The World Well Lost

"The World Well Lost" is a 1966 story by Ted Sturgeon, one of the first, if not the first, story in SF to deal explicitly with homosexuality.

A pair of alien lovers lands on earth, but their home world extradites them from earth. While they are being returned to earth, a crew member discovers they are telepathic, and must take action to protect his own secrets. Really a wonderful story. This story, limited in its ambition, exceeds expectations, and is indeed a risky and daring story.

The story apparently generated a lot of fan mail for Sturgeon.

Editions

• 1966: Universe
• 1972: Strange Bedfellows: Sex and Science Fiction, ed. by Thomas N. Scortia, Random House, 1972