Hereafter Gang [Typescript; Rejection Letters; First Edition; and Proof]

Shingletown, CA: Mark V. Ziesing Books, 1991. This novel, set in Texas, focuses "on the churning psyche of a middle-aged man in crisis [and] turns into a sharp and garish parody of a sentimentalized small-town past over which it is easy, but dangerous, to pine."--Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. The book came out shortly after Through Darkest America, which after a 30-year writing career, seemed to be Barrett's breakout book. But the Hereafter Gang was not well received and ultimately was published by a small genre press.

This grouping, assembled by Barrett's friend and fellow Manly Man Lunch Group member (see Jesse Sublett, Never the Same Again, p. 284), Tom Garner, includes a partial typescript, a small stack of rejection letters, a proof ,and the trade first edition (there was also a signed, limited edition).

The typescript (about 200 leaves) includes the original first 17 leaves, which were cut from the book; the new first chapter (3 leaves); and leaves 146 to 324, ending mid-sentence. The typescript is accompanied by a number of rejections letters and photocopies of Barrett's letters about the book to his agent.

Barrett (1929-2014), a fourth-generation Texan, is best known for his science fiction novels, but he wrote in a wide variety of genres under several pen names. He was a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, in 2010. The materials are all very good or better and each is signed by Barrett. The group is housed in a custom clamshell box. An interesting look at the development of one of Barrett's late novels.