Venture science fiction.., p.1
Venture Science Fiction: The Complete Fiction, page 1
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Venture
Science Fiction
The Complete Fiction
About Venture Science Fiction Cover Gallery
January 1957
Virgin Planet - Poul Anderson
A Man of the World - Les Cole
A Woman of the World - Rose Sharon
The Dust of Death - Isaac Asimov
Hero at Work - John Jakes
Oh Father of Mine - Charles Beaumont
The Girl Had Guts - Theodore Sturgeon
March 1957
Too Soon to Die - Tom Godwin
The Lady Was a Tramp - Rose Sharon
Friend for Life - Gordon R. Dickson
The Queer Ones - Leigh Brackett
Blind Alley - Charles L. Fontenay
Vengeance for Nikolai - Walter M. Miller, Jr.
May 1957
Space is a Lonely Place - James E. Gunn
The Corpse in Your Bed is Me - Walter M. Miller, Jr. and Lincoln Boone
Night Sky of Venus - Erik Fennel
Cold Victory - Poul Anderson
Bird of Prey - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Affair with a Green Monkey - Theodore Sturgeon
July 1957
Not So Great an Enemy - James E. Gunn
And Then She Found Him . . . - Paul Janvier
Aces Loaded - Theodore R. Cogswell
The Keeper - H. Beam Piper
The Education of Tigress Macardle - C.M. Kornbluth
Seat of Judgement - Lester del Rey
The Harvest - Tom Godwin
September 1957
The Nevada Virus - F.L. Wallace
A Bit for Mrs Halloran - Jim Harmon
For the Duration - Poul Anderson
The Winds of Siros - Robert Silverberg
Executioner No. 43 - Rog Phillips
Snafu on the New Taos - Mack Reynolds
Before the Talent Dies - Henry Slesar
Written in the Stars - Robert F. Young
Now Let Us Sleep - Avram Davidson
November 1957
It Opens the Sky - Theodore Sturgeon
jury-rig - Avram Davidson
Featherbed on Chlyntha - Miriam Allen deFord
I’m in Marsport Without Hilda - Isaac Asimov
No Earthman I - Edmond Hamilton
All the Colors of the Rainbow - Leigh Brackett
January 1958
Falling Torch - Algis Budrys
Robots Should Be Seen - Lester del Rey
Skin Game - James E. Gunn
The End of Winter - William Scarff
New Moon - Doug Morrissey
The Meddler - John Novotny
The Enemy - Damon Knight
March 1958
The Edge of the Sea - Algis Budrys
The Tall Psychiatrist - Dick Hetschel
Eve and the Twenty-Three Adams - Robert Silverberg
There Ain’t No Other Roads - Robert Marner
Intruder - Don Berry
Virginia - C.M. Kornbluth
The Game of Glory - Poul Anderson
May 1958
The Dark Backward - Edmond Hamilton
Cosmic Casanova - Arthur C. Clarke
Ground Leave Incident - Rog Phillips
Fleegl of Fleegl - Gordon R. Dickson
A World Named Mary - Robert Marner
Buy Jupiter! - Isaac Asimov
The Comedian’s Children - Theodore Sturgeon
July 1958
Two Dooms - C.M. Kornbluth
Contact Between Equals - Albert Stroud
The Biggest Damn Martini in the Universe - John Novotny
The Money Tree - Clifford D. Simak
Lady of Space - Lester del Rey
May 1969
Hour of the Horde - Gordon R. Dickson
July 24, 1970 - K.M. O’Donnell
The New Science - Don Thompson
Troubling of a Star - Bryce Walton
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXIX - Grendel Briarton
The Topic for the Evening - Daphne Castell
Nine P.M., Pacific Daylight Time - Ronald S. Bonn
Hold Your Fire! - Larry Eisenberg
August 1969
The League of Grey-Eyed Women - Julius Fast
With Ah! Bright Wings - Edward Wellen
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXX - Grendel Briarton
Dragon in the Land - Dean R. Koontz
Project Amnion - Larry Eisenberg
Pithecanthropus Astralis - Robert F. Young
November 1969
Plague Ship - Harry Harrison
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXI - Grendel Briarton
In Alien Waters - Richard E. Peck
I.Q. Soup - Larry Eisenberg
Basic - Christopher Anvil
Escape Velocity - Robin Scott
The Snows Are Melted, The Snows Are Gone - James Tiptree, Jr.
February 1970
The Star Treasure - Keith Laumer
Breaking Point - Vonda N. McIntyre
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: L94II - Grendel Briarton
Disposal - Ron Goulart
Standoff - Robert E. Toomey, Jr.
May 1970
Hijack - Edward Wellen
The Evergreen Library - Bill Pronzini and Jeffrey Wallmann
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXIII - Grendel Briarton
The Big Fight - C.G. Cobb
The Scarred Man - Gregory Benford
August 1970
Beastchild - Dean R. Koontz
Survival Course - J.W. Schutz
The Orgy - Larry Eisenberg
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: L106IV - Grendel Briarton
How We Won the Monodyne - Joseph Renard
prosthete - Basil Wells
Venture Science Fiction was a digest-size science fiction magazine, first published from 1957 to 1958, and revived for a brief run in 1969 and 1970. It was founded in both instances as a companion to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
The original version was only moderately successful, although it is remembered for the first publication of “Sturgeon’s Law” (an adage stating “ninety percent of everything is crap.”). The publisher, Joseph Ferman, declared that he wanted well-told stories of action and adventure; the resulting fiction contained more sex and violence than was usual for the science fiction genre in the late 1950s. It succumbed to poor sales within less than two years. The second version was no more successful, with less attractive cover art and little in the way of notable fiction. By the end of 1970, Venture Science Fiction had ceased publication permanently.
In late 1949, publisher Lawrence E. Spivak launched The Magazine of Fantasy, one of many new titles in a crowded field of genre magazines. The title was changed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction with the second issue, and the new magazine rapidly became successful and influential within the science fiction field. The editors were Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas, and the managing editor was Robert P. Mills. In 1954, Joseph Ferman, a partner of Spivak’s, bought the magazine from him. Ferman subsequently decided to launch a companion magazine, and gave it to Mills to edit.
The new magazine was titled Venture Science Fiction, and the first issue was dated January 1957. The editorial philosophy was laid out by Ferman in the inaugural issue: “. . . strong stories of action and adventure . . .” Ferman hoped to take advantage of a gap in the science fiction magazine market opened up by the demise of Planet Stories, one of the last sf pulps, which had ceased publication in late 1955. Planet Stories had focused on adventure stories, as opposed to the realistic style becoming more popular in science fiction in the 1950s, and Ferman hoped to combine the virtues of the melodramatic pulp fiction style with the literary values that were key to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction’s success. Venture Science Fiction’s bias towards action-oriented adventure led to stories with relatively more sex and violence than those in competing magazines.
Venture Science Fiction kept to a steady bimonthly schedule for ten issues, but its circulation never reached a sustainable level, and it was canceled in mid-1958. The large number of competing magazines probably hurt sales, though since many of the competitors lasted for only one or two issues, Venture Science Fiction can be thought of as at least a partial success.
A little over ten years after the first edition ceased, a new version appeared, again as a companion to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. This time the magazine was quarterly. The debut issue was dated May 1969, and it was edited by Edward L. Ferman—the son of Joseph Ferman—who was also the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. There was no statement of editorial intent for this version, but the policy was straightforward: a novel was presented in each issue. Although these were substantially cut, they still took up most of the magazine, with the result that the other stories tended to be very short. As in the first incarnation, the contents were of fairly good quality, with contributions from well-known writers. However, the magazine was no more successful than before, and lasted for only six quarterly issues; the last issue was August 1970.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Robert P. M ills
Editor (January 1957–July 1958)
John A. West
Assistant Editor (January 1957)
Gloria Levitas
Assistant Editor (March 1957)
Managing Editor (May–November 1957)
Norma Levine
Editorial Assistant (May 1957–July 1958)
Edward L. Ferman
Editor (May 1969–August 1970)
Evan Phillips
Associate Editor (May 1969–August 1970)
Andrew Porter
Assistant Editor (February–August 1970)
LIST OF STORIES BY AUTHOR
A
Anderson, Poul
Virgin Planet, January 1957
Cold Victory, May 1957
For the Duration, September 1957
The Game of Glory, March 1958
Anvil, Christopher
Basic, November 1969
Asimov, Isaac
The Dust of Death, January 1957
I’m in Marsport Without Hilda, November 1957
Buy Jupiter!, May 1958
B
Beaumont, Charles
Oh Father of Mine, January 1957
Benford, Gregory
The Scarred Man, May 1970
Berry, Don
Intruder, March 1958
Bonn, Ronald S.
Nine P.M., Pacific Daylight Time, May 1969
Boone, Lincoln
The Corpse in Your Bed is Me, May 1957
Brackett, Leigh
The Queer Ones, March 1957
All the Colors of the Rainbow, November 1957
Bradley, Marion Zimmer
Bird of Prey, May 1957
Briarton, Grendel
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXIX, May 1969
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXX, August 1969
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXI, November 1969
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXII, February 1970
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXIII, May 1970
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot: LXXIV, August 1970
Budrys, Algis
Falling Torch, January 1958
The Edge of the Sea, March 1958
C
Castell, Daphne
The Topic for the Evening, May 1969
Clarke, Arthur
Cosmic Casanova, May 1958
Cobb, C.G.
The Big Fight, May 1970
Cogswell, Theodore R.
Aces Loaded, July 1957
Cole, Les
A Man of the World, January 1957
D
Davidson, Avram
Now Let Us Sleep, September 1957
jury-rig, November 1957
deFord, Miriam
Featherbed on Chlyntha, November 1957
del rey, Lester
Seat of Judgement, July 1957
Robots Should Be Seen, January 1958
Lady of Space, July 1958
Dickson, Gordon R.
Friend for Life, March 1957
Fleegl of Fleegl, May 1958
Hour of the Horde, May 1969
E
Eisenberg, Larry
Hold Your Fire!, May 1969
Project Amnion, August 1969
I.Q. Soup, November 1969
The Orgy, August 1970
F
Fast, Julius
The League of Grey-Eyed Women, August 1969
Fennel, Erik
Night Sky of Venus, May 1957
Fontenay, Charles L.
Blind Alley, March 1957
G
Godwin, Tom
Too Soon to Die, March 1957
The Harvest, July 1957
Goulart, Ron
Disposal, February 1970
Gunn, James E.
Space is a Lonely Place, May 1957
Not So Great an Enemy, July 1957
Skin Game, January 1958
H
Hamilton, Edmond
No Earthman I, November 1957
The Dark Backward, May 1958
Harmon, Jim
A Bit for Mrs Halloran, September 1957
Harrison, Harry
Plague Ship, November 1969
Hetschel, Dick
The Tall Psychiatrist, March 1958
J
Jakes, John
Hero at Work, January 1957
Janvier, Paul
And Then She Found Him . . ., July 1957
K
Knight, Damon
The Enemy, January 1958
Koontz, Dean R.
Dragon in the Land, August 1969
Beastchild, August 1970
Kornbluth, C.M.
The Education of Tigress Macardle, July 1957
Virginia, March 1958
Two Dooms, July 1958
L
Laumer, Keith
The Star Treasure, February 1970
M
Marner, Robert
There Ain’t No Other Roads, March 1958
A World Named Mary, May 1958
McIntyre, Vonda M.
Breaking Point, February 1970
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
Vengeance for Nikolai, March 1957
The Corpse in Your Bed is Me, May 1957
Morrissey, Doug
New Moon, January 1958
N
Novotny, John
The Meddler, January 1958
The Biggest Damn Martini in the Universe, July 1958
O
O’Donnell, K.M.
July 24, 1970, May 1969
P
Peck, Richard E.
In Alien Waters, November 1969
Phillips, Rog
Executioner No. 43, September 1957
Ground Leave Incident, May 1958
Piper, H. Beam
The Keeper, July 1957
Pronzini, Bill
The Evergreen Library, May 1970
R
Renard, Joseph
How We Won the Monodyne, August 1970
Reynolds, Mack
Snafu on the New Taos, September 1957
S
Scott, Robin
Escape Velocity, November 1969
Sharon, Rose
The End of Winter, January 1958
Sharon, Rose
A Woman of the World, January 1957
The Lady Was a Tramp, March 1957
Shutz, J.W.
Survival Course, August 1970
Silverberg, Robert
The Winds of Siros, September 1957
Eve and the Twenty-Three Adams, March 1958
Simak, Clifford D.
The Money Tree, July 1958
Slesar, Henry
Before the Talent Dies, September 1957
Stroud, Albert
Contact Between Equals, July 1958
Sturgeon, Theodore
The Girl Had Guts, January 1957
Affair with a Green Monkey, May 1957
It Opens the Sky, November 1957
The Comedian’s Children, May 1958
T
Thompson, Don
The New Science, May 1969
Tiptree, Jr., James
The Snows Are Melted, The Snows Are Gone, November 1969
Toomey, Jr., Robert E.
Standoff, February 1970
W
Wallace, F.L.
The Nevada Virus, September 1957
Wallmann, Jeffrey
The Evergreen Library, May 1970
Walton, Bryce
Troubling of a Star, May 1969
Wellen, Edward
With Ah! Bright Wings, August 1969
Hijack, May 1970
Wells, Basil
prosthete, August 1970
Y
Young, Robert F.
Written in the Stars, September 1957
Pithecanthropus Astralis, August 1969
January 1957
Virgin Planet
Poul Anderson
A planet of girls could be any young man’s dreamworld. But a government of girls, a lusty fighting army of girls, a swaggering roistering navy of girls . . . it’s no place for a man, even when the girls are beautiful as Barbara and Valeria
CORPORAL Maiden Barbara Whitley of Freetoon, hereditary huntress, wing leader of the crossbow cavalry, and novice in the Mysteries, halted her orsper and peered through a screen of brush. Breath sucked sharply between her teeth.
From this edge of the forest, the Ridge mountains rolled away in a green blaze of grass to the wide floor of the Holy River valley. Tall white clouds walked in a windy sky. With midsummer approaching, both suns were visible. Ay was a spark so bright it hurt the eyes, following the great golden fireball of Bee down toward the western horizon. Minos was waxing, huge and banded, in its eternal station a little south of the zenith. The moon Ariadne was a pale half-disc. The other moons had not yet risen, or were drowned by daylight, but the six hours of night to come would be bright.
