Posts Tagged ‘Science Fiction’

Library Additions: Two Thomas Disch Firsts

Monday, March 4th, 2024

These were part of an auction lot:

  • Disch, Thomas M. The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars. Doubleday, 1988. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with previous owner’s name on front free endpaper, in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket. Sequel to The Brave Little Toaster (which I have an inscribed copy of).

  • Disch, Thomas M. The Silver Pillow: A Tale of Witchcraft. Mark V. Ziesing, 1987. First edition hardback, #37 of 250 numbered copies signed by Disch and artist Harry O. Morris, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Chalker/Owings, page 490. Replaces a slightly less attractive copy.

  • Library Additions: Four John Crowley Firsts

    Monday, February 26th, 2024

    These four books were offered as The John Crowley Conway Miscellany set on Kickstarter. Each has a different trim size.

  • Crowley, John. Seventy-Nine Dreams. Ninpin Press, 2024. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. A dream journal. 5″ tall by 5″ wide
  • Crowley, John. The Sixties: A Forged Diary. Ninpin Press, 2024. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. A reconstruction of Crowley’s life in New York City in the 60s. “After taking a job with a photography studio, he soon crosses paths with the likes of Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, Claudia Cardinale and Raquel Welch.” 8″ tall by 6″ wide.
  • Crowley, John. Two Chapters in a Family Chronicle. Ninpin Press, 2024. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Two stories, “Percy and Lulu Go to Vermont” and “Poker Night at the Elks Club 1938” that “link three generations of John Crowley’s family.” 7″ tall by 5″ wide.
  • Crowley, John. Two Chapters in a Family Chronicle. Ninpin Press, 2024. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, with signature plate by Crowley laid in (only one per set). Two speeches, “Practicing the Arts of Peace and “The Uses of Allegory.” 6″ tall by 4″ wide.

  • The four books together can be laid out to form a single image. Because the books are too large to fit on my scanner, I have copied the image from the Kickstarter page.

    I will have a small number of sets of these (with the signature plate) in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    Library Additions: Two Gnome Press Firsts

    Wednesday, February 14th, 2024

    Here’s another Heritage Auctions lot I placed lowball bid on and won. There were three books, one of which will be in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog. Both of these were on my Books Wanted List.

  • Kuttner, Henry, with C. L. Moore (as Lewis Padgett). Gnome Press, 1951. First edition hardback, a near Fine copy with previous owner’s name on FFE and slight bend at head, in a Near Fine-, price-clipped dust jacket with slight wear and shallow loss at heel, slight wear at head, and slight rubbing along folds. Currey, page 293. Chalker/Owings, page 198 (“One of the scarcest Gnomes”). Kemp, The Anthem Series, pages 200-201 (though he calls for gray boards lettered in “dark blue,” and the lettering here is clearly black; this calls for dark gray lettered in black, but honestly it looks more like a dark beige to me, so I’ve added a scan below). Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy page 171 (under Padgett).

    This scans lighter than it actually is, so I’ve adjusted the brightness down a smidge to closely match the color I’m seeing with my eye.

  • Leiber, Fritz. Two Sought Adventure. Gnome Press, 1957. First edition, first state binding (black boards, labeled in red, as per Currey A), a Fine copy (albeit with the age-darkening of the pages characteristic of Gnome Press books of this era) in a Fine dust jacket. The first Fafhrd and Gray Mouser book, and one that completes my hardback first Fafhrd and Gray Mouser collection (along with the six volume Gregg Press set and the Rupert Hart-Davis The Swords of Lankhmar). Currey, page 309. Chalker/Owings, 203. Kemp, The Anthem Series, pages 256-258 (“highly recommended”). Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy page 238.

  • I paid less than $50 each for these with buyer’s premium.

    Library Addition: First of Harlan Ellison’s bugf#ck

    Thursday, February 8th, 2024

    This is a tiny (5 1/2″ tall by 4″ wide) Ellison book I only recently became aware of.

    Ellison, Harlan. bugf#ck: The Useless Wit and Wisdom of Harlan Ellison. (Note: That is how the title is spelled everywhere in the book except at the top of the copyright page, where it is spelled BUGFUCK.) Edgeworks Abbey/Spectrum Fantastic Arts LLC, 2011. First edition hardback (“10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” numberline), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Small book of pithy quotations from Ellison. Bought of eBay from a Goodwill for $8.79 (and fortunately, it was a first in Fine/Fine condition, which wasn’t spelled out on the listing).

