A rare and witty sci-fi satire

The author of Monroe St. Press' latest release is best known as the founder of the Jane's series of reference books on warships and  aircraft. But Fred T. Jane was also known during his lifetime (1865-1916) as a fiction author and illustrator in his own right. 

To Venus in Five Seconds: An Account of the Strange Disappearance of Thomas Plummer, Pillmaker (1897) pokes fun at the conventions of what was then known as "scientific romance", such as lost/hidden worlds, Egyptology, super-intelligent aliens, impossibly handsome Anglo-Saxon heroes, etc. 

The title itself parodies the full title of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, Direct Course in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes.  It recounts the improbable adventure of a young medical student with (as the reader is repeatedly reminded) a "splendid physique" but not so splendid intellect, who finds himself transported to Venus by a mysterious "lady doctor". 

In his quest to return to Earth, our hero faces multiple obstacles such as blinding sunlight, giant bug-like creatures, humanoid vivisectionists bent on capturing him for ghastly medical experiments, and tedious scientific discourses.  

Venus was one of several speculative fiction works that Jane wrote and illustrated. His other works include Blake of the "Rattlesnake" (1895), a future submarine war adventure; The Incubated Girl (1896), in which a young woman is hatched from an egg found in an ancient Egyptian tomb; and The Violet Flame (1899), an end-of-the-world tale. 

Contemporary works that Jane illustrated include George Griffith's Angel of the Revolution (1893) and Olga Romanoff/The Syren of the Skies (1894). His interest in and talent for drawing ships eventually prompted him to publish All the World's Fighting Ships (1898), the first in what would become an annual series of  guidebooks to naval vessels and military aircraft. 

To Venus in Five Seconds is now available at Amazon for $5.99.