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John Grimes: Survey Service #5
Spartan Planet
And they named the planet Sparta. Long ago the humans had settled this planet - too long ago for anyone to remember.
Slowly the civilization had developed, and now it was complete. A civilization of war and violence. A civilization of crude pleasures. A civilization in which human beings were produced by birth machines - and women were unknown.
It was a civilization whose terrible secret only the doctor-priests knew - a secret that a desperate man named Brasidus decided to penetrate, even at the risk of something worse than death....
Slowly the civilization had developed, and now it was complete. A civilization of war and violence. A civilization of crude pleasures. A civilization in which human beings were produced by birth machines - and women were unknown.
It was a civilization whose terrible secret only the doctor-priests knew - a secret that a desperate man named Brasidus decided to penetrate, even at the risk of something worse than death....
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
3 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
A. Bertram Chandler
349 books53 followersArthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 23, 2025
it begs to be over analyzed, but we should resist the urge, as it’s intentionally disposable pulp pablum. and enjoyable enough pablum at that, an adventure-of-the-week series installment cousin to doc savage pulp serials of three decades prior and syndicatable tng episodes three decades after.
in this one, grimes and crew — federation survey team to wayward colonies — stumble upon a planet with no women, and “modeled” after Spartan society. the introduction of women into this homosocial/sexual society causes upheaval, as you can imagine, and chandler handles the attendant sticky questions of sex and gender and desire with all the tact of a walrus.
some, i must admit, of the enjoyment comes precisely from the unintentional comedy of watching a man whose author photo looks like admiral halsey navigate, guns-a-blazing, topics of such contemporary sensitivity. i recognize that this is never fair to modern books, which rarely get such ironic benefit of the doubt and artificial star inflation as a result. oh well dems da breaks
in this one, grimes and crew — federation survey team to wayward colonies — stumble upon a planet with no women, and “modeled” after Spartan society. the introduction of women into this homosocial/sexual society causes upheaval, as you can imagine, and chandler handles the attendant sticky questions of sex and gender and desire with all the tact of a walrus.
some, i must admit, of the enjoyment comes precisely from the unintentional comedy of watching a man whose author photo looks like admiral halsey navigate, guns-a-blazing, topics of such contemporary sensitivity. i recognize that this is never fair to modern books, which rarely get such ironic benefit of the doubt and artificial star inflation as a result. oh well dems da breaks
August 26, 2016
a review of
A. Bertram Chandler's Spartan Planet
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - August 25, 2016
I'm pretty sure that if I'd read the description of this bk 40 yrs ago I wd've shied away from it as entirely too lo-brow. NOW I think it was great, really inspired, hilarious. The basic premise is that there's a planet that'd been colonized by Earthlings long ago that'd developed into an all-male planet partially based on the male dominated militaristic city-state Sparta from ancient Greece.
Blundering into this is a Federation Survey Spaceship captained by Chandler's recurring character John Grimes & carrying a woman doctor named Margaret Lazenby whose job it is to study this lost colony's culture. Lazenby is the 1st & only woman most of the planet's inhabitants have ever seen. Human reproduction is a science controlled by specialists: doctors, & 'effeminate' male nurses. Creatures lower on the food chain give birth by having their male offspring rip off from the side of the father's body after having grown there as a conjoined twin of sorts & this is what the Spartans have been taught was their reproductive ancestry before the doctors improved things:
"["]it's just that some of us don't like to be reminded of our humble origins. How would you like to go through the budding process, and then have to tear your son away from yourself?"" - p 6
"The larger of the scavengers, the parent, had succeeded in bringing one of its short legs up under its belly. Suddenly it kicked, and as it did so it screamed, and the smaller animal shrieked in unison. They were broken apart now, staggering over the cobbles in what was almost a parody of a human dance. They were apart, and on each of the rough, mottled flanks was a ragged circle of glistening, raw flesh, a wound that betrayed by its stench what was the usual diet of the lowly garbage eaters. The stink lingered even after the beasts, rapidly recovering from their ordeal, had scurried off, completing the fission process, in opposite directions.
