Many fans of CP have been wondering why this new paperback edition of 'Real Time World' has two extra stories not present in the handsome hardcover reissue of 2008. Well, the fact is that CP simply forgot about the existence of the two tales, only recalling them after the hardcover was printed (serious fans will know of his period of retroactive amnesia in childhood that inspired 'The Glamour', so this lapse has all of the enigmatic resonance of the man's work). Completists will want the new paperback (it has a different cover design and slightly extended new introduction too) as both stories only appeared in fairly obscure anthologies and have never previously been collected. I'll cover them at the end of this review.
Here's what I said about the hardcover edition:
'Real-Time World' was the first collection of Chris Priest stories. It was issued in 1974 as a hardcover by NEL, followed by a paperback from the same firm and has been out of print for at least thirty years. Scarce even in paperback, it's a really rare book in hardback (every copy I've ever seen - and I've only seen a few after decades of collecting Priest -is in a hell of a state). Therefore, this hardcover reissue, which features all the original contents including the introduction plus a new updated essay from the author, is very welcome indeed.
These are the early Priest SF stories that made print in various magazines (the companion volume, 'Ersatz Wines', also from Grim Grin Studios, features mostly previously unpublished stories). Some are admittedly the work of a writer finding his voice and place in the world of late sixties-early seventies British New Wave SF, but most are important in allowing devotees an insight into the emergent career of one of Britain's most gifted and original writers. The eponymous story is an important one in the Priest canon, nodding a head as it does to future projects (inlcuding the novel "Inverted World"), but for me, the absolute stone cold New Wave classic in the book is CP's first published story, 'The Run', a gripping, blunt tale of a future Prime Minister's response to goading from unemployed, unemployable masses as a massive crisis looms on the horizon. Terse, ambiguous, with a character simultaneously unsympathetic and recognisably human, shot through with the ominous presence of impending nuclear doom, this is stunning stuff. There are, of course, other good stories in this book, but for my money, 'The Run' (which CP describes as 'pristine meldorama') is worth the price of admission alone, despite its 10-12 page length. In my opinion (and I wrote the book '100 Must Read Science Fiction Novels') it is one of the great 1960s British SF stories, even if it does not present the author's mature style. Just brilliant.
To sum up, if you are interested in classic British literary SF that sits alongside the work of Moorcock, M. John Harrison, Aldiss and Ballard from this period, then you must buy this book, as it is essential.
Now, back to those new stories. One is a rare Priestian excursion onto an alien planet, a classic skiffy tale that is unusual because of its genre purity...but there is a bit of a twist, as you'd expect. The other 'new' story is the marvellously understated but obliquely tough 'The Invisible Men', which has remarkable resonance with the recession going on around us worldwide as I write (February 2009). It's an uncompromising and subtle tale, written in that thrilling flatness Priest excels at when he tackles political themes.
Another essential item for the completist and a great collection for readers unwilling to part with more money for the hardcover, this latest release from GrimGrin will only bolster CP's reputation as a key author of British speculative fiction.
