Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Rosemary Wolfe, RIP

Monday, December 16th, 2013

From Michael Swanwick comes the sad news that Rosemary Wolfe, Gene Wolfe’s wife of more than 50 years, has died.

I don’t have a lot to add to Michael’s write-up. I knew that she had been suffering for ill health for some time, and had been confined to 24-hour care for over a year.

My condolences to Gene and the rest of the Wolfe family on her passing.

Here’s a scanned picture of Gene and Rosemary on their wedding day from A Wolfe Family Album:

Wolfe Wedding

And here’s a picture of Gene and Rosemary (with Elizabeth Hand in-between) at the 2009 Readercon:

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Library Additions: Earnest Bramah’s The Moon of Much Gladness (in dust jacket)

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

If you like Barry Hughart, you should really try reading Earnest Bramah’s Kai Lung series, which is exceptionally entertaining. Though most of the Kai Lung first editions were published slightly before my main collecting period, I do snatch up nice copies in dust jacket when I see them at an affordable price (though I doubt I’ll ever have a Bramah collection to rival Mike Berro’s).

Bramah, Earnest. The Moon of Much Gladness. Cassell & Company, 1932. First edition hardback (Berro A17), a Fine- copy with slight bends at head and heel in a VG+ dust jacket with a 1/8″ chip at rear head join, slight cracking at top edge of front cover, and dust soiling to rear, otherwise a fairly bright and attractive copy of a book seldom offered in dust jacket. Bought for $300 off the Internet from a major SF book dealer.

(Click to embiggen, but note that the what appear to be tiny spots of white rubbing to the black dj are in fact scanner artifacts.)

Moon Much Gladness

Photos from the 2013 San Antonio Worldcon

Monday, December 9th, 2013

I knew that dealing books at Worldcon would eat up a lot of time, but I had no idea just how much time it would take me to not only get all the books back on the shelf, but to catch up on everything I set aside while getting ready for, then recovering from, Worldcon.

Which explains why I’m just now putting up the pictures I took there. Here are the handful of pictures I took at Worldcon that came out decent.

Clotheshorse that she is, the lovely and talented Gail Carriger kicks off our review with the first of three outfits I managed to photograph.

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A second.

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And a third.

And here’s the same outfit she insisted I snap with her own camera. “You’ve got to include the shoes!”

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Stina Leicht, sitting next to me at the Rayguns Over Texas event at the San Antonio Library.

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Scott Cupp and Josh Rountree at the same event. The other photos I took there came out crappy.

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Bookseller and con chair Mike Walsh.

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Lou Antonelli channels Flavor-Flav.

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Howard Waldrop and Eileen Gunn, just before Howard went three rounds with a concrete step.

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And here’s Howard just after that bout.

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Andrew Porter, now free of the terrible burden of publishing a semi-prozine.

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Pat Murphy, back again.

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Ex-NASA employee Al Jackson.

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Ex-Austinite Maureen McHugh.

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Kim Stanley Robinson, back from whatever frozen locale he’s visiting this time. Possibly Iapetus.

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Gardner Dozois at full rant.

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Gardner Dozois at full rest. The two modes are deceptively similar.

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In 2012, Pat Cadigan asked me to take down one of her pictures. So this year I made sure that this picture with Robert Silverberg was 100% flattering.

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I think this is a very good picture of Dwight Brown.

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Rich Simental, who spent much of the con in his room working on a completely different con.

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Ben Yalow. Or possibly one of those hundreds of Ben Yalow impersonators you hear so much about.

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Max Merriwell, in a very clever diusguise.

David Kyle

David Kyle, who I think has passed the late Forrest J. Ackerman for Most Worldcons Attended.

I’m sorry that I didn’t get pictures of Alastair Reynolds, David Brin, Jack McDevitt, Joe and Joy Haldeman, and Lois McMaster Bujold (among others I missed), who were all kind enough to come by the Lame Excuse Books booth.

Library Additions: A Random Collection of Signed Books

Monday, November 18th, 2013

Some more library additions, with no particular theme except books signed by the author.

