In case you missed it, there’s a swell profile of Joe R. Lansdale in the latest Texas Monthly. For a writer who’s always been on the cusp of fame, he’s done pretty darn well for himself. It helps that he’s good and prolific…
(Hat tip: Bill Crider.)
In case you missed it, there’s a swell profile of Joe R. Lansdale in the latest Texas Monthly. For a writer who’s always been on the cusp of fame, he’s done pretty darn well for himself. It helps that he’s good and prolific…
(Hat tip: Bill Crider.)
Here’s a list of all the books I picked up between July 1 and December 31 of 2015.
Many of the paperback originals here were bought for approximately 25¢ each from Houston bookstore Twice Told Tale’s going out of business sale in November, where prices were $15 a paper grocery sack full of books.
For some reason, the last half year of book purchases has been heavy on Normans. Go figure…
(Dick, Philip K.) Wintz, Henry and David Hyde. Precious Artifacts: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography: United States of America and United Kingdom Editions 1955-2012. Wide Books, 2012. First edition hardback, #77 of 100 signed, hardback copies, a Fine- copy with slight delamination lift along top front spine join gutter, in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, with errata slip and related postcards laid in. Bought off eBay for $26.
Here’s the comprehensive roundup of all the books I’ve added to my professional library between July 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014. Some of these I’ve blogged about before, but not all of them. All books are Fine/Fine first edition hardbacks, unless otherwise marked.
Copies of most of the small press books from Subterranean, Hippocampus, etc. listed above will be available through the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Here’s all the books I added to my professional science fiction library over the first half of the year. All these are Fine first edition hardbacks in Fine dust jackets unless otherwise noted.
Bought in a lot with:
Here’s the official trailer for Cold in July, the film based on the Joe R. Lansdale novel starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnston.
I hear Joe himself is pleased with it, and his daughter Kasey has a song on the soundtrack.
Pretty promising.
Someone was selling off a numbered of signed editions of books on eBay; three of those are here, and the fourth (Farmer’s River of Time) was from Lloyd Currey.
I didn’t pay more than $40 for any of these…
Today is the 79th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth. To celebrate, enjoy the trailer for Bubba Ho Tep. And if you haven’t seen Bubba Ho Tep yet, why not?
It’s been another landmark year for adding books to my library of science fiction first editions. This post documents everything I bought after my big Zelazny acquisition on June 13, including some books that have been covered in posts since, and many that haven’t. (What I bought earlier in the year before the big Zelazny purchase can be found here.) All are first edition hardbacks, Fine copies in Fine dust jackets, unless otherwise noted.
Vance, Jack. Gold and Iron. Underwood/Miller, 1982. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a slight wrinkle at rear heel. Previously published in paperback as Slaves of the Klau. Hewett, A9e.
Over on my post about the first hardback edition of Texas Night Riders, reader Jason Bovberg asked for a scan of Joe’s rarest book, the pseudonymous porn novel Molly’s Sexual Follies, since he had never seen one before. I checked online, and indeed there seem to be no scans of this book’s cover, so here’s a scan of my copy.
Lansdale, Joe R. with Brad Foster (as Mark Simmons). Molly’s Sexual Follies. Beeline Books, 1982. First edition paperback original, a VG- copy with considerable creasing and 1/2″ of separation between front cover and spine at heel.
Any other rarities from The Person Collection (he said vaingloriously) people want to see?
Time once again for Lawrence Just Plops the Latest Book Catalog on the Blog. I should be taking all these books (and many more besides) to Worldcon.
Before the catalog itself, some big news: I will be dealing books at this year’s Worldcon in San Antonio. I’ll have three tables there and as much of my stock as I think will fit. Come on by! (Also, if you have some tasty SF/F/H first editions you want to part with, let me know.)