"That was the normal way of birth on Sparta." - pp 6-7
Chandler gives a reasonably imaginative treatment to his idea of a lost colony isolated from their true past to the degree that things have become redefined. As such, colonists speaking English consider it to be Greek b/c their seemingly all-male society is partially based around ancient Greek culture:
"Walking with calm deliberation the two men approached the barrier. The one with the trousered leg called, "Anybody here speak English?" He turned to his companion and said, "That was a silly question to which I should get a silly answer. After all. we've been nattering to them on RT all the way in."
""We speak Greek," answered Diomedes.
"The spaceman looked puzzled. "I'm afraid that I don't. But your English is very good. If you don't mind, it will have to do."
""But we have been speaking Greek all the time."" - p 24
The Spartans are accustomed to Spartan conditions - ie: stern & hard ones not inclined to comfort. They board Grimes's spaceship:
"Brasidus remained standing until he received a grudging nod from his superior. Then he was amazed by the softness, by the comfort of the chair into which he lowered himself. On Sparta such luxury was reserved for the aged—and only for the highly placed aged at that, for council members and the like." - p 32
Never having seen women before, the Spartans advance various theories about the 'deformities' on Lazenby's chest:
"["]it's manned by robots with twin turrets on their chests from which they shoot lethal rays."
""They must be functional . . ." mused Brasidus, "I suppose."
""What must be?" demanded the librarian.
""Those twin turrets. Good day to you."" - p 47
Now, it's probably all too easy to (potentially incorrectly) read personal details into an author's story. As such, I imagine Chandler writing this at a time when he was upset w/ a lover or a wife or getting divorced or somehow having trouble w/ the women or woman that he was intimate w/ in his life:
""A mere dozen of these malformed weaklings, without arms. . . . No, there can be no danger. Obviously, since they are member's of Seeker's crew, they can coexist harmoniously with men. So, we repeat, there is no danger."
""Sire!" It was the doctor who had raised the objection. "You do not know these beings. You do not know how treacherous they can be."
""And do you, Doctor Pausanias? And if you do know, how do you know?"
"The Councilman paled. He said lamely, "We are experienced, sire, in judging who is to live and who is not to live among the newborn. There are signs, reliable signs. She"—he pointed an accusing finger at Margaret Lazenby—"exhibits them."" - p 67
It's decided that these strange men w/ the protuberances on their chests are aliens from a planet called Arcadia - &, Lo & Behold!, they do exert a suspiciously entrancing fascination on the Spartan Brasidus & others - even to the extent of leading Brasidus astray from his boyfriend:
""Brasidus, I have to be on duty soon. Will you come with me to my room?"
"The Sergeant looked at his friend. Achron was a pretty boy, prettier than most, but he was not, he could never be, an Arcadian. . . .
"What am I thinking? he asked himself, shocked. Why am I thinking it?
"He said, "Not tonight, Achron."" - p 85
I don't want to spoil the plot for you but the ending cd be sd to have a wry ambiguity. Watch where those twin turrets are pointed! They might be coming after YOU!!
A. Bertram Chandler's Spartan Planet
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - August 25, 2016
I'm pretty sure that if I'd read the description of this bk 40 yrs ago I wd've shied away from it as entirely too lo-brow. NOW I think it was great, really inspired, hilarious. The basic premise is that there's a planet that'd been colonized by Earthlings long ago that'd developed into an all-male planet partially based on the male dominated militaristic city-state Sparta from ancient Greece.
Blundering into this is a Federation Survey Spaceship captained by Chandler's recurring character John Grimes & carrying a woman doctor named Margaret Lazenby whose job it is to study this lost colony's culture. Lazenby is the 1st & only woman most of the planet's inhabitants have ever seen. Human reproduction is a science controlled by specialists: doctors, & 'effeminate' male nurses. Creatures lower on the food chain give birth by having their male offspring rip off from the side of the father's body after having grown there as a conjoined twin of sorts & this is what the Spartans have been taught was their reproductive ancestry before the doctors improved things:
"["]it's just that some of us don't like to be reminded of our humble origins. How would you like to go through the budding process, and then have to tear your son away from yourself?"" - p 6
"The larger of the scavengers, the parent, had succeeded in bringing one of its short legs up under its belly. Suddenly it kicked, and as it did so it screamed, and the smaller animal shrieked in unison. They were broken apart now, staggering over the cobbles in what was almost a parody of a human dance. They were apart, and on each of the rough, mottled flanks was a ragged circle of glistening, raw flesh, a wound that betrayed by its stench what was the usual diet of the lowly garbage eaters. The stink lingered even after the beasts, rapidly recovering from their ordeal, had scurried off, completing the fission process, in opposite directions.
