Preview of The Genocides Summary:

Disch's aesthetic concerns outweigh the other elements of The Genocides. For instance, his characters are variations of familiar stereotypes. The novel features Anderson, the industrious village leader who figures out ways to fight the voracious alien plants that cover the land, driving out all native life. It also features the well-educated man, Orville, whose knowledge of mine engineering helps the small farming community escape the murderous machines of the alien invaders who brought the deadly plants to earth.

Other characters include Blossom, the virginal innocent who comes to love Orville; Buddy, the goodhearted son of Anderson; and Maryann, devoted wife of Buddy. These and the novel's other characters are the stock figures found in tales of invasions of Earth by alien civilizations technologically more advanced than our own. Through courage, nobility, and common sense, these stock characters should eventually defeat the invaders. In The Genocides, the stereotype characters...