  • Bear, Greg. Early Harvest. NESFA Press, 1988. First edition hardback, #173 of 250 signed, numbered copies (800 print run total), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase. Supplements a signed trade copy. Bought off the Internet for $37.50.
  • Bradbury, Ray. Driving Blind Avon Books, 1997. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Bradbury: “Marilyn! /Onward!/Ray Bradbury/Oct. 18, ’97”. Bought for $20 off eBay.
  • Gaiman, Neil. Fortunately the Milk…. HarperCollins (UK), 2013. First edition hardback (the UK and U.S. edition were evidently simultaneous), slipcased limited edition (“with exclusive bookmark”) sold by UK bookstore chain Foyle’s signed by Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddle, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, still in shrinkwrap. I think this state came out about a month after the trade edition. Young adult novella. Bought for £19.99 plus shipping off eBay.

    Gaiman Milk

  • Gibson, William. Zero History. Putnum, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Gibson. Bought for $12 (marked down from $20) at a Half Price Books during a coupon sale.
  • Lake, Jay. Dogs in the Moonlight. Prime Books, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a bit of wear at the tips. Signed by Lake. Missed this when it came out, mainly because Prime was still part of Wildside. Bought for $24 off the Internet.
  • Lake, Jay. Endurance. Tor, 2011. Signed by Lake. Bought for 20% off cover at the San Antonio Worldcon.
  • Pohl, Frederik, with Jack Williamson. The Saga of Cuckoo. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1983. First edition thus and first hardback (a book club omnibus edition of Farthest Star and A World Around a Star, both previously published only in paperback), code “N34” on page 433 (as per ISFDB), a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of crimping at head and heel, in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by both Pohl and Williamson. Bought for $22.50 off eBay.
  • Powers, Tim/James P. Blaylock. The Way Down the Hill/The Pink of Fading Neon. Axoltl Press, 1986. First Edition hardback, #178 of 300 hardback copies by both authors and introducers Ed Bryant and Charles De Lint, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Bought for $30 plus shipping from Heritage Auctions. One of those books I wasn’t sure whether I owned or not, since I had the other Axolotl Press Powers and Blaylock books…
  • They’re Dogs! And They’re Playing…Magic?

    Sunday, November 17th, 2013

    I don’t back that many Kickstarters, but this one is tempting, especially since I do like the iconic work of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, and appreciate the conniptions he induces in the Art Police.

    The problem is, I’ve never played Magic: The Gathering. But I bet there are enough people out there who have to make this Kickstarter, which is currently 30% away from their $1,000 goal.

    (Hat tip: Moe Lane.)

    Last 3 Days To Get in On the 2014 John Picacio Calendar

    Monday, November 11th, 2013

    I meant to put a word in on the 2014 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter but Stuff and Things got in the way.

    Anyway, now that it’s in the last three days, your time to join it is running out. The project is already funded, but I get the impression it won’t be sold in stores.

    It’s also a chance to support his ongoing Loteria card project:

    If you like art and need a calendar, you might want to go over and get in while the getting is good…

    Library Additions: Odd Gaiman and Swanwick Items

    Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

    If you collect everything an author wrote (or, in my case, everything they wrote which has been published as a separate items), you can end up with things that stray fairly far from what most people think of as “books.” Here are two recent acquisitions that may cause more than one collector to go “What the hell?”

  • Gaiman, Neil, with David McKean. Mythological Creatures. The Royal Mail, 2009. First edition folded broadside, legal-paper sized printed cardstock, two-sided, with six stamps in attached Mylar pouches, Fine. Collectable stamp folder with six mini-stories by Gaiman, one for each mythological creature on the stamps, with Dave McKean art. An odd item I only recently became aware of, and one that may frustrate Gaiman completists a few years hence…

    Mythical Creatures

  • Swanwick, Michael. Tumbling. Dragonstairs Press, 2013. First edition micro-chapbook original, 3″ x 2 3/4″, #10 of 50 signed, numbered copies, Fine, new and unread. Bought from the author at the 2013 San Antonio Worldcon. Dragonstairs Press is Swanwick and his wife, and they do short run Swanwick chapbooks. This one is even a shorter run than their usual 100 copies.

