''Farewell, Fantastic Venus'' is a 1968 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

anthology edited by

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

and Harry Harrison. An abridged version was published in the same year under the title ''All About Venus''. It was first published as a direct response to the information returned from the first space probes sent to

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, especially the first atmospheric probe to return data,

Venera 4 Venera 4 (), also designated 4V-1 No.310, was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. The probe comprised a lander, designed to enter the Venusian atmosphere and parachute to the surface, and a carrier/ flyby space ...

. The first data was not returned from the surface until

Venera 7 Venera 7 () was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface on 15 December 1970, it became the first spacecraft to soft land on another planet and the first to transmit data from the ...

successfully landed in 1970. The book contains stories and novel excerpts of

Venus in fiction The planet Venus has been used as a setting in fiction since before the 19th century. Its opaque cloud cover gave science fiction writers free rein to speculate on conditions at its surface—a "cosmic Rorschach test", in the words of science ...

from the time before its true nature became apparent, when the clouded planet could still be imagined as another Earth, albeit a hotter one. From that point on, few stories would be written which did not recognize Venus as a dry lifeless world with acid clouds and a temperature high enough to melt lead. Writers such as

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

(author of "Becalmed in Hell") did write about the "new" Venus, but there were to be few more transplanted jungle adventures, imagined world of oceans with monsters, or Venusians. Venus had been the best hope for

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

, and now that hope was lost. Later, however, writers avoided this apparent impasse through using

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

premises for future

terraforming of Venus The terraforming of Venus or the terraformation of Venus is the hypothetical process of engineering the global environment of the planet Venus in order to make it suitable for human habitation. Adjustments to the existing environment of Venus t ...

, or resorted to

alternate world A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, world, or dimension, is a plot device in fiction which uses the notion of a hypothetical universe co-existing with another, typically to enable alternative narrative possibilities. The sum ...

science fiction, where Venus had either been terraformed by aliens in the distant past to provide an Earth-like

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

, or had undergone different processes of

planetary formation The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System (as well as other planetary systems). It suggests the Solar System is formed from gas and dust orbiting t ...

to arrive at an inhabitable alternative. Alternatively, science fantasy authors deliberately overlooked recent discoveries in favor of a setting they loved. The authors whose stories were included ranged from

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

(excerpt from ''Perelandra'') to

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

(excerpt from ''Pirates of Venus'') and from

Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) was an English philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction''. New York ...

(excerpt from ''Last and First Men'') to

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

("The Big Rain", "Sister Planet"). Essay and meditation from a variety of scientists and science fiction writers were also included in the collection.

Texts in the book include:

Short fiction

* "A City on Venus" (1941) by Henry Gade * "Alchemy" (1950) by John and Dorothy de Courcy *"The Big Rain" (1954) by

* "Sister Planet" (1959) by

* "

Before Eden "Before Eden" is a science fiction short story by the British author Arthur C. Clarke, first published in June 1961 in ''Amazing Stories''. It was included in ''Tales of Ten Worlds'', a 1962 collection of stories by Clarke, and has been translat ...

" (1961) by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

Excerpts from longer fiction

* ''A Trip to Venus'' (1897) by John Munro * '' A Honeymoon in Space'' (1900) by

George Griffith George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones (20 August 18574 June 1906) was a British writer. He was active mainly in the science fiction genre—or as it was known at the time, scientific romance—in particular writing many future war, future-war storie ...

* ''

Last and First Men ''Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future'' is a "future history" science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from t ...

'' (1930) by

* ''

Pirates of Venus ''Pirates of Venus'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first book in the Venus series (also called the "Carson Napier of Venus series"), the last major series in Burroughs's career (the other major series ...

'' (1932) by

* ''

Perelandra ''Perelandra'' (also titled ''Voyage to Venus'' in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the '' Space Trilogy'' of C. S. Lewis, set on the planet of Perelandra, or Venus. It was first published in 1943. Plot summary Ph ...

'' (1943) by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

* ''Escape to Venus'' (1956) by S. Makepeace Lott

Essays

* ''The Story of the Heavens'' (1882) by Sir Robert Ball * ''The Destinies of the Stars'' (1917) by

Svante Arrhenius Svante August Arrhenius ( , ; 19 February 1859 – 2 October 1927) was a Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. In 1903, he received ...

* ''The Man from Venus'' (1939) by

Frank R. Paul Frank Rudolph Paul (; born Rudolph Franz Paul; April 18, 1884 – June 29, 1963) was an American illustrator of pulp magazines in the science fiction field. A discovery of editor Hugo Gernsback, Paul was influential in defining the look of bo ...

* ''Unveiling the Mystery Planet'' (1955) by

Willy Ley Willy Otto Oskar Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German and American science writer and proponent of space exploration and cryptozoology. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor. Early life and Berlin y ...

* ''Exploring the Planets'' (1964) by V. A. Firsoff * ''Intelligent Life in the Universe'' (1966) by

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...

* ''Some Mysteries of Venus Resolved'' (1967) by Sir

Bernard Lovell Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell ( ; 31 August 19136 August 2012) was an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980. Early life and education Lovell was born at Oldland Co ...

* ''Dream of Distance'' (1967) * ''Venus Mystery for Scientists'' (1967) by John Davy * ''Scientist Says Icecaps on Venus Would Make Life Possible'' (1968) by Evert Clark * ''Foreword / Clouded Judgements / Never-Fading Flowers / Swamp and Sand / "Venus is Hell!" / Big Sister / The Open Question'' (all 1968) essays by

Brian W. Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Farewell, Fantastic Venus'' at isfdb.org
Science fiction anthologies 1968 anthologies Short stories set on Venus

Contents

Short fiction

Excerpts from longer fiction

Essays

References

External links