Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category

Library Addition: Limited Edition of Pulphouse 8 Signed by Greg Egan

Monday, September 21st, 2015

You may be aware that I’m one of the few book collectors that has an inscribed associational copy of one of Greg Egan’s books (Axiomatic, inscribed to his editor David Pringle). These days, Egan doesn’t do signings, doesn’t attend conventions, and refuses to do signed limited editions of his work. However, before he instituted this policy, he did sign one limited edition toward the beginning of his career, and I recently picked that up:

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn, editor. Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine: Issue Eight: Summer 1990. Hardback first edition, #50 of 250 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, in a Fine slipcase. Signed by Greg Egan at the title page for his story “The Moral Virologist.” Also signed by George Alec Effinger, Jack McDevitt, Jonathan Lethem, etc. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 364. Supplements an unsigned copy (I have the entire 12 issue run in the regular edition.) Bought off eBay for $39.95.

Pulphouse 8

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His signature here is actually neater than the one on the inscribed Axiomatic.

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I may not be the only Sf collector with two Greg Egan signatures, but there can’t be many…

Library Addition: Signed First Edition of J. G. Ballard’s Super-Cannes

Tuesday, September 15th, 2015

Pick up another signed J. G. Ballard first edition:

Ballard, J. G. Super-Cannes. Flamingo, 2000. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with bumping at points, a 1/8″ closed tear at bottom rear fold point, and very slight haze rubbing to reflective silver dust jacket. Inscribed by Ballard: “To Jane,/J.G. Ballard”. Bought for £24 plus shipping.

I think I have a total of six signed Ballards, including the News From the Sun chapbook and the limited edition of his autobiography, Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton.

Library Additions: 4 Books, 3 Non-Fiction

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

Here’s the final titles I bought from the Cold Tonnage 40% off sale, three of which are non-fiction and the fourth just an odd item:

  • Bradbury, Ray (illustrated by Gary Gianni). The Nefertiti-Tut Express. The RAS Press, 2012. First edition oversized oblong (9″ x 12″ long) chapbook edition, a Fine copy, new and unread. Oversized illustrated edition of a longish poem. Signed by Gianni. Bought for £12.
  • Clarke, I. F. Voices Prophesying War. Oxford University Press, 1990. First edition hardback (of this new expanded and updated edition), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket with slight wear on rear points. Non-fiction. The standard reference on future war fiction. Bought for £10.8.
  • (Ellison, Harlan) Priest, Christopher. The Book on the Edge of Forever. Fantagraphics Books, 1994. First edition trade paperback format (perfect-bound with the look and feel of a short graphic novel, which is Fantagraphics primary line), a Fine- copy. Non-fiction. An inquiry into the non-appearance of Harlan Ellison’s massive, long-delayed anthology The Last Dangerous Visions, expanded from an earlier fanzine titled The Last Deadloss Visions. Hugo Award nominee for best Non-Fiction. Bought for £15. Not particularly a Priest fan (I had lunch with two of his ex-wives at the 2014 London Worldcon), but when you’re right…

    Book Edge Forever

  • (Heinlein, Robert A.) Olander, Joseph and Martin Harry Greenberg, editors. Robert A. Heinlein (Writers of the 21st Century Series). Taplinger, 1978. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Non-fiction. Bought for £12.
  • Quick Hits From a Movie Viewing Party

    Monday, September 7th, 2015

    Quick impressions from a movie viewing party yesterday:

    Guardians of the Galaxy: Yep! Not my favorite Marvel, but in the top 10.

    The Lego Movie: A whole lot better than you had any right to expect it to be.

    Coherence: Eh. Ends better than it begins, but shallow California Yuppies sort of spoil the quantum mechanical creepiness.

    Also, congratulations to whoever cut the trailer for The Frame: You’ve managed to craft a trailer so stylistically annoying that I never want to see the movie just to spite you…

    Beware, Evil Doers! You Face The Tick!

    Friday, September 4th, 2015

    In 2001, Fox premiered the live-action version of The Tick. I thought they did a pretty credible effort capturing the comic book’s goofy, off-kilter charm, despite an incredibly modest budget for a live action network show (they couldn’t even hire someone who looked like Jimmy Carter for the pilot).

    So naturally, it being on Fox, they cancelled it after nine episodes

    Now comes word that Amazon is resurrecting the show with Patrick Warburton back in the title role.

    If it gets picked up, I may have to finally break down and subscribe to Amazon Prime…

    (Hat tip: Bill Crider on Facebook.)

    Library Additions: Five Signed Books

    Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

    More books from that Cold Tonnage 40% off order:

  • Brunner, John. Times Without Number. The Elmsfield Press, 1974. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed and dated by Brunner in 1987, with his usual peace symbol. Currey (1979), page 24. Bought for £18.

    Brunner Times Without Number

  • Disch, Thomas and Charles Naylor. Neighboring Lives. Scribner’s, 1981, First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head in a Near Fine- dust jacket with one 1/8″ by 1/4″ triangular chip at top front cover ner head and wear at points. Signed by both Disch and Naylor. Bought for £18.

    Neighboring Lives

    (The scratches in this pic are surface wear on the dj protector.)

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  • Joyce, Graham. The Limits of Enchantment. Gollancz, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Joyce. Bought for £9.
  • Le Guin, Ursula K. From Elfland to Poughkeepsie. Pendragon Press, 1973. First edition paperback chapbook original, #49 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Non-fiction. Currey (1979), page 306. Bought for £18.
  • Williamson, Jack. Manseed. Del Rey, 1982. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Williamson. Bought for £9.
  • John Clute’s Library Going to Telluride Institute

    Wednesday, August 26th, 2015

    I had no idea when I posted that tardy donation news for Allen Lewis’ library yesterday that this would be Great SF Collections Ending Up In Libraries Week.

    Critic John Clute’s considerable SF library is ending up at the Telluride Institute, where Clute is a trustee.

    Allen Lewis Donates His Entire Collection to The University of Iowa

    Monday, August 24th, 2015

    Well, how did I miss this news? Science fiction collector Allen Lewis donated his entire collection of science fiction first editions to the University of Iowa. Here’s another story on the donation, with a few more quotes and pictures of Al in front of his library. (Sadly, the pictures are not large enough to read the titles.)

    I’ve sold many a book of Al over the years (and bought one or two from him). Al was famous for hauling a minivan’s worth of books to get signed at SF conventions. He would frequently get a dealer’s table, less to sell a few extras, but to have a base to store his own books from which to hit the autographing lines.

    It would be nice to browse through the list of what he donated, if they ever get it online…

    Photos from Worldcon Part 2 (The 2014 London Worldcon, That Is)

    Wednesday, August 19th, 2015

    And here’s Part 2 of those London Worldcon pics.

    Note that some pictures are labeled “…and company.” This is code for “I’m slightly less embarrassed about not remembering your name a year later than I would be about getting it wrong.”

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    The lovely and talented Gail Garriger contemplates her next cup of tea.

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    It’s only a matter of time until leopard-skin gloves are all the rage…

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    Tobias Buckell, straight from his performance in Hipsters of the Caribbean.

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    I’m 99% sure this is Martin Hoare with David Langford. After all, it’s Worldcon. How many bearded, gray-haired men with glasses could there be?

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    Apropos of nothing in particular, here’s Mike Walsh.

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    John Kessel.

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    John Kessel in jacket.

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    John Kessel in jacket and the shoes he stole from Lew Shiner.

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    Michael Bulmlein.

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    Jo Walton contemplates the five kilometer hike to her next panel.

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    Your Humble Narrator and Ian McDonald.

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    Stephen Baxter, taking a short break from 100,000 words of galaxy smashing.

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    The ageless Ben Yalow. He stays the same while the original painting for Confessions of a Crap Artist gets older.

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    Signs of the horrific mental degeneration that comes from being a science fiction bookseller…

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    Just ask George Locke!

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    Charlie Stross, caught in the middle of a very geeky plan for world domination.

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    Ben Bova.

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    Ben Bova and Your Humble Narrator.

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    Lawrence Watt-Evans.

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    Lawrence Watt-Evans and company.

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    Lawrence and Lawrence, coming this fall to Fox!

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    Matthew Hughes

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    Ann VanderMeer

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    Jeff and Ann VanderMeer.

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    Stephen Jones.

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    Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman and Jim Burns.

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    John Douglas.

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    Michael Swanwick, yet again.

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    “Come, Mrs. Peel, we’re needed!”

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    Henry Wessels, rocking the seersucker.

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    John Clute and company.

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    Teddy Harvia fooling around with a married woman known only as “Mrs. Thayer.”

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    Robert Jackson Bennett, who I somehow had to travel 5,000 miles to see.

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    Andrew Porter.

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    Scott Edelman.

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    Jeff Orth, one of the three chairs of the 2016 Kansas City Worldcon. Expect him to look approximately 30 years older 380 days from now.

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    James Patrick Kelly, of the Gets-photographed-a-lot-at-Worldcons Patrick Kellys.

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    Has anyone seen Jack Dann and Russell Blackford in the same room at the same time?

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    Janeen Webb.

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    Betsy Mitchell.

    Library Addition: Bob Shaw’s The Palace of Eternity

    Tuesday, August 11th, 2015

    Cold Tonnage was having it’s annual 40% off sale (Andy Richards says he uses the sale to pay his taxes every year), so I picked up several books I’ll be listing over the next week or so.

    Shaw, Bob. The Palace of Eternity. Gollancz, 1970. First hardback edition, a Near Fine copy with one small spot to page block edge and bumping to bottom points, in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with with small dust blemish to spine near Gollancz “SF” logo, a few tiny dust spots elsewhere, and a slight bumping at bottom tips. Inscribed by the author: “To Brian,/with best wishes/Bob Shaw.” Currey (1979), page 431. Pringle SF 100, 61. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, 4-391. Bought for £120, marked down from £200.

    Palace of Eternity