Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 4 votes)
5 stars
1(25%)
4 stars
2(50%)
3 stars
1(25%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
4 reviews
April 17,2025
... Show More
11 stories:

*** Venus and the Seven Sexes (1949) • William Tenn
** Babel II (1953) • Damon Knight
**** Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972) • Joanna Russ
*** Conversational Mode (1972) • Grahame Leman
*** Heresies of the Huge God (1966) • Brian W. Aldiss
**** {Now + n, Now - n} (1972) • Robert Silverberg
**** Slow Tuesday Night (1965) • R. A. Lafferty
** Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper (1957) • Avram Davidson
**** Oh, to Be a Blobel! (1964) • Philip K. Dick
**** Hobson's Choice (1952) • Alfred Bester
*** I Plinglot, Who You? (1959) • Frederik Pohl
April 17,2025
... Show More
Not usually ha-ha funny so much as absurd, but these stories are all unusual and interesting. The best is probably "Venus and the Seven Sexes" by William Tenn, a really terrific and hilarious story about contact between some of the sleaziest humans imaginable with a race of trusting creatures that have somehow evolved to intelligence despite the hordes of predators constantly pursuing them. Really not a bad one in the bunch, but other highlights are "Babel II" by Damon Knight and "[Now + n], [Now - n]" by Robert Silverberg.

April 17,2025
... Show More
A mixed bag, at least for me. There were some great stories and some others than kind of fell flat for me. Humor is relative.
April 17,2025
... Show More
This was a very funny collection of amusing science fiction stories. Good humor is sometimes hard to find in the field, but this book includes classics from Tenn, Lafferty, Bester, Silverberg himself, etc. I still remember reading "Useful Phrases For the Tourist" by Joanna Russ when it first appeared in Carr's UNIVERSE in 1972 and laughing non-stop like a loon for the best part of an hour.
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.