Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn is an odd little book. The premise is straightforward: gigantic aliens have taken over the Earth, reducing mankind to living in the walls of their domiciles–scratching out a living while stealing what food they can from the monstrous aliens. What is not immediately clear but which gradually unfolds is that men are now living the lives of mice. They are, as it were, vermin in the walls of the monstrous aliens–themselves working to develop better ways to catch and exterminate the men who keep spoiling their food stores.
[Spoiler alerts from here on out] The big conclusion of the story is that in order for man to thrive–and escape the increasingly effective poisons the monsters are developing–man must embrace his role as vermin and stowaway on the alien rocket headed for the stars. Because we can eat the same food and live in the same climate, the survival of the race comes from tagging along with them wherever they go.
This is an interesting idea (and a well-written book). Obviously as Christians we hold that man is made in the Image of God, but fallen. The idea of mankind as “vermin” is adjacent to this, but obviously not the same thing. There is something to be said for acknowledging reality, but is the “reality” that we are “vermin”? Again, this is an interesting book that merits much more reflection.
The biggest issue with the book is the question of the aliens. We get an extended scene where the aliens have captured a number of humans and are testing various methods of extermination. Fair enough, we do the same with mice. But… humans in this book are very obviously sentient, rational, beings. That raises all sorts of moral questions about the morality of these aliens. (Much like Mr. McGregor in the Peter Cottontail stories–they wear clothes, McGregor! Maybe you shouldn’t be quick to try to kill and eat them!) I suppose we could just say that they’re aliens and so have a different moral code, but still…
Overall, this is a solid little book and one that’s worth your time and attention.
Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog), and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO
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