William Olaf Stapledon - known as Olaf Stapledon - was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction. Stapledon’s writings directly influenced C.S. Lewis, John Maynard Smith, Arthur C. Clarke, Bertrand Russell, and indirectly influenced many others.

“Olaf Stapledon was one of the most creative thinkers of our time. His influence on philosophy and science fiction is incalculable.” - Greg Bear

Written from a narrator's perspective, Odd John is a unique piece of fiction. Apart from the super human subject matter there are no other tropes of the genre present and this helps to re-enforce just how different John is. From birth to death we follow this extraordinary freak "John Wainwright", born to ordinary parents and so much more advanced than homo sapiens that they are little more than play things to him. Upon finding a few others who are a little like him, john develops a plan - to create a new order on Earth, a new supernormal species, is the world ready for such a change?