The Aluminum Man by G. C. Edmondson may be the best example of satirical science fiction ever written. While the theme is not as deep as some of C. M. Kornbluth's work, the writing is more artful, and the characters seem more like actual people. In addition, it is funny, not just mildly amusing but laugh out loud funny. When I rate the best books of the 20th century, this one is near the top, but it was written in the early 1970's, and some of the references already are out of date.

The plot involves bacteria obtained from an alien exploring Earth. The bacteria can reduce alumina to pure aluminum. That may not seem like much, but it takes a very large amount of energy to reduce alumina. It also involves the control of that incubator, when a group of industrialists learn that someone has starte producing pure aluminum. The principal characters are Rudolph Redwolf, a Sioux Indian who got a book published, Francis X. Flaherty, a geneticist, Pamela St. Audrey, the sexy daughter of a very wealthy capitalist, and Lillith Lasky, a hot young magazine photographer. Oh! I almost forgot Tuchi, the alien.

It opens with Rudolph paddling a canoe up a river in upstate New York, after having been asked about his totem animal. He didn't have one, so he was sent off to find one. He has lost most of his supplies and gear, and night was approaching when I spotted a fire on the bank. He headed for the fire and found a bearded man sitting by the fire near a spring. That was Flaherty, who appeared to be talking to nothing that Rudolph could see, until he noticed the head of Tuchi near the spring. Tuchi needs aluminum to fuel her spaceship. After inadequate discussion, Rudolph offered her his canoe (actually not his, but that's a minor point). In exchange Tuchi gave him an incubator with the bacteria that reduced aluminum.

Flaherty and Rudolph shoved the canoe into the spaceship and left in Flaherty's boat. Both men were low on money, but they rented a house and started growing aluminum in the basement. After people started getting suspicious about the origin of the pure metal, they left for an old gravel pit. While that went on, they kept hearing reports of massive fish kills and loud explosions coming down river from where they had camped.

They continued growing aluminum in the new location. Eventually, Tuchi found them and demanded the incubator back, which they refused. Flaherty succeeded in getting his high tolerance yeast up to fifty percent, and he figured out what the bacteria did that allowed them to reduce aluminum, and the industrialists stole the incubator. Tuchi rigged a trap on their toilet, and that killed a person they had retained as a bodyguard. They disposed of his body in an interesting and funny way and evaded detection. The industrialists returned the incubator after Tuchi harassed the St. Audreys.

It should be clear that a lot of action happens in this short novel, and the ending is a logical result of all of the action. The best part isn't the action but the characters. Edmondson created characters who seemed strange enough to be real people. Even some of relatively flat characters, like the private investigator sent to gain information about them, came across like a person; although he was only in the action a few times.

The other truly great part of the novel is the humor. There are only a few places where a chuckle would escape the lips of most people, but the overall feeling is humorous. That humor in the action was increased by the clever wordplay of the characters and the author. For example, Tuchi is a phonetic spelling of Tyche, the Greek Goddess of Fortune; i.e., Lady Luck. There are other wordplays of various sorts. The ending is absurd and funny, and it evokes other thoughts and feelings.


Edmondson's style is terse and understated. His descriptions are only as detailed as necessary, but his characters come through strongly in the action and dialogue. If you like dry humor, great characters, and writing that doesn't waste words, then you may enjoy reading this book. If you read it and don't enjoy it, then you should look carefully to see whether you have a sense of humor.

It is usually easy to find copies in used book stores and online. It seems to have had only one printing, which makes me wonder about the sense of humor of the American reading public.

Edmondson is best known for The Ship that Sailed the Time Stream, which was well received in its time. The sequel to that, To Sail the Century Sea is almost as good, and its ending is almost as humorous as the ending of The Aluminum Man.