    Library Additions: Six Signed Books

    Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

    All these came from an online bookseller I don’t usually deal with. And I did get rooked a bit for shipping. But these were all 75% off signed firsts.

  • Bacigalupi, Paolo. The Water Knife. Knopf, 2015. First edition hardback, a Fine copy with a bound-in signature page, with a Fine dust jacket with a “SIGNED FIRST EDITION” sticker. Bought for $8. (Note: The Scanner does not like the “poly-chromatic on black” effect so I had to adjust it some to make it legible.)

  • Barry, Dave. Best. State. Ever. A Florida Man Defends His Homeland. Putnam, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Barry. Non-fiction humor book. Bought for $8.

  • Barry, Dave, and Alan Zweibel. Lunatics. Putnum, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Barry. This and the above are my second and third signed Barry firsts. I already had a book signed by Zweibel. Bought for $8.
  • Brin, David and Stephen W. Potts. Chasing Shadows: Visions of Our Coming Transparent World. Tor, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Brin on a signature page. Collection of essays by science fiction writers like Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Robert Silverberg, Vernor Vinge, etc. It says “Brin Presents” but Potts appears to be the actual editor. This and Lunatics are signed on this gray box in what assume is a tipped-in page, presumably something this particular bookseller does. It’s a bit odd. Bought for $8.

  • Hand, Elizabeth. Hard Light. Minotaur Books, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bend at heel, signed by Hand. “A Cass Neary Crime Novel.” Bought for $8.

  • Morrell, David. Creepers. CDS Books, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket, signed by Morrell. Bought for $8.
  • I also bought seven signed bookplates by Morrell at $4 a pop that I’m going to lay into my unsigned Morrell firsts.

    This is the last of my 2023 book purchases.

    Howard Waldrop: 1946-2024

    Monday, January 15th, 2024

    It is my sad duty to report that my friend, science fiction writer Howard Waldrop, died yesterday, January 14, 2024.

    According to Robert Taylor: “Howard had a stroke around 1pm. EMS worked on him for over an hour. They got a pulse and took him to the hospital, but at the hospital they were unable to maintain the pulse and he died around 3pm.”

    Howard had suffered a number of health maladies recently, but had been on the mend. I saw him just last week, and he was moving slightly better, and still mentally sharp.

    I had known Howard since we interviewed him for Nova Express in 1987, and I’m one of the legions of people who corresponded with him (his preferred form of communication) when our respective journeys took us away from Austin.

    Howard was one of the finest short story writers the field has ever produced. “The Ugly Chickens” is an acknowledged classic. “Night of the Cooters.” “Fin de Cycle.” “…The World As We Know’t.” “Horror We Got.” Great stories only Howard could have written. Plus great collaborations like “Black As the Pit, from Pole to Pole” (with Steve Utley) and “The Later Days of the Law” (with Bruce Sterling).

    Howard was never far away from penury, and he relied on a network of friends to keep him above water. He rented a spare room from me for six months, for values of “rent” that included no exchange of money, but he did do odd jobs around the house, and he always paid his share of utilities. Before that I had paid him to stain and varnish several bookcases when I moved into my house.

    Living with Howard was half like living with the smartest, most erudite man that ever lived, and half like living with Grandpa Simpson. Howard had a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of mid-20th century pop culture, and had seen just about every damn English language movie made up into the 1970s or so (and a bunch of foreign ones beside). His knowledge of history was similarly immense.

    And then he would do things like come into the kitchen were I was bleary-eyedly eating breakfast and tell me “You know, the milk at the local HEB is three cents more than the milk at the HEB down south.” As though this was information vital to my existence.

    Howard was brilliant, but he was also as stubborn as the day is long, and a decided Luddite. He never owned a computer and would only use one under duress (he grudgingly agreed to enter his portion of our joint movie reviews into my Mac when he lived here). At one point around 1989 or so, Howard was at (I think) Pat Cadigan’s house after a con, and joined one of our Delphi Wednesday Night Group chats (attended by Gardner Dozois, Mike Resnick, and a host of other luminaries, many now also gone). “Howard, what do you think of cyberspace?” “It’s icky!”