  • Library Additions: Limited Hardback Edition of Ides of Octember Roger Zelazny Bibliography

    Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

    Another crazy collector item for my Zelazny library:

    (Zelazny, Roger) Kovacs, Christopher, compiler. The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny. NESFA Press/Camelot Books, 2011. First hardback edition, letter M of 21 lettered copies with a Zelazny signature sheet (taken from unused Ultramarine Press Zelazny books), a Fine copy in three-quarters bound leather, in a Fine patterned traycase with the pictorial cover from the trade paperback edition, sans dust jacket, as issued.

    An elaborate aftermarket edition of this Zelazny incorporating unbound NESFA sheets obtained by the compiler.

    Octember HD

    I paid $191 for it, considerably less than the $500 list price it was offered at.

    Lame Excuse Books July Catalog

    Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

    Time once again for Lawrence Just Plops the Latest Book Catalog on the Blog. I should be taking all these books (and many more besides) to Worldcon.


    Greetings, and welcome to Lawrence Person’s Lame Excuse for a Book Catalog!

    Before the catalog itself, some big news: I will be dealing books at this year’s Worldcon in San Antonio. I’ll have three tables there and as much of my stock as I think will fit. Come on by! (Also, if you have some tasty SF/F/H first editions you want to part with, let me know.)

    Back to the catalog! Once again there’s lots of great stuff, including new books from Joe R. Lansdale, Philip K. Dick, Tim Powers, Avram Davidson and Jack Vance, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winners, some early Iain Banks (one signed), the collecting bible of the field (L. W. Currey’s guide to first editions), a big, thick guide to SF speciality publishers of the golden age, and numerous small press books from Golden Gryphon, Subterranean, PS Publishing, Centipede Press, and Fedogan & Breamer (yeah, they’re back) among others. Only a few sale books this time around, since I’m hoping to sell a boatload at Worldcon. Most in-print hardbacks start at $3 off cover price, and as usual I only have one or two copies for most titles, so you might want to act quickly.

    The URL for the main Lame Excuse Books webpage is:

    https://www.lawrenceperson.com/lame.html

    My blog, where I do a lot of book geeking (including new additions to my own collection; I just bought a bunch of rare Zelazny) is:

    https://www.lawrenceperson.com

    I’m still doing a Lame Excuse Books Twitter feed:

    https://twitter.com/LameExcuseBooks

    Payment, Contact & Shipping Information

    E-mail me at lawrenceperson@gmail.com. I can hold books ten days on e-mail or phone requests (please leave a message on my voice mail for the latter: (512) 569-9036). U.S. shipping is $5.00 for the first book, and $1.00 a book thereafter. Foreign shipping is at cost (please inquire; for most locations, Global Priority starts at $23.95 now; yes, it’s gone up again). Books may be returned in the same condition sent for any reason within 10 days of purchase for a full refund. Please make checks payable to Lawrence Person. I can also take PayPal payment to this e-mail address at http://www.paypal.com, and I can take MC and Visa directly through my merchant account.

    Please mail checks to:

    Lawrence Person
    Lame Excuse Books
    P.O. Box 27231
    Austin, Texas 78755

    Finally, if you want me to take you off this mailing list, please let me know. I hate spam just as much as the next person.

    Now the books!

    Hardbacks

    LP2063. Baker, Kage. Black Projects, White Knights. Golden Gryphon, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread.Short stories about The Company $15.

    LP2064. Banks, Iain M. Against a Dark Background. Orbit, 1993. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight haze rubbing (which means the glossy black areas seem to have a bit of haze on them if you move them back and forth under a strong light), otherwise new and unread. Banks first “pure” non-Culture SF novel. Banks was a phenomenally talented writer who died way too young. $150.

    LP2065. Banks, Iain M. Consider Phlebas. Macmillan, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with a tiny bit of bend at edge of head and heel, in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket. Read once, by me. The first Culture novel, and Banks’ first “pure” SF novel. Recommended. I’m not seeing a single unsigned first of the Macmillan Consider Phlebas anywhere online. $400.

