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Real-Time World
“A volume of ten short stories with a self-effacing author’s introduction and hardly a flat spot anywhere: rare indeed. The first, “The Head and the Hand”, is a fabulously disgusting Dahlesque story about a man who has made a fortune by amputating bits of himself in front of dinner-jacketed audiences and television cameras. Christopher Priest has the knack of hitting on a single character, an inspired outsider, with a quirk or hang-up which makes him constantly interesting.” – Times Literary Supplement
158 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1974
171 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Priest
130 books1,079 followersChristopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1968.
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations. Other novels, including Fugue For a Darkening Island and The Glamour, are currently in preparation for filming.
He is Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.
As a journalist he has written features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations. Other novels, including Fugue For a Darkening Island and The Glamour, are currently in preparation for filming.
He is Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.
As a journalist he has written features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 20, 2011
Having not read any of Priest's short stories before I was unsure what to expect. The first two didn't really do much for me. That's not to say that they were anything but perfectly fine; something about them just didn't really resonate with me.
The third one is where things kicked in and everything stayed strong from then on. From the third short onward:
Double Consummation - socio-political pillars holding up what is in effect a touching story about the nature of love.
A Woman Naked - terrifying in the "save me from this dystopian future ever happening" kind of way. A hellish examination of an alternate version of women's "rights".
Transplant - Incredibly vivid and wistful, simultaneously sad and joyous.
Breeding Ground, Sentence in Binary Code, and The Perihelion Man - three great straightforward sci-fi stories. Breeding Ground in particular hearkens back to the old school space cowboy Heinlein style.
The Run - I think I get what he was saying but it didn't make much of an impression on me.
Real-Time World - by Priest's own admission, a kind of preview or precursor to his later novel Inverted World. I think this story is superior because of its brevity (Inverted World felt a little inflated to me), clarity, and heightened sense of paranoia.
Overall absolutely fabulous stuff. I don't understand why this is no longer in print except from the author's website. Nice thing, though - if you order it from there you can get whatever custom inscription you want.
The third one is where things kicked in and everything stayed strong from then on. From the third short onward:
Double Consummation - socio-political pillars holding up what is in effect a touching story about the nature of love.
A Woman Naked - terrifying in the "save me from this dystopian future ever happening" kind of way. A hellish examination of an alternate version of women's "rights".
Transplant - Incredibly vivid and wistful, simultaneously sad and joyous.
Breeding Ground, Sentence in Binary Code, and The Perihelion Man - three great straightforward sci-fi stories. Breeding Ground in particular hearkens back to the old school space cowboy Heinlein style.
The Run - I think I get what he was saying but it didn't make much of an impression on me.
Real-Time World - by Priest's own admission, a kind of preview or precursor to his later novel Inverted World. I think this story is superior because of its brevity (Inverted World felt a little inflated to me), clarity, and heightened sense of paranoia.
Overall absolutely fabulous stuff. I don't understand why this is no longer in print except from the author's website. Nice thing, though - if you order it from there you can get whatever custom inscription you want.
September 21, 2010
A collection of stories from early in his career, focusing on more traditional SF themes (compared with his later work) although still with an emphasis more on the psycological and social side than the technological.
Most of the stories were very good indeed and the collection as a whole was only let down by a couple of somewhat weaker tales not up to the standard of the rest.
Most of the stories were very good indeed and the collection as a whole was only let down by a couple of somewhat weaker tales not up to the standard of the rest.
January 25, 2026
Raccolta di racconti forse ancora immaturi per apprezzare appieno Priest, in alcuni casi abbozzi; tuttavia questi tascabili smilzi ed economici mi affascinano e mi riportano ai primi Urania della mia puerizia e anche appunto ai primi tascabili originali con cui scoprivo la fantascienza in lingua.
