Rogue Queen
Author: L. Sprague De Camp
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 1951
Rating: 5 of 10
At first it felt like this book had potential. The main culture involved is certainly alien, based somewhat on bees, and for me the more alien the aliens the better. However it never really got beneath the surface of the culture, focusing mostly on their sexual structures, and barely grazing over their history. To make matters worse this book did something I can’t stand, the same mistake made in the Planet of the Apes unnecessary TV show, humans land on the alien planet then spend the rest of the book explaining simple things (known to most humans) to the “primitive” aliens. The old and tired trope of the noble savage just waiting to be brought into adulthood by the “advanced” humans. I often have some tolerance for corny tales like this one but in this case I found it annoying. Maybe this sort of thing was interesting in 1951, but today it was a dud.
Purchase: Buy!