Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category
Monday, December 8th, 2014
In the same L. W. Currey order as the Bradbury chapbooks, I picked up two H. G. Wells first editions in dust jacket.
Wells, H. G. Men Like Gods. Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1923. First edition hardback (a probable third binding state, as per Currey’s listing, with decorated brown boards with black lettering, which is not recorded in Currey (2002)), a Near Fine copy with slight wear at heel, small, faint stamp to FFE, foxing to gutters and slight bend at head in a Very Good- dust jacket with small sticker remnant on front and shallow chipping at head and heel, and chips at points. Wells’ second socialist utopia. H.G. Wells: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 85. Bought for $22.50
Wells, H. G. The Secret Places of the Heart. Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1922. First edition hardback, first state binding (title blindstamped on cover, as per Currey (2002)), a Fine- copy with slight bending at head and heel and foxing to gutters in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of edgewear. H.G. Wells: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 81. Bought for $37.50
Wells is a bit before the time period I usually collect (post-World War II), but I like his work and he’s tremendously important in developing science fiction.
Tags:Books, H. G. Wells, Science Fiction
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Thursday, December 4th, 2014
Three more Ray Bradbury chapbooks from small press publisher Roy A. Squires, all bought from Lloyd Currey for $28 each.
Bradbury, Ray. Old Ahab’s Friend, and Friend to Noah, Speaks His Piece. Roy A. Squires, 1971. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #152 of 485 copies, a Fine copy.
Bradbury, Ray. That Ghost, That Bride of Time. Roy A. Squires, 1976. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #289 of 400 copies, a Fine copy, in mailing envelope. (You can’t see from the scan, but the title is just barely visible through the slightly translucent paper wrapper.)
Bradbury, Ray. That Son of Richard III. Roy A. Squires, 1974. First edition thread-bound chapbook original, #164 of 400 “ordinary” copies, a Fine copy, in mailing envelope. With small typed note from the publisher laid in: “Send No Money, Rik. We’ll get squared away at Westercon.” and “RAS” signature.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, First Edition, Ray Bradbury, Roy A. Squires, Science Fiction
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Monday, December 1st, 2014
I assume you’ve already seen the teaser trailer for next year’s Star Wars movie.
Well, here’s the LEGO remake. I’m super-impressed with how quickly they put it together, and how amazingly close to the original it is.
Tags:LEGO, Science Fiction, Star Wars, trailer, video
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Monday, November 17th, 2014
I picked up two early Arkham House books from two different sources:
Hodgson, William Hope. The House on the Borderland and Other Novels. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy with bumping at corners, small dust print at bottom page block outer edge, and faint foxing to gutters, in a Very Good+ dust jacket with 1/16″ chip at heel, wear at points (including a pinhead hole at lower front edge), and extremely mild sun-fading to the spine; it’s actually a wonderfully bright example of the Hannes Bok dust jacket, and the only better copies I’ve seen were at least three times the price. Includes the title novel, plus The Boats of the ‘Glen Carrig’, The Ghost Pirates, and The Night Land, all of which were previously published individually (and all of which now go for well over a grand). One of the four large-format Arkhams, the other being H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others and Beyond the Wall of Sleep, and Robert E. Howard’s Skull-Face and Others, all three of which I still lack. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House, 16. Derleth, 30 Years of Arkham House, 16. Jaffrey, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 19. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 16. Blieler, Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 101. Blieler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 821. Bought for £220 plus shipping off eBay.
Walton, Evangeline. Witch House. Arkham House, 1945. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Joshi, Sixty Years of Arkham House, 11. Derleth, 30 Years of Arkham House, 11. Jaffrey, Horrors and Unpleasantries, 11. Nielsen, Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide, 11. Blieler, Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 202. Blieler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 1655. Crawford, Donahue and Grant, 333, page 67. Barron, Horror Literature: A Reader’s Guide, 3-203. Tymn, Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide, 4-216. Bought for $47 off the Internet. It seems that every time I would see a copy at auction, I’d ask myself “Do I already have a copy of that?” Now I know the answer to that question…
Tags:Arkham House, Books, Evangeline Walton, First Edition, Hannes Bok, Horror, Science Fiction, William Hope Hodgson
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Wednesday, November 12th, 2014
I picked this up at Half Price Books on Tuesday using one of their 40% off coupons:
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. Random House, 1957. First edition hardback (“First Printing” stated), a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of bend at head and a tiny bit of pulling away of just the center of the top page block, and a tiny dust print at the outer bottom near page block edge, in a Very Good- first printing ($6.95 price and 10/57 code on front flap) dust jacket with shallow chipping at extremities (most notable at head and heel, perhaps 1/8″ at front and rear spine join points) and associated abrading, and blind-side age darkening, but otherwise an intact and fairly attractive example of the dust jacket. With clipping of a letter from Rand from the March 21, 1960 issue of Time magazine laid in. The novelistic summation of Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, Atlas Shrugged is one of the bestselling books (and most important political novels) of the 20th Century, and a central document for the Libertarian political movement. It’s also science fiction, not only featuring political and economic upheaval in a dystopian future, but also a new super-strong metal alloy and a hidden valley protected by a force field. In college, it took me two weeks to read the first 200 pages of Atlas Shrugged, and two days to read the last 800 pages. A personal favorite of both myself and my father. Bought for $270, marked down from $450.
Tags:Ayn Rand, Books, First Edition, Science Fiction
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Tuesday, November 11th, 2014
Got in three Lovecraft-related new books by Hippocampus Press, all of which I have available through Lame Excuse Books as well:
(Lovecraft, H.P.) Joshi, S. T. Lovecraft and a World in Transition. Hippocampus Press, 2014. First edition hardback, one of 500 copies signed by Joshi (the only edition), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Collection of Joshi’s most important essays on Lovecraft (of which there have been many). List price $65.
(Lovecraft, H.P.) Derie, Bobby. Sex and the Cthulhu Mythos. Hippocampus Press, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. Gahan Wilson cover. Non-fiction work examining sexual themes in a wide variety of Cthulhu Mythos-related work. List price $20.
Webb, Don. Through Dark Angles: Works Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. Hippocampus Press, 2014. First edition trade paperback original, Fine. List price $20.
Also, not in yet but forthcoming: H. P. Lovecraft’s Collected Fiction: A Variorum Edition, a three volume set of the definitive texts of all Lovecraft’s fiction, showing all the different edits made in his stories either by Lovecraft or his various editors. This will be a three volume set limited to 500 copies with a list price of $180.
E-mail me at lawrenceperson@gmail.com if you’re interested in picking any of these up.
Tags:Books, Cthulhu, Don Webb, H. P. Lovecraft, Horror, reference works, S. T. Joshi, Science Fiction
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Monday, November 10th, 2014
The only unifying theme is that all of these are signed first editions:
Buckley, William F. Marco Polo, If You Can. Doubleday, 1982. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bending at head and heel in a Very Good price-clipped and spine-faded dust jacket with shallow chipping at head. Inscribed by the author: “For Roger Birk/Warm regards/Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.” Blackford Oakes spy thriller. Bought for $5.99 at Half Price Books; I only checked it because it had a Mylar dust jacket protector on it. Actually the second signed Buckley I have, along with the copy of Right Reason he signed for me my senior year in college.
Clement, Hal. Half Life. Tor, 1999. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Clement: “”Hal Clement” (Harry C. Stubbs)”. Bought for $19 from an eBay seller.
Gibson, William. The Peripheral. Putnam, 2014. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed to me by Gibson at BookPeople on November 2, 2014: “TO LAWRENCE/WM GIBSON”. Near-future SF that sounds interesting. About a hundred people turned out for the Gibson signing, which is the second biggest crowd I’d seen there next to Neil Gaiman’s signing for Anansi Boys. I’ll have several signed William Gibson items available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Knight, Damon. Why Do Birds Tor, 1992. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Knight: “for Mark/Damon Knight”. With review slip laid in. Bought for $12.50 from an eBay seller.
Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. Doubleday, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by the author. Fantasy, a first novel that got a lot of positive buzz. Bought for $27 (including buyer’s premium) off Heritage Auctions.
Noon, Jeff. Vurt. Crown, 1993. First hardback and first American edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Noon: “To Shirley/Good Feathers/Jeff Noon” (with a drawing of a feather). Supplements an unsigned edition.
Tags:Books, Damon Knight, Fantasy, Hal Clement, Science Fiction, William F. Buckley Jr., William Gibson
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Monday, November 3rd, 2014
I know several people who will find this amusing…
First spotted on Fox’s Animation Domination High Def, which I’d feel more comfortable recommending if it weren’t currently 85% Axe Cop by volume….
Tags:Anime, Science Fiction, video
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Friday, October 31st, 2014
If you were planning on driving anywhere near downtown or the airport this weekend, be aware that Formula 1 is in town. That also includes Fanfest downtown, so expect major street closures. Plan accordingly.
And speaking of downtown, William Gibson will be signing his new book The Peripheral at BookPeople at 5 PM on Sunday, November 2. Hopefully the traffic won’t be too horrible on that side of town…
Tags:Austin, Books, Science Fiction, traffic, William Gibson
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Friday, October 17th, 2014
This is one of those cases of coming across something on eBay and going, “Yes, I do want that.”
Yellin, Herb. Lord John Film Festival. Lord John Press, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Signed by Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison and Janet Leigh.
Yellin was the owner of Lord John Press, and this book is a miscellanea of remembrances and appreciations of various films interspersed with examples from his large collection of signed movies photos, posters, lobby cards, etc.
I was briefly worried when I realized that Bloch died in 1994, and Janet Leigh in 2004, but the book has evidently been in production for quite a while. A copy up on Amazon is signed by the same five people, but the signatures look slightly different.
Lord John was an interesting, eclectic press, with both genre and mainstream books (along with signed Gerald R. Ford books). I have a significant fraction of their SF/F/H output, but don’t have Stephen King’s Dolan’s Cadillac.
Tags:Dennis Etchison, Janet Leigh, Lord John Press, Movies, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Science Fiction
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