The Genocides

The Genocides is a 1965 science fiction novel written by Thomas M. Disch. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. The novel describes the extermination of humans by aliens who are using the Earth to grow plants. These plants are huge and very efficient, with a very fast rate of growth. However, the exploitation of available resources by these fast-growing plants causes the soil to become barren for any other crop or tree. In... more

The Genocides is a 1965 science fiction novel written by Thomas M. Disch. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. The novel describes the extermination of humans by aliens who are using the Earth to grow plants. These plants are huge and very efficient, with a very fast rate of growth. However, the exploitation of available resources by these fast-growing plants causes the soil to become barren for any other crop or tree. In addition, these plants are unsuitable for feeding any animal (except, perhaps, the rabbits which appear to be very numerous in the book), causing an ecological catastrophe. The effects on humans are very drastic: Human society breaks down, with people no longer able to live in cities. The action of the novel is centered on a small group of people who still harvest some corn and have a single pregnant cow. The leader of this group is a religious fanatic who kills every other stranger in the name of the survival of the group. Their already... less