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"The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" is a science fiction novelette by Roger Zelazny. Originally published in the March 1965 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', it won the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. It was also nominated for, but did not win, the 1966 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction. Writing in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', John Clute found that Zelazny's story "intoxicatingly dashes together myth and literary assonances—in this case Herman Melville's ''Moby-Dick''—and sex". Gardner Dozois opined that "Doors of His Face" was inspired by "a loving nostalgia for the era of the pulp adventure story that was then widely supposed to be ending". In the introduction to the novelette in ''Nebula Award Stories 1965'', editor Damon Knight noted that not only did the story receive more votes than the other nominees in its category, but that it received more votes than all of the others combined. ==Plot summary== The story is set on Venus at a time when mankind has achieved routine travel to the various planets of the solar system. Unlike the actual planet, Zelazny's Venus is Earth-like, offering breathable air, water-filled oceans and native fauna. One of the native fauna is the fictional ''Icthysaurus elasmognathus'', a 300-foot-long denizen of the Venusian oceans commonly called "Ikky". It has never been caught, despite numerous attempts to do so. The story's two main protagonists are Jean Luharich and Carlton Davits. Luharich is a successful businesswoman and media celebrity who is financing, and commanding, an expedition to capture an Ikky. Davits is a work-for-hire seaman who has been on the crew of several earlier attempts. Indeed, Davits was injured in an attempt that nearly succeeded and has since been blaming himself for that expedition's failure. Davits and Luharich were previously involved in a brief romantic relationship, but that relationship ended years before the story begins. Davits has been hired on as a "baitman"—the crewmember who is tasked with diving to the end of a submerged cable so as to attach and activate an electronic lure. Because the lure is deployed only when an Ikky has been detected in close proximity to the ship, the baitman can find himself dangerously close to the Ikky. This happens to Davits. He manages to safely return to the ship, where he assists Luharich in a successful capture. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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