    LP2066. Banks, Iain M. Excession. Orbit, 1996. First edition hardback, a Fine copy (though with the characteristic slight page darkening of Orbit books of this era) in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed by Banks: “To Narayan/—best wishes/Iain M. Banks”. Recommended. A Culture novel. For some reason I can’t find a single signed Excession on Bookfinder. $200.

    LP2068. Bradbury, Ray. Nemo! Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Previously unpublished Ray Bradbury screenplay set in Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strip. Now sold out from the publisher, but I still have it at cover price. $35.

    LP2070. Dahlquist, Gordon. The Dark Volume. Bantam, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Sequel to The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters. Only have one. $19.

    LP2071. Dann, Jack. The Fiction Factory. A Thousand Deaths. Golden Gryphon, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Collection of all Jack’s collaborative stories, including those with Gardner Dozois, Michael Swanwick, Barry Malzberg, etc. haven’t read all of them, but recommended based on the ones I have, especially “Down Among the Dead Men.” $15.

    LP2072. Dick, Philip K. The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 3: On the Dull Earth. Subterranean, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. I don’t really need to provide a blurb here, do I? $37.

    LP2073. Di Filippo, Paul. Strange Trades. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection about various jobs. Introduction by Bruce Sterling. Recommended, especially for “The Mill.” $15.

    LP1114B. Effinger, George Alec (Neil Gaiman, Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Bradley Denton, Michael Bishop, Mike Resnick, Barbara Hambly, Lawrence Person, Jack Dann, Pamela Sargent, George Zebrowski, Lawrence Person, Richard Gilliam).Live! From Planet Earth. Golden Gryphon, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. Posthumous collection of some of George’s best non-series stories, including “The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything,” “Two Sadnesses,” “All the Last Wars at Once,” and “Seven Nights in Slumberland.” Includes introductions by Neil Gaiman, Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Bradley Denton, Michael Bishop, Mike Resnick, Barbara Hambly, Lawrence Person, Jack Dann, Pamela Sargent, George Zebrowski, Lawrence Person, and Richard Gilliam. Signed by me (I did the introduction to “My Old Man”) at your request. You need one. $15.

    LP1950. Effinger, George Alec. A Thousand Deaths. Golden Gryphon, 2000. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Includes all of George’s stories featuring his often-killed protagonist Sandor Courane, including the novel The Wolves of Memory, which George considered the best of his own work before When Gravity Fails. $15.

    LP2074. Landis, George. Impact Parameter. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.

    LP904B. Lansdale, Joe R. Bumper Crop. Golden Gryphon, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. The second Golden Gryphon best of Lansdale collection, companion to the earlier High cotton (see below). Recommended. You can pay $15 for it now, or $20 after I get it signed at Worldcon (if there are any left).

    LP2075. Lansdale, Joe R. Dead Aim. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Latest Hap and Leonard novella. This trade edition is already sold out from the publisher, but I’ve still got it at cover price. $25.

    LP2077. Lansdale, Joe R. Devil Red. Knopf, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. The latest Hap and Leonard novel, and compulsively readable. The boys go up against another contract killer, and Vanilla Ride makes another appearance. $15.

    LP1962B. Lansdale, Joe R. High Cotton. Golden Gryphon, 2000. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Best of Lansdale collection. Highly recommended. Same deal here: You can pay $15 for it now, or $20 after I get it signed at Worldcon (if there are any left).

    LP2078. Lansdale, Joe R., with John Farris and Stephen Gallagher (with introduction by Robert R. McCammon). Night Visions 8. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Anthology series of original horror stories. The Lansdale story, “Incidents On and Off a Mountain Road,” was the basis of an episode in the Masters of Horror TV show. $20.

    LP2079. (Lovecraft, H. P.) Price, Robert M., editor. Worlds of Cthulhu. Fedogan & Breamer, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Cthulhu Mythos anthology. Good to see Fedogan & Breamer wake from their deathless slumbers. $26.

    LP2080. Lupoff, Richard A. Claremont Tales. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.

    LP2081. McDevitt, Jack D. Seeker. Ace, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Nebula Award winner for best novel. $25.

    LP2082. Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, one of 350 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Powers latest novella, about a rare book dealer. Now sold out from the publisher, but I’m offering it at cover price. $60.

    LP2083. Powers, Tim. Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. This trade edition is also sold out from the publisher, and also offered at cover price. $30.

    LP1970. Resnick, Mike. Blasphemy. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. All of Resnick’s stories dealing with religion in one place. $15.

    LP1698. Resnick, Mike. Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks. Golden Gryphon, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.

    LP2084. Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Recovering Apollo 8. Golden Gryphon, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.

    LP2085. Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Stories for an Enchanted Evening. Golden Gryphon, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $15.

    LP1353. Russell, Eric Frank (edited by John Pelan & Phil Stephenson-Payne). Darker Tides: The Weird Tales of Eric Frank Russell. Midnight House, 2006. First edition hardback, one of only 500 copies. Fine in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. $35.

    LP2086. Swanwick, Michael. Vacuum Flowers. Arbor House, 1987. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with a bit of dust staining and age darkening to white rear cover and a bit of haze rubbing. His second novel, a well-regarded cyberpunk work. $9.

    LP2087. Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, #36 of 100 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, as issued. Alternate History novel and winner of the 2011 World Fantasy Award. Only have one. $70.

    LP2088. Tidhar, Lavie. Osama. PS Publishing, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Trade edition. Only have one. $35.

    LP2089. Vance, Jack. Magic Highways. Subterranean Press, 2013. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Third in Subterranean’s series reprinting the early Jack Vance, gathering sixteen early science fiction stories from 1946 to 1956. $42.

    LP2090. VanderMeer, Jeff. Secret Life. Golden Gryphon, 2004. Golden Gryphon, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. $15.

    LP801B. Waldrop, Howard (with Bruce Sterling, George R. R. Martin, Leigh Kennedy, Steven Utley, Buddy (Jake) Saunders, and A. A. (Al) Jackson, IV. Custer’s Last Jump and Other Collaborations. Golden Gryphon, 2003. First edition hardback, Fine in a Fine dj. New and unread. Signed by Waldrop, Jackson, Sterling and Utley. In addition to the swell title story, there’s an 11th century Japanese detective story written with Bruce Sterling (“The Latter Days of the Law”) original to this volume, “Black as the Pit From Pole to Pole” (Frankenstein’s Monster in the Hollow Earth, with Utley), and tons more neat stuff. Highly Recommended. You need it. $15 now, $20 after I get Howard to sign it at Worldcon, assuming it doesn’t sell out there.

    LP2091. Wellman, Manly Wade. The Complete John Thundstone. Haffner Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. All Wellman’s stories featuring his brainy/brawny psychic detective in one place. Gotta a love a scholar who has a swordcane to fight supernatural evil. Fun stuff. If you don’t already have Carcosa House’s long-out-of-print Lonely Vigils and the two Doubleday novels, What Dreams May Come and The School of Darkness, then you need this. Hell, you might need it anyway. Recommended. $42.

    LP2100. Zebrowski, George. Empties. Golden Gryphon, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Horror novel. Howard says it’s a good one. $15.

    LP2101. Zebrowski, George. Swift Thoughts. Golden Gryphon, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection, something of a a Best of from this hard SF writer. Introduction by Gregory Benford. $15.

    LP2093. Zelazny, Roger. Bridge of Ashes. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Near Fine- dust jacket with one tiny (1/32″) chip and several small (1/16″) closed tears along bottom front, and wear at points. One of Zelazny’s less common hardbacks. Levack 2e. $49.

    Trade Paperbacks

    LP2094. Anderson, Kevin David and Sam Stall. Night of the Living Trekkies. Quirk Books, 2010. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with black remainder mark to top edge, otherwise Fine. Zombies at a Star Trek convention. A little divertimenti to read between chapter’s of Finnigans Wake. $5.

    LP2095. Davidson, Avram. The Wailing of the Gaulish Dead. The Nutmeg Point District Mail, 2013. Perfect-bound chapbook first edition, one of 200 copies in heavy cardstock with self-wrapper flaps and errata sheet pasted inside, a Fine copy. $22.

