The Bitter Pill (1974) is a science fiction novel by Australian writer A. Bertram Chandler.[1]
| Author | A. Bertram Chandler |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Wren Publishing |
Publication date | 1974 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 158 pp. |
| ISBN | 0858851113 |
The novel is based on an earlier short story by Chandler of the same name.
Original short story
editA. Bertram Chandler's science fiction short story "The Bitter Pill" was published in the June 1970 issue of Vision of Tomorrow.[2]
The story won the Australian SF Achievement Award, Best Australian Science Fiction, in 1971.[3]
Synopsis
editIn a future Australia a powerful government administration, concerned by the growing number of "old" people, tags all over 45 as senior citizens, forcing them to relinguish their jobs and restricting their privileges. They are also given a suicide pill which they can take if life becomes too difficult for them.
Critical reception
editIn The Sydney Morning Herald reviewer William Noonan found the author's "fertile imagination" helped provide a novel whose "overall result is absorbing".[4]
Writing in SF Commentary 47 reviewer Christine McGowan was not taken with the book, noting that some mainstream (i.e. non-sf) reviewers had found it "appealing". McGowan noted that "dramatic tension is very much lacking" and that the "principal characters are no more cardboard than is usual in most sf".[5]
Publication history
editAfter its original publication in 1974 by Wren Publishing[1] the novel was later reprinted as follows:
Awards
edit- The novel won the Australian Sf Achievement Award for Best Novel in 1975.[8]
See also
editNotes
edit- Speaking to Merv Binns, editor of Australian SF News, some time after the publication of the novel, Chandler expressed his disappointment that the novel had not received either a US or UK publication.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "The Bitter Pill by A. Bertram Chandler". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""The Bitter Pill" by A. Bertram Chandler". Vision of Tomorrow, June 1970, pp52-63. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""Ditmar Awards 1971"". SFADB. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""Science Fiction"". The Sydney Morning Herald", 5 April 1975, p13. ProQuest 2525717535. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""Damn Good Try"" (PDF). SF Commentary 47, p45. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ "The Bitter Pill by A. Bertram Chandler". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ "The Bitter Pill by A. Bertram Chandler (Gateway/Orion, 2015)". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""Ditmar Awards 1975"". SFADB. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ ""Interview with A. Bertram Chandler"" (PDF). Australian SF News 30, July–August 1982, p3. Retrieved 25 November 2024.