Archive for November, 2010

Howard Waldrop and I Review Skyline

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Over at Locus Online. We were not impressed.

Sadly, Skyline 2 is already in development.

As the first post put it in this Fark thread:

Skyline was a bigger budgeted SyFy movie of the week. I am waiting for the sequel, “Skyline vs MegaHorizon”.

Library Additions, July 12 to November 14, 2010

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

The period right around Halloween and the election was particularly busy, so I took a break from blogging here. To get back in the skiffy swing of things, here’s the latest list of books I’ve added to my library.

Books that I have available for sale through Lame Excuse Books are marked LEB (though some of those titles won’t appear on the stock page until after I send out my next book catalog, which will probably be late this month or early next; email me if you’d like to get on the mailing list to received it).

  • Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship-Breaker. Little Brown, 2010.
  • Baring-Gould, William S.. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1976. Two volumes, reprint.
  • Barker, Clive. Visions of Heaven and Hell. Rizzoli, 2005. Art book.
  • Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers. Orbit, 2010.
  • Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers. Orbit, 2010. Mass market paperback, inscribed by Bennett. (He was giving them away at his Armadillocon signing.)
  • Brackett, Leigh. The Best of Leigh Brackett. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1977. Near Fine/Near Fine.
  • Bradbury, Ray. Dark Carnival. Arkham House, 1946. First edition hardback, good only, with lettering on spine almost completely worn away, spine lean, general wear, and lacking the dust jacket.
  • Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man. Doubleday, 1951. First edition hardback, lacking the dust jacket.
  • Brunner, John. The Jagged Orbit. Ace (SFBC), 1969. (Book club, first hardback edition).
  • Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Subterranean Press, 2010. Signed limited edition.
  • Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Subterranean Press, 2010. Trade edition. LEB
  • Coover, Robert. The Public Burning. Viking, 1977. Signed by Coover.
  • Cullin, Mitch. Tideland. Dufour Editions, 2000. Signed by Cullin. Basis of the Terry Gilliam film.
  • Day, Bradford M. The Supplemental Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Arno Press, 1974. First hardcover edition, Fine, sans dj, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Di Filippo, Paul. Roadside Bodhisattva. PS Publishing, 2010.
  • Doctorow, Cory. Makers. Tor, 2009.
  • Egan, Greg. Zedengi. Orion/Gollancz, 2010. I have the Night Shade edition for sale here.
  • Harrison, Harry. The Stainless Steel Rat Returns. Tor, 2010.
  • Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Chatto & Windus, 1932. VG- only, lacking the dust jacket.
  • Kelly, James Patrick and John Kessel. Rewired: The Postcyberpunk Anthology. Tachyon, 2007. Trade paperback original.
  • King, Stephen. The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla. Donald M. Grant/Scribner’s, 2003. First trade edition.
  • King, Stephen. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. Donald M. Grant/Scribner’s, 2004. First trade edition.
  • Kay, Guy Gavriel. Under Heaven. Roc, 2010.
  • Kunitz, Stanley J. & Howard Haycraft. British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary. H. W. Wilson, 1975. Fifth printing, an Ex-Library copy, otherwise Fine-, no dust jacket, presumably as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Kunitz, Stanley J. & Howard Haycraft. British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. H. W. Wilson, 1982. Eighth printing, an Ex-Library copy, otherwise Fine-, no dust jacket, presumably as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Deadman’s Road. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lake, Jay. The Sky That Wraps. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lake, Jay. Specific Gravity of Grief. Fairwoods Press, 2010. LEB
  • Leiber, Fritz. Strange Wonders. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lentz, Harris M. III. Science Fiction, Horror, & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Second Edition: Volume 1: Credits. McFarland & Company, 2001. Ex-library copy, otherwise Fine-, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Ligotti, Thomas. The Conspiracy Against the Human Race. Hippocampus Press, 2010. Non-fiction.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. Black Seas of Infinity: The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. SFBC, 2001.
  • Lovecraft, H.P. Collected Poems. Arkham House, 1963. VG/VG, with top inch of boards discolored and sun-fading to spine.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft Hippocampus Press, 2010. Two volumes, one of 1000 sets. Non fiction. LEB
  • Manvell, Roger, ed. The International Encyclopedia of Film. Joseph, 1972. Near Fine/Near Fine.
  • McDevitt, Jack. Time Travelers Never Die. Ace, 2009.
  • McDonald, Ian. The Dervish House Pyr, 2010.
  • (Moorcock, Michael) Bilyeu, Richard. The Tanelorn Archives: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography of the Works of Michael Moorcock 1949-1979. Pandora’s Books, 1981. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Niven, Larry. Stars & Gods. Tor, 2010.
  • Oliver, Chad. The Wolf is My Brother. Herbert Jenkins, 1968. First UK and first hardback edition, a Near Fine copy in a Good+ only dust jacket, missing an irregular 3/4″ x 1/2″ ship at head, and shallow chipping and edgewear. I didn’t even know there was a hardback until I chanced across this copy (though it is in Currey).
  • Pohl, Frederik. The Best of Frederik Pohl. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1975.
  • (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John, editor Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography PS Publishing, 2009. One of 200 signed, numbered Slipcased copies in slipcase with companion volume, The Waters Deep, Deep, Deep, not included with the trade edition. Non-fiction with additional fictional material included.
  • (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John, editor Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography PS Publishing, 2009. One of 26 signed, lettered Deluxe copies in slipcase with two companion volumes, The Waters Deep, Deep, Deep and bound, photographic reproduction of the original hand-written manuscript for The Anubis Gates, not included with the trade or Slipcased editions. Slipcase and Anubis Gates volume very slightly bumped, otherwise Fine/Fine. Non-fiction with additional fictional material included.
  • Priest, Cherie. Clementine. Subterranean Press, 2010.
  • Reilly, John. The Painted Word: Paintings by John Reilly. Cross Publishing, 2008. Trade paperback original, NF, slightly bumped and bent in center. Art book.
  • Rucker, Rudy. Hylozoic. Tor, 2009.
  • Sadler, Jeff, editor. Twentieth Century Western Writers: Second Edition. St. James Press, 1991. Ex-library copy., otherwise Fine-, sans dust jacket.
  • Schmitz, James A. The Demon Breed. Ace (SFBC), 1968. First hardback edition, a Fine/Fine- with a trace of edgewear.
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Five: The Palace at Midnight. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Last Song of Orpheus. Subterranean Press, 2010. On of 200 signed, leatherbound copies.
  • Summers, Rev. Montague. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. E. P. Dutton, 1929. First U.S. edition, VG, lacks dust jacket. Non-fiction.
  • Straub, Peter. The Juniper Tree. Subterranean Press, 2010. Signed, limited edition. LEB
  • Straub, Peter. The Juniper Tree. Subterranean Press, 2010. Trade edition. LEB
  • Stross, Charles. The Fuller Memorandum. Ace, 2010.
  • Stross, Charles. Toast. Wyrm Publishing, 2010. First limited edition and first edition thus, signed, with new material. LEB
  • Pringle, David, ed. The St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers. St. James, 1998. Ex-Library copy, otherwise NF.
  • Wells, H. G. The World of William Clissold. Published by Ernest Benn (UK) 1926. Three volumes, one of 198 copies signed by Wells on the title page. Full description here.
  • Vance, Jack. The Complete Dying Earth. SFBC, 1998. First omnibus edition.
  • Vance, Jack. Ports of Call/Lurulu. SFBC, 2004. First omnibus edition.
  • Vance, Jack. Sjambak. Wildside Press, 2010. Chapbook. (There seem to be multiple copies of this title from multiple POD publishers this year, so I’m unclear on the publishing precedence. I suspect that Vance failed to file a renewal, allowing the work to slip into the public domain, which is why it can be found at Project Gutenberg.)
  • VandeerMeer, Jeff, ed.. Last Drink Bird Head. Wyrm Publishing, 2010.
  • Wolfe, Gene. The Best of Gene Wolfe. Tor, 2009.
  • Wolfe, Gene. Home Fires: Tor, 2011. Uncorrected proof, trade paperback format. Details here.
  • Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn. False Dawn. Doubleday, 1978. NF/NF copy, signed by Yarbro.
  • Previous posts on my library:

