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The Seven Sexes
The Seven Sexes is almost entirely dedicated to the cynicism of nature's prime conman, homo sapiens, in such a variety of stories that it is difficult to believe they all derive from the same source, capped by a hilarious piece of nonsense in which a has-been producer cons the seven variable sexes of Venus into starring in a "typical" Hollywood love epic - with results that defy description. This book is part of a simultaneous six volume publication celebrating William Tenn, and featuring his first full-length science fiction novel, OF MEN AND MONSTERS.
Contents:
Child's Play
The Malted Milk Monster
Errand Boy
The House Dutiful
Mistress Sary
Sanctuary
Venus and the Seven Sexes
Bernie the Faust
Contents:
Child's Play
The Malted Milk Monster
Errand Boy
The House Dutiful
Mistress Sary
Sanctuary
Venus and the Seven Sexes
Bernie the Faust
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
4 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
William Tenn
306 books49 followersWilliam Tenn is the pseudonym of Philip Klass. He was born in London on May 9, 1920, and emigrated to the United States with his parents before his second birthday. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After serving in the United States Army as a combat engineer in Europe, he held a job as a technical editor with an Air Force radar and radio laboratory and was employed by Bell Labs.
He began writing in 1945 and wrote academic articles, essays, two novels, and more than 60 short stories.
His first story, 'Alexander the Bait' was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. Stories like 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'The Liberation of Earth', and 'The Custodian' quickly established him as a fine, funny, and thoughtful satirist.
Tenn is best-known as a satirist, and by works such as "On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi" and "Of Men and Monsters."
His stories and articles were widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of-the-year collections. From 1966, he was a Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at The Pennsylvania State University, where he taught, among other things, a popular course on science fiction.
In 1999, he was honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at their annual Nebula Awards Banquet.
More information at: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topi...
He began writing in 1945 and wrote academic articles, essays, two novels, and more than 60 short stories.
His first story, 'Alexander the Bait' was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. Stories like 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'The Liberation of Earth', and 'The Custodian' quickly established him as a fine, funny, and thoughtful satirist.
Tenn is best-known as a satirist, and by works such as "On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi" and "Of Men and Monsters."
His stories and articles were widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of-the-year collections. From 1966, he was a Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at The Pennsylvania State University, where he taught, among other things, a popular course on science fiction.
In 1999, he was honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at their annual Nebula Awards Banquet.
More information at: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topi...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 30, 2020
I bought this on a whim because of the title. Turns out William Tenn was a pretty good author of humorous SF in the 1950's and 1960's. In the Author's Note, he says that 6 of these stories are in the "specialized genre of horror-farce". (One other is just Gothic horror, and one just comedy.) I can see his point, but the horror aspect isn't very extreme. These could easily have been made into Twilight Zone episodes. Nothing earth-shattering here, but I enjoyed the stories and wouldn't mind reading more from him someday.
July 19, 2015
Even among SF fans Tenn is nearly forgotten, which is unfortunate. His writing was smart and his ideas have been since copied multiple times. I didn't like this collection as much as "Of All Possible Worlds," but considering all but one of the eight stories is from the 40's or 50's, it still reads well. Of course it's dated. So am I. "Child's Play" is the most anthologized story, about a guy who accidentally gets hold of a machine from the future that copies people. "Errand Boy," also about time travel, was perhaps my favorite. "Venus and the Seven Sexes," about a Venusian society with that many sexes, is the most ambitious story but at 50 pages, I found it overlong. Because SF is about the future, it dates faster than other genres, and I don't see Tenn making a comeback. But if you want to do SF history a service and probably find some enjoyment, I recommend reading Tenn's "Of All Possible Worlds." If you like that, read this.
September 8, 2018
Quick read because I could skip "Child's Play," that story about the schmuck who received a Bild-a-Man kit in a package from the future, as it's been so widely anthologized before. And the very long title story, "Venus and the Seven Sexes," well, I should've skipped that. These are clever stories, but black humor, horror, and cynicism are not my favorite themes. Somehow I have a stack of Tenn on my physical shelf but I might just skip the rest.
