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Tales of Sheckley
And don't forget his novels, the ones that really are novels. Dimension of Miracles, Immortality Inc, The Status Civilization, Journey Beyond Tomorrow ... they're all quintessential Sheckley. And there's one not many people have read, and it's one of his very best. It's called The Man in the Water, and it has been out of print since the early 1960's. Any publisher in his right mind would snap it up today. (I've got a copy, and it's a first edition, and it's autographed, and I would not part with it for a thousand pounds.)

There's a new novel, just out: The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton. Buy it now, while Bob's here to sign it for you.

I know as a fact that I'm not the only fan of Bob's writing; he is easily one of the most popular SF writers in the world. (In 1976, I was at a con with Bob inMetz, France. There was a book-signing session laid on in one of the shopping-streets. A whole row of science fiction writers sat at trestle-tables: Bob Sheckley, Harry Harrison, Theodore Sturgeon, Philip José Farmer and me. I sat for an hour, picking my nose and watching the girls walk by; Harrison, Sturgeon and Farmer did a respectable trade; the queue for Bob Sheckley stretched all the way round the cathedral and back again.) But here's a paradox for you: how many Hugos or Nebulas has he won? The answer, in short, is none. Search your conscience on this! Could it be that his books are so enjoyable they can't possibly be good? If that's so, then it's a grave miscarriage of justice, and none of those prizes are worth a damn.
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Christopher Priest Writing about Robert Sheckley

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