Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1 [Hardcover]

William Tenn (Author), James A. Mann (Author), Mary C. Tabasko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001 | Series: The Complete Sf of William Tenn

William Tenn ranks with Pohl and Kornbluth as one of SF’s greatest satirists. This volume contains most of his short fiction (the remainder will be printed in volume two). Dustjacket art by H. R. Van Dongen.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Whether dealing with aliens ("Firewater,"), time travel ("Time in Advance") or investigating one of the many other sf themes, the 33 stories in this collection, the first of two volumes, demonstrates Tenn's vibrant talent and broad scope. An introduction by Connie Willis sets the tone, while accompanying notes by the author reveal insights into the creative mind at work. A good addition to sf and short fiction collections. [The two volumes will include all the stories that appeared in his collections published by Allentine in the 1950s and 1960s. Ed.]
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The first of two planned volumes reprints 33 pieces from one of the finest bodies of short sf and fantasy. William Tenn (ne Philip Klass) himself contributes historically valuable afterwords, but the stories, most of them satirical, stand extremely well on their own. Some standouts: "Alexander the Bait," which satirizes greed and space flight; "Down among the Dead Men," a better take on cloning than most of its subsequent rivals for 46 years; "The Liberation of Earth" and "Generation of Noah," both antiwar classics and good stories; "The Masculinist Revolt," which, well ahead of its time, concerned sex roles, better than most of the competition since; and "On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi," which avoids stereotypes while tackling religion. Another invaluable addition to NESFA's catalog of classic sf collections. Librarians, stock up. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 618 pages
• Publisher: Nesfa Pr; First Edition edition (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886778191
• ISBN-13: 978-1886778191
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #999,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A First-Rate Satirist, March 15, 2001

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Timons Esaias "timonsesaias" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1 (Hardcover)

A few years ago I searched the used book stalls and dealer's rooms and slowly assembled the complete sf works (all out of print) of William Tenn, and proceeded to read and review them. You can find these reviews on the Web. The stories were great fun, but what struck me most was that the satires had not lost their edge despite the passage of time. Why? Because Tenn addressed his satire to the underlying conflicts, which are timeless, rather than to the transitory phenomena that tend to be the focus of most humorists, satirists, and social critics. Just as important, Tenn's satirical sword usually has two edges, and will, to mix a metaphor, have gored everybody's ox before he's finished with his tale. First rate stuff. So the question I kept asking myself was: why isn't this guy's stuff in print?? Well now it is, in a handsome volume with an introduction by Connie Willis, and comments on each story by the Author himself. What's not to love?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philip the Faust, May 18, 2006

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doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1 (Hardcover)

William Tenn is often referred to as a satirist, and his "satire" is of the socially observant and subversive stripe. Tenn certainly poked and prodded at human weaknesses and political hypocrisy in his classic short stories. Meanwhile, in a fashion that reminds me of another under-appreciated sci-fi genius, Alfred Bester, Tenn also built stories around the contradictions and credibility gaps in stock sci-fi archetypes. Have you ever wondered why sci-fi aliens look human and speak English? Wouldn't aliens be so different from humans that they would find us bizarre and disgusting? When characters travel through time do they alter history, and if they do, does anyone notice? Or how could all humans possibly unite against an alien menace without breaking down into factions? In Tenn's often expertly considered and intricately plotted tales, he explored these contradictions, and constructed fascinating stories that every science fiction historian should know better.

Granted, there are some clunkers in Tenn's body of work, in which he fell into the satirist's trap of creating an improbable fictional universe which would then be used for thin statements about social problems. Some examples here include "The Masculinist Revolt" and "Venus is a Man's World," which merely switch gender domination roles to comment on sexism. Some of Tenn's non-satirical stories such as "The Ghost Standard" and "The Tenants" are held back by quaint explorations of human nature that aren't too illuminating. But these problems are rare in Tenn's repertoire. His winning satires truly bring the weaknesses of sci-fi writing, and humanity, into broad focus, and he was amazingly ahead of his time in some of his political explorations. (Most of the stories here were written for the golden age mags in the 40s and 50s.)

The look at human cruelty and celebrity is truly astonishing in this collection's most insightful story, "Time in Advance," in which criminals have the option to serve their time before committing the crime. Other winning stories explore how humanity doesn't have the inherent strengths to reach for the stars or rise above infighting – including the outstanding "Alexander the Bait," "The Servant Problem," "Project Hush," and several others. Meanwhile, Tenn comes up with absolutely fascinating subversions of sci-fi archetypes, like time travel in "Winthrop Was Stubborn" and "Lisbon Cubed," and the troublesome relations between closed-minded humans and extremely non-human aliens in "The Flat-Eyed Monster," "Venus and the Seven Sexes," and "The Last Bounce," among others. The contrarian and thought-provoking nature of Tenn's works may explain why he's not better known to modern sci-fi fans. Deep-thinking readers can consider the injustice of that while wrapping their minds around Tenn's very sharp and pointed works. [~doomsdayer520~]

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sheer Joy, March 24, 2002

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H. Josson "bobby j" (UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1 (Hardcover)

I brought a second hand copy of this collection and i regret it. It should have been brand new and in hardback- it's that good. And the money would have gone to the author, for he surely deserves it. I'd never read any of his stuff before, only Bradbury, Dick, Wells Sheckley, Asimov, Bester and Knight. Having finished it, i'd have to place him up their among the legends of sf.
This collection is worth it, if only for one story. But their are many that belong among the all time great masterpieces of the short story; 'The Liberation of Earth'- about an devastating future war in which mankind can be no more than a witness to ir's own extinction, 'Down Among the Dead Men'- zombies reconstituted from the remains of the dead help out the human troops on the front againsts an insect race in a interstellar war, 'The Tenants'- a subtle and fragile fantasy, 'The Sevant Problem'- an astounding and frighteningly funny tale of power manipulation among tha powerful elite of a totalitarin society top strata, 'Time in Advance' has criminals do time for commiting the crime, seven years in this case for murder, who find themselves in demand by people who'd like them to snub out somebody for them and held in fear by those that've wronged them int he past. Other classics include the famous 'Brooklyn Project', the horrorifying 'Wednesday's Child' ( a supperior sequel to the much anthologised 'Child's Play'). Others to note are 'The Generation of Noah''Winthrop was Stubborn' , 'Null-P'and his personal favourite 'The Custodian'. 'Lisborn Cubed' may remind some of the film 'Men in Black' but is vastly more rewarding. A master craftmans, most of his stories seem to have been painstakling put together and the general opinion is of a humanitarian (he almost always sides with the underdog or minorities) taking a aceberic look at the sheer blinding egotistical hyprocrisy of human kind. A blissful way to be entertained. It's companion volume is also a must.