March 21, 2022
It's an anthology, so it's kind of hit and miss.
"Child's Play" is evidently his Greatest Hit. I think this got turned into an episode of Amazing Stories, or the Twilight Zone (1980s version) ... Man gets kit to build people, man builds a copy of himself, man is mistaken for his copy and gets zapped.
"The Malted Milk Monster" definitely feels like the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life"; MMM was written 6 years after IAGL, but maybe it's a case of great minds thinking alike?
"Errand Boy" is another visit from the future, and a greedy guy ends up with nothing. (I could almost hear the "Whomp-whomp" at the end.)
"The House Dutiful" is about a house that wants to comfort its owner so much that it's willing to change people's minds and warp a good deal of the world.
"Mistress Sary" was the work of Tenn's that I had read before starting this anthology. It has a gruesome ending that I didn't bother re-reading.
"Venus and the Seven Sexes" is about a movie producer who introduces the battle of the sexes to the natives of another planet. It also makes one wonder if the aliens who abduct people, and perform medical experiments on them, are not advanced surgeons.
"Bernie the Faust" shows how to scam a scammer. It has a Twilight Zone feel to it, too.
"Child's Play" is evidently his Greatest Hit. I think this got turned into an episode of Amazing Stories, or the Twilight Zone (1980s version) ... Man gets kit to build people, man builds a copy of himself, man is mistaken for his copy and gets zapped.
"The Malted Milk Monster" definitely feels like the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life"; MMM was written 6 years after IAGL, but maybe it's a case of great minds thinking alike?
"Errand Boy" is another visit from the future, and a greedy guy ends up with nothing. (I could almost hear the "Whomp-whomp" at the end.)
"The House Dutiful" is about a house that wants to comfort its owner so much that it's willing to change people's minds and warp a good deal of the world.
"Mistress Sary" was the work of Tenn's that I had read before starting this anthology. It has a gruesome ending that I didn't bother re-reading.
"Venus and the Seven Sexes" is about a movie producer who introduces the battle of the sexes to the natives of another planet. It also makes one wonder if the aliens who abduct people, and perform medical experiments on them, are not advanced surgeons.
"Bernie the Faust" shows how to scam a scammer. It has a Twilight Zone feel to it, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2020
A belated selection for the r/Fantasy 2016 Bingo for the 'Five Fantasy Short Stories' square. Just like the previous Tenn short story collection that I read for the 2017 Bingo, this one had 8 stories (5 short, 2 novelette and 1 novella) which were a mixture of fantasy, science fantasy and science fiction with a touch of horror thrown in for one of them. Only one sexist story (from 1947). The rest have aged well. The previous collection had a story called "Wednesday's Child" which was also referred to as "Child's Play 2". This collection had "Child's Play" and now after I've just read that, it increases my appreciation of the follow-up story.
November 26, 2018
Opowiadania nie trzymają poziomu. Tytułowe opowiadanie i "Dziecinną zabawkę" przemęczyłam (1/5). Na szczęście były na początku i na koncu książki. Natomiast "Wenus" i "Usłużny dom" zrobiły mi z mózgu jajecznicę, jaką potrafi spowodować tylko sci-fi z lat sześćdizesiątych (5/5).
May 1, 2024
I was not expecting there to be as much blatant sexism as there was, otherwise I loved William Tenn’s writing style.
March 3, 2016
The titular (or nearly so) story is worth 5, 6, 7 stars. Such brilliance, weaving humor and science and the requisite and also subtle commentary.
The other stories are more of a 3-4. They are all generally quite amusing, often clever, but a good handful have one little idea that you figure out right away but have to go all the way through the story so that the drama can be executed.
The other stories are more of a 3-4. They are all generally quite amusing, often clever, but a good handful have one little idea that you figure out right away but have to go all the way through the story so that the drama can be executed.
May 13, 2011
Not as interesting as the title might lead you to believe. Two and a half stars, actually.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews