Saturday, November 17, 2012

Isaac Asimov's "Playboy and the Slime God" aka "What Is This Thing Called Love?" (short story, parody)

One of the illustrations by Summers accompany the short story Playboy and the Slime God by Isaac Asimov in Great Science Fiction from Amazing, #1. Image shows the alien coaxing the woman it has kidnapped into removing her cloths.
Skip it if the discussion of sex embarrasses you.

The moment I read the first line, I knew I'd read the story before. But it's been some years, so I read it again. And wasn't disappointed.

This is a hilarious parody of bug-eyed monsters from outer spaces coming to earth to kidnap girls to satisfy their sexual urges. Plus there is a ... sort of critique of Playboy magazine.

Story summary.

Slimy alien scientist from far off part of galaxy kidnaps a man & a woman to demonstrate to his boss that earth is a major danger to galaxy & must be destroyed. Danger because its creatures don't "bud" singly to produce the young as is the norm everywhere, but reproduce by combining genes from two separate individuals, thus significantly accelerating the evolution. Only problem is: his knowledge of human reproduction & anatomy is limited to Playboy magazine & bug-eyed monster kind of sf literature.

Hilarity ensues as the two aliens coax the man & the woman to couple & produce a child...

Notes.

From editor's introduction to this story in "Great Science Fiction from Amazing", #1:

'Several months ago a magazine named Playboy, which concentrates editorially on girls, books, girls, art, music, fashion, girls & girls, published an article about old-time science-fiction. Called "Girls for the Slime God," it was illustrated with synthetic covers of non-existent sf magazines, each replete with bug-eyed monster, mad scientist, & partially naked, nubile girl.'

'We commissioned one of sf's most sex-appealing writers to create a story especially for the insatiable Playboy, & to prove to him that sf has not forgotten that S-X is the most important thing in the Universe.'

Fact sheet.

First published: Amazing Stories, March 1961.
Rating: A.
Related: Stories of Isaac Asimov.

0 comments: