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Perpetuity Blues and Other Stories
The work of novelist and short-story writer Neal Barrett, Jr., runs the gamut from science fiction, westerns, and historical novels to off-the-wall but well-received mainstream fiction, and this collection brings together 11 previously uncollected short stories, many of which first appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Best of the West, and The New Frontier. It also features the novella “Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus” and presents the reader with a distinct mix of science fiction and western, which is Barrett at his offbeat best. Here readers will discover Billy the Kid, Erwin Rommel, and the Wright brothers all sharing a dilapidated hotel on the edge of nowhere in “Sallie C,” see how business is done with art-loving extraterrestrials in the “Trading Post,” and meet Maggie McKenna, a country girl whose auctorial aspirations are aided by an alien temporarily stranded on Earth, in “Perpetuity Blues.”
- GenresScience Fiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Neal Barrett Jr.
150 books44 followersNeal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 5, 2021
I haven't actually read the collection, but I'm pretty sure I've read all of the best stories.
TOC & story info: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?2...
I'll come back and add story comments, some of which are in reprints, primarily in various Dozois Year's Best. For example,
• Winter on the Belle Fourche • (1989) • short story by Neal Barrett, Jr.: Mountain man meets Emily Dickinson, where it says. Easy 5 stars! Reread many times. Online copy: http://www.revolutionsf.com/fiction/b... Don't miss!
TOC & story info: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?2...
I'll come back and add story comments, some of which are in reprints, primarily in various Dozois Year's Best. For example,
• Winter on the Belle Fourche • (1989) • short story by Neal Barrett, Jr.: Mountain man meets Emily Dickinson, where it says. Easy 5 stars! Reread many times. Online copy: http://www.revolutionsf.com/fiction/b... Don't miss!
May 31, 2017
This was a weak anthology of stories (in my opinion).
Maybe to someone else they will do nicely. To me, not so much.
Most of them are quite bland - leading nowhere. Most of them have a post-apocalyptic feel to them but are too absurd for me. Maybe this was te premise of that movement. Nevertheless there are a couple of stories that I enjoy (with reservations).
First Class of 61. In a world where most mankind have suddenly dissappear and aliens have come to earth. One of these aliens need a "ghost" hunter. The story is a bit better than others but, who are the aliens, why did they came, where are the rest of the population? Neither questions are answerable and the ending as all other stories come short of a proper conclusion. It just happens.
The other story is the Winter on the Belle Fourche. The best of them all but forgettable and confusing. A psychadelic western with sf and fantasy elements. At the same time it's a story about Emilie Dicksison, the writer and how she came to be a writer. Very good twist.
The other good story until the end was "Under Old New York". A post apocalyptic scenery that was well drawn. A girl, under age, is trying to make a living in New York. She mets several people, who either help her or try to give bad directions. OK good. Now, she arrives at the city and the story ends?? Why? What happenend to her? What? Pretty much dissapointing because it was flowing so well.
Maybe to someone else they will do nicely. To me, not so much.
Most of them are quite bland - leading nowhere. Most of them have a post-apocalyptic feel to them but are too absurd for me. Maybe this was te premise of that movement. Nevertheless there are a couple of stories that I enjoy (with reservations).
First Class of 61. In a world where most mankind have suddenly dissappear and aliens have come to earth. One of these aliens need a "ghost" hunter. The story is a bit better than others but, who are the aliens, why did they came, where are the rest of the population? Neither questions are answerable and the ending as all other stories come short of a proper conclusion. It just happens.
The other story is the Winter on the Belle Fourche. The best of them all but forgettable and confusing. A psychadelic western with sf and fantasy elements. At the same time it's a story about Emilie Dicksison, the writer and how she came to be a writer. Very good twist.
The other good story until the end was "Under Old New York". A post apocalyptic scenery that was well drawn. A girl, under age, is trying to make a living in New York. She mets several people, who either help her or try to give bad directions. OK good. Now, she arrives at the city and the story ends?? Why? What happenend to her? What? Pretty much dissapointing because it was flowing so well.
