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Infinite Jests: The Lighter Side of Science Fiction
This anthology contains: Oh, to be a Blobel - a novelette by Philip K. Dick; Venus and the Seven Sexes - a novella by William Tenn; Babel II - a novelette by Damon Knight; Useful Phrases for the Tourist by Joanna Russ; Conversational Mode by Grahame Leman; Heresies of the Huge God by Brian W. Aldiss; Now + n, Now - n - a novelette by Robert Silverberg; Slow Tuesday Night by R. A. Lafferty; Help, I am Dr Morris Goldpepper by Avram Davidson; Hobson's Choice by Alfred Bester; and I Plinglot, Who You? - a novelette by Frederik Pohl.
231 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
48 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
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Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 25, 2013
This was a very funny collection of amusing science fiction stories. Good humor is sometimes hard to find in the field, but this book includes classics from Tenn, Lafferty, Bester, Silverberg himself, etc. I still remember reading "Useful Phrases For the Tourist" by Joanna Russ when it first appeared in Carr's UNIVERSE in 1972 and laughing non-stop like a loon for the best part of an hour.
April 7, 2020
A mixed bag, at least for me. There were some great stories and some others than kind of fell flat for me. Humor is relative.
September 9, 2008
Not usually ha-ha funny so much as absurd, but these stories are all unusual and interesting. The best is probably "Venus and the Seven Sexes" by William Tenn, a really terrific and hilarious story about contact between some of the sleaziest humans imaginable with a race of trusting creatures that have somehow evolved to intelligence despite the hordes of predators constantly pursuing them. Really not a bad one in the bunch, but other highlights are "Babel II" by Damon Knight and "[Now + n], [Now - n]" by Robert Silverberg.
August 19, 2024
11 stories:
*** Venus and the Seven Sexes (1949) • William Tenn
** Babel II (1953) • Damon Knight
**** Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972) • Joanna Russ
*** Conversational Mode (1972) • Grahame Leman
*** Heresies of the Huge God (1966) • Brian W. Aldiss
**** {Now + n, Now - n} (1972) • Robert Silverberg
**** Slow Tuesday Night (1965) • R. A. Lafferty
** Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper (1957) • Avram Davidson
**** Oh, to Be a Blobel! (1964) • Philip K. Dick
**** Hobson's Choice (1952) • Alfred Bester
*** I Plinglot, Who You? (1959) • Frederik Pohl
*** Venus and the Seven Sexes (1949) • William Tenn
** Babel II (1953) • Damon Knight
**** Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972) • Joanna Russ
*** Conversational Mode (1972) • Grahame Leman
*** Heresies of the Huge God (1966) • Brian W. Aldiss
**** {Now + n, Now - n} (1972) • Robert Silverberg
**** Slow Tuesday Night (1965) • R. A. Lafferty
** Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper (1957) • Avram Davidson
**** Oh, to Be a Blobel! (1964) • Philip K. Dick
**** Hobson's Choice (1952) • Alfred Bester
*** I Plinglot, Who You? (1959) • Frederik Pohl
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews