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Heechee Saga #0.5
The Merchants of Venus
A novella by Frederik Pohl featuring the first appearance of the Heechee, published in Worlds of If Science Fiction series.
This novella can be also found in the short stories collection: The Gateway Trip, the 5th book in the Heechee series.
This novella can be also found in the short stories collection: The Gateway Trip, the 5th book in the Heechee series.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
Frederik Pohl
1,110 books1,022 followersFrederik George Pohl, Jr. was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine IF winning the Hugo for IF three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 31, 2018
TEN SHORT SF NOVELS NO. 2
THE MERCHANTS OF VENUS
A guy works on Venus, taking rich types to do some amateur exploring of old Heechee tunnels. The Heechee were an alien race who came & did their thing millions of years ago & no one knows what they did or why or anything. This wasn’t the most riveting sf novel ever, being about the tourist industry, and I think you could shave away the sciency stuff and reset the whole thing in Mexico without too much trouble, and I don’t like sf stories that are kind of just ordinary blah stories only set on Planet Gleeglebox or in the year 2525; but at least this wasn’t about a war between the Pan Galactic Overlords and the dreadful Schnuggenbulbles from Dimension Z, which no one can look at without tearing their own head off. Fred Pohl was one of the great sf writers, he had a sense of humour, which I appreciate. My cats seem to have lost their sense of humour, being both middle aged now. They used to be funny, now they’re just surly. Either that or they play the “I’m just a helpless animal O human, gateway to the Palace of Food” card all the time. Which gets awful tired. I know, that has got nothing to do with The Merchants of Venus. I’m just padding out this review. But for all anyone knows cats are Heechees that figured out an easier gig than drilling endless mines on Venus.
THE MERCHANTS OF VENUS
A guy works on Venus, taking rich types to do some amateur exploring of old Heechee tunnels. The Heechee were an alien race who came & did their thing millions of years ago & no one knows what they did or why or anything. This wasn’t the most riveting sf novel ever, being about the tourist industry, and I think you could shave away the sciency stuff and reset the whole thing in Mexico without too much trouble, and I don’t like sf stories that are kind of just ordinary blah stories only set on Planet Gleeglebox or in the year 2525; but at least this wasn’t about a war between the Pan Galactic Overlords and the dreadful Schnuggenbulbles from Dimension Z, which no one can look at without tearing their own head off. Fred Pohl was one of the great sf writers, he had a sense of humour, which I appreciate. My cats seem to have lost their sense of humour, being both middle aged now. They used to be funny, now they’re just surly. Either that or they play the “I’m just a helpless animal O human, gateway to the Palace of Food” card all the time. Which gets awful tired. I know, that has got nothing to do with The Merchants of Venus. I’m just padding out this review. But for all anyone knows cats are Heechees that figured out an easier gig than drilling endless mines on Venus.
September 25, 2023
This was an interesting story and I might've liked it a bit more if it was fleshed out but it wasn't so I didn't.
3/5
3/5
July 2, 2022
A lot of old science fiction books make the science sort of incidental—a fantasy that happens to be set in space, a character study that happens to be set in another galaxy. This one is a noirish adventure story set on Venus. The writing is snappy, the narrator is likable, and it’s all entertaining enough, although the ending is incredibly anticlimactic. The audiobook narrator, whose name I can’t recall, does a good job.
July 24, 2015
Lühiromaani peategelaseks on Veenusel tegutsev aardekütt-giid, kes viib kopsaka tasu eest rikkaid turiste kohtadesse, kus võib leida kunagi ammu planeedil tegutsenud tulnukatest mahajäänud tunneleid (ja kui väga veab siis ka mingeid esemeid). Kuigi summad mis seal äris liiguvad on suured pole ka kulud sugugi väikesed ning mehel on parasjagu hädasti uut tööotsa vaja, sest tema maks kipub otsi andma (mitte joomisest vaid Veenuse keskkonna eripäradest) ning parasjagu saabubki planeedile tuntud rahatuus, kes on valmis käima välja suuri summasid kohalikule kes suudab ta juhatada seni läbiuurimata tunnelini.
Nii naljakas kui see ka pole meeldib mulle selle jutu puhul tema aeglane kulg. Pohl ei kiirusta vaid ehitab maailma, küünilis-iroonilise peategelase, kõrvaltegelased ning neile elementidele püstitatud konflikti äärmiselt põhjalikult ning läbimõeldult kokku ja tulemuseks on puhas lugemisrõõm. Ning kuigi tekst tundus aeglane ei oska ma tagantjärgi mõeldes sealt midagi ülearust esile tuua. Isegi maapinna sondeerimise kirjeldused olid huvitavad-vajalikud.
Nii naljakas kui see ka pole meeldib mulle selle jutu puhul tema aeglane kulg. Pohl ei kiirusta vaid ehitab maailma, küünilis-iroonilise peategelase, kõrvaltegelased ning neile elementidele püstitatud konflikti äärmiselt põhjalikult ning läbimõeldult kokku ja tulemuseks on puhas lugemisrõõm. Ning kuigi tekst tundus aeglane ei oska ma tagantjärgi mõeldes sealt midagi ülearust esile tuua. Isegi maapinna sondeerimise kirjeldused olid huvitavad-vajalikud.
January 12, 2023
Fun, old-school SF from 1972.
January 24, 2018
I read this novella right after Gateway and I really enjoyed it, more of the same thrilling prospecting danger. Despite the short length, it manages to flash out the characters quite well. Very enjoyable all in all. The main downside for me was the missing opportunity of some exciting exploration at the very end of the story:
August 12, 2019
The Merchants of Venus (1972) by Frederik Pohl is a clever tale set on a habited Venus where the Heechee, an alien race who were on Venus until a quarter of a million years ago have left artifacts that the humans now there sometimes find.
The economy of Venus is like a wild west, with many people getting to Venus only to find they can't afford it. The hero, a guide who takes rich people on prospecting tours, has a failing kidney. He meets an old rich man and his wife and takes them prospecting.
It's a good short story and nicely set ups the later Gateway book. It's worth a read for fans of Frederik Pohl.
The economy of Venus is like a wild west, with many people getting to Venus only to find they can't afford it. The hero, a guide who takes rich people on prospecting tours, has a failing kidney. He meets an old rich man and his wife and takes them prospecting.
It's a good short story and nicely set ups the later Gateway book. It's worth a read for fans of Frederik Pohl.
August 12, 2020
This is a novelette. Nothing particularly great. Old time Sf set on Venus. There was an alien race which scattered mysterious gadgets and tunnels, but body has seen them and nobody knows where they are.
The protagonist is a tourist agency in search of desperate cash. He finds a rich customer who he thinks will alleviate his problems. Of course things don’t go on plan.
There is some description on the atmosphere of Venus and the resulting engineering problems.
Just a short time-pass.
The protagonist is a tourist agency in search of desperate cash. He finds a rich customer who he thinks will alleviate his problems. Of course things don’t go on plan.
There is some description on the atmosphere of Venus and the resulting engineering problems.
Just a short time-pass.
July 21, 2023
Desperate people, often cruel by necessity, except the billionaire who is evil as a given and as usual, impossible health costs, cold, margin obsessed corporate logic, some glimpses of human solidarity. And to think that the United States is actually, in all these regards, much worse than in the seventies... I guess Pohl's got it all depressingly right, but it doesn't do for pleasant reading. I'm still reading Gateway and it's much the same. Well, adult reading, that's for sure.
January 2, 2020
I'm getting to this story years after having read Gateway and Beyond the Blue Event Horizon. I enjoyed this story, and it was nice to see more of the story prior to that of Robinette Broadhead in Gateway.
June 11, 2021
A neat novella that sets up the Heechee universe for the later Gateway.
July 14, 2021
4 out of 5
January 15, 2015
Not a bad read but don't set your expectations up too high. Classic SF fare with a strong dose of capitalism.
May 8, 2015
OK, but below Pohl's quality baseline.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews