Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category
Tuesday, August 10th, 2021
Another Subterranean career retrospective collection.
Brin, David. The Best of David Brin. Subterranean Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #289 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Lots of good stories in here, including “Dr. Pak’s Preschool” and “Thor Meets Captain American.” (Though I can’t believe they left out “A Stage of Memory.”) Bought from the publisher at the usual discount.
I’ll have copies of this available in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Tags:Books, David Brin, Science Fiction, Subterranean Press
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Saturday, August 7th, 2021
The book acquisitions never stop here at Stately Person Manor:
Sterling, Bruce. Robot Artists & Black Swans: The Italian Fantascienza Stories. Tachyon, 2021. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. His latest short story collection. Introduction by Neal Stephenson. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. I’ll have copies of this available in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Tags:Books, Bruce Sterling, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Tachyon
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Monday, August 2nd, 2021
Five more items for my Joe Lansdale collection:
Bryant, Tim, editor (with Joe R. Lansdale). Mule Tales. The Runaway Mule, 2012. First edition trade paperback original (a POD book), a Fine copy, new and unread. Anthology to benefit a now-defunct shop in Lansdale’s home town of Nacogdoches. Lansdale contributes six pieces. Bought from Amazon.
Case, Jim (pseudonym for Chet Cunningham and Joe R. Lansdale). Cody’s Army. Warner Books, 1986. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with a crease across the bottom corner and thin black lines at head, but otherwise tight and square. Military adventure novel. “The four man anti-terrorist guerilla unit.” Joe says he wrote one chapter in this. Stephen Mertz sold the series and had various writers work on different volumes, and confirmed Cunningham wrote this one except for one chapter from Lansdale. Bought off Amazon for $5, where the seller called it a “Fine” copy.
Lansdale, Joe R. The Drive-In. Centipede Press, 2015. First edition hardback thus, a signed, illustrated omnibus of The Drive-In, The Drive-In 2, and The Drive-In: The Bus Tour, one of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in shrink wrap. I passed on picking this up when it first came out because I already had the PBO firsts of the first two, the hardback firsts of al three (two from Kinnell, the third from Subterranean), and The Complete Drive-In omnibus of all three from Underland Press. But this disappeared pretty quickly, and I decided to pick it up because I’m crazy Lansdale completist. Bought off a fellow dealer for $120.
Lansdale, Joe R. The Hungry Snow. Death’s Head Press, 2021. First edition trade paperback original (a side-sewn chapbook), #40 of 500 numbered copies, a Fine copy, new and unread, with Death’s Head Press bookmark and card laid in. A Reverend Jedidiah Mercer story. Illustrated by Tim Truman. Bought from the publisher at a very thin discount. I’ll have copies of this available in the forthcoming Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
(Lansdale, Joe R.) Isajenko, Fred. The World Lansdalean: The Authorized Joe R. Lansdale Bibliography. Short, Scary Tales (SST) Publications, 2021. Uncorrected proof, trade paperback format, of the hardback first edition. Sent to me for spot-checking, and I sent them back a list of some things that were missing, etc. I will have copies of the published book available for sale through Lame Excuse Books when it’s released.
Tags:bibliography, Books, Centipede Press, chapbooks, Horror, Joe R. Lansdale, Science Fiction, science fiction bibliography, Short Scary Tales (SST) Publications, small press publishers
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Friday, July 30th, 2021
Two more books came in from Centipede Press:
Boyett, Stephen R. The Architect of Sleep. Centipede Press, 2021. First hardback edition, #355 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in shrinkwrap. Really interesting novel about a man transported to an alternate earth where raccoons evolved as the planet’s sentient life form. Originally published as an Ace paperback original back in 1986 and became something of a cult classic, and I’ve sold a lot of PBO copies of this and Ariel over the years (and indeed, if you just want to read it, I have copies available). Recommended. This signed edition is already sold out from the publisher. I’m hoping this new edition prods Boyett into revising and finishing the still-unpublished sequel, The Geography of Dreams.
Foster, Alan Dean. The Director Should’ve Shot You: Memoirs of the Film Trade. Centipede Press, 2021. First hardback edition, #430 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in shrinkwrap. I haven’t read any Foster novels since one of the early Pip and Flinx books way back in my misspent youth, but this one interests me. As the king of media tie-in novels, from Star Wars to Alien to Krull, Foster has worked on a lot of big hits (and misses), and in this book he dishes on all the behind-the-scenes drama he witnessed in in his career. This signed edition is already sold out from the publisher.
The white square visible on the front is a numbered card inside the shrink wrap that will get laid in when it’s opened.
I will have copies of both of these in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Tags:Alan Dean Foster, Alien, Centipede Press, Fantasy, Limited Editions, Movies, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Star Wars, Steven R. Boyett
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Thursday, July 29th, 2021
When this book originally came out at $600, I went “I want that…but not at that price point.” Now Charnel House has used the last 100 sheet sets of the original printing to come out with this 10th Anniversary Edition at a price I could afford:
Ellison, Harlan. The Glass Teat & The Other Glass Teat. Charnel House, 2011. First hardback edition, #182 of 250 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issue, with a CD of Harlan reading “Welcome to the Gulag,” the introduction written for this edition laid in. All Ellison’s TV essays and reviews written for The Los Angeles Free Press. Not having a copy of the original binding, I can’t tell you how this 10th Anniversary edition binding differs from the original. Bought from the publisher at a discount.
I will have a single copy of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Tags:Books, Charnel House, Fantasy, Harlan Ellison, Horror, Limited Editions, Science Fiction, small press publishers, TV
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Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
This came in a while back, but was at the bottom of a stack.
Turtledove, Harry. The Best of Harry Turtledove. Subterranean Press, 2021. First edition hardback, #268 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread.
I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (currently in progress).
Tags:Books, Harry Turtledove, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Subterranean Press
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Monday, July 19th, 2021
Three more Jack Vance (or related) firsts:
Vance, Jack. Mazirian the Magician: Tales of the Dying Earth, Book 1. Spatterlight Press, 2021. First separate hardback edition and first thus, a Fine- copy in decorated boards with wear at head and slight bump at heel, otherwise new and unread, sans dust jacket, as issued. First separate edition under this title, a corrected reprint of The Dying Earth originally published as the first volume of the Vance Integral Edition, with a new introduction by Michael Moorcock. Bought for $57.36 from Amazon, the only venue for order fulfillment, which makes me think trying to obtain a perfect copy would be an exercise in futility. Supplements a VIE, the Underwood-Miller hardback first of The Dying Earth, and a paperback reprint of The Dying Earth Vance signed for me at the 1985 NASFIC in Austin. (Still need the Hillman PBO.)
Vance, Jack. Vandals of the Void. The John C. Winston Company, 1953. First edition hardback, a Very Good copy with some soiling/grubbiness to the boards, a touch of dust staining to page block edges, in a Very Good dust jacket with one 1/4″ chip at top rear corner, a 1/32″ chip along bottom rear edge, a closed 1/4″ triangular tear at top front, fading to red portion of spine, plus edgewear at points and slight rubbing, but overall a very attractive copy of the dust jacket. I bought this off eBay for $41.00 to marry the dust jacket to my signed but jacketless copy. Hewett, A3. Cunningham, 81a.
(Vance, Jack) Robert Offutt Jr., editor. The Many Worlds of Jack Vance & The Horns of Elfland. Robert Offutt Jr., 1978. First edition illustrated fanzine, a Near Fine copy with a crease near the top at the spine. Features the Vance’s “The Secret” the first chapter of an illustrated adaptation of The Eyes of the Overworld, etc. Second (and last) volume of an illustrated, semiprozine quality publication dedicated to Vance’s work (though the cover illustration, “Boromir’s Fall,” is obviously from The Lord of the Rings). Chock-full of illustrations from Rod Whigham, who later did a great deal of comic book work. Hewett, M31b, who notes there were 1,000 copies of this printed. Bought off eBay for $25.
Tags:Books, Dying Earth, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Science Fiction
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Monday, July 12th, 2021
Here are some Armchair Fiction titles I picked up during a sale, all of which are (though POD editions) either first editions thus or first book editions of works originally published in magazines, and are mostly works that have fallen out of copyright.
Anderson, Poul. Masters of Science Fiction, Volume 9: Poul Anderson: “The Star Beast” And Other Tales. Armchair Fiction, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Short story collection. “The Long Return” and “World of the Mad” haven’t been reprinted since their original magazine appearances.
Anderson, Poul with Lester Del Rey and Frederik Pohl. A Twelvemonth and a Day b/w Preferred Risk. Armchair Fiction, 2016. First edition trade paperback original for the Anderson, a Fine copy. Supplements a signed hardback first of Preferred Risk.
Campbell, John W. and Aladra Septama. When the Atoms Failed b/w The Dragons of Space. Armchair Fiction, 2016. First edition trade paperback originals, a Fine copy. Contains “When the Atoms Failed” (one print reprint) and “The Metal Horde” no print reprints) from Campbell, and the Septama had never been reprinted previously (though, according to Bleiler’s Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years, it’s really bad…).
Shaver, Richard S. The Shaver Mystery Book Eight. Armchair Fiction, 2020. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Supplements volumes 1-7.
Silverberg, Robert. Masters of Science Fiction Volume 13: Robert Silverberg The Ace Years, Part Three. Armchair Fiction, 2018. First edition trade paperback originals, a Fine copy. Reprints three more Ace PBOs: Invaders From Earth, Collision Course and The Silent Invaders, plus a new forward, a book cover gallery, and “The Songs of Summer.”
Silverberg, Robert, and Randall Garrett, and Laurence Manning. The Beast With 7 Tails b/w The Wreck of the Asteroid. Armchair Fiction, 2021. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. The Silverberg/Garrett “The Beast With 7 Tails” has never been reprinted since it’s appearance in Amazing Stories in 1956, and The Wreck of the Asteroid has not been reprinted since being serialized in Wonder Stories in 1932-3. Bleiler’s Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years says that the Manning is “A competent adventure story with reasonable development.”
Except for The Ace Years, Part Three (already sold!), I will have copies of all these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, currently in progress.
Tags:Armchair Fiction, Books, Frederik Pohl, John W. Campbell, Lester Del Rey, Poul Anderson, Print-on-Demand, Robert Silverberg, Shaver Mystery
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Monday, July 5th, 2021
When Centipede Press announced they were going to do a trio of Philip K. Dick novels as a hardcover set in an edition of 300, I knew there were going to disappear quickly, so I snapped a set up:
Dick, Philip K. The Cosmic Puppets with Dr. Futurity with Vulcan’s Hammer. First editions thus for The Cosmic Puppets and Vulcan’s Hammer, first hardback edition for Dr. Futurity, each #92 of 300 signed, numbered copies, each signed by Michael Swanwick, Peter Strain, and Chris Moore, each Fine copies in Fine dust jackets and a Fine slipcase, still in shrinkwrap. (The lines you see over the top and bottom of Vulcan’s Hammer are the shrinkwrap join lines.) The Cosmic Puppets was done as a Severn House hardback, and Vulcan’s Hammer as a Gregg Press hardback, and I have both of those, but I thought it behooved me to pick up the first hardback of Dr. Futurity, even though I had to pay cover price for the set. And indeed, it was pretty much out-of-print immediately upon publication.
And if they make this into a regular series of PKD books, I guess I’ll have to pick up those too…
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Limited Editions, Michael Swanwick, Philip K. Dick, Science Fiction, small press publishers
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021
Here are two different signed, limited edition anthologies from different publishers that, spine-out, look a whole lot like each other because they were printed using the same printing and binding technology. Chalker/Ownings called it the “Newcomer-Dikty process,” which turned out to be an early example of what became “Print On Demand” publishing, though both books below are true first editions with defined print runs.
Cahill, James, editor. Lamps on the Brow. James Cahill Publishing, 1998. First edition hardback, #70 of 274 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, in a Fine slipcase, as issued. Low print-run anthology of original stories (all save the last one by A. E. van Vogt), featuring Gene Wolfe, Mike Resnick, Andre Norton, Bruce Bethke, etc., plus an introduction by Ben Bova. I also have Ten Tales, a similar Cahill anthology. Cahill was active in the 1990s, publishing books by Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Powers, etc. I also think he did some mystery limited editions. Bought off eBay for $58, slightly more than half the original publication price of $100.
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn, editor. Pulphouse Winter 1990: Issue Six. Pulphouse Publishing, 1990. First edition hardback, #196 of 250 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine- copy with a tiny crease at head, sans dust jacket, in a Fine slipcase, as issued. Back in the dim mists of the late 1980s, I thought the black trade edition of Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine, with it’s faux leather, embossed covers and deckled edges, was fairly attractive. Many of the Author’s Choice Monthly volumes were also worthwhile. Then Pulphouse wildly overproduced a huge variety of material nobody wanted, almost single-handedly depressing the market for small press books in the early 1990s. This volume has work (and signatures) from Avram Davidson, George Alec Effinger, Bradley Denton, Charles De Lint, Susan Palwick, etc. “Shrunk,” the Effinger story, is actually one George brought to the second Turkey City Writer’s Workshop I ever threw, which he said he had just missed selling to Playboy. According to him, Alice Turner had said “Well, I looked at it, and looked at it, and I finally decided it just wasn’t right for us.” Said George: “Do you realize what she said? ‘You just missed $5000 by that much.’ Tell me what’s wrong with it! I’ll walk to New York on my knees and fix it!” I already have all 12 issues of the trade edition of the hardback magazine run, and pick up the signed editions when I find them cheap, and I now have four. Chalker/Owings (2002), page 715. Bought off eBay for $25, more than half off the original offering price of $60.
Tags:A. E. van Vogt, Ben Bova, Books, Bradley Denton, Bruce Bethke, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, George Alec Effinger, James Cahill, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mike Resnick, Pulphouse, Science Fiction
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