Books like Virgin Planet by Poul Anderson

Poul Anderson’s novel places the male protagonist Davis Bertram on a planet inhabited solely by women, descendants of a crashed colony ship. The society has perfected parthenogenesis, a cloning‑like reproductive system that sustains its population without men or mammals. With the planet’s large, flightless birds removed from the equation, the women have no lived experience of male mammals. Bertram’s presence stirs conflict: while some women welcome him, others view him as a threat. The most powerful faction, the Doctors, seeks to eliminate him because his arrival could collapse their control over the parthenogenetic rites. Amid political intrigue, Bertram allies with women such as Barbara and Valeria but largely becomes a pawn in the struggle for power. Despite his unique position as the sole man, Bertram finds little fortune in romance, underscoring the novel’s exploration of gender, reproduction, and authority on an isolated world.

First publish date: 1960