Venus and the Seven Sexes
"Venus and the Seven Sexes" is a science fiction story by American writer William Tenn. It was first published in the anthology The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories (Avon Publishing) in 1949, and then in 1953 in the anthology Science-Fiction Carnival by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds (Shasta Publishers).[1]
| "Venus and the Seven Sexes" | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Tenn |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction short story |
| Published in | The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publisher | Avon Publishing Co., Inc. |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Publication date | 1949 |
The story was reprinted in 1968 in The Seven Sexes, an anthology of William Tenn's short stories published by Ballantine Books. It also appeared in the 2001 anthology of William Tenn's works titled Immodest Proposals, published by NESFA Press.
Plot
On the planet Venus, the native Plookhs —who require the participation of seven different sexes in order to reproduce — are corrupted by human film director Hogan Shlestertrap.
Reception
Don D'Ammassa has described it as "quite funny",[2] while Nick Gevers considered it to be a "scathing [analysis] of militarism and cargo-cult culture possessing great bite even now".[3] Io9 called it "off-kilter" and "humorous.[4] Inc. editor George Gendron has compared the Plookh reproductive cycle to the difficulties of running a startup.[5]
References
- ISFDB publication history
- William Tenn, by Don D'Ammassa, at DonDammassa.com; published no later than September 14, 2015; retrieved November 24, 2017
- Immodest Proposals, reviewed by Nick Gevers, at the SF Site; published 2001; retrieved November 24, 2017
- Remembering Golden Age Science Fiction Author William Tenn, by Alisdair Wilkins, at io9; published February 8, 2010; retrieved November 24, 2017
- The Seven Sexes of Venus, by George Gendron, at Inc.; published April 1, 1999; retrieved November 24, 2017