The Science Fiction of Kris Neville

by Kris Neville, Barry N. Malzberg (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

Other stories in this anthology are “Old Man Henderson,” “The Hunter,” “Underground Movement,” “The Forest of Zil,” and “From the Government Printing Office.”

In most of the stories Neville writes of loneliness, isolation, alienation, intol­erance of anything or anyone different, and of insanity created by the pressures of living. Along with madness of various kinds, his stories explore the essence of human nature and individuals interact­ing with one another as well as with so­ciety. As Malzberg notes, Neville, unlike many science fiction writers, was a se­rious author interested in “Big ideas.”

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

Kris Ottman Neville better known as Kris Neville was a Californian science fiction writer. His first science fiction work was published in 1949. His most famous work, Bettyann , is considered an underground classic of science fiction.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of eleven of Neville's short works edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Barry N. Malzberg, with a nice appreciation/obituary by Malzberg. Neville is yet another of the genre writers who produced some very good work in the mid-part of the last century who are beginning to fade from memory, like Edgar Pangborn, Chan Davis, Margaret St. Clair, and on and on. The stories collected here originally appeared from 1949-'67, three in original anthologies and the rest in magazines Amazing, Galaxy, F & SF, and Astounding/Analog. As Malzberg notes, Bettyann, Overture, The Price of Simeryl, Ballenger's People, New Apples in the Garden, and Cold War are masterpieces. The Price of Simeryl is one of the best anti-colonialism stories I've read, in Ballenger's People each man is an island, and Bettyann and its first sequel Overture are an excellent character study examining what it means to be human with a poignant twist. The book includes a bibliography of Neville's short fiction and scientific nonfiction (he co-wrote a half-dozen texts about chemical engineering, polymers, resins, etc.), but neglects to list his novels for some reason. Some of the tales are a little frayed around the edges, but they're good, character-focused stories before that was standard.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth the trouble to track down, this is a collection of 10 or so of Neville's best stories. If you are a grad student looking for a subject, there's some of everything in here - gender, class, isolation and colonization all dealt with in very original ways. This is definitely an SF of ideas, and not the whiz bang gadgetry of the time.

There is one post-apocalyptic story in here, I forget the title already, which is the best of that type I have ever read. (and I have read many, including Ballard and Aldiss).

I read this at the same time as Sherman Alexie's Lone Ranger & Tonto. At first blush, Alexie would seem to have the better of it, with a more literary style and more humor. But Alexie's collection is plagued by being one note the whole way through; this collection is widely divergent from piece to piece. To be fair, this is a Neville best-of, and the Alexie a thematic work, but I have the feeling you can grab any Alexie story and it will be just like the ones in Lone Ranger. With Neville, you never where the story is going.

Neville's stories are utterly unpredictable in an SF landscape built on predictable story plots. Malzberg gives an, as usual, impassioned introduction, stating that the Neville stories center the SF field. He is correct - the first story "Cold War", that apocalyptic story, and "The Price of Simberyl" are absolute masterpieces. The others are just very, very good. Well worth the $25 you have to pay to get this on Amazon. I borrowed it from the college library system, but I know I will be hunting down a copy sooner or later. Recommended.