Venus on the Half-Shell
By Philip José FarmerPublisher Description
Disaster sends a man across the universe in search of answers to life’s big questions in this humorous classic adventure by a Science Fiction Grand Master.
When a massive flood wipes out Earth and spoils his date, lone survivor Simon Wagstaff finds refuge in an abandoned Chinese spaceship, the Hwang Ho. Accompanied by three new companions—a dog, an owl, and a beautiful robot—and his electric banjo, Wagstaff sets off on an extraterrestrial adventure. He travels from planet to planet, seeking the definitive answer to the ultimate question: Why are we created if only to suffer and die?
Of course, after he drinks an elixir granting him eternal life, the real question is what to do for the rest of eternity after he answers his first question . . .
“Lively and inventive and goes by faster than a holiday weekend.” —The Washington Post
“A comedy of sexual mores, an investigative search for Love, a lampoon of people who require answers to imponderable questions.” —Science Fiction Review
“Not only a science-fiction epic of the most incredible proportions, but it is also a satiric-fantasy, a clever parody of its own genre.” —The Daily Eastern NewsDownload the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5 Reviews
kevin burns
Created about 2 years agoBookCrazyLady45
Created over 8 years agoRichard Gombert
Created over 10 years agoDenise Thomas
Created over 11 years agoPhil Gonzales
Created over 11 years agoAbout Philip José Farmer
His first published novella, “The Lovers” (1952), earned him the Hugo Award for best new author. He won a second Hugo and was nominated for the Nebula Award for the 1967 novella “Riders of the Purple Wage,” a prophetic literary satire about a futuristic, cradle-to-grave welfare state. His best-known works include the Riverworld books, the World of Tiers series, the Dayworld Trilogy, and literary pastiches of such fictional pulp characters as Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes. He was one of the first writers to take these characters and their origin stories and mold them into wholly new works. His short fiction is also highly regarded.
In 2001, Farmer won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and was named Grand Master by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.
Other books by Philip José Farmer
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?