Priest, di cui vorrei ricordare anche il romanzo di esordio Indoctrinaire, è autore britannico fino al midollo: la fredda crudeltà delle idee e dei rapporti tra i personaggi, l’analizzare stati psichici alterati ricordano Ballard.
Questa raccolta ebbe una versione italiana, con fantasiosa copertina (di chi?) per una delle tante collane minori (ma valide!) dei fertili anni ’70. Sei di questi racconti formarono infatti il n.11 di Sigma Fantascienza di Moizzi, collana che aveva esordito nel ‘75 proprio con il romanzo Il mondo alla rovescia . Moizzi fu il primo editore a occuparsi di Priest: nel ‘79 avrebbe pubblicato La macchina dello spazio (The Space Machine); in seguito questo autore non sarebbe più stato apparso in Italia fino al ’90, quando Cosmo ripubblicò Il mondo alla rovescia.
Qualche nota sui racconti (di quelli pubblicati da Moizzi è presente anche il titolo italiano):
The Hand and the Head (La testa e la mano), 4/5. Fantasia di mutilazione, orrida e grottesca.
Transplant (Trapianto), 5/5. L’angoscia dei trapianti all’epoca. Bell’ambiente onirico; finale di uno strano ottimismo.
A Woman naked (Donna nuda), 5/5. Racconto davvero femminista molti anni prima della Atwood: la legge punisce solo l’adulterio femminile rendendo la colpevole disponibile a essere stuprata per un periodo di prova, alla fine del quale dovrà guadagnarsi la grazia raccontando nei minimi dettagli il tradimento che aveva compiuto..
Double Consummation. 4/5. Un bislacco racconto sociale o la vera natura dell’amore? In un’Inghilterra che (a differenza di altre parti del mondo) vede la popolazione calare, il livello dei consumi viene mantenuto alto imponendo a ogni uomo o donna di avere più relazioni alla volta (e relativi automobili, appartamenti..) grazie all’assunzione settimanale di un farmaco che annulla i sentimenti provati in quel momento, per riattivare quelli per l’altra persona.. e se qualcuno smettesse di assumere il farmaco?
Fire Storm. 3/5. Un esercizio di stile: in una guerra futura, il comandante militare vincitore vive la distruzione di una città come una forma d’arte, in cui immolarsi alla fine. Il titolo ricorda le “tempeste di fuoco”, termine tecnico specifico riferito a come la RAF annientò Amburgo, Dresda, ecc (fallendo però con Milano): in quei casi però non ci fu alcun tentativo di risparmiare i civili (come invece nel racconto), anzi.
Breeding ground (Terreno di coltura), 2/5. Raccontino di avventura spaziale, si legge bene ma non ha particolare interesse.
Sentence in binary code (Condanna in codice binario), 4/5. Proto-cyberpunk: i detenuti vengono imprigionati sotto forma di cariche elettriche in banchi di memoria; sembra un carcere peggiore del Brass di Delany, ma il protagonista ha un’idea..
The perihelion man 3/5. Avventura spaziale stile Jack Williamson, ma scritta quarant’anni dopo? Eroi dello spazio, alieni invisibili e incomprensibili ma feroci, superarmi tecnologiche.. mah! L’unico ammodernamento è l’aggiunta di qualche dettaglio sgradevole su come si muore nello spazio.
The run. 2/5. Una scena ben scritta, un buon incipit per un romanzo, che però lasciata così a sé stante non dice nulla, anzi è irritante.
Real-time world (Mondo temporale), 5/5. Capolavoro new wave: geniale racconto sulla diffusione dell’informazione in una società, dove si vede come l’informazione sia una linfa vitale: dove ne manchi una fornitura dall’esterno, l’autoproduzione interna compenserà; ma secondo quali regole?
Con un tocco di “Solaris” in questo osservatorio isolato su un pianeta alieno (e invisibile grazie a un misterioso e continuo “micro-viaggio nel tempo), il racconto più ballardiano. Include anche un grafico dello stato della società!
Priest, di cui vorrei ricordare anche il romanzo di esordio Indoctrinaire, è autore britannico fino al midollo: la fredda crudeltà delle idee e dei rapporti tra i personaggi, l’analizzare stati psichici alterati ricordano Ballard.
Questa raccolta ebbe una versione italiana, con fantasiosa copertina (di chi?) per una delle tante collane minori (ma valide!) dei fertili anni ’70. Sei di questi racconti formarono infatti il n.11 di Sigma Fantascienza di Moizzi, collana che aveva esordito nel ‘75 proprio con il romanzo Il mondo alla rovescia . Moizzi fu il primo editore a occuparsi di Priest: nel ‘79 avrebbe pubblicato La macchina dello spazio (The Space Machine); in seguito questo autore non sarebbe più stato apparso in Italia fino al ’90, quando Cosmo ripubblicò Il mondo alla rovescia.
Qualche nota sui racconti (di quelli pubblicati da Moizzi è presente anche il titolo italiano):
The Hand and the Head (La testa e la mano), 4/5. Fantasia di mutilazione, orrida e grottesca.
Transplant (Trapianto), 5/5. L’angoscia dei trapianti all’epoca. Bell’ambiente onirico; finale di uno strano ottimismo.
A Woman naked (Donna nuda), 5/5. Racconto davvero femminista molti anni prima della Atwood: la legge punisce solo l’adulterio femminile rendendo la colpevole disponibile a essere stuprata per un periodo di prova, alla fine del quale dovrà guadagnarsi la grazia raccontando nei minimi dettagli il tradimento che aveva compiuto..
Double Consummation. 4/5. Un bislacco racconto sociale o la vera natura dell’amore? In un’Inghilterra che (a differenza di altre parti del mondo) vede la popolazione calare, il livello dei consumi viene mantenuto alto imponendo a ogni uomo o donna di avere più relazioni alla volta (e relativi automobili, appartamenti..) grazie all’assunzione settimanale di un farmaco che annulla i sentimenti provati in quel momento, per riattivare quelli per l’altra persona.. e se qualcuno smettesse di assumere il farmaco?
Fire Storm. 3/5. Un esercizio di stile: in una guerra futura, il comandante militare vincitore vive la distruzione di una città come una forma d’arte, in cui immolarsi alla fine. Il titolo ricorda le “tempeste di fuoco”, termine tecnico specifico riferito a come la RAF annientò Amburgo, Dresda, ecc (fallendo però con Milano): in quei casi però non ci fu alcun tentativo di risparmiare i civili (come invece nel racconto), anzi.
Breeding ground (Terreno di coltura), 2/5. Raccontino di avventura spaziale, si legge bene ma non ha particolare interesse.
Sentence in binary code (Condanna in codice binario), 4/5. Proto-cyberpunk: i detenuti vengono imprigionati sotto forma di cariche elettriche in banchi di memoria; sembra un carcere peggiore del Brass di Delany, ma il protagonista ha un’idea..
The perihelion man 3/5. Avventura spaziale stile Jack Williamson, ma scritta quarant’anni dopo? Eroi dello spazio, alieni invisibili e incomprensibili ma feroci, superarmi tecnologiche.. mah! L’unico ammodernamento è l’aggiunta di qualche dettaglio sgradevole su come si muore nello spazio.
The run. 2/5. Una scena ben scritta, un buon incipit per un romanzo, che però lasciata così a sé stante non dice nulla, anzi è irritante.
Real-time world (Mondo temporale), 5/5. Capolavoro new wave: geniale racconto sulla diffusione dell’informazione in una società, dove si vede come l’informazione sia una linfa vitale: dove ne manchi una fornitura dall’esterno, l’autoproduzione interna compenserà; ma secondo quali regole?
Con un tocco di “Solaris” in questo osservatorio isolato su un pianeta alieno (e invisibile grazie a un misterioso e continuo “micro-viaggio nel tempo), il racconto più ballardiano. Include anche un grafico dello stato della società!
August 4, 2020
An early collection of stories by Priest which reflect some noodling around with ideas to see how they might work in story form. Some are clever, but mostly this is an uneven collection that reflects the early 1970's preference for high-concept having priority over story.
"The Head and the Hand" - What If... the hunger artist was a love story? This tale left me very disappointed as it was simply packed to the creepy Gothic novel attic with atmospherics, and related a predictable and silly story. Pure pulpy nonsense posing as high concept.
"Fire Storm" - Another tale of artistic madness, and another tale that tries very hard to convey an atmosphere in the place of plot. In this tale we find art in a military siege. Simply put, it was confusing, gestural, and really made very little sense.
"Double Consummation" - This one reads like a mis-remembered Kurt Vonnegut Jr. novel. The situation is a classic Living in a World of Limits dystopia, akin to Logan's Run and The Children of Men. While the rest of the world is slowly crashing under the weight of excess humanity, the United Kingdom is cursed with a mixture of population collapse and a faltering consumer economy. While the situation is promising, Priest's solution to the problem (drug-assisted, state-mandated polyamory) is bizarre. Even so, this is a much better story than the two preceding, and actually got in some interesting character development before melting into a conventional ending.
"A Woman Naked" - A clear attempt at a pro-feminist story, but one written by a man with only the dimmest understanding of gender politics. This one felt as though it was going somewhere worthwhile, then it started to descend into a squicky series of rape fantasies, and then, inexplicably and unexpectedly, was redeemed by the very last sentence. Very torn on what I think about it since I really suspect that a less puerile framing would have made a better story.
"Transplant" - A better story than it should have been, especially since it was cemented in place with a megaton of exposition and a clanking morality subplot. Oddly hopeful.
"Breeding Ground" - This was just some rollicking old fashioned sci-fi. Nothing moral or Gothic, just a humorous and slightly clever problem plot space opera.
"Sentence in Binary Code" - A great concept, and interesting telling, that lost me at the end. I couldn't tell what the message was. Something about seizing opportunities and being creative? but that seemed against the premise of the beginning of the story.
"The Perihelion Man" - Here is a story that shows Priest in a good light. The story itself is a hokey old timey space cowboy yarn with BEMs and all, but it's a well-told one and it is tightly plotted. There was a moment early though where I thought, "hey... wait why don't they aim that beam at..."
"The Run" - A silly story where an army of juvenile delinquents threaten to destroy civilization or something. To be honest I can't really tell you what the point of this story was. Muddy narration and confused action.
"Real-Time World" - A great concept under served by the telling. The rationale for the observatory is so thin that Priest just sort of skips past it rather than explain, and the end isn't a conclusion so much as it is a place where the words run out.
It's a fine collection for illustrating the breadth of Priest's writing, but mostly these feel like pieces where ideas are more tried on for size than built into a story. He is a better writer and more inventive writer than most however, so he gets three stars.
"The Head and the Hand" - What If... the hunger artist was a love story? This tale left me very disappointed as it was simply packed to the creepy Gothic novel attic with atmospherics, and related a predictable and silly story. Pure pulpy nonsense posing as high concept.
"Fire Storm" - Another tale of artistic madness, and another tale that tries very hard to convey an atmosphere in the place of plot. In this tale we find art in a military siege. Simply put, it was confusing, gestural, and really made very little sense.
"Double Consummation" - This one reads like a mis-remembered Kurt Vonnegut Jr. novel. The situation is a classic Living in a World of Limits dystopia, akin to Logan's Run and The Children of Men. While the rest of the world is slowly crashing under the weight of excess humanity, the United Kingdom is cursed with a mixture of population collapse and a faltering consumer economy. While the situation is promising, Priest's solution to the problem (drug-assisted, state-mandated polyamory) is bizarre. Even so, this is a much better story than the two preceding, and actually got in some interesting character development before melting into a conventional ending.
"A Woman Naked" - A clear attempt at a pro-feminist story, but one written by a man with only the dimmest understanding of gender politics. This one felt as though it was going somewhere worthwhile, then it started to descend into a squicky series of rape fantasies, and then, inexplicably and unexpectedly, was redeemed by the very last sentence. Very torn on what I think about it since I really suspect that a less puerile framing would have made a better story.
"Transplant" - A better story than it should have been, especially since it was cemented in place with a megaton of exposition and a clanking morality subplot. Oddly hopeful.
"Breeding Ground" - This was just some rollicking old fashioned sci-fi. Nothing moral or Gothic, just a humorous and slightly clever problem plot space opera.
"Sentence in Binary Code" - A great concept, and interesting telling, that lost me at the end. I couldn't tell what the message was. Something about seizing opportunities and being creative? but that seemed against the premise of the beginning of the story.
"The Perihelion Man" - Here is a story that shows Priest in a good light. The story itself is a hokey old timey space cowboy yarn with BEMs and all, but it's a well-told one and it is tightly plotted. There was a moment early though where I thought, "hey... wait why don't they aim that beam at..."
"The Run" - A silly story where an army of juvenile delinquents threaten to destroy civilization or something. To be honest I can't really tell you what the point of this story was. Muddy narration and confused action.
"Real-Time World" - A great concept under served by the telling. The rationale for the observatory is so thin that Priest just sort of skips past it rather than explain, and the end isn't a conclusion so much as it is a place where the words run out.
It's a fine collection for illustrating the breadth of Priest's writing, but mostly these feel like pieces where ideas are more tried on for size than built into a story. He is a better writer and more inventive writer than most however, so he gets three stars.
July 6, 2018
This Sci-Fi collection of short stories is an eclectic mix of Christopher Priest's early work 1966-1974 which mainly appeared in magazines. If you are looking to understand or to read all of Priest's work then this smallish volume of 10 stories (listed below) is probably worth reading. If however you are just looking for a good sci-fi short story book I would advise not reading this collection. There's only one interesting space-ish story namely the eponymous Real-Time World - at least half of the other stories are primarily based on social & moralistic values being different from those that we have at present. These may be interesting to you (if you enjoyed the Handmaid's Tale) however all of them are very short and tend only to scrap along an idea or theme before they finish - the most thought provoking one of these stories is - A Woman Naked - which is about the crime of adultery only being applicable to women - if accused of the crime - the woman is then placed completely outside the protection of the law. There are stories within the collection e.g.The Head and the Hand which are not easy to digest as it is more in the vain of a horror/gruesome story than a sci-fi one. Other stories left me completely bewildered as to the purpose or meaning of the story e.g. Fire Storm. Christopher Priest can write some excellent prose so I am not condemning him as an inferior writer, rather that these stories are taken from a time before he had developed into a confident & competent author. I would give this book 5.5 out of 10 mainly for the story Real-Time World story and the sheer breath of ideas that this author has.
The Head and the Hand (1972)
Fire Storm (1970)
Double Consummation (1970)
A Woman Naked (1974)
Transplant (1974)
Breeding Ground (1970)
Sentence in Binary Code (1971)
The Perihelion Man (1970)
The Run (1966)
Real-Time World (1972)
The Head and the Hand (1972)
Fire Storm (1970)
Double Consummation (1970)
A Woman Naked (1974)
Transplant (1974)
Breeding Ground (1970)
Sentence in Binary Code (1971)
The Perihelion Man (1970)
The Run (1966)
Real-Time World (1972)
April 20, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"Christopher Priest’s An Infinite Summer (1979) clocks in as my second highest rated single-author collection, behind Michael Bishop’s Catacomb Years (1979), so far in the life of my site. I find Priest’s fiction intense and hypnotic.
