Farewell Fantastic Venus
Encyclopedia
Farewell Fantastic Venus is a science fiction
anthology
edited by Brian Aldiss
and Harry Harrison
. It was first published in 1968 as a direct response to the information returned from the first space probe
s sent to Venus
, especially the first atmospheric probe to return data, Venera 4
. The first data was not returned from the surface until Venera 7
successfully landed in 1970.
The book contains stories and novel excerpts from the time before Venus' true nature became apparent, when the clouded planet could still be imagined as another Earth, albeit a hotter one. From that point on, no 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
(Becalmed in Hell) did write about the "new" Venus, but there were to be no more transplanted jungle adventures, no imagined world of oceans with monsters, no Venusians. Venus had been the best hope for extraterrestrial life
, and now that hope was lost.
(Later, however, writers avoided this apparent impasse through using hard science fiction
premises for future terraforming of Venus
, or resorted to alternate world
science fiction, where Venus had either been terraformed by aliens in the distant past to provide an earthlike biosphere
, or had undergone different processes of planetary formation to arrive at an inhabitable alternative).
The authors whose stories were included ranged from C.S. Lewis (excerpt from Perelandra) to Edgar Rice Burroughs
(excerpt from Pirates of Venus) and from Olaf Stapledon
(excerpt from Last and First Men) to Poul Anderson
(The Big Rain, Sister Planet). Essays and meditations from a variety of scientists and SF writers were also included in the collection.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
edited by Brian Aldiss
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
and Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
. It was first published in 1968 as a direct response to the information returned from the first space probe
Space probe
A robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
s sent to Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, especially the first atmospheric probe to return data, Venera 4
Venera 4
Venera 4 ) was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. Venera-4 was the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet. It was also the first probe to land on another planet...
. The first data was not returned from the surface until Venera 7
Venera 7
The Venera 7 was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet and to transmit data from there back to Earth.*Launch date/time: 1970 August 17 at 05:38...
successfully landed in 1970.
The book contains stories and novel excerpts from the time before Venus' true nature became apparent, when the clouded planet could still be imagined as another Earth, albeit a hotter one. From that point on, no 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
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
. Writers such as Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
(Becalmed in Hell) did write about the "new" Venus, but there were to be no more transplanted jungle adventures, no imagined world of oceans with monsters, no Venusians. Venus had been the best hope for extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, and now that hope was lost.
(Later, however, writers avoided this apparent impasse through using hard science fiction
Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
premises for future terraforming of Venus
Terraforming of Venus
The terraforming of Venus is the hypothetical process of engineering the global environment of the planet Venus in such a way as to make it suitable for human habitation. Terraforming Venus was first seriously proposed by the astronomer Carl Sagan in 1961. The minimum adjustments to the existing...
, or resorted to alternate world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
science fiction, where Venus had either been terraformed by aliens in the distant past to provide an earthlike biosphere
Biosphere
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system...
, or had undergone different processes of planetary formation to arrive at an inhabitable alternative).
The authors whose stories were included ranged from C.S. Lewis (excerpt from Perelandra) to Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
(excerpt from Pirates of Venus) and from Olaf Stapledon
Olaf Stapledon
William Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:...
(excerpt from Last and First Men) to Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
(The Big Rain, Sister Planet). Essays and meditations from a variety of scientists and SF writers were also included in the collection.
Short fiction
- A City on Venus (1941) by Henry Gade (pseudonym)
- Alchemy (1950) by John and Dorothy de Courcy
- The Big Rain (1954) by Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
- Sister Planet (1959) by Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
- Before Eden (1961) by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
Excerpts from longer fiction
- A Trip to Venus (1897) by John Munro
- A Honeymoon in Space (1900) by George GriffithGeorge GriffithGeorge Griffith , full name George Chetwyn Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazines such as Pearson's Magazine and Pearson's Weekly before being published...
- Last and First MenLast and First MenLast 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 the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen...
(1930) by Olaf StapledonOlaf StapledonWilliam Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:... - Pirates of VenusPirates of VenusPirates of Venus is the first book in the Venus series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the last major series in Burroughs's career . It was first serialized in six parts in Argosy in 1932 and published in book form two years later by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc...
(1932) by Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:... - PerelandraPerelandraPerelandra is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis, set in the Field of Arbol...
(1943) by C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland... - Escape to Venus (1956) by S. Makepeace Lott
Essays
- The Story of the Heavens (1882) by Sir Robert BallRobert Stawell BallSir Robert Stawell Ball was an Irish astronomer. He worked for Lord Rosse from 1865 to 1867. In 1867 he became Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin. In 1874 Ball was appointed Royal Astronomer of Ireland and Andrews Professor of Astronomy in the University...
- The Destinies of the Stars (1917) by Svante ArrheniusSvante ArrheniusSvante August Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist, originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, and one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry...
- The Man from Venus (1939) by Frank R. PaulFrank R. PaulFrank Rudolph Paul was an illustrator of US pulp magazines in the science fiction field. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey....
- Unveiling the Mystery Planet (1955) by Willy LeyWilly LeyWilly Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
- Exploring the Planets (1964) by V. A. Firsoff
- Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966) by Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
- Some Mysteries of Venus Resolved (1967) by Sir Bernard LovellBernard LovellSir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell OBE, FRS is an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first Director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.-Early Life:...
- 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