's worth a read. show less

McIntosh is one of the forgotten greats that helped create the Golden age of SF in the 1950s-60s. His stories are interesting and clever. He introduces new worlds and new possibilities for mankind. This story is very innovative and thought provoking for 1955. I'll read any of his books I find.