Back to the catalog! Once again there’s lots of great stuff, including new books from Joe R. Lansdale, Philip K. Dick, Tim Powers, Avram Davidson and Jack Vance, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winners, some early Iain Banks (one signed), the collecting bible of the field (L. W. Currey’s guide to first editions), a big, thick guide to SF speciality publishers of the golden age, and numerous small press books from Golden Gryphon, Subterranean, PS Publishing, Centipede Press, and Fedogan & Breamer (yeah, they’re back) among others. Only a few sale books this time around, since I’m hoping to sell a boatload at Worldcon. Most in-print hardbacks start at $3 off cover price, and as usual I only have one or two copies for most titles, so you might want to act quickly.
The URL for the main Lame Excuse Books webpage is:
https://www.lawrenceperson.com/lame.html
My blog, where I do a lot of book geeking (including new additions to my own collection; I just bought a bunch of rare Zelazny) is:
https://www.lawrenceperson.com
I’m still doing a Lame Excuse Books Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/LameExcuseBooks
Payment, Contact & Shipping Information
E-mail me at lawrenceperson@gmail.com. I can hold books ten days on e-mail or phone requests (please leave a message on my voice mail for the latter: (512) 569-9036). U.S. shipping is $5.00 for the first book, and $1.00 a book thereafter. Foreign shipping is at cost (please inquire; for most locations, Global Priority starts at $23.95 now; yes, it’s gone up again). Books may be returned in the same condition sent for any reason within 10 days of purchase for a full refund. Please make checks payable to Lawrence Person. I can also take PayPal payment to this e-mail address at http://www.paypal.com, and I can take MC and Visa directly through my merchant account.
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Now the books!
LP2063. Baker, Kage. Black Projects, White Knights. Golden Gryphon, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread.Short stories about The Company $15.
LP2064. Banks, Iain M. Against a Dark Background. Orbit, 1993. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight haze rubbing (which means the glossy black areas seem to have a bit of haze on them if you move them back and forth under a strong light), otherwise new and unread. Banks first “pure” non-Culture SF novel. Banks was a phenomenally talented writer who died way too young. $150.
LP2065. Banks, Iain M. Consider Phlebas. Macmillan, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of bend at edge of head and heel, in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket. Read once, by me. The first Culture novel, and Banks’ first “pure” SF novel. Recommended. I’m not seeing a single unsigned first of the Macmillan Consider Phlebas anywhere online. $400.
LP2066. Banks, Iain M. Excession. Orbit, 1996. First edition hardback, a Fine copy (though with the characteristic slight page darkening of Orbit books of this era) in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Banks: “To Narayan/—best wishes/Iain M. Banks”. Recommended. A Culture novel. For some reason I can’t find a single signed Excession on Bookfinder. $200.
LP2068. Bradbury, Ray. Nemo! Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Previously unpublished Ray Bradbury screenplay set in Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strip. Now sold out from the publisher, but I still have it at cover price. $35.
LP2070. Dahlquist, Gordon. The Dark Volume. Bantam, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Sequel to The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters. Only have one. $19.
LP2071. Dann, Jack. The Fiction Factory. A Thousand Deaths. Golden Gryphon, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Collection of all Jack’s collaborative stories, including those with Gardner Dozois, Michael Swanwick, Barry Malzberg, etc. haven’t read all of them, but recommended based on the ones I have, especially “Down Among the Dead Men.” $15.
LP2072. Dick, Philip K. The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 3: On the Dull Earth. Subterranean, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. I don’t really need to provide a blurb here, do I? $37.
LP2073. Di Filippo, Paul. Strange Trades. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection about various jobs. Introduction by Bruce Sterling. Recommended, especially for “The Mill.” $15.
LP1114B. Effinger, George Alec (Neil Gaiman, Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Bradley Denton, Michael Bishop, Mike Resnick, Barbara Hambly, Lawrence Person, Jack Dann, Pamela Sargent, George Zebrowski, Lawrence Person, Richard Gilliam).Live! From Planet Earth. Golden Gryphon, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. Posthumous collection of some of George’s best non-series stories, including “The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything,” “Two Sadnesses,” “All the Last Wars at Once,” and “Seven Nights in Slumberland.” Includes introductions by Neil Gaiman, Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Bradley Denton, Michael Bishop, Mike Resnick, Barbara Hambly, Lawrence Person, Jack Dann, Pamela Sargent, George Zebrowski, Lawrence Person, and Richard Gilliam. Signed by me (I did the introduction to “My Old Man”) at your request. You need one. $15.
LP1950. Effinger, George Alec. A Thousand Deaths. Golden Gryphon, 2000. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Includes all of George’s stories featuring his often-killed protagonist Sandor Courane, including the novel The Wolves of Memory, which George considered the best of his own work before When Gravity Fails. $15.
LP2074. Landis, George. Impact Parameter. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.
LP904B. Lansdale, Joe R. Bumper Crop. Golden Gryphon, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. The second Golden Gryphon best of Lansdale collection, companion to the earlier High cotton (see below). Recommended. You can pay $15 for it now, or $20 after I get it signed at Worldcon (if there are any left).
LP2075. Lansdale, Joe R. Dead Aim. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Latest Hap and Leonard novella. This trade edition is already sold out from the publisher, but I’ve still got it at cover price. $25.
LP2077. Lansdale, Joe R. Devil Red. Knopf, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. The latest Hap and Leonard novel, and compulsively readable. The boys go up against another contract killer, and Vanilla Ride makes another appearance. $15.
LP1962B. Lansdale, Joe R. High Cotton. Golden Gryphon, 2000. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Best of Lansdale collection. Highly recommended. Same deal here: You can pay $15 for it now, or $20 after I get it signed at Worldcon (if there are any left).
LP2078. Lansdale, Joe R., with John Farris and Stephen Gallagher (with introduction by Robert R. McCammon). Night Visions 8. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Anthology series of original horror stories. The Lansdale story, “Incidents On and Off a Mountain Road,” was the basis of an episode in the Masters of Horror TV show. $20.
LP2079. (Lovecraft, H. P.) Price, Robert M., editor. Worlds of Cthulhu. Fedogan & Breamer, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Cthulhu Mythos anthology. Good to see Fedogan & Breamer wake from their deathless slumbers. $26.
LP2080. Lupoff, Richard A. Claremont Tales. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.
LP2081. McDevitt, Jack D. Seeker. Ace, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Nebula Award winner for best novel. $25.
LP2082. Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, one of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Powers latest novella, about a rare book dealer. Now sold out from the publisher, but I’m offering it at cover price. $60.
LP2083. Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. This trade edition is also sold out from the publisher, and also offered at cover price. $30.
LP1970. Resnick, Mike. Blasphemy. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. All of Resnick’s stories dealing with religion in one place. $15.
LP1698. Resnick, Mike. Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks. Golden Gryphon, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.
LP2084. Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Recovering Apollo 8. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.
LP2085. Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Stories for an Enchanted Evening. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.
LP1353. Russell, Eric Frank (edited by John Pelan & Phil Stephenson-Payne). Darker Tides: The Weird Tales of Eric Frank Russell. Midnight House, 2006. First edition hardback, one of only 500 copies. Fine in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. $35.
LP2086. Swanwick, Michael. Vacuum Flowers. Arbor House, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with a bit of dust staining and age darkening to white rear cover and a bit of haze rubbing. His second novel, a well-regarded cyberpunk work. $9.
LP2087. Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, #36 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, as issued. Alternate History novel and winner of the 2011 World Fantasy Award. Only have one. $70.
LP2088. Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Trade edition. Only have one. $35.
LP2089. Vance, Jack. Magic Highways. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Third in Subterranean’s series reprinting the early Jack Vance, gathering sixteen early science fiction stories from 1946 to 1956. $42.
LP2090. VanderMeer, Jeff. Secret Life. Golden Gryphon, 2004. Golden Gryphon, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.
LP801B. Waldrop, Howard (with Bruce Sterling, George R. R. Martin, Leigh Kennedy, Steven Utley, Buddy (Jake) Saunders, and A. A. (Al) Jackson, IV. Custer’s Last Jump and Other Collaborations. Golden Gryphon, 2003. First edition hardback, Fine in a Fine dj. New and unread. Signed by Waldrop, Jackson, Sterling and Utley. In addition to the swell title story, there’s an 11th century Japanese detective story written with Bruce Sterling (“The Latter Days of the Law”) original to this volume, “Black as the Pit From Pole to Pole” (Frankenstein’s Monster in the Hollow Earth, with Utley), and tons more neat stuff. Highly Recommended. You need it. $15 now, $20 after I get Howard to sign it at Worldcon, assuming it doesn’t sell out there.
LP2091. Wellman, Manly Wade. The Complete John Thundstone. Haffner Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. All Wellman’s stories featuring his brainy/brawny psychic detective in one place. Gotta a love a scholar who has a swordcane to fight supernatural evil. Fun stuff. If you don’t already have Carcosa House’s long-out-of-print Lonely Vigils and the two Doubleday novels, What Dreams May Come and The School of Darkness, then you need this. Hell, you might need it anyway. Recommended. $42.
LP2100. Zebrowski, George. Empties. Golden Gryphon, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Horror novel. Howard says it’s a good one. $15.
LP2101. Zebrowski, George. Swift Thoughts. Golden Gryphon, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection, something of a a Best of from this hard SF writer. Introduction by Gregory Benford. $15.
LP2093. Zelazny, Roger. Bridge of Ashes. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Near Fine- dust jacket with one tiny (1/32″) chip and several small (1/16″) closed tears along bottom front, and wear at points. One of Zelazny’s less common hardbacks. Levack 2e. $49.
LP2094. Anderson, Kevin David and Sam Stall. Night of the Living Trekkies. Quirk Books, 2010. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with black remainder mark to top edge, otherwise Fine. Zombies at a Star Trek convention. A little divertimenti to read between chapter’s of Finnigans Wake. $5.
LP2095. Davidson, Avram. The Wailing of the Gaulish Dead. The Nutmeg Point District Mail, 2013. Perfect-bound chapbook first edition, one of 200 copies in heavy cardstock with self-wrapper flaps and errata sheet pasted inside, a Fine copy. $22.
LP2096. Kemp, Earl Terry. The Anthem Series: A Guide to the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Weird Specialty Publisher’s of the Golden Age. The Last Stand, 2012. First edition trade paperback original (TPO), oversized, a Fine copy. Covers SF/F/H small press publishers from the beginning up into the early 1960s, including complete descriptions of all the contents, including plot synopsis for ever individual story! Scattershot and oddly organized, but contains lots of works that aren’t in Chalker/Ownings, as well as listing a lot of ephemera, and pictures of first edition covers compared to later covers. If you collect SF books of this period, you need it. $72.
LP2097. (Lansdale, Joe R.) Michael Blaine, Dennis Etchison, James Kisner, Dean R. Koontz, Joe R. Lansdale, Richard Christian Matheson, Robert R. McCammon, William F. Nolan, Alan Rodgers, David B. Silva, J. N. Williamson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. The Monitors of Providence. World Fantasy Convention, 1986. First edition chapbook original, one of 1000 copies given out at the 1986 World fantasy Convention in Providence, RI, a Fine- copy with a tiny bend to one corner. These aren’t as easy to find as they used to be… $35.
LP2098. Mieville, China. London’s Overthrow. The Westbourne Press, 2012. First edition trade paperback original (I code on copyright page), a format every-so-slightly bigger than a mass market paperback, a Fine copy, new and unread. Appears to be a political rant with color pictures of run-down London, just shy of a hundred pages. Only have one. $25.
LP2099. Robinson, Kim Stanley. The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. Night Shade Books, 2011. First trade paperback edition, reprinting the hardback of the year before. $10.
LP2113. Shaver, Richard S. The Shaver Mystery Volumes I-IV. Armchair Fiction, 2011-2013. First edition trade paperback editions, all Fine, new and unread. Collects stories and ancillary material from the “Shaver Mystery,” Shaver’s weird, strangely compelling conspiracy theory/alternate reality in which a hateful race of “deros” (“detrimental robots”) lived inside he earth, beaming mind-control rays at surface dwellers (and occasionally kidnapping them for torture, food, or sport). Shaver’s elaborate, unhinged vision brought a vast legion of cranks out of the shadows and onto the subscriber ranks of Amazing, whose editor Ray Palmer started publishing Shaver’s stories in 1947, which was to have a considerable impact on SF fandom. I doubt much of this has seen print since it’s original appearance in Amazing, or in Palmer’s subsequent The Hidden World. If you’re a connoisseur of crank literature, Shaver is up there with the whackiest. Collective list price of $52, but yours for $45.
LP2102. Zelazny, Roger. (and Thomas T. Thomas). The Mask of Loki. Baen, 1990. Uncorrected page proofs, trade paperback format, of the paperback first edition, a Fine copy, new and unread. Don’t see another copy online. Previously part of Bob Pylant’s vast collection of Zelazny first editions. $49.
LP2103. Broderick, Damien. The Dreaming Dragons. Pocket Books, 1980. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy, with wear at tips, otherwise tight and square. Interesting novel about an investigation that leads to a dramatic revelation about human consciousness. Pringle, SF100 list. $7.
LP2104. Carriger, Gail. Blameless. Orbit, 2010. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Third book in the very clever Parasol Protectorate steampunk series that started with Soulless. $10.
LP2105. Crichton, Michael. Westworld. Bantam, 1974. Presumed first edition paperback original (no additional printings listed), an Ex-Library copy with stamps and checkout sheet inside front cover, blurb page clipped, stamp on title page, bottom 1″ of front cover starting to detach, and general wear; call it Good+, but it is structurally sound. The novelization of his own script for the “robots go crazy” thriller he directed. $10.
LP2106. Eckert, Allan W. The Hab Theory. Popular Library, 1977. Apparent first paperback edition, preceded by the hardback, a VG copy with spine creases and lean. Well-regarded 700 page disaster novel. $10.
LP2107. Herbert, Frank. The Worlds of Frank Herbert. Ace, 1971. First edition paperback original thus (adding one story not in the UK PBO) with no statement of printing on copyright page and 75¢ on the cover, as per Currey, a VG+ copy with stamp at heel, wear along extremities and at tips, and a pinhead sized indention/scrape to front cover. Short story collection. $5.
LP2108. McDonald, Ian. Empire Dreams. Bantam Spectra, 1988. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with edgewear at head, otherwise tight and square. His first short story collection, including the short version of “King of Morning, Queen of Day” and “Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain, by van Vogh.” Recommended. $7.
LP2109. Moon, Elizabeth. Lunar Activity. Baen, 1990. First edition paperback original, a VG+ copy with spine creasing and lean, crease along top front cover, and general wear. Short story collection. $5.
LP2110. Moon, Elizabeth. Phases. Baen, 1997. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with one page (9/10) formerly dog-eared, otherwise apparently new and unread. Inscribed by Moon: “For Lauren/Best wishes/Elizabeth Moon.” Short story collection. $10.
LP2111. Nolan, William F. Logan’s World. Bantam, 1977. First edition paperback original (no additional printings listed), a Near Fine copy with phantom creasing to front cover, and a few touches of general wear, but tight and square. Sequel to Logan’s Run. $10.
LP2112. van Vogt, A. E. Masters of Time. Manor Books, 1975. Paperback reprint, Near Fine. $3.
LP2113. Waldrop, Howard, and Jake Saunders. The Texas-Israeli War: 1999. Ballantine Books, 1974. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with a bit of bunching near spine and a small crease along outer front cover edge, otherwise a solid square copy. $10.