Written as by Kilgore
Trout
(pseudonym / fictional author).
See this
webpage with Farmer's story about Kilgore Trout.
Slightly expanded from the magazine version "Venus on the
Half-Shell".
Farmer introduces another fictional
author, Jonathan Swift
Somers III,
and his works about Ralph
von Wau Wau.
DEDICATION: "Dedicated to the beasts and the stars. They don't worry
about free will and immortality."
COVER
TEXT:
WARNING: At the end of this book you will find the Definitive Answer to
the Ultimate Question.
Simon Wagstaff is the Space Wanderer, a seeker of truth and electric
banjo player who narrowly escapes the Deluge that destroys Earth when
he happens upon an abandoned Chinese spaceship, the Hwang Ho. A man
without a planet, he gains immortality from an elixer drunk during a
sexual interlude with a cat-like alien queen in heat. Now, with his pet
owl, his dog Anubis and a sexy robot companion, Simon charts a
3,000-year course to the most distant corners of a multiverse full of
surprises to seek out the answers to the questions no one can seem to
answer.
(Bantam Spectra)
FIRST PUBLICATION
New York, NY: Dell
# 6149
SBN 440-06149-095
paperback (18×11cm)
02/1975 (1st)
02/1975 (1st) [Canadian printing]
03/1975 (2nd)
04/1975 (3rd)
11/1975 (4th)
01/1976 (5th)
204
$ 0.95
Gadino
The Canadian printing is excatly the same as the first US printing, it
only states 'Printed in Canada' on the copyright page.
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Dates
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell
# 6149
SBN 440-06149-125
paperback (18×11cm)
04/1976 (6th)
11/1976 (7th)
204
$ 1.25
Gadino
-
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Dates
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell
# 16149
ISBN
0-440-16149-5
paperback (18×11cm)
04/1977 (8th)
01/1978 (9th)
204
$ 1.25
Gadino
-
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell
SF, # 16149
ISBN
0-440-16149-5
paperback (18×11cm)
11/1978 (10th)
204
$ 1.75
Gadino
-
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell / Laurel
SF, # 36149
ISBN
0-440-36149-4
paperback (18×11cm)
01/1980 (1st)
204
$ 1.75
Gadino
According to the book this is the first Laurel printing.
Actually it is the eleventh Dell printing.
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell / Laurel
SF, # 36149
ISBN
0-440-36149-4
paperback (17,5×11cm)
05/1981 (2nd)
204
$ 1.95
Gadino
According to the book this is the second Laurel printing. Actually this
is the twelfth Dell printing.
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Dates
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell
SF, # 16149
ISBN 0-440-16149-5
paperback (17×11cm)
12/1983 (3rd)
05/1984 (4th)
204
$ 2.95
Gadino
According to the books these are the third and fourth printings.
Actually these are the thirteenth and fourteenth Dell printings.
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Dell
SF, # 16149
ISBN 0-440-16149-5
paperback (17×11cm)
not dated [= -/1987] (5th)
204
$ 3.50
Gadino
According to the book –in a row of numbers– this is
the fifth printing. Actually this is the fifteenth Dell printing.
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
New York, NY: Bantam Spectra
Science Fiction
ISBN 0-553-27531-3
paperback (17,5×10,5cm)
09/1988
178
$ 3.95
Enric
Published under
Farmer's own name. With a special introduction, "Why and How I
Became Kilgore Trout", by
Farmer.
Enric
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
Cutchogue, NY: Buccaneer Books
-
ISBN 0-89968-306-1
hardcover [no dustjacket] (22,5×14,5cm)
not dated [= 10/1996]
204
$ 27.95
-
First hardcover. Grey cloth, with red gilt lettering and picture on the
cover and silver lettering on the spine. Intended for libraries.
-
Collection
Edited by
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Dates
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
In Venus on the Half-Shell and Others
Christopher Paul Carey
Burton, MI: Subterranean Press
-
ISBN 978-1-59606-142-2
hardcover (23,5×16cm)
01/2008 [Trade edition]
03/2008 [Numbered, signed, slipcased edition]
325
$ 38.00 | $ 125.00
Bob Eggleton
With a special introduction, "Why and How I Became
Kilgore Trout", by Farmer. And with an introduction to the
novel by Christopher Paul Carey.
Bob
Eggleton
Collection
Edited by
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
In Venus on the Half-Shell and Others
Christopher Paul Carey
Burton, MI: Subterranean Press
-
ISBN 978-1-59606-142-2
hardcover (23,5×16cm)
10/2008 [Lettered, signed, traycased edition]
340
$ 300.00
Bob Eggleton
With a special introduction, "Why and How I Became
Kilgore Trout", by Farmer. And with an introduction to the
novel by Christopher Paul Carey.
Bob
Eggleton
UK
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
London: W.H. Allen / Star Books
-
ISBN 0-352-39846-9
paperback (18×11cm)
05/1976
207
£ 0.50
Gadino
-
Gadino
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
London: Granada / Panther Books
Science Fiction
ISBN
0-586-05454-5
paperback (18×11cm)
10/1982
207
£ 1.50
Gareth Williams
-
Gareth
Williams
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Cover art
Notes
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
French: Le
privé du cosmos
Paris: J.-C. Lattès
(Science-Fiction 13)
no ISBN
trade paperback (21,5×13,5cm)
01/1977
251
-
Iawa Tate
Lionel Charpy
-
Lionel
Charpy
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
French: Le
privé du cosmos
Paris: J.-C.Lattès
Titres SF 10
no ISBN
paperback (18×11cm)
06/1979
249
-
Iawa Tate
Jean-Michel Nicollet
-
Jean-Michel
Nicollet
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
French: Le
privé du cosmos
Paris: Presses Pocket
Science-Fiction No. 5291
ISBN 2-266-02193-1
paperback (18×11cm)
06/1988
249
not priced
Iawa Tate
Wojtek Siudmak
Published under Farmer's own name. With an introduction
by
Farmer.
Wojtek
Siudmak
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
French: Le
privé du cosmos
Paris: Presses Pocket
Science-Fiction No. 5291
ISBN 2-266-04186-X
paperback (18×11cm)
03/1992
249
not priced
Iawa Tate
Wojtek Siudmak I doubt it
very much if
this edition has been published. Maybe it was only announced for
publication, but it is nowhere to be found. There are a few online
pages with information (for instance NooSFere) but no actual information or
cover. The book is nowhere for sale, I searched many years for it.
Added as Ghost edition.
GERMANY
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
German: Geburt
der Venus
München: Knaur
Science Fiction, Band 5784
ISBN 3-426-05784-0
paperback (18×11,5cm)
10/1984
206
DM 6,80
Joachim Körber
Wojtek Siudmak
-
Wojtek
Siudmak
ITALY
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Italian: Venere
sulla conchiglia
Milan: Mondadori
Urania 693
no ISBN
paperback (19×13cm)
03/1976
152
L 600
Angela Campana
Karel Thole
-
Karel
Thole
Title
Omnibus
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Italian: Lo spaziale
errante
in 10 Chiavi per lo spazio
Milan: Mondadori
-
no ISBN
hardcover [no dustjacket] (22×14,5cm)
04/1979
518
L 7.500
Angela Campana
Karel Thole
Omnibus, with stories or novels by Jerome Bixby, Murray Leinster,
Edmond Hamilton, Joanna Russ and several others.
Karel
Thole
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Italian: Venere
sulla conchiglia
Milan: Mondadori
Classici Urania 87
no ISBN
paperback (18,5×11cm)
06/1984
188
L 3.000
Angela Campana
Karel Thole
Published under Farmer's own name.
Karel
Thole
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Italian: Venere
sulla conchiglia
Milan: Mondadori
Urania Collezione 015
no ISBN
paperback (18×13cm)
04/2004
258
€ 4,90
Angela Campana
Franco Brambilla
Published under Farmer's own name. With an introduction
by Valerio Evangelisti, an introduction
by Farmer, and an article
about Farmer by Riccardo Valla.
Franco
Brambilla
JAPAN
Title
Latin
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Japanese: 貝殻の上のヴィーナス Kaigara no Ue no Venus
Tokyo: Hayakawa
SF 385
ISBN 4-15-010385-2
paperback (16×11cm)
04/1980
289
¥ 340
Hitoshi Yasuda
Gadino
Published as by Kilgore Trout.
Gadino
ROMANIA
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Romanian: Venus
ieşind din valuri
Bucharest: Nemira
Nautilus #107
ISBN 973-9301-13-4
trade paperback (20×12,5cm)
09/1997
222
not priced
Niculita Damaschin
Dragos Gheorghiu
Published under Farmer's own name. With an introduction
by Farmer.
Dragos
Gheorghiu
SPAIN
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Spanish: Venus en la
concha
Madrid: Francisco Arellano
Colección Delirio
ISBN 84-85145-02-X
trade paperback (19×13,5cm)
-/1977
191
not priced
Jesús Gómez García
Francisco Arellano
Published as by Kilgore Trout / Philip José Farmer.
Francisco
Arellano
Title
Collection
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Spanish: Venus en la
concha
in Ciencia
ficción
selección 31
Barcelona: Bruguera
Libro Amigo 523
ISBN 84-02-05218-5
paperback (17,5×10,5cm)
07/1977
191
Ps 100
José Manuel Pomares & Homero Alsina
Jorge Sánchez
Including the story "Skinburn"
and the poem "The
Pterodactyl". With a foreword by Carlo Frabetti.
Jorge
Sánchez
SWEDEN
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Swedish: Stjärnsnäckan
Stockholm: Delta
Science fiction (#33)
ISBN 91-7228-080-8
trade paperback (20×13,5cm)
-/1975
250
not priced [= SEK 39.00]
Gunnar Gällmo
Gadino
Published as by Kilgore Trout.
Gadino
TURKEY
Title
Publisher
Series+no.
Bookno.
Format
Date
Pages
Price
Translation
Cover art
Notes
Turkish: İstiridye
Kabuğundaki
Venüs
Istanbul: Ithaki Yayinlari
Bilimkurgu - 45
ISBN 975-8725-27-0
paperback (18×11cm)
-/2003
285
not priced
Sönmez Güven
uncredited [= Hajime Sorayama]
Published under Farmer's own name. With an introduction
by Dr. Sönmez Güven.
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")
 "click to enlarge")