"That was the normal way of birth on Sparta." - pp 6-7
Chandler gives a reasonably imaginative treatment to his idea of a lost colony isolated from their true past to the degree that things have become redefined. As such, colonists speaking English consider it to be Greek b/c their seemingly all-male society is partially based around ancient Greek culture:
"Walking with calm deliberation the two men approached the barrier. The one with the trousered leg called, "Anybody here speak English?" He turned to his companion and said, "That was a silly question to which I should get a silly answer. After all. we've been nattering to them on RT all the way in."
""We speak Greek," answered Diomedes.
"The spaceman looked puzzled. "I'm afraid that I don't. But your English is very good. If you don't mind, it will have to do."
""But we have been speaking Greek all the time."" - p 24
The Spartans are accustomed to Spartan conditions - ie: stern & hard ones not inclined to comfort. They board Grimes's spaceship:
"Brasidus remained standing until he received a grudging nod from his superior. Then he was amazed by the softness, by the comfort of the chair into which he lowered himself. On Sparta such luxury was reserved for the aged—and only for the highly placed aged at that, for council members and the like." - p 32
Never having seen women before, the Spartans advance various theories about the 'deformities' on Lazenby's chest:
"["]it's manned by robots with twin turrets on their chests from which they shoot lethal rays."
""They must be functional . . ." mused Brasidus, "I suppose."
""What must be?" demanded the librarian.
""Those twin turrets. Good day to you."" - p 47
Now, it's probably all too easy to (potentially incorrectly) read personal details into an author's story. As such, I imagine Chandler writing this at a time when he was upset w/ a lover or a wife or getting divorced or somehow having trouble w/ the women or woman that he was intimate w/ in his life:
""A mere dozen of these malformed weaklings, without arms. . . . No, there can be no danger. Obviously, since they are member's of Seeker's crew, they can coexist harmoniously with men. So, we repeat, there is no danger."
""Sire!" It was the doctor who had raised the objection. "You do not know these beings. You do not know how treacherous they can be."
""And do you, Doctor Pausanias? And if you do know, how do you know?"
"The Councilman paled. He said lamely, "We are experienced, sire, in judging who is to live and who is not to live among the newborn. There are signs, reliable signs. She"—he pointed an accusing finger at Margaret Lazenby—"exhibits them."" - p 67
It's decided that these strange men w/ the protuberances on their chests are aliens from a planet called Arcadia - &, Lo & Behold!, they do exert a suspiciously entrancing fascination on the Spartan Brasidus & others - even to the extent of leading Brasidus astray from his boyfriend:
""Brasidus, I have to be on duty soon. Will you come with me to my room?"
"The Sergeant looked at his friend. Achron was a pretty boy, prettier than most, but he was not, he could never be, an Arcadian. . . .
"What am I thinking? he asked himself, shocked. Why am I thinking it?
"He said, "Not tonight, Achron."" - p 85
I don't want to spoil the plot for you but the ending cd be sd to have a wry ambiguity. Watch where those twin turrets are pointed! They might be coming after YOU!!
December 19, 2013
I have read eight or ten of this series featuring Captain Grimes. They are all entertaining, placing twisted plots from the classics into an interstellar setting. You would not think that something like this could seem dated, but these novels mostly do. It is like reading the Playboy Philosophy from the 1970s. Well-told, but campy. Will I keep reading them. Yeah.
April 8, 2012
A pulp story that definitely pushed the boundaries when it was released. Strong female character, interesting future history and surprisingly not homophobic considering the premise and time period. Very happy these books are getting reprinted.
July 11, 2020
This book shouldn't really even be a part of the series: John Grimes barely appears in the novel. He and his sometimes-love interest Margaret Lazenby _are_ surveying a Lost Colony, and John Grimes provides the turgid, endless exposition near the finale of the novel that explains how the culture on this planet evolved...but he takes little active part in the action. Lazenby is a secondary protagonist, but the primary character is a native of the "Spartan Planet," Brasidus, a police/security officer trying to solve a mystery confronting his culture.