    LP2096. Kemp, Earl Terry. The Anthem Series: A Guide to the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Weird Specialty Publisher’s of the Golden Age. The Last Stand, 2012. First edition trade paperback original (TPO), oversized, a Fine copy. Covers SF/F/H small press publishers from the beginning up into the early 1960s, including complete descriptions of all the contents, including plot synopsis for ever individual story! Scattershot and oddly organized, but contains lots of works that aren’t in Chalker/Ownings, as well as listing a lot of ephemera, and pictures of first edition covers compared to later covers. If you collect SF books of this period, you need it. $72.

    LP2097. (Lansdale, Joe R.) Michael Blaine, Dennis Etchison, James Kisner, Dean R. Koontz, Joe R. Lansdale, Richard Christian Matheson, Robert R. McCammon, William F. Nolan, Alan Rodgers, David B. Silva, J. N. Williamson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. The Monitors of Providence. World Fantasy Convention, 1986. First edition chapbook original, one of 1000 copies given out at the 1986 World fantasy Convention in Providence, RI, a Fine- copy with a tiny bend to one corner. These aren’t as easy to find as they used to be… $35.

    LP2098. Mieville, China. London’s Overthrow. The Westbourne Press, 2012. First edition trade paperback original (I code on copyright page), a format every-so-slightly bigger than a mass market paperback, a Fine copy, new and unread. Appears to be a political rant with color pictures of run-down London, just shy of a hundred pages. Only have one. $25.

    LP2099. Robinson, Kim Stanley. The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. Night Shade Books, 2011. First trade paperback edition, reprinting the hardback of the year before. $10.

    LP2113. Shaver, Richard S. The Shaver Mystery Volumes I-IV. Armchair Fiction, 2011-2013. First edition trade paperback editions, all Fine, new and unread. Collects stories and ancillary material from the “Shaver Mystery,” Shaver’s weird, strangely compelling conspiracy theory/alternate reality in which a hateful race of “deros” (“detrimental robots”) lived inside he earth, beaming mind-control rays at surface dwellers (and occasionally kidnapping them for torture, food, or sport). Shaver’s elaborate, unhinged vision brought a vast legion of cranks out of the shadows and onto the subscriber ranks of Amazing, whose editor Ray Palmer started publishing Shaver’s stories in 1947, which was to have a considerable impact on SF fandom. I doubt much of this has seen print since it’s original appearance in Amazing, or in Palmer’s subsequent The Hidden World. If you’re a connoisseur of crank literature, Shaver is up there with the whackiest. Collective list price of $52, but yours for $45.

    LP2102. Zelazny, Roger. (and Thomas T. Thomas). The Mask of Loki. Baen, 1990. Uncorrected page proofs, trade paperback format, of the paperback first edition, a Fine copy, new and unread. Don’t see another copy online. Previously part of Bob Pylant’s vast collection of Zelazny first editions. $49.

    Mass Market Paperbacks

    LP2103. Broderick, Damien. The Dreaming Dragons. Pocket Books, 1980. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy, with wear at tips, otherwise tight and square. Interesting novel about an investigation that leads to a dramatic revelation about human consciousness. Pringle, SF100 list. $7.

    LP2104. Carriger, Gail. Blameless. Orbit, 2010. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Third book in the very clever Parasol Protectorate steampunk series that started with Soulless. $10.

    LP2105. Crichton, Michael. Westworld. Bantam, 1974. Presumed first edition paperback original (no additional printings listed), an Ex-Library copy with stamps and checkout sheet inside front cover, blurb page clipped, stamp on title page, bottom 1″ of front cover starting to detach, and general wear; call it Good+, but it is structurally sound. The novelization of his own script for the “robots go crazy” thriller he directed. $10.

    LP2106. Eckert, Allan W. The Hab Theory. Popular Library, 1977. Apparent first paperback edition, preceded by the hardback, a VG copy with spine creases and lean. Well-regarded 700 page disaster novel. $10.

    LP2107. Herbert, Frank. The Worlds of Frank Herbert. Ace, