Posts Tagged ‘Gene Wolfe’
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
Any year is a good year to read Gene Wolfe, but it seems that right now we’re in a Gene Wolfe Year, or even a Gene Wolfe Sesquiennial, which started with his induction into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and continued with him being named Nebula Grandmaster.
Then Michael Andre-Driussi (the author of Lexicon Urthus and other useful Wolfe critical works) published this:
And sent me a review copy, which I hope to get to shortly. I also have copies of Gate of Horn, Book of Silk for sale through Lame Excuse Books; just drop me a line if you want one.
And this just arrived in the mail:
That’s Shadows of the New Sun: Stories in Honor of Gene Wolfe, edited by Bill Fawcett and J.E. Mooney, which is due out in August. Complete contents here.
We’ll see if I can’t review both of those here in the coming months.
Ironically, I’m actually reading another Wolfe-related book with the same title right now: Peter Wright’s Shadows of the New Sun: Wolfe on Writing/Writers on Wolfe, which includes the interview I did with him for Nova Express. When I had lunch with him at the Chicago Worldcon, Gene said even he didn’t have a copy of the Wright book.
Hopefully Gene will be able to come to the San Antonio Worldcon. He said he was going to try to make it.
Tags: Books, Gene Wolfe, Michael Andre-Driussi, Science Fiction, Shadows of the New Sun
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Time for another roundup of what additions I’ve made to my library of science fiction first editions. This is what I’ve picked up in the last six months. All are Fine/Fine hardback first editions unless otherwise noted.
Adams, Douglas. Mostly Harmless. Harmony Books, 1992. First U.S. edition, a Fine hardback in a Fine- dust jacket with a trace of haze rubbing along the spine join. Inscribed by Adams: “To Bev + Bill/Douglas Adams.” Bought for $7.99 at Half Price Books on University in Houston.
Aldiss, Brian. Summer 1773. The Bellevue Press, 1976. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Anderson, Poul. Fantasy. Tor/Pinnacle, 1981. Paperback original, Near Fine+ with faint spine crease.
Barnes, Steven. Assassin and Other Stories. ISFiC Press, 2010. Signed by Barnes.
Barrett, Neal, Jr. Other Seasons. Subterranean Press, 2012.
Bishop, Michael. White Power Poem. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Blaylock, James P. The Shadow on the Doorstep. ISFiC Press, 2011.
Blaylock, James P. Zeuglodon (with Hans Clinker). Subterranean Press, 2012. One of 250 signed and numbered copies (with a signed and numbered chapbook).
Blaylock, James P. Zeuglodon. Subterranean Press, 2012. Trade edition.
Bradbury, Ray. Greentown/Tinseltown. Stanza Press, 2012. First edition hardback, Fine in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. Miscellaneous collection of Bradbury material (stories, poems, essays, holographic material, etc.) about growing up on both a small town and (later) Los Angeles.
Bradbury, Ray. The Last Circus & The Electrocution. Lord John Press, 1980. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Bradbury. Two stories and an afterword, plus an introduction by William F. Nolan.
Carr, James and Archana Kumar. Hipster Hitler. Feral House, 2012. Advanced copy of trade paperback first edition. Cartoon collection.
Carroll, Jonathan. The Woman Who Married a Cloud. Subterranean Press, 2012. One of 350 signed, numbered, leatherbound copies.
Carroll, Jonathan. The Woman Who Married a Cloud. Subterranean Press, 2012. Trade edition.
Chambers, Robert W. The King In Yellow. F. Tennyson Neely (as part of their Neely’s Prismatic Library series), 1895. First edition, first printing of green cloth with brown lettering, with lizard design on cover and review of In the Quarter at rear. Full details here.
[Coen, Joel & Ethan] Luhr, William G. The Coen Brothers’ Fargo. Cambridge University Press, 2004. First edition hardback, Near Fine with remainder mark to head, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
Cowper, Richard. The Story of Pepita & Corindo (with The Young Student). Cheap Street, 1982. First edition chapbooks, both Fine copy in wraps, each #15 in a signed edition of 75 slipcased copies.
Crowley, John. Beasts. Doubleday, 1976. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Crowley: “June 1988 4th St/To Scott/John Crowley.” Supplements a copy inscribed by Crowley to me which has a weird spine defect.
Dann, Jack. Borges. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Dann, Jack. Hallways. The Bellevue Press, 1974. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Datlow, Ellen and Terri Windling, editors. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s, 2002.
Datlow, Ellen, Kelly link and Gavin Grant, editors. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Nineteenth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s, 2006.
Dick, Philip K. The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1980-82 (Volume Six). Underwood Books, 2005. Nonfiction.
Disch, Tom. The West Coast. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Dorman, Sonya. Pomegranate. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Dozois, Gardner. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection. St. Martins, 2012.
Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with a 1″ closed tear along bottom rear spine join. Pulitzer Prize winner.
Grant, Mira. When Will You Rise: Stories to End the World. Subterranean Press, 2012.
Hamilton, Peter F. Manhattan in Reverse Subterranean Press, 2012. First limited edition one of 250 signed, numbered copies.
(Heinlein, Robert A.) William H. Patterson & Andrew Thronton. The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. Nitrosyncratic Press, 2001. Trade paperback original. Picked up at the Heinlein Society party at the Chicago Worldcon for free.
(Howard, Robert E.) Herron, Don, editor. The Dark Barbarian: The Writings of Robert E. Howard: A Critical Anthology. Greenwood Press, 1984. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued.
(King, Stephen) Beahm, George. Knowing Darkness: Artists Inspired by Stephen King. Centipede Press, 2009. First edition oversized hardback (slipcase is 15 3/4″ high by 11 1/2″ wide), a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, in fine, illustrated slipcase.
Kushner, Ellen. Swordspoint. Unwin Hyman, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by the author: “To Scott/Best Wishes/Ellen Kushner.” Supplements my inscribed American first edition.
Lake, Jay. Escapement. Tor, 2008. Signed by Lake.
Lansdale, Joe R. All the Earth Thrown to the Sky. Delacorte Press, 2011. Signed by Lansdale.
Lansdale, Joe R. The Cases of Dana Roberts. Subterranean, 2011. First edition chapbook, Fine in wraps. Originally published to accompany the limited edition of Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2. This copy signed by and purchased from the author.
Lansdale, Joe R. Edge of Dark Water. Mulholland Books/Little Brown, 2012. Signed by Lansdale.
Lansdale, Joe R. Trapped in the Saturday Matinee. PS Publishing, 2012.
Lansdale, Joe R. with Karen Lansdale and Keith Lansdale. In Waders From Mars. Subterranean Press, 2012.
Le Guin, Ursula K. From Hsin Ch’i-chi 1140-1207. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Le Guin, Ursula K. Travelling. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Leicht, Stina. And Blue Skies From Pain. Night Shade Books, 2012. Trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Inscribed to me by the author after purchase.
Lichtenberg, Jacqueline. Unto Zeor, Forever. Doubleday, 1978. First edition hardback, a Fine-/Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and heel. Full page inscription by the author.
Lovegrove, James. Diversifications. PS Publishing, 2011.
Matheson, Richard. Other Kingdoms. Tor, 2011.
McAllister, Bruce. Humanity Prime. Ace, 1971. Paperback original, Fine- with name inside cover.
McDonald, Ian. The Twenty Five Mile High Club. Birmingham Science Fiction Group, 2002. First edition chapbook, #283 of 325 copies.
Moody, David. Trust. Infected Books, 2012. One of 500 signed, numbered hardback copies.
Lumley, Brian. No Sharks in the Med and Other Stories. Subterranean Press, 2012.
Moorcock, Michael. The Jade Man’s Eyes Unicorn Bookshop, 1973. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. An original Elric novella. An odd trim size, being wider than the standard mass market paperback. Currey (1978), p. 370.
Novik, Naomi. Tongues of Serpents. Del Rey, 2010.
Pohl, Frederik. Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2. Ballantine Books, 1953. First edition hardback, a VG copy with dust-staining along top page block edges and wear along bottom boards in a VG dust jacket with slight sun-fading to spine and dust staining to white rear cover.
Powers, Tim. Hide Me Among the Graves. Charnel House, 2012. First limited edition, one of 124 signed, numbered copies in mica-flecked boards, a Fine copy, sans dj, as issued. The usual oversized, elaborate Charnel House production, ordered pre-publication.
Reeves, Michael and John Pelan, editors. Shadows Over Baker Street. Del Rey, 2003.
Resnick, Mike. Stalking the Zombie. American Fantasy, 2012. One of 250 signed, numbered copies.
Resnick, Mike. Stalking the Zombie. American Fantasy, 2012. Trade edition.
Resnick, Mike, et. al. Win Some, Lose Some. ISFiC Press, 2012. First edition hardback, Fine-/Fine- with a bumped corner. Signed by Resnick and several other contributors.
Resnick, Mike, editor. Alternate Warriors. Tor, 1993. PBO, Fine-.
Resnick, Mike and Joe Siclari, editor. Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches. ISFiC Press, 2006. Non-fiction.
Reynolds, Alistair, and Liz Williams. Odyssey 2010 Souvenir Book. Contains original Reynolds/Williams novelette “Lune and the Red Empress”.
River, Uncle. Counting Tadpoles. PS Publishing, 2009. Fine in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued.
Silverberg, Robert. The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume Seven: We Are for the Dark 1987-90. Subterranean Press, 2012. Fine, sans dj, as issued.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The City of the Singing Flame. Timescape, 1981. Paperback original thus (though I believe all the stories appeared previously in various Arkham House collections), Near Fine+ with one 1/4″ stray brown mark to page edges.
Stross, Charles. The Apocalypse Codex. Ace, 2012. The fourth Laundry novel.
Sturgeon, Theodore. Case and the Dreamer: Volume XIII: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon. North Atlantic Books, 2010.
Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. One of 100 signed, numbered copies.
Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. Trade edition. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume V: The Lost Road and Other Writing. Houghton Mifflin, 1987. First American edition, Fine-/Fine. See here for details for this and the following Tolkien books.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume IV: The Shaping of Middle Earth. Houghton Mifflin, 1986. First American edition, Fine-/Fine.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume VI: The Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings Part One. Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume VII: The Treason of Isengard: The History of the Lord of the Rings Part Two. Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume VIII: The War of the Ring: The History of the Lord of the Rings Part Three. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume IX: Sauron Defeated: The History of the Lord of the Rings Part Four. Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume X: Morgoth’s Ring: The Later Simarillion Part One. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume XI: The War of the Jewels: The Later Simarillion Part Two. Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (edited by Christopher Tolkien) The History of Middle Earth Volume XII: The People of Middle Earth. Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
Vance, Jack. The House on Lily Street. Underwood/Miller, 1979. First edition hardback, one of 450 copies, a Fine copy in a Fine- dustjacket with 1/2″ closed tear at head. Signed by Vance. Hewett A55.
Vance, Jack. Monsters in Orbit b/w The World Between and Other Stories. Ace Books, 1965. paperback original, Fine. Hewett A20a/A21a. Currey (1978), page 499.
Vance, Jack. The Seventeen Virgins & The Bagful of Dreams. Underwood/Miller, 1979. One of only 111 signed hardback copies, a Fine- copy with a tiny bump to bottom front boards in a Fine dust jacket. Hewett A58b and A59b.
Vinge, Joan D. There Are Songs. Science Fiction Poetry Association, 1980. First edition postcard.
Walton, Jo. Among Others. Tor, 2011. Signed by the author.
Wells, Martha. The Serpent Sea. Night Shade Books, 2012. Trade paperback original.
Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan. Simon Pulse, 2009.
Willis, Connie. Blackout. Ballantine Books, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of crimping at the top of the dust jacket.
Williams, Tad. A Stark and Womry Knight. Subterranean Press, 2012. One of 250 signed, numbered, leatherbound copies.
Williams, Tad. A Stark and Womry Knight. Subterranean Press, 2012. Trade edition.
Wolfe, Gene. Home Fires. PS Publishing, 2011. First limited and first UK edition, one of 300 hardback copies signed by Wolfe.
Wolfe, Gene. On Lyra III. Science Fiction Poetry Association, 1980. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn. Constellations. The Bellevue Press, 1977. Postcard first edition, Fine.
Zelazny, Roger (created by). Ever After. Baen, 1995. Paperback original, Fine.
Tags: Book Collecting, Books, Ellen Datlow, First Edition, Gene Wolfe, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jack Dann, Jack Vance, James P. Blaylock, Joe R. Lansdale, Mike Resnick, Ursula K. Le Guin
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 13th, 2012
In a well-earned and long-overdue honor, SFWA has finally named Gene Wolfe a Nebula Grandmaster.
Congratulations to Gene for a lifetime of great work, and to SFWA for getting this one right.
(Hat tip: SF Signal.)
Tags: Books, Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Nebula, Science Fiction, SFWA
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
“I understand what all those word mean individually, but together in the same sentence they don’t make any sense!”
Sometimes you buy something just so that later you can prove to people it exists.
This is one of those times.
Feast your eyes on this:
I thought they might be white chocolate covered Pringles. But no, they’re regular Pringles with a hint of…white chocolate peppermint. It’s actually pretty subtle. But I’m not sure I want my mass produced pressed potato chips to be “subtle.”
If you want to try them, you should probably pick them up, as I doubt you’ll see them again after this Christmas.
By the way, did you know that Gene Wolfe helped engineer the machine that makes Pringles? Absolutely true. He designed the part that cooks the chips.
Tags: Gene Wolfe, potato chips, Pringles, weird
Posted in Food, pics, weird | No Comments »
Thursday, September 6th, 2012
The obligatory Stina Leicht picture:
Stina was a John W. Campbell Award nominee this year, and she moderated a panel that included Gene Wolfe, Martha Wells, and Joan D. Vinge (below).
After the panel I had lunch with Gene Wolfe, Gary K. Wolfe (below), Gene’s daughter Teri Goulding, and Gary’s girlfriend Stacie Hanes.
Gary ordered the Frank Gehry Sandwich, impressively postmodern and completely impractical.
Alaskan David Marusek:
Laura Ann Gilman. “Smile broadly! Drink heavily!”
Bookseller and Tiger Eye Press publisher Chris Edwards:
Allen Steele.
Jim Minz and Catherine Asaro. I trust you can guess which is which.
James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel and David Marusek. “Look into my eyes!”
Toastmaster and SFWA President John Scalzi:
Tags: Catherine Asaro, Chicago, Conventions, David Marusek, Frank Gehry, Gary K. Wolfe, Gene Wolfe, James Patrick Kelly, Jim Minz, Joan D. Vinge, John Kessel, John Scalzi, Laura Ann Gilman, pics, Stina Leicht, Worldcon
Posted in Fantasy, pics, technology | 1 Comment »
Saturday, February 4th, 2012
Better late than never!
In the Before Time, the Long Long Ago (i.e., before I started this blog), I would ask The Vast Wisdom of Usenet (i.e. rec.arts.sf.written) what books I should read this year. Now that I have the blog, I’m posting the question here.
Below are 100 books (or a few more, counting multiple titles by a single author) of fiction I’m considering reading in 2012. With a few exceptions (like forthcoming books), they’re pretty much all books I already own in first editions. Most likely I’ll get to considerably less than 100. The first few are books I’ll probably get to (or are already reading), whereas the rest are a little vaguer (and in alphabetical order by author). That’s where you come in. Tell me which of the books below I should or shouldn’t read, and why. If a book’s not on the list, it’s probably because I’ve already read it, or have no interest in it, won’t get to it this year, etc., so save your electrons instead of suggesting alternates (there are plenty of other places for that). And if I list Book #2 in a linear series, rest assured I’ve already read Book #1.
I don’t promise I’ll read all the highest rated works, but those most highly praised are considerably more likely to be added to the reading stack, which is what’s happened the previous years I’ve done this.
Michael Shea: The Color Out of Time (read)
Jack Vance: The Killing Machine (read)
Stina Leicht: Of Blood & Honey (reading)
Joe R. Lansdale: Hyenas
Joe Dominici: Bringing Back the Dead
China Mieville: Embassytown
Robert Jackson Bennett: Company Man
Vernor Vinge: The Children of the Sky
Philip K. Dick: Clans of the Alphane Moon
Michael Moorcock: The War Hound and the World’s Pain
Greg Egan: Crystal Nights
Peter Ackroyd: Hawksmoor
Paolo Bacigalupi: The Windup Girl
Iain Banks: Against a Dark Background or Matter
John Barnes: Kaleidoscope Century or One for the Morning Glory
Stephen Baxter: Traces or Mayflower II
Peter S. Beagle: A Fine and Private Place
Greg Bear: The City at the End of Time or Hull Zero Three
Leigh Brackett: The Best of Leigh Brackett or The Long Tomorrow
David Brin: Dr. Pak’s Preschool
Tobias Buckell: Sly Mongoose or Tides from the New World
Octavia Butler: Fledgeling
Jack Cady: The Night We Buried Road Dog
Ramsey Campbell: Creatures of the Pool
Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
John Christopher: No Blade of Grass
Susanna Clarke: Ladies of Grace Adieu
Hal Clement: Iceworld
Avram Davidson: The Adventures of Dr. Esterhauzy or Limekiller
L. Sprague de Camp: A Gun for Dinosaur
Bradley Denton: Laughin’ Boy
Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Paul Di Filippo: Lost Pages or A Princess of the Linear Jungle
George Alec Effinger: What Entropy Means to Me
Harlan Ellison: Deathbird Stories
Greg Egan: Crystals Nights or Zendegi
John M. Ford: The Dragon Waiting
Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things or The Graveyard Book
Hinko Gotleib: The Key to the Great Gate
John Gardner: Freddy’s Book or The Wreckage of Agathon
Ray Garton: Night Life or Nids
Jane Gaskell: The Serpent
Joe Haldeman: The Accidental Time Machine
Peter F. Hamilton: Mindstar Rising
Robert E. Howard: The Coming of Conan
Nalo Hopkinson: Brown Girl in the Ring or The Salt Roads
Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle or The Lottery
K. W. Jeter: Noir or Dark Seeker
Ha Jin: Waiting
James Patrick Kelly: Strange But Not a Stranger
Stephen King: Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass or The Colorado Kid
Russell Kirk: The Surly Sullen Bell (and yes, I’ve read the 2 Arkham House collections)
Henry Kuttner and/or C. L. Moore: The Dark World or Black God’s Shadow or No Boundaries
R. A. Lafferty: Archipelago, Aurelia, or The 13th Voyage of Sinbad
Fritz Leiber: Night’s Black Agents
Jonathan Lethem: Motherless Brooklyn
Thomas Ligotti: Grimscribe, Noctuary, or The Shadow at the Bottom of the World
Ian MacLeod: Breathmoss and Other Exhalations
Ken MacLeod: Giant Lizards from Another Star or The Execution Channel
Gregory Maguire: Wicked
Barry Malzberg: Hervoit’s World
Richard Matheson: Duel
Maureen McHugh: Mothers and Other Monsters
Sean McMullen: The Miocene Arrow
Ward Moore: Bring the Jubilee
Richard Morgan: Woken Furies
Pat Murphy: The Falling Woman
John Myers Myers: Silverlock
William F. Nolan: Things Beyond Midnight or Wild Galaxy
Naomi Novik: Black Powder War
Chad Oliver: The Shores of Another Sea or The Winds of Time
Susan Palwick: The Fate of Mice
H. Beam Piper: Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
Tim Powers: Three Days to Never or Pilot Light
Fletcher Pratt: The Well of the Unicorn
Mike Resnick: Paradise or Kilimanjaro
Alastair Reynolds: Redemption Ark
Rudy Rucker: Master of Time & Space or The Secret of Life or White Light
Matt Ruff: Fool on the Hill
Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
John Scalzi: The Lost Colony
Karl Schroeder: Permanence or Lady of Mazes
Michael Shaara: The Herald or The Killer Angels
Lucius Shepard: Floater or Aztechs or Viator
Lewis Shiner: The Edges of Things or Black and White
Dan Simmons: The Terror or Hard as Nails
Robert Sladek: Roderick
Neal Stephenson: Zodiac or The Big U
Charles Stross: The Apocalypse Codex (forthcoming)
Theodore Sturgeon: Microcosmic God: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon Volume 2
Steph Swainston: The Year of Our War
Thomas Burnett Swann: The Day of the Minotaur
Manly Wade Wellman: The Sleuth Patrol or The Last Mammoth
Martha Wells: The Element of Fire
John Whitbourne: To Build Jerusalem or Binscomb Tales
Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn: Star Bridge
Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog
Gene Wolfe: The Land Across (forthcoming)
Tags: Fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Horror, Jack Vance, Joe Domenici, Joe R. Lansdale, Manly Wade Wellman, Paolo Bacigalupi, Philip K. Dick, Robert Jackson Bennett, Science Fiction, Stina Leicht
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 5 Comments »
Sunday, January 8th, 2012
Despite this big-ass list, I think my book buying is actually slowing down a little. It’s getting harder to find things that I want (and don’t already have) at Half Price Books or eBay. Despite that, I always seem to have a surprisingly large number of books every time I do one of these roundups, mainly due to new small press offerings. (And speaking of small presses, many of the books listed below from Subterranean, Golden Gryphon, Haffner, etc. will be on sale through Lame Excuse Books, so drop me a line if you want to be on the mailing list.)
Allston, Aaron. Doc Sidhe. Baen, 1995. First edition paperback original.
Anderson, Poul. Fire Time. Doubleday, 1974. Fine in a Near Fine dust jacket, inscribed to Locus editor Charles N. Brown.
Anonymous. Man Abroad. Gregg Press, 1978. First hardback edition, a reprint of the 1887 paperback, one of only 257 copies printed, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. From the Jerry Weist collection.
Bailey, Dale and Jack Slay. Sleeping Policemen. Golden Gryphon, 2006.
Beagle, Peter S. Strange Roads. Dreamhaven, 2008. First edition chapbook original, signed by Beagle and artist Lisa Snellings.
Bennett, Robert Jackson. The Company Man. Orbit, 2011. Trade paperback original.
Bester, Alfred. Virtual Unrealities. Vintage, 1997. Trade paperback original, NF- with 1/4 sticker pull at bottom of front cover.
Bester, Alfred, and Roger Zelazny. Psychoshop. Vintage, 1998. Trade paperback original (TPO) first edition, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear.
Bloch, Robert. Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper. Subterranean Press, 2011. Expanded from the Belmont paperback edition.
Bowes, Richard. From the Files of the Time Rangers. Golden Gryphon, 2005.
Brackett, Leigh. Shannach: The Last Farewell to Mars. Haffner Press, 2011.
Brown, Eric. Threshold Shift. Golden Gryphon, 2006.
Campbell, Ramsey. The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants. Arkham House, 1964. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight darkening to spine, and slight edgewear at heel and fold points.
Carroll, Jonathan. The Ghost in Love. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008.
Chayefsky, Paddy. Altered States. Harper & Row, 1978. A Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a few touches of wear.
Datlow, Ellen, and Terri Windling. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. St. Martins Griffin, 2002. Inscribed to me by Datlow.
Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Riverhead Books, 2007.
Dick, Philip K. The Early Work of Philip K. Dick Volume One: The Variable Man and Other Stories. Prime Books, 2009.
Dick, Philip K. (edited by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem) The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Non-fiction.
Dozois, Gardner. When the Great Days Come. Prime Books, 2011.
Donaldson, Stephen R. The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 250 numbered, leatherbound copies signed by the author.
Donaldson, Stephen R. The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson. Subterranean Press, 2011. Trade edition.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Keeper of the Secrets. Severn House, 1985. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of haze rubbing to the rear cover. First hardback edition of The Mad Goblin.
Farmer, Philip Jose. Love Song. Brandon House, 1970. Paperback original. Full details here.
Gaiman, Neil. Melinda. Hill House, 2004. Full details here.
Graham, H. E. The Battle of Dora William Clowes & Sons, Ltd. 1931. First edition hardback, a Very Good copy in a Good+ dust jacket with three 1/4″ chips at edges. Future war book set in an imaginary European country concerned with primarily with the evolving tactics of mechanized warfare. With fold-out maps!
Haldeman, Joe. A Tool of the Trade. Morrow, 1987.
Haldeman, Joe. World’s Apart. Viking, 1983. With review slips laid in.
Heinlein, Robert A. Podkayne of Mars. Putnam, 1963. Full details here.
Howard, Robert E. The Coming of Conan. Gnome Press, 1953. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with slight bends at head and heel and slight foxing to strip along front and back gutters, in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight dust staining to white rear cover and a few touches of rubbing to spine panel (but no spine fading). This completes my Robert E. Howard Gnome Press Conan collection. (At some point I suppose I’ll pick up the De Camp volumes but, eh. what’s the rush?)
Howard, Robert E. Marchers of Valhalla. Donald M. Grant, 1971. Bought from a notable SF book dealer for $8.
Hubbard, L. Ron. Final Blackout. Hadley Publishing, 1948. Full details here.
Leyner, Mark. My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist. Harmony Books, 1990. First edition trade paperback original, Near Fine+ with a crease to bottom front corner.
(Lovecraft, H. P.) Lockhart, Ross E. The Book of Cthulhu. Night Shade Boooks, 2011. First edition trade paperback original.
Lynch, Scott. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Gollancz, 2006. A Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket, signed by the author.
Martin, George R. R. GRRM: A RRetrospective. Subterranean Press, 2003. First edition hardback, Letter B of 52 signed, lettered, leatherbound copies, housed in a handcrafted traycase, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket; however, the traycase housing the book has a cracked bottom outer hinge, as well as a tiny bit of bend at the top front traycase tip.
Martin, George R. R., editor. Wild Cards: Marked Cards. Baen, 1994. First edition paperback original. Second book in the Baen Wild Cards series, and the Fourteenth overall.
Matheson, Richard. Born of Man and Woman. Chamberlain Press, 1954. Details here.
Matheson, Richard. The Shrinking Man. David Bruce & Watson, 1973. First hardback edition. Details here.
McCammon, Robert. The Hunter from The Woods. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 1,000 signed, numbered copies.
Miller, Warren. Looking for the General. McGraw-Hill, 1964. Bought for $8 from a notable SF book dealer. Howard Waldrop recommended this.
Miyabe, Miyuki. Brave Story. Viz, 2007. First English-language edition.
Moon, Elizabeth. Lunar Activity. First edition paperback original (PBO), a near Fine+ copy with invisible spine creasing and slight edgewear. Signed by Moon.
Moorcock, Michael. Dr. Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles. BBC Books, 2010. Signed by Moorcock.
Moorcock, Michael. The Runestaff. White Lion, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of wear in a Fine dust jacket. First hardback edition.
Moorcock, Michael. The Sleeping Sorceress. New English Library, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with color loss along inner flaps edges (possibly a printing flaw). First hardback edition of The Vanishing Tower.
Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler’s Wife. McAdam Cage, 2003. First edition hardback, a near Fine copy with slight lean in a Near Fine- first state (no logo) dust jacket with several long creases.
Niven, Larry. Strange Light. Dreamhaven, 2010. First edition chapbook original.
Niven, Larry. A World Out of Time. Holt Reinhart Winston, 1976. Bought from a notable Sf book dealer for 48. Review slip laid in.
Niven, Larry, and Steve Barnes. Dream Park. Phantasia Press, 1981. One of 600 signed, numbered copies in slipcase. From the Jerry Weist collection.
Novik, Naomi. Victory of Eagles. Del Rey, 2008. Fifth Temeraire book.
Oliver, Chad. Another Kind. Ballantine Books, no date (1955). First edition hardback (an unrecorded variant binding of green boards with red lettering), a Near Fine copy with slight age-darkening to page (most noticeable in one signature) and slight bending at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight age darkening and touches of wear at extremities. Actually quite nice. All of the Ballantine SF hardbacks if this era are hard to find.
Paltock, Robert. The Life & Adventures of Peter Wilkins. Hyperion Press, 1974. Reprint of the 1928 edition, which in turn reprints a novel first published in 1750 or 1751 (sources differ; Bleiler’s Checklist (1978 edition) says 1753, which I believe is the publication year for the second volume). Fine- copy, with trace of wear along bottom board, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Pohl, Frederik, and C. M. Kornbluth. The Space Merchants. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins, 2011. “Revised 21st Century Edition,” trade paperback original thus.
Powers, Tim. The Bible Repairman and Other Stories. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 500 signed, numbered copies.
Resnick, Mike. Blasphemy. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
Rickert, M. Holiday. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
Rochelle, Warren. The Called. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
Rochelle, Warren. A Harvest of Changelings. Golden Gryphon, 2007.
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Recovering Apollo 8. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
Sargent, Pamela. Thumbprints. Golden Gryphon, 2004. Signed by Sargent.
Scalzi, John. Fuzzy Nation. Tor, 2011.
Serviss, Garrett P. Edison’s Conquest of Mars. Carcosa House, 1947. Full details here.
Shute, Nevil. On the Beach. Heinemann, 1957. First edition hardback, a near Fine plus copy with dust staining to top page blocks and touches of wear to boards at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket, with slight edgewear at head and heel and a few very short, closed tears.
Silverberg, Robert. The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume Six: Multiples 1983-87. Fine, sans dj, as issued.
Skillingstead, jack. Are You There. Golden Gryphon, 2009.
Skipp, John and Cody Goodfellow. Spore. Morning Star Press, 2011. Signed PC copy; the regular edition was 150 signed, numbered copies.
Smith, Clark Ashton. The Collected Fantasies Volume 5: The Last Hieroglyph. Night Shade Press, 2010.
Stross, Charles. Palimpsest. Subterranean Press, 2011.
Twain, Mark (edited by Harriet Elinor Smith). The Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1. University of California Press, 2010. Non-fiction, and large enough to stun an ox.
(Vance, Jack) Andre-Driussi, Michael. Vance Space. Sirius Fiction, 1997. First edition chapbook, a Fine copy in self-wraps. Signed by Vance. Non-fiction.
Willis, Connie. All Clear. Ballantine Books, 2010. Signed.
Williamson, Jack. At the Human Limit: The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Eight. Haffner Press, 2011.
Wilson, Robert. Julian Comstock. Tor, 2009.
Wolfe, Gene. The Sorcerer’s House. Tor, 2010. Read this in ARC, and sort-of reviewed it here.
Zelazny, Roger. Unicorn Variations Timescape, 1983. Supplements an inscribed book club edition.
Related Topics
Other science fiction book collecting topics you might find of interest:
A description of my own library of science fiction first editions (a couple of years out of date; I need to update this)
My Books Wanted List
Lame Excuse Books, my own side SF/F/H book business, where a discerning collector may find several first editions of potential interest.
Other book related posts
Tags: Alfred Bester, Book Collecting, Books, First Edition, Frederik Pohl, Gene Wolfe, George R. R. Martin, L. Ron Hubbard, Larry Niven, Mark Twain, Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman, Philip Jose Farmer, Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert E. Howard, Stephen R. Donaldson
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Sunday, August 14th, 2011
One of my favorite authors is Gene Wolfe (which you might have noticed before), so naturally I’ve tried to collect all his books. This includes all his chapbooks, some of which can be quite difficult to find.
Among his hardest to find are the ones he did for Cheap Street. Over the years I have picked up four of the five pure chapbooks done by them (as well as the two hardback books, Empires of Flowers and Foliage and Bibliomen), but frequently I would have trouble remembering which of them I have, a difficulty not aided by rather bland exteriors of the chapbooks themselves and the fact that all came in a standard Cheap Street envelope when I bought them, none of which revealed what was inside.
So, for both the sake of Gene Wolfe collectors, and to jog my own memory, I’ve scanned the title pages of each of the ones I have (click to embiggen):
Or, to list them in order of publication:
Wolfe, Gene. At the Point of Capricorn. Cheap Street, 1983.
Wolfe, Gene. The Boy Who Hooked the Sun. Cheap Street, 1985.
Wolfe, Gene. The Arimaspian Legacy. Cheap Street, 1988.
Wolfe, Gene. Slow Children at Play. Cheap Street, 1989.
I think I paid in the $35-$40 range for each of those.
Chalker and Owings says that seven copies of each of the above were done as leather-bound hardbacks. Not only do I not have those, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of them offered for sale.
As far as I can tell, I’m only missing two Wolfe chapbooks now:
Wolfe, Gene. The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin Was the Sun. Cheap Street, 1991.
Wolfe, Gene. The Grave Secret. The Pretentious Press, 1991.
I’ll have to add those to the want list.
I think I have a first edition hardback of every other Gene Wolfe book.
More about Cheap Street here.
Tags: Book Collecting, Books, chapbooks, Cheap Street, First Edition, Gene Wolfe
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | No Comments »
