Library Addition: 1 of 52 Hardbacks of Tim Powers’ Nine Sonnets

November 8th, 2016

Here’s another book I picked up at a bargain price:

Powers, Tim (as Francis Thomas Marrity). Nine Sonnets. Subterranean Press, 2006. First edition hardback chapbook, letter Q of 52 signed, lettered hardbacks, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Berlyne, B14a2. (In addition to this and the wraps chapbook state made to accompany the Subterranean Press edition of Three Days to Never, there were 9 (!) hardback copies in a different patterned binding and matching traycase, not seen.) Bought for $50 from a Camelot Books 50% off sale.

nine-sonnets

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Library Addition: Signed Asimov Chapbook Little Brothers

November 7th, 2016

Here’s another chapbook I had been looking for a long time that, like Moorcock’s Caribbean Crisis, popped up on an ABE Books want search at a bargain price:

Asimov, Isaac. Little Brothers. The Pretentious Press, 1988. First edition chapbook original, one of 126 copies signed by Asimov (the only edition), a Fine copy, with two photos (of Isaac and Stanley Asimov) tipped into front, as issued. Reprints Asimov’s first published work, an essay about how much he hated his little brother, from the Boys High Recorder in 1934. Bought for $35 plus shipping from a well-known literary dealer.

little-brothers

Pretentious Press chapbooks were done by bookseller David Aronovitz in very small runs, most of which were given away as freebies to his best customers. I now have the Zelazny and Asimov chapbooks (both very hard to find), but still need to track down the rest…

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Shoegazer Sunday: Burning House’s “If You Won’t”

November 6th, 2016

For your Sunday dose of Shoegaze, here’s Burning House’s “If You Won’t”:

(Hat tip: Sounds Better With Reverb.)

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Library Additions: 10 Subterranean Press Books

November 3rd, 2016

I picked the following up at various Subterranean Press sales (some were 50% off, others discounted even more than that as part of a “grab bag” deal). A few of these will be available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, which I’m about to start work on.

  • Blaylock, James P. The Further Adventures of Langdon St. Ives. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #104 of 200 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Omnibus edition of Lagdon St. Ives novellas. “The Here-and-Thereians” plus a short coda (“Earthbound Things”) are original to this volume.
  • Blaylock, James P. The Further Adventures of Langdon St. Ives. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Trade edition.
  • Chu, Wesley. The Days of TAO. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #268 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
  • Egan. Greg. The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
  • McCammon, Robert. The Last Train to Perdition. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Trade edition.
  • McCammon, Robert. Stinger. Subterranean Press, 2015. Signed limited edition hardback, #467 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Supplements a copy of the Kinnell first hardback.
  • Mieville, China. This Census-Taker. Subterranean Press, 2016. First limited edition hardback (the Del Rey trade edition precedes), #442 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
  • Powers, Tim. Down and Out in Purgatory. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Trade edition.
  • Shepard, Lucius. Five Autobiographies and a Fiction. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Trade edition.
  • Silverberg, Robert. Early Days: More Tales from the Pulp Era. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #169 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.

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    Library Addition: Michael Moorcock’s Caribbean Crisis

    October 31st, 2016

    Here’s a fairly rare Moorcock item: His first published novel, if you can call it that.

    Moorcock, Michael, with James Cawthorn, as Desmond Reid. Caribbean Crisis. Sexton Blake Library 501/Fleetway Publications, 1962. First edition (“First Printing” stated) trade paperback original (digest format), a Very Good- copy with small stains to front and rear cover (some from bleed-through from rusting staple), general wear and wrinkling along spine edge, small line of thin blue handwriting at top of rear cover, and slight page darkening. 62 double-column pages, plus a two page “mailbag” at rear. Not sure if this counts as a book serial or a magazine, but it features an English detective who first made his debut in 1893! Currey, page 368. Tanelorn Archives, page 12. An online Sexton Blake bibliography says that W. Howard Baker also did some revisions on this. Bought online for $6.65 plus $12.96 in shipping from a UK dealer.

    caribbean-crisis

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    Fark Annual Scary Story Thread

    October 30th, 2016

    Tomorrow is Halloween, which means it’s time for the annual Fark Scary Story Thread!

    Here are the links to threads from previous years:

  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004

    • While you’re here, feel free to check out some of my other freaky/creepy/scary/silly Halloween posts.

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    Shoegazer Sunday: Curve’s “Horror Head”

    October 30th, 2016

    For your Sunday-before-Halloween dose of Shoegaze, here’s Curve’s “Horror Head”:

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    TV Horrors: The Phoenix

    October 29th, 2016

    If you were trying to construct The Most Painfully 1970s SF TV Show Ever, you might come up with The Phoenix, and never mind that it debuted in 1981.

    I mean, look at the intro footage, and tell me it doesn’t reek of the 1970s:

    I mean, ancient astronauts, pyramid power, ESP, big medallions and feathered hair! How much more 70s can you get?

    This arrived after my “I’ll Watch Any Damn SF/F/H Show On TV” phase, and it actually came and went so quickly (only five episodes aired, including the pilot) I wasn’t even aware of it.

    Someone has put up a fairly crappy quality video of the complete pilot:

    Hope you like flute music. The writing isn’t very good, but Judson Scott (who I remember best as Khan’s second-in-command) is surprisingly tolerable as Hunky McSunAlien.

    For more on similar subject, see Decade of Weirdness: The 1970s and Retro TV Memories: The Fantastic Journey.

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    Halloween Horror: Nicely Done GIF From a Hammer Film

    October 28th, 2016

    I’ve never seen it, but this is evidently from The Witches:

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    Halloween Horrors: Mummified Clown

    October 27th, 2016

    Which is scarier, a clown or a mummy?

    Well, how about a mummified clown?

    The California Institute of Abnormalarts, a bar and concert venue that also functions as a museum of oddities, is home to something that will make anyone with coulrophobia (an irrational fear of clowns) quake in their boots…and it’s every bit as creepy as you might imagine….

    Some time ago, Crew acquired what he claims to be the mummified corpse of a clown known as Achile Chatouilleu, a performer who died in 1912.

    Achile, whose name translates to “French tickler,” reportedly asked before his death to be embalmed in his favorite clown costume and makeup. The body – which is still in perfect condition today – is pretty creepy, to say the least.

    If anyone reading this is out in LA, feel free to drop by the CIA and let me know how well-embalmed the clown looks up close…

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