As Real-Time World (1974) contains a range of Priest’s earliest published short stories, one cannot escape the feel that he is still trying to find his way as an author. Similar indecision characterized his first novel Indoctrinaire (1970). The best [...]"
"Christopher Priest’s An Infinite Summer (1979) clocks in as my second highest rated single-author collection, behind Michael Bishop’s Catacomb Years (1979), so far in the life of my site. I find Priest’s fiction intense and hypnotic.
As Real-Time World (1974) contains a range of Priest’s earliest published short stories, one cannot escape the feel that he is still trying to find his way as an author. Similar indecision characterized his first novel Indoctrinaire (1970). The best [...]"
February 17, 2024
I liked “Breeding Ground”, an unsettling and brilliant short story. The rest of the collection just didn’t engage me at all. I loved his novel The Inverted World, and bought this collection and another of his works afterward with great anticipation. Seems I lucked out with my first choice and not my second.
November 27, 2017
I seem to have misplaced this book...
April 5, 2011
This is a collection from 1974 of early SF stories. Some of them are mundane: The Perihelion Man, for instance, is a one-man-against-the-Venusians tale that could have been written by any of a hundred hacks of the time. Double Consummation presents a rather clunky dystopia in which everyone lives a double life, mediated by a 'transition' drug, to increase consumption in a depopulated Britain; its concerns appear as dated as its solution does contrived.
On the other hand, the writer's voice is beginning to poke through the snow here and there. The Head and the Hand tells of a man who has made a stage career of self-mutilation, and is memorably repellent, placing the reader in the voyeur's seat. A Woman Naked presents a chillingly plausible form of 'justice' which hideously entrenches men's power over women, and which is nonetheless only a millimetre beyond how some Islamic societies treat them today.
But with the title story, which ends the collection, Priest's voice becomes not only interesting and compelling, but unique and instantly distinctive. The narrator (the first of this author's many untrustworthy narrators) lives on a mobile laboratory sent to an alien world, and acts as liaison between its staff and the mission controllers on Earth; except that, as it transpires, nothing in that summation can be depended upon. Verging on the metaphysical, it's a story about perception, solipsism and disconnection, and as such it prefigures Priest's novels, such as Inverted World, The Affirmation and The Separation.
There's enough good stuff here to make this required reading for a Priest fan.
On the other hand, the writer's voice is beginning to poke through the snow here and there. The Head and the Hand tells of a man who has made a stage career of self-mutilation, and is memorably repellent, placing the reader in the voyeur's seat. A Woman Naked presents a chillingly plausible form of 'justice' which hideously entrenches men's power over women, and which is nonetheless only a millimetre beyond how some Islamic societies treat them today.
But with the title story, which ends the collection, Priest's voice becomes not only interesting and compelling, but unique and instantly distinctive. The narrator (the first of this author's many untrustworthy narrators) lives on a mobile laboratory sent to an alien world, and acts as liaison between its staff and the mission controllers on Earth; except that, as it transpires, nothing in that summation can be depended upon. Verging on the metaphysical, it's a story about perception, solipsism and disconnection, and as such it prefigures Priest's novels, such as Inverted World, The Affirmation and The Separation.
There's enough good stuff here to make this required reading for a Priest fan.
August 7, 2013
Worthwhile collection of eclectic tales from the talented Christopher Priest. I actually preferred his more Gothic-tinged horror stories. I wasn't too sure what to initially expect from Priest, but overall I was very, very impressed with his work; I especially liked: 'The Head And The Hand' (Poe meets Bunuel!) 'A Woman Naked' (a very unsettling piece of Orwellian dystopia); 'Breeding Ground' (nice itchy heft of Van Gogt-space-bug-style weirdness); and 'Real-Time World' is a quite masterful example of short prose, a splendid yarn, whether you are are fan of tricky sf or not.
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May 3, 2019I have the german edition: Transplantationen
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