Is Sex really necessary?

[Alice Ngugi]

I also feel sex is not always necessary. It's easy to enjoy a book without it.. Depends with how good the author is and trusts themselves with the art of storytelling without throwing in sex to catch an audience's attention.

[AbbeylincolnSty]

Sex is a natural instinct. Regardless of expedition, humans find time for sex. It is not necessary for sex scenes to be included.

[MrsTurner2013]

Is sex really necessary? One of our instincts as humans is to feel loved and attracted to. It tends to be less of a concern when we have something pressing on us, such as a quest, but it is not completely out of the picture. Sex can be used as a release for stress. When we find ourselves under stressful situations, one can use sex as a brief relief from it. To answer the question, is sex really necessary? No, it is not crucial to the book, however, I feel like the inclusion of it makes the book a little more relatable to the audience. We often find ourselves distracted in one way or another from a major task we need to be doing. In Grant's case it was chasing after girls. So what? It was the author's way of making Grant more human.

[Vickie Noel]

I agree that sometimes, natural human urges can spring up at odd times, and it is a person's decision whether to act on them or not. People usually make out time for what's important to them, so Grant finding time to have sex must have been pretty important to him to do so. I don't think its inclusion is out of place, perhaps not so graphic, but it's not strange.

[Faithy_Star]

As much as the presence of sex scenes is not exactly necessary in fiction books, I strongly believe that sex is part of human nature. This isn't even debatable, and as a result of this, it makes the book more appealing to a larger audience.

[Moray_001]

The author probably wanted to have something to draw in readers who like steamy scenes. Even TV shows and movies do this too. I usually find it quite odd that one would have time for such escapades in the middle of danger. But I think just hinting at it and leaving the rest to the readers imagination would have been okay too.

[Jeff Winger]

I don't particularly see the need for Grant to have sex during the expedition especially in the midst of all the pressure and danger. I feel it was just included by the author as an appeal to those interested in sex scenes or explicit content of the like. On the other hand its something of a humanizing factor as Grant is a young man with a healthy libido and as such its not that farfetched for him to desire and engage in such activities while on the expedition.

[glubglub200]

Sometimes I do think sex is unnecessary in books but only if it doesn't make sense for the book. Like if it was just random in an action packed book then I would be very confused but if it brings characters closer together or has some sort of purpose than I do think that sex is sometimes needed. But it always comes down to what the book is about and if it helps the story further along or not.

[Hames]

I think sex was not necessary for the plot of this book that being said I would not rule out sex because it is a natural occurrence and everyone would normally have urges, and therefore, it is a personal choice to engage.

[Richardjrich]

That was one of the problems I had with the book as well. Grant was on an expedition to find his uncle, but he took the time to 'consort' with the ladies? This just doesn't jive with me. It is a detriment to the book, I believe.

It is unfortunate that so many readers thought it was a detraction from the main story, as I see sex as a part of life especially for young persons such as Grant. Perhaps the author could have done more to make the sex more seamless with the plot rather than a detraction. I daresay that some people have trouble managing the balance in real life as well.

[Bigwig1973]

I saw your question before I read the book, and so, I kind of had that on my mind when I was reading it. The book could have been written without the sex parts (Morgenstern's book of "The Princess Bride" skips one love scene, very intentionally) at all and it still would have been an interesting story. Maybe the writer has issues with scientific pregnancy topics, in vitro, c-sections, etc. Who knows? It seemed a bit bizarre - these are supposed to be scientists and guards and, for awhile, apparently that, along with drinking pilfered vodka, seemed the most important thing. I would be worried about conserving energy to stay alive, I think.

[SaltyKate]

The sexual endeavors in this book sounded like they were written by a twelve year old.

"If I was really concerned, I knew I shouldn't get so deeply involved with her, but I was desperate for her sex."

What kind of a sentence is that? Her sex is female. Is he planning on becoming one too? He also wants to be female? I have no issue with that, but this isn't the same thing as wanting to have sex with someone, which is clearly what the author was going for. And has this author ever had sex with anyone before? It doesn't appear that way. It was filler material for a guy that ran out of time and ran out of plot.

[Frenchfry2290]

Some of my favorite books have these subtle moments of romance where you know sex happened but the author doesn't hang up on it. Like Robert A Heinlein. Not just in the cat who walks through walls. Nearly all of his books he has this witty romance that you know they got a moment of free time even though the world is ending or they're at war and they are exhausted, but heck, starting the next chapter they're both wiping their brow. Not needed, but it adds humanity.

[Ogbara]

I would be dishonest if I said that the sex scenes in the book were totally unnecessary. For me, sex is a natural occurrence and everyone would normally have urges, it’s now left for you as a person to decide to physically get involved sexually or not. So generally, I think it was just normal for Grant as a young guy to have sex even amidst the quest of finding his Uncle. The book is a good read.

I agree with you, the sex scenes in the book are not totally unnecessary. It is just one of those things in life.

[Jennifer Aldo]

I found it distasteful. I can't understand how it was necessary for the story. Many times, at least for me, books lose their interest because of things like overly graphic sex, violence, and profanity thrown into it. Books can be excellent reads without it!

I thought so too. But I also understand that reader preference varies, and I think the unnecessary sex was included to rake in a larger reader base.