Stranger in a Strange Land

A man born and raised on Mars comes to Earth. He learns about Earth customs and a few people learn his more advanced ways. He believed he could improve the state of the world, but disguises his project as a new religion. He starts a commune/cult that includes a partner-swapping good time!

The Martian/human offers innocence and purity, as well as freedom from negatives like fear and illness, guilt and hate, material greed, jealousy, and violence. Of course most of the world doesn't understand and wants to destroy him or lock him up.

Somehow it's not as exciting as it sounds. There is a LOT of philosophizing, discussion and theorizing by the characters, more telling and exposition than showing. No real tension between characters, not many obstacles to face or any antagonists, and not a lot of plot. It starts off really well but doesn't pick up any momentum.

There's an article here on Tor.com that defines this and some other issues with the book.

I feel obligated to give three stars for “liking” the book, since it's a sci-fi classic and it is noteworthy that Stranger in a Strange Land finally earned some respect for the sci-fi genre in general.

It's just not speaking to me intellectually or emotionally as a reader. I gather it was a huge deal when it was published in 1961 and credited for some of the counterculture ideas from later in the 1960s.