The mystery isn't really a mystery, butt Chandler uses the point of view to show how strange women would appear in a society that (artificially) does not have any. There's where the problems of this novel lie: not only is the text itself patently homophobic, being gay is made equivalent to misogyny. The novel hasn't really aged very well. Among the most unbelievable moments are those where the characters (raised in a culture where sexuality is expressed by males toward males) somehow instinctively know that they should be oriented toward an opposite sex that they have no idea exists (until they encounter women). It's heteronormativity in spades. Simply unbelievable and unconvincing.
What is somewhat more interesting is the proximity of this "sex/reproduction" novel to another John Grimes novel of the same sort, _To Prime the Pump_ (though the oddity of how this series is presented on Goodreads and in the SFBC version of the series reverses the actual publication order of the two novels: _SP_ was published in 1969 and _TPTP_ was published in 1971). In some ways, sexuality and reproduction are primary themes of the "first" several John Grimes books, but these two novels are mainly about sex as a problem or mystery to be "solved." This novel is somewhat similar to some stories by Joanna Russ, but really less thoughtful and self-reflexive than her works. And as I mentioned in my review of _TPTP_, that novel really isn't even science fiction because the problem as posed is actually metaphysical. Still I find it interesting Chandler had such an interest in different sexual regimes among different people (and aliens).
On the whole though this is a rather silly and forgettable novel, not up to the quality of the other Grimes books I've read so far.
The mystery isn't really a mystery, butt Chandler uses the point of view to show how strange women would appear in a society that (artificially) does not have any. There's where the problems of this novel lie: not only is the text itself patently homophobic, being gay is made equivalent to misogyny. The novel hasn't really aged very well. Among the most unbelievable moments are those where the characters (raised in a culture where sexuality is expressed by males toward males) somehow instinctively know that they should be oriented toward an opposite sex that they have no idea exists (until they encounter women). It's heteronormativity in spades. Simply unbelievable and unconvincing.
What is somewhat more interesting is the proximity of this "sex/reproduction" novel to another John Grimes novel of the same sort, _To Prime the Pump_ (though the oddity of how this series is presented on Goodreads and in the SFBC version of the series reverses the actual publication order of the two novels: _SP_ was published in 1969 and _TPTP_ was published in 1971). In some ways, sexuality and reproduction are primary themes of the "first" several John Grimes books, but these two novels are mainly about sex as a problem or mystery to be "solved." This novel is somewhat similar to some stories by Joanna Russ, but really less thoughtful and self-reflexive than her works. And as I mentioned in my review of _TPTP_, that novel really isn't even science fiction because the problem as posed is actually metaphysical. Still I find it interesting Chandler had such an interest in different sexual regimes among different people (and aliens).
On the whole though this is a rather silly and forgettable novel, not up to the quality of the other Grimes books I've read so far.
June 27, 2017
A planet of men only, modeled after old Sparta, that has been out of touch with the rest of humanity, except for a neighboring planet, for centuries. Animals on Sparta reproduce by budding. Thanks to the birth machines, run by the priests, men don't have to go through that experience to reproduce any more.
Into this rough world comes a survey ship from the Federation. And on that ship are some men and some "strange", alien men with bumps on their chests. Sparta will never be the same again -- if it survives the truth.
I loved the twists that this setting provided. Chandler did a great job of handling the politics of Sparta along with the reactions of some of the Spartans to this visit from the "rest" of humanity.
Into this rough world comes a survey ship from the Federation. And on that ship are some men and some "strange", alien men with bumps on their chests. Sparta will never be the same again -- if it survives the truth.
I loved the twists that this setting provided. Chandler did a great job of handling the politics of Sparta along with the reactions of some of the Spartans to this visit from the "rest" of humanity.