  • A more comprehensive look at my library can be found here.
  • A previous list of library additions from January to June 2010 is here.
  • A previous list of library additions from December 2009 to January 2010 can be found here.
  • Here’s a list of books I picked up on a book-hunting trip to Archer City and Denton.
  • Lots of Science Fiction Showing Up in the Public Domain

    Thursday, November 11th, 2010

    Take a look at this list of new science fiction put up at Project Gutenberg. Lots of familiar (and fairly recent) names there: Philip K. Dick, Mark Clifton, Leigh Brackett, Poul Anderson, Norman Spinrad, Frederik Pohl, and Jack Vance. And the last three of those are still alive.

    It would be interesting to know how these slipped into the public domain. Did the original magazines where they appeared use work-for-hire contracts, or did the authors forget to file the copyright renewal?

    Edited to add: Wrong link, fixed now.

    Edited to add 2: Really, really fixed now. This time for sure!

    Not Going to the Austin Comic Con

    Thursday, November 11th, 2010

    As I’m going to be busy watching Skyline (another movie Howard and I are reviewing) and they didn’t have any literary SF guests, I won’t be going to The Austin Comic Con (though I have friends who are going). But they do seem to have rounded up a surprisingly large number of 70s TV stars (plus Chewbacca, Darth Maul, Billy Dee Williams and, err, the cast of The Film I Refuse to Name). (And I’ve already met Lee Majors, for certain values of “met” that include “have your hand touched briefly as you walk past in a line with 10,000 other kids and their parents at a Toys”R”Us opening in the 1970s.” Also “met” William Shatner that way. I wonder when Toys”R”Us stopped hiring TV celebrities for store openings?)

    But I must admit I’m a little bit tempted to go just to meet Oscar Goldman.

    Oh, and here’s a hint for the Austin Comic Con Webmaster: if you’re going to copy text out of a Wikipedia entry, it’s usually best to take out the “[citation needed]” bit…

    Not Dead, Playing Starcraft II

    Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

    I was so busy during Halloween weekend and the election that I haven’t been blogging much here. Instead I’ve been unwinding playing some StarCraft II. I finished the Terran Campaign on medium, and have been playing some AI matches to bone up on the intricacies. (As far as I can tell, the Zerg still suck.)

    Expect regular blogging to resume in a few days…

    Howard and I Rave About Monsters

    Monday, November 1st, 2010

    Over at Locus Online.

    Read the review, but the short version is that we really liked it. Here’s the short trailer:

    The problem with that trailer is that it makers you think the movie is something from the “BOO shock” school of horror films, and it really isn’t.

    And here’s an interview with director Gareth Edwards:

    If it’s playing anywhere near you I would encourage you to see it.