©1982 review by Lawrence I. Charters
Science Fiction & Fantasy Review, No. 3, March 1982.
Sperry, Ralph A. Status Quotient: The Carrier. New York: Avon, October 1981. 253p. $2.50 ISBN 0-3 80-78766-0. LC 81-66459.
Written in the form of a diary, Status Quotient describes the life of Ancil, son of the Starship Project Director on the planet Ath. Ancil is, for no clear reason, immortal, and a h omosexual. Just prior to the start of the diary, the entire population of Ath is killed in an orgy of murder and destruction, leaving Ancil alone but for an occasional cat.
Despite these unusual details, and references to The Families, The One, the Judgment Games, the non-human Imitators, and other Reverent Capitalizations, Status Quotient is not science fiction. None of the “science fiction” elements — not even the planet’s depopulation — are ever explained or put to use. Reading about a homosexual immortal is uninteresting, especially when there is no human interaction of any kind. Collectors should snap this book up — it will not be reprinted.