Author:	Philip Jose Farmer
Copyright:	1974
Date Reviewed:	5/16/84
Rating:	7.5

Synopsis: Venus on the Half-Shell is a humorous novel supposedly written by Kilgore Trout. Actually, Kilgore Trout is a character from several of Kurt Vonnegut's novels. This novel was really written by Philip Jose Farmer. The hero of the story is Simon Wagstaff, the Space Wanderer. After Earth is "cleaned" by aliens, Simon takes off in a space ship with two companions, a dog and an owl, to explore the universe. His goal is to find the answer to the question "Why are we created only to suffer and die". Simon meets up with a beautiful female robot who has just found self awareness. Through his travels, Simon meets many unusual societies; one of which gives him immortality during a sexual experience.

Review: Venus on the Half-Shell is a funny novel although not exceptionally so. In many ways it is like another novel, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe", by Douglas Adams. Of course VOTHS can't be blamed here since it was written before THHGTTU. It is a fast moving book and the aliens that the Space Wanderer meets are interesting, especially the ones that resemble automobile tires.