Dave Brzeski , one of our intrepid reviewers, dared to travel up the River, across the Tiers and grasp the Flesh of it all which is a pointless set of references unless you read PJF, but there you go โฆ. I have recently been accused of being a bit too fanboyish in my book reviews. I have no particular interest in writing scathing hatchet job reviews of books I really dislike. I had an opening in mind for this piece, even before opening the book. The thing is, Joe R. He worked best with those tools.
Normally, when reviewing a collection, anthology or magazine I would read each and every story, making notes as I go. Clearly this would not really work for a page collection of previously published material. I traveled there from Atlanta, Georgia, to get my collection of books signed. Since there was a long line of fans we could each only get two books signed at a time. I went through the line over and over again with my box of hardcovers, until I was the only one left.
I managed to get all my hardcovers signed, but alas, my box of paperbacks was still up in my hotel room. Instead, to my chagrin, he sent the printout back to me covered in red pen corrections! Not the most auspicious introduction.
In I visited him at his home in Peoria, Illinois, along with another fan, Craig Kimber, and we interviewed him for the site. In I visited again to scan book covers from his collection and he and his wife Bette invited me to spend the night at their home.
Many of these stories we were able to finally publish in the huge collection of rarities, Pearls From Peoria Paul Spiteri, Ed. Each issue included previously unpublished fiction and non-fiction by Phil, as well as articles about him by his fans and fellow science fiction writers.
