Within this genre-bending book, one of the primary to have launched research fiction into literature, a group of remarkable social outcasts band together for survival and find out that their combined power render them superhuman. There’s Lone, the simpleton who are able to hear other people’s thoughts; Janie, who moves things without coming in contact with them; as well as the teleporting twins, who are able to travel ten ft or ten kilometers. There’s Baby, who developed an antigravity engine while still in the cradle, and Gerry, who has everything it requires to perform the world except for a conscience. Separately, these are talented freaks. Jointly, they may represent the next step in evolution-or the ultimate chapter in the annals of the human race. As they battle to discover whether they are designed to help mankind or kill it, Sturgeon explores questions of power and morality, personality and owed, with suspense, pathos, and a lyricism rarely seen in science fiction.

This tale is as mind-blowing as any controlled substance and as affecting like a glimpse into a stranger’s soul.