Neal Barrett, Jr

I wrote six books for Don between 1976 and 1982—four in the Aldair series, one called Stress Pattern (one of my own favorites], and finally, The Karma Corps. I had published three books before that—two in 1970 and one in 1971—and a number of short stories beginning in 1960.
Still, I will always feel that the work I did for Don during that period gave me the right push, and brought in a lot of readers. I'm still getting comments on the Aldair series, after all these years, and more than once I've used the themes from those books in my work—most recently in The Prophecy Machine and The Treachery of Kings. I seem to have this thing about animals getting back at Man for all the dirty tricks he's played on them.
Of course, after Aldair, friends and fans would come up, stare at me, and say "Hey, man, PIGS IN SPACE!"
I only had the pleasure of meeting Don once, in New York City, somewhere around 1980. We had corresponded so often, I felt I knew him well, but I discovered he was even more charming and affable in person. And, more than that, a guy who knew writers, and what writing was all about. Science fiction would not have been the same without him.
—NB