September 9, 2021
I actually liked the story of this John Grimes novel quite a bit. It wasn't from Grimes' point of view and he was in the story very little. I liked that the point of view was from a soldier in a pretty interesting society, it made the story exciting, this soldier has never seen a woman and he doesn't know much about space and his own people have been hiding stuff from him and everyone else. I don't really like John Grimes that much, so I was OK with him not being in the story. We do get to see his on again, off again girlfriend although they didn't seem to be together in this story. Overall 3 out of 5 stars. Hopefully the rest of the books in the story are this good.
December 30, 2023
Spartan Planet was first published in 1969, over 50 years ago. It is interesting to have first read it in 2023 at a time when cultural and political forces in society claim there are an infinite number of genders, because Spartan Planet takes place on a planet with literally one sex: male. (And one gender--in 1969, "sex" and "gender" were considered synonymous terms.) The story and the concepts are interesting, but they certainly aren't the greatest sf ever written. However, reading this slim novel now through the prism of the current debate on sex and gender makes this story more interesting and thought-provoking than it otherwise would be.
May 30, 2017
Part of a sci-fi mind candy series. This one didn't include much of John Grimes and way too much plot. Prefer my sci-fi adventures with action.
May 13, 2021
A hilarious book in an unexpected way!
January 21, 2022
Waste of time
May 19, 2022
Come for the lurid premise, stay for the homoerotic overtones.
January 2, 2024
Still an interesting read, but the sexist and possibly racist aspects are still concerning me.
May 26, 2016
Imagine a world without women, where reproduction is via machine, and all references to women in their history have been erased. I can't imagine how this would work, but it did, and for about 400 years in the novel Spartan Planet.
This book was selected by my local women only book club. We had quite the discussion to how this could have happened and would the response to the re-introduction of women happen as it did in the book. We all agreed that this book is somewhat dated, it was first published in 1969 at a time when most readers of science fiction were men. Given that women were not the expected audience, it's not surprising that it doesn't give a good impression of men left on their own, They spend their time drinking until they start fighting and call it all good fun.
We did find it odd that the men of the planet were immediately attracted to the foreign women even though they were thought to me deformed or monsters. Were pheromones at work or did it make for a better story line.
It was unanimous that it was definitely a worthwhile read, and that it's always good to explore the roots of various genres.
Some background knowledge of Sparta and the Spartan people would be helpful to understanding this society.
This book was selected by my local women only book club. We had quite the discussion to how this could have happened and would the response to the re-introduction of women happen as it did in the book. We all agreed that this book is somewhat dated, it was first published in 1969 at a time when most readers of science fiction were men. Given that women were not the expected audience, it's not surprising that it doesn't give a good impression of men left on their own, They spend their time drinking until they start fighting and call it all good fun.
We did find it odd that the men of the planet were immediately attracted to the foreign women even though they were thought to me deformed or monsters. Were pheromones at work or did it make for a better story line.
It was unanimous that it was definitely a worthwhile read, and that it's always good to explore the roots of various genres.
Some background knowledge of Sparta and the Spartan people would be helpful to understanding this society.
May 19, 2019
Lieutenant Commander John Grimes is Captain of a Survey ship Seeker III along with Maggie Lazenby doing census. They land on Sparta a lost colony of all males created by a birthing machine controlled by doctors who also create women for themselves. By the end of the novel, Grimes has given them the facts of life, the creche is destroyed and the world will have to be readjusted to normal which might be difficult considering women are so alien to the men.
May 30, 2016
This series has not aged at all well. It's very sexist and ever so slightly rascist. What allows it to keep any stars at all is the feeling that the author was trying to imagine a world where there was true equality but played it far too safe.
The attitudes towards women that come through in this are far too much to take for me.
The attitudes towards women that come through in this are far too much to take for me.
March 24, 2017
My first and last literary experience with this author. The type of reading to be had while waiting at the family doctor or during a flight. Not the type of book for fans of Ursula K Le Guin, Philip K Dick, Asimov and the likes.
January 25, 2012
Grade B+. Book Ge.
September 14, 2014
Unique. Worth reading.
March 15, 2019
Not a great book, Kinda predictable ending. Interesting plot though.
June 11, 2017
did not finish
April 17, 2017
Second time reading it, I seem to remember liking it more the first time. Imagine a world without women, where women are viewed as deformed and put to death at birth. Now imagine the fallout when visitors from Earth visit this world, with several deformed women are crew?
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews