Archive for May, 2017

Flying Goths

Wednesday, May 31st, 2017

Though I’m tempted to save this for the Halloween season, I’d thought you’d like to see this wonderful, nightmare-inducing flying goth:

There’s a music video for Gothminister’s “Darkside” (lead singer Bjørn Alexander Brem evidently being the model for Goth Guy) intercut with the flying, and you know what? For progressive goth metal, it’s not half bad:

Nice chord progressions, the guy’s actually got good vocal range, and the video is like the 1980s never ended (including all your requisite cheesy heavy metal Satanic tropes).

Library Addition: Frank Kelly Freas’ The Art of Science Fiction

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017

A limited edition SF art book I picked up relatively cheap:

Freas, Frank Kelly. The Art of Science Fiction. Donning, 1977. First edition hardback, #234 of 1,000 copies with a signature plate signed by Freas pasted inside the front cover, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $50 off eBay.

Art Freas

This appears to be the very first SF book published by either Donning or Donning/Starblaze, the latter of which was quite an active imprint until tapering off in the late 1980s.

Shoegazer Sunday: Slowdive’s “Slomo” and “Catch the Breeze” Live

Sunday, May 21st, 2017

I’ve been on a Slowdive kick since I heard the new album has coming out, and it way exceeded my expectations for it.

Here’s a live performance for Pitchfork that features both new and old songs, including “Slomo,” “Catch the Breeze” “Slowdive,” “Star Roving” and “Avalyn.” For some reason the music doesn’t actually start until 7:15 into the video.

Library Addition: Stephen Fabian’s Crystal of a Hundred Dreams Portfolio

Thursday, May 18th, 2017

Another odd Jack-Vance related item:

Fabian, Stephen. Crystal of a Hundred Dreams: A Portfolio by Stephen E. Fabian. Underwood/Miller, 1979. First edition oversized softbound art portfolio, one of 550 sets produced, a Fine copy, still in shrinkwrap. Illustrations from the U/M Jack Vance books The Eyes of the Overworld, The Seventeen Virgins and The Bagful of Dreams. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 431 (where they note it’s “Uncommon,” most sets having been broken up and framed). Bought for $55 from a fellow Jack Vance collector.

IMG_1215

Hard to get a good pick, since it’s too big for the scanner and I kept getting light bounce from the shrinkwrap….

Library Addition: Jess Nevins’ The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Pulp Heroes

Wednesday, May 17th, 2017

Another reference work to file right next to the same author’s Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana:

Nevins, Jess. The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Pulp heroes. Lulu Press, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction reference work covering fantastic pulp heroes from 1902—1945. Bought for $22.49 the first week of publication.

Fantastic Pulp Heroes

Lulu Press is a POD outfit, and this work will evidently be incorporated into a larger, electronic-only encyclopedia of pulp heroes (fantastic and otherwise) forthcoming from Amazon.

Library Addition: Tim Powers’ Poems

Tuesday, May 16th, 2017

I actually bought this last year, at the same time I bought Coffin Nails, but Charnel House didn’t send me my copies until I prodded them in April.

Powers, Tim. Poems. Charnel House, 2016. First edition hardback, #54 of 200 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued.

Powers Poems

I’ll have an additional copy for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

Shoegazer Sunday: The Asteroid Shop’s “On the Rise”

Sunday, May 14th, 2017

Been a while since I featured something from The Asteroid Shop, so here’s “On the Rise”:

Previously I think they were an Austin band. but they now seem to be based out of LA.

Library Addition: Signed, Limited Edition of Postscripts 30/31: Memoryville Blues

Thursday, May 11th, 2017

I used to subscribe to the hardback edition of Postscripts way back when, and have had three stories in various issues, so I try to pick up any issues I’m missing, and the price was certainly right.

Crowther, Peter and Nick Gevers. Postscripts 30/31: Memoryville Blues. PS Publishing, 2013. First edition hardback, #173 of 200 copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase, new and unread. Bought off eBay for $15, which works out to less than a dollar a signature…

Library Addition: Signed, Ltd. Edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017

Not particularly an Atwood fan, but I got it very cheap for a signed, limited edition by a major author:

Atwood, Margaret. The Year of the Flood. Bloomsbury (UK), 2009. First edition hardback, # 653 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards with silver gilt edges, in a Fine slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $7.50 at Half Price Books, marked down from $15 with a 50% off coupon. (I suspect that Half Price got a few copies quietly remaindered from the publisher, as they often do for UK books.)

Atwood Flood

That’s a picture of the front of the slipcase, as there’s no writing on the book itself except on the spine.

According to the ISFDB, this limited edition is a true first (simultaneous with the trade hardback and trade paperback states), and was originally issued at £75, so I got it for less than 1/10th cover price…

Library Additions: Ursula K. Le Guin Signed Postcard

Tuesday, May 9th, 2017

Another addition to my science fiction story/poem postcard collection:

Le Guin, Ursula. To Siva the Unmaker. Science Fiction Poetry Association, 1980. First edition postcard, a near Fine copy with a faint dime-sized stain. Signed by Le Guin. Bought for $15 off eBay.

Le Guin Postcard

I have two other Le Guin postcards, but this is the only one that’s signed.