    Howard loved movies, television, history, reading, and fishing, and got around to writing either when deadlines pressed, or when all the pieces finally mentally clicked into place just so.

    I mourn for Howard, and for the numerous in-progress works we may never get to read. Maybe enough of The Moone World (in progress since the late 1980s) exists for someone like longtime friend George R. R. Martin to finish it. I suspect even less exists of the even-longer in gestation I, John Mandeville. And Moving Waters, a fictional history of America through third-party politics and fishing, probably only existed in Howard’s head.

    Howard was universally loved by pretty much everyone he knew and the science fiction field as a whole. He was our own homegrown Mr. National Treasure and a sturdy friend, and will be greatly missed.

    Howard after tripping on some steps at the 2013 San Antonio Worldcon.

    Library Additions: Four Paperback Originals

    Thursday, January 11th, 2024

    Three of these were bought at Half Price Books locations in the Dallas Metroplex, and two replace slightly less attractive copies.

  • Delany, Samuel R. Babel-17. Ace, 1966. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy, though with slight age darkening to the pages. Nebula Award winner and Hugo nominee. Currey, page 139. Replaces a slightly less attractive copy. Bought for $5 at Recycled Books in Denton.

  • Martin, George R. R. Wild Cards VIII: One-Eyed Jacks. Bantam Spectra, 1991. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with mild spine creasing and a trace of wear at points. This completes my Wild Cards paperback collection. Bought for $2.49.

  • Moore, Ward. Caduceus Wild. Pinnacle Books, 1978. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with one tiny spine crease near front join, bookstore stamp inside, slight rubbing to rear cover, trace of magic marker left over price on front cover (Bestine took care of the rest), and touch of edgewear. Moore’s last novel. Replaces a slightly less attractive copy. Bought for $1.99.

  • Wagner, Karl Edward, and David drake. Killer. Baen Books, 1985. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with slight spine creasing, edgewear, and foxing to insider covers. Hunting an alien killer in ancient Rome. Bought for $1.49.

  • This is the last of the books picked up on the Thanksgiving trip to the Metroplex.

    Library Additions: Six Signed Books

    Wednesday, January 10th, 2024

    All these were found at various Half Price Books stores in the Dallas Metroplex.

  • Aldrin, Buzz, and John Barnes. Encounter With Tiber. Warner Books, 1996. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, inscribed by Aldrin: “To Michael,/Buzz Aldrin.” Pretty sure Barnes did the overwhelming majority of the writing, but it’s pretty cool to own a book signed by a guy who walked on the moon. Bought for $7.99.

  • Block, Lawrence. The Scoreless Thai. Subterranean Press, 2000. First hardback edition (previously published in a 1970s PBO), a trade edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Block. Novella. Bought for $10, 1/3rd of publication price, and the trade edition wasn’t issued signed by Block.

  • Block, Lawrence. Tanner’s Tiger. Subterranean Press, 2001. First hardback edition (previously published as a 1968 paperback original), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Block. Tanner novel. Bought for $10, 1/3rd of publication price, and the trade edition wasn’t issued signed by Block.
  • Chabon, Michael. Summerland. Hyperion, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bumping at head and heel, signed by Chabon. Bought for $9.99, which, oddly enough, seems to be about market. After he won the Hugo and Nebula for the excellent The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, I though Chabon books were going to head steadily upward in value; the exact opposite seems to have happened. It looks like every single one of Chabon’s novels except The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay can be found in signed first edition hardbacks at or less than cover price. I can’t figure it out, as all three of the Chabon books I’ve read (The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and Gentlemen of the Road) were excellent.
  • Etchison, Dennis. Red Dreams. Scream/Press, 1984. First edition hardback, #192 of 250 numbered hardbacks signed by Etichson and artist J.K. Potter, a Fine copy in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket and a Fine- slipcase with a trace of haze rubbing, and additionally signed by Etchison. The second short story collection by this acclaimed horror writer. The third publication of Scream/Press. Chalker/Owings, page 335. Supplements a trade copy. Bought for $30.

    (Surface wear is on the dust jacket protector.)

  • Fowler, Karen Joy. Booth. Putnam, 2022. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just a trace of edgewear, the signed publisher’s variant with a “Signed Copy” sticker on the cover and a page signed by Fowler bound in. Novel of the theatrical Booth family (including presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth) in early 19th century America. Bought for $13.99.

  • Library Additions: Various First Editions

    Friday, January 5th, 2024

    Found at various Half Price Books locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the Book Celler in Temple, and Recycled Books in Denton.

  • Anonymous. In the Future. Arno Press, 1974. First edition hardback thus, a reprint of a book originally published in 1867, a Fine- copy with slight bumps at points, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $7.99.

    Not to be confused with the David Byrne piece of the same name:

  • Clarke, Arthur C. A Fall of Moondust. Harcourt, Brace and World, 1961. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with the usual flaws, including stamps, pocket removal, tape to boards, etc, but with a much better than usual dust jacket, with a couple of short closed tears on flap edges, a small sticker ghost on spine, and slight protector discoloration to edges; call it a G/NF Ex-Lib copy. Currey, page 114. Replaces a less attractive Ex-Library copy. Bought for $20.

  • Erickson, Steve, Our Ecstatic Days. Simon & Schuster, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket. Bought at Recycled Books in Denton for $6.80.
  • Kuttner, Henry. The Best of Henry Kuttner. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1975. First edition hardback (code “01 R” on page 335, as per Currey), a Fine- copy with trace of bumping at points in a Fine- dust jacket with slight edgewear and small fold to tip of bottom front flap. Introduction by ray Bradbury. Currey, page 291. Bought for $6 at the Book Cellar in Temple.

  • Martin, George R. R., editor. Wild Cards VI: Ace in the Hole. Bantam Books/SFBC, 1989. First hardback edition, the SFBC book club edition, preceded by the PBO, a Fine- copy with bumping at head, heel and top points, in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with slight bumping at head, heel and top points, a couple of phantom creases across rear cover, and slight edgewear. Bought for $6 at the Book Cellar in Temple.

  • Matheson. Richard. Duel: Terror Stories By Richard Matheson. Tor, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine- with slight bend at heel copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a slight wrinkle at rear bottom. Supplements a trade paperback edition. Bought for $12.99.
  • Vance, Jack. The Space Pirate. Toby Press, 1953. First edition trade paperback original (no statement of printing, as per Currey), a Fine- copy with a bare trace of dust oiling age darkening to rear cover, plus the usual age darkening to pages; all but perfect, and far and away the nicest copy I’ve seen. Vance’s second novel. Hewett, A2. Cunningham, B.75.a. Currey, page 500. Supplements a signed but less attractive copy. Bought for $12 from Recycled Books in Denton.

  • Library Additions: Five Half Price Books Finds

    Saturday, December 30th, 2023

    All of these were Half Price Books finds, all firsts, and all but the Sagan and Wong came from Austin stores. The Sagan and Wong came from Dallas Metroplex area stores, but I pulled them into this post because they go in bookcases I’m reorganizing.

  • Gaiman, Neil. Norse Mythology. W. W. Norton, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Bought for $12.99.

  • Robinson, Kim. New York 2040. Orbit, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bumping at head and a trace of edgewear. Bought for $9.99.

  • Sagan, Carl. Contact. Simon and Schuster, 1985. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head, slight dust soiling to outer page block, and slight bunting of points, in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bumping at head, slight wear at points, and a trace of staining to blind side. Sagan’s only novel, and the basis of the 1997 film. Bought for $8.49.

  • Smith, Clark Ashton (Scott Connors and Ron Hilger, editors). The Miscellaneous Writings of Clark Ashton Smith. Night Sahde Books, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. I already had the five volume collected fantasies, but somehow never picked this one up, perhaps because Night Shade was so horrible at fulfillment. Bought for $14.99.

  • Wong, David (pseudonym of Jason Pargin). Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. St. Martin’s, 2015. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with one tiny wrinkle at heel and a trace of wear at top points. Bought for $13.49.

  • Unusually for Half Price Books, three of these titles had aftermarket labels over the UPC code that needed a fair amount of Bestine and elbow grease to remove…