Archive for September, 2017

Library Additions: Four Subterranean Press Books

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

Here are four Subterranean Press books I bought during one of their 50% off sales:

  • Barker, Clive. Infernal Parade. Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #275 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Bought for $30 after discount.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Coco Butternut. Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #274 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Hap and Leonard novella. Bought for $22.50 after discount.
  • Powers, Tim. Medusa’s Web. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #226 of 474 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase, new and unread. Bought for $62.50 after discount.
  • Straub, Peter. The Process (is a Process All Its Own). Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #650 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Novella. Bought for $20 after discount.
  • Library Additions: Two Signed Philip Jose Farmer Firsts

    Tuesday, September 19th, 2017

    Picked up two signed Philip Jose Farmer firsts cheap from the same eBay seller:

  • Farmer, Philip Jose. The World of Tiers Volume One. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), no date (but 1981). First edition hardback thus, an omnibus edition of Maker of Universes and The Gates of Creation, a true first edition thus as indicated by the L44 gutter code on page 311, as per the ISFDB, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with a bit of rubbing. Signed by Farmer. Companion Piece to The World of Tiers Volume Two. Bought for $9.99.
  • Farmer, Philip Jose. The Classic Philip Jose Farmer: 1964—1973. Crown, 1984. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Farmer. Companion piece to The Classic Philip Jose Farmer: 1954—1962. Bought for $17.99.
  • Jerry Pournelle, RIP

    Friday, September 8th, 2017

    I just got word that Jerry Pournelle died today.

    Pournelle was most famous for his collaborations with Larry Niven, and justly so: Lucifer’s Hammer is a great novel, and Inferno and The Mote in God’s Eye are, at the least, very good. But he was a strong writer on his own as well.

    Pournelle lied about his age to get into the army in the Korean War, where he served in the artillery, which gave him life-long tinnitus. He had a widely varied carrier before becoming a science fiction writer, working in the defense industry, then on the successful Los Angeles mayoral campaign of Sam Yorty. He was also a notable advocate of SDI and a prominent columnist for Byte magazine for many years.

    He had a long and successful career as a science fiction writer, winning the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, but never really received his due, for a variety of reasons, some aesthetic (he did a lot of work in Military SF, a subgenre held in low critical esteem), some political (he was an unapologetic conservative and disciple of Russell Kirk), some personal (Jerry rubbed many people the wrong way, and reportedly had a drinking problem in the 1980s). He edited a number of anthologies over the years; when he finally received a Hugo nomination for that, Social Justice Warrior bloc voting made sure he finished below No Award.

    He was 84.

    Edited to Add: A personal remembrance by Borepatch.

    Library Additions: Books Bought at Armadillocon

    Monday, September 4th, 2017

    The giant library post crowded out my updating a few purchases, starting with these books, all of which I picked up at Armadillocon:

  • Dozois, Gardner. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fourth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
  • Brown, Christoper (formerly Chris Nakashima-Brown). Tropic of Kansas. Harper Voyager, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, with a long inscription to me by the author. (I’m also thanked in the acknowledgements.) His first novel, preceded by a co-edited anthology and a chapbook.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Honky Tonk Samurai. Mullholland Books/Little Brown, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Lansdale. Hap & Leonard novel.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Miracles Ain’t What They Used To Be. PM Press, 2015. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed by Lansdale. Collection of non-fiction essays, many autobiographical.
  • Le Guin, Ursula K. The Real and the Unreal: Seclected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin Volume 1: Where on Earth. Small Beer Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Already had Volume 2.