Reviews

Neighbor by Jonathan Frakes, Clifford D. Simak

gengelcox's review

4.0

Part of a series of stories Simak did about aliens among us, this one details a particular valley that seems blessed because of a particular neighbor. Everything is fine until a city newspaperman gets wind of this wondrous spot and starts snooping around, then discovers that he and his family are unable to leave. This is a cozy SF tale, very unlike the gritty stuff of the 80s, and even unlike the aliens are come to destroy us that dominated the magazines when this was published, and that is its strength—it was unlike so much of everything. It doesn’t answer any big questions, but it’s nice to think that maybe the world could be a better place, in at least a couple of spots.