August 14, 2020
No writer can please every reader, but there are a few who can, through the exercise of their extreme peculiarity and idiosyncratic voice, please every reader who craves same. In my heartfelt, ignorant opinion, Neal Barrett Jr is the sine qua non of High Exotic Literary Weirdness, and this is the apotheosis of his vision.
Give it a try, for your own sake.
Give it a try, for your own sake.
January 5, 2023
I have not read the full collection. This rating is based on Perpetuity Blues - a great story, available to read online at http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories...
January 30, 2016
This was a very interesting mix of short stories - diverse topics, far-ranging settings, and unique slices of life. There was one particular story of a more hyper-natural theme that I found extremely impactful - "Cush" - which was both thought-provoking and disturbing. Then there were two others - "Class of '61" and "Trading Post" - which had an extra-terrestrial, post-invasion theme, that were very well written. There were also a couple of odd little curiosities - "Sallie C." and "Winter on the Belle Fourche" - that posited the impact of early actives on future historic figures...because I'm starting to think that Neal Barrett Jr. has a small thing for exploring the possible (almost certainly fictitious) origin stories for famous historical figures (with the distinct possibility that he has a personal vendetta against Emily Dickenson [snicker!]). And lastly, I was pleased and puzzled by two post-apocalypic pieces, "Under Old New York" and "Highbrow" - with the former being a dark view of the possible cycle of economics that leads to a social Depression, and the latter being a really cryptic and clever piece about the life and passions of the people who carve "Mount Rushmore"-like monuments to key political figures. And, this review wouldn't be fair or complete without commenting on the story that earned the author nominations for the 1988 Nebula Award and the 1989 Hugo for Best Novelette - "Ginny Sweethip's Flying Circus" - which was an fun and tawdry Mad Max-esque post-apocalypic view at survival in a resource-diminished world.
All in all, I rather enjoyed this random romp through a montage of scenes. I'm intrigued by how Neal Barrett can take a mundane concept and twist it into an examination of human character. I will most certainly be continuing to read deeper into this lesser-known author's bibliography.
All in all, I rather enjoyed this random romp through a montage of scenes. I'm intrigued by how Neal Barrett can take a mundane concept and twist it into an examination of human character. I will most certainly be continuing to read deeper into this lesser-known author's bibliography.
November 18, 2013
Perpetuity Blues includes a dozen vintage Barrett stories, mostly reprinted from Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and three excerpts from The Hereafter Gang, Barrett’s 1991 signature work. (If you missed the novel the first time around as I did, you’re in for a real treat. It has just been released for the first time in paperback from Mojo Press, $14.) In the title story the author mixes Marble Creek, Texas; child abuse; a visiting alien; the Mafia; and Broadway theater with a healthy dose of the color blue, and comes up with a fresh new Cinderella tale with more grit and heart than the original.
“Stairs” put in my mind an oxymoron—understated hyperbole, as we pass a typical day with Mary Louise who lives on the 320,000th floor of an apartment building that extends who knows how much farther up.
But if you want a real taste of what this amazing author is all about, read “Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus.” This is, just maybe, the kind of story Mark Twain would have written if he were tripping on acid—the “Royal Nonesuch” with, as it says in gold Barnum script on Ginny’s traveling show wagon, “***SEX*TACOS*DANGEROUS DRUGS***.”
If you haven’t experienced Neal Barrett, Jr., this book will make you an addict. Not only that: no publisher puts out cooler books than Golden Gryphon. The blue cloth binding and paper just feel like craftsmanship.
“Stairs” put in my mind an oxymoron—understated hyperbole, as we pass a typical day with Mary Louise who lives on the 320,000th floor of an apartment building that extends who knows how much farther up.
But if you want a real taste of what this amazing author is all about, read “Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus.” This is, just maybe, the kind of story Mark Twain would have written if he were tripping on acid—the “Royal Nonesuch” with, as it says in gold Barnum script on Ginny’s traveling show wagon, “***SEX*TACOS*DANGEROUS DRUGS***.”
If you haven’t experienced Neal Barrett, Jr., this book will make you an addict. Not only that: no publisher puts out cooler books than Golden Gryphon. The blue cloth binding and paper just feel like craftsmanship.
August 24, 2009
Only read half;not my style
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews