Norvex 7, an Earth Studies professor from the evolved planet Zeeron, wants to make a point. His planet is benevolent and prioritises outrageous fashion - hairdressing and fashion design are particularly prestigious professions, the more innovative the better. Earth's television broadcasts have been received on Zeeron for a few years, and have heavily influenced the common sense of what is and is not hot - enormous flares, massive Afro's, hugely platformed shoes and glittery makeup are the coolest things in fashion. When fashionistas at a cocktail party disparage the tastes of Earthlings, Norvex decides he'll go there himself and prove them all wrong.
Chester Julian struggles every day with the mundane, straight world around him. If it weren't for his best friend Daphne he wouldn't be able to make it through the day at all - being gay and a goth and having incredibly better sensibilities than those around him make him a target for the small minded peasants he has to daily confront at school.
I liked the premise, particularly the idea of an Earth Studies anthropologist. Leaving aside the predictable, but nonetheless annoying, view that nowhere on earth exists except for the US, many aspects of I Married an Earthling irritated me - the book was a triumph of alleged style over any substance, the characters poorly developed, and the dialogue unrealistic. This was compounded by a threadbare plot and a lack of any kind of real insight into either a wholly different culture, a first contact situation, or a strong romantic relationship at the heart of the novel.
Perhaps I was expecting too much science fiction, where there was none, but this interesting idea could have been so much better and more interestingly executed by a stronger writer. Eh, eh, eh - Alex
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