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More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

Scattered and strange, a handful of outsiders discover they may be pieces of a larger whole—something new, fragile, and powerful. Poetic and piercing, More Than Human turns a tale of misfits into a meditation on connection, identity, and what it means to become greater together.

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In More Than Human, did you enjoy ...

... telepathic misfits forming a secret family against a hostile world?

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

If the way Lone brings together Janie, the teleporting twins, and Baby into a single, caring gestalt grabbed you, you'll love how David, Rosalind, and Petra build their own clandestine network of telepaths to survive a puritanical society. Like the tender alliances in More Than Human, this is a story of fragile trust, whispered mindspeak, and a chosen family struggling to stay one step ahead of persecution.

... an introspective journey of a telepath grappling with selfhood?

Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg

If Gerry’s confessionals in “Baby Is Three” and the gestalt’s uneasy search for purpose resonated, Dying Inside will hit the same nerve. You’ll follow David Selig, a telepath who’s losing his gift, as he probes who he is without the ability that once defined him—mirroring the way Sturgeon’s characters question where the individual ends and the larger being begins.

... deep psychological excavation of gifted outsiders and the costs of connection?

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

If the intense inner lives in More Than Human—from the raw therapy scenes of “Baby Is Three” to the moral reckonings around the gestalt—kept you up late, The Sparrow offers that same psychological honesty. Jesuit linguist Emilio Sandoz and his team form tight bonds on a first-contact mission, only to face shattering consequences that echo the ethical and emotional stakes Sturgeon pressed on his gifted outcasts.

... humanistic, idea-driven SF that prioritizes society, ethics, and character over tech?

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

If you admired how More Than Human focused less on gadgets and more on what a new kind of personhood means, The Dispossessed delivers a similarly humane inquiry. As physicist Shevek navigates two contrasting societies, the book probes community, obligation, and moral responsibility—much like the gestalt’s struggle to use its powers without losing its soul.

... braided perspectives on engineered gifted communities and their social fallout?

Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress

If the shifting viewpoints—from Lone’s gathering of the children to the revelations in “Baby Is Three”—hooked you, Beggars in Spain uses multiple perspectives to explore a different leap in human potential: the Sleepless. Watching Leisha Camden and others build enclaves and collide with the wider world mirrors the way Sturgeon’s ensemble navigates the promise and peril of being more than human.

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