Library Addition: Signed First of Clark Ashton Smith’s The Star-Treader And Other Poems

December 28th, 2019

An upgrade from my unsigned copy.

Smith, Clark Ashton. The Star-Treader And Other Poems. A.M. Robinson, 1912. First edition hardback, a Near Fine- copy with crack to front hinge just starting at bottom, slight bumping at head and heel and page blocks dusty, in a Very Good dust jacket with faint soiling to front and rear, a 1/2″ x 1/8″ chip at rear heel join, shallow chipping at head. Inscribed twice by Smith (the first apparently with a fountain pen, the second with a ballpoint): “Clark Ashton Smith/Auburn, Cal/Nov. 27th, 1912” then “For Harry Rosenberry/with sincere compliments/of Clark Ashton Smith/Apr. 14th, 1961,” which was exactly four months before his death. Replaces an unsigned copy (now available through Lame Excuse Books). Not in Currey. Not in Bleiler’s Guide to Supernatural Horror. Bleiler Checklist (1978), page 181. Sidney-Fryer, Emperor of Dreams, page 128. Won off eBay for $333.

Library Additions: Three Subterranean Firsts

December 26th, 2019

Bought from the publisher at various discounts:

  • Crowley, John. Reading Backwards: Essays & Reviews, 2005-2018. Subterranean Press, 2019. First edition hardback, #101 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
  • Egan, Greg. The Best of Greg Egan. Subterranean Press, 2019. First edition hardback, #248 of 1,000 numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Another giant career retrospective collection.
  • Resnick, Mike. Voyages: The Chronicles of Lucifer Jones, 1938-1941. Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #128 of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Bought from the publisher during a 50% off sale.
  • I have copies of both the Crowley and the Egan available through Lame Excuse Books.

    Christmas Shoegazer: Stellarscope’s “Silent Night”

    December 25th, 2019

    As is the now annual tradition, enjoy Stellarscope’s version of “Silent Night”:

    Merry Christmas!

    Library Addition: Signed Edition of Neal Stephenson’s The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O

    December 23rd, 2019

    Bought this at a Half Price Books coupon sale last month:

    Stephenson, Neal, and Nicole Galland. The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. HarperCollins, 2017. First edition hardback, one of an unknown number of copies with a special signature page signed by both authors bound in, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with wear at points and a “Signed Copy” sticker taped to heel (in addition to the gold “Signed First Edition” sticker that seems standard now). Same ISBN (978-0-06-240916-4) as the trade edition. Bought at Half Price Books during a coupon sale for $10.

    Library Additions: Three Signed Joe Hill Firsts

    December 21st, 2019

    Three signed Joe Hill firsts, all bought from different sources:

  • Hill, Joe. Full Throttle. HarperCollins, 2019. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, limited edition issue with page signed by Hill bound in. Short story collection. Bought at Half Price Books (who sell new books now as well), with two store stickers (including publisher’s gold “Signed First Edition” sticker) for 20% off cover price. Irritatingly, both this limited edition and the trade edition below have the same ISBN.

  • Hill, Joe. Full Throttle. HarperCollins, 2019. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, trade edition, signed by Hill. Note that the dust wrapper on both this and the limited above have a new type of material with a distinct texture (almost like a paper version of suede). Bought from a noted mystery bookseller for 20% off.
  • Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke & Key 4: Keys to the Kingdom. Subterranean/IDW, 2019. First limited edition hardback, #159 of 250 signed/numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine slipcase, new and unread. The latest collected signed/limited volume of the acclaimed dark fantasy/horror graphic novel series. The IDW edition came out many years back, but as with the other Subterranean volumes, this includes additional material, including the full comic scripts. Bought from the publisher with a dealer discount.

  • Note that I have copies of all three of these available through Lame Excuse Books.

    Library Additions: Two Hardback Graphic Novel Firsts

    December 19th, 2019

    One of these I managed to miss when it came out, and the other I backed a Kickstarter for back in January.

  • (Dick, Philip K.) Paul de Coudray and Elizabeth Haidle. The Pipers. Mascot Press, 2019. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Graphic novel adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story of the same name. Backed on Kickstarter for $24.

  • Krahulik, Mike, and Jerry Holkins. The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition. Del Rey, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Retrospective “behind the scenes” collection of the gaming webcomic, which I somehow missed when it came out.
  • Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet

    December 19th, 2019

    Sort of like “Inception meets The Matrix, but for time travel.”

    More than a bit of a Philip K. Dick vibe…

    Library Additions: Two Signed Robert Silverberg Firsts

    December 16th, 2019

    One old, one new:

  • Silverberg, Robert. In Another Country and Other Short Novels. Five Star, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Signed by Silverberg. Contains “In Another Country,” “The Way to Spook City,” “They Hide, We Seek” and “This is the Road.” Five Star is a small press that seems to deal mostly with the library market, and I know that SF/F dealers who have tried to obtain their books have generally found their wholesale terms unreasonable. Bought for $24 off the Internet. I have an unsigned copy of this title for sale in my latest book catalog.

  • Silverberg, Robert, and Randall Garrett, as Robert Randall. The Dawning Light. Gnome Press, 1959. First edition hardback, a Fine copy with less than the usual age-darkening, in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight loss at front points and a trace of edgewear; a very attractive example of the dust jacket. Signed by Silverberg. Currey, page 436. Clareson, Robert Silverberg: a primary and secondary bibliography, A233. Chalker/Ownings, page 205. Kemp, page 272. Bought for $47.31 plus shipping (which was from overseas) from a fellow Biblio dealer.

  • If you wonder why I took a month-long break from blogging new library additions, it’s because I was busy working on a book catalog, since sent out via email. Drop me a line if you haven’t received a copy and want to.

    Sad Thanksgiving News: No MST3K Season 13 on Netflix

    November 28th, 2019

    I Haz a Sad:

    Things have been far too quiet on the MST3K front lately. It has been over a year since Mystery Science Theater 3000 season 12 hit Netflix, and since then, we’ve heard nary a peep about production on new episodes. Sure, series creator Joel Hodgson has been busy with the live tour and various other efforts, but you would think that after a year, and with Thanksgiving looming (an all important date on the MST3K calendar) Netflix would get the ball rolling again. You would be wrong. It’s time to find another home for the Satellite of Love.

    Hodgson sends out regular email updates to an MST3K mailing list, and today’s email blast brought the news fans have dreaded. Mystery Science Theater 3000 season 13 isn’t happening. At least not on Netflix.

    “As some of you might have guessed, we won’t be making new seasons of the show for Netflix,” Hodgson wrote. “However, I want you to know that we’ve had a wonderful time working with the Netflix team, and will always be grateful to them. After all, they gave us the opportunity to spend the past few years aboard the Satellite of Love, and made it possible for new generations to discover the joys of riffing cheesy movies with your friends.”

    This is sad news, but not unexpected, since rumors had been flying that another deal was not forthcoming from Netflix for months.

    Hopefully they’ll be able to land on their feet and find another channel or service willing to continue the show. (Disney? It’s pretty family friendly and relatively inoffensive…)

    Shoegazer Sunday: Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” Slowed Down 800%

    November 24th, 2019

    Blue Oyster Cult isn’t Shoegaze by most definitions, but the person who slowed it down 800% also filled it with “huge reverse and forward reverbs fill in the huge gaps that would remain without.” Which makes it very sound very shoegaze/ambient/darkwave/space rock, the sort of music you would play upon discovery of a long lost alien city deep beneath the earth.