The Green Odyssey
Farmer's early space opera with wheeled ships.
Philip José Farmer’s *The Green Odyssey* is an American science fiction adventure published by Ballantine in 1961. Though often mistaken for his first novel, that honor belongs to *The Lovers*, also published in 1961. Unlike much of his earlier short fiction, *The Green Odyssey* avoids sexual themes—a departure he would reverse in his next book, *Flesh*.
The story follows astronaut Alan Green, stranded on a primitive world. A duchess claims him as a gigolo, and he is also married to a slave woman. Learning of two other stranded astronauts, Green escapes the duchess and sets sail to find them. Because the planet’s geography features a vast plain instead of an ocean, his ship is equipped with large rolling-pin-like wheels along its bottom. After his escape, he is pursued by his slave wife and her children (one of whom is his). The plot includes cannibals, pirates, floating islands that turn out to be giant lawnmowers, and a deus ex machina in the form of a female black cat named Lady Luck.
Critical reaction was mixed. Floyd C. Gale called it “a routine space opera,” adding that Farmer “almost makes a mishmash of the ending, but doesn’t.” Many readers were disappointed after Farmer’s acclaimed story “The Lovers,” which was praised as unique and excellently written. *The Green Odyssey* was often criticized as clichéd and generic. Damon Knight, in the November 1957 *Infinity*, described it as a “pastel pastiche, superficial and generic, of Tarzan, Conan … and heaven knows what else.” In hindsight, however, the novel may be a deliberate pastiche of pulp fiction, similar to Farmer’s later *A Feast Unknown* and, to a lesser extent, his fictional biographies *Tarzan Alive* and *Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life*.
- Publication year
- 1961
- Known for
- Early book-length publication by Farmer; a space opera with a ship that uses rolling pin-like wheels
Lore & Background
The Green Odyssey follows astronaut Alan Green, stranded on a primitive planet where he is claimed as a gigolo by a duchess and married to a slave woman. Upon learning of two other stranded astronauts, he escapes and sets sail across a vast plain using a ship equipped with large rolling pin-like wheels. He is pursued by his slave wife and her children, one of whom is his. The plot includes encounters with cannibals, pirates, floating islands that turn out to be giant lawnmowers, and a deus ex machina in the form of a female black cat named Lady Luck.
Reader's Guide
The Green Odyssey holds significance as Philip José Farmer's first book-length publication, marking his transition from short fiction to novels. Unlike much of his earlier work, the novel contains no sexual themes, though his following book Flesh returned to those motifs. Contemporary reviews were mixed: Floyd C. Gale called it 'a routine space opera,' and Damon Knight described it as a 'pastel pastiche, superficial and generic, of Tarzan, Conan ... and heaven knows what else.' Many were disappointed after Farmer's widely praised story 'The Lovers.' In hindsight, some critics view the novel as a deliberate pastiche of pulp novels, similar to Farmer's later works A Feast Unknown and his fictional biographies Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. The novel also appeared in the background of the first episode of The Twilight Zone.
Did You Know?
- The Green Odyssey was not Philip José Farmer's first novel; his first novel was The Lovers, published in 1961.
- The novel was published in 1961 by Ballantine, not 1957.
- Unlike much of Farmer's earlier short fiction, the novel contains no sexual themes.
- The ship in the story uses large rolling pin-like wheels to traverse a vast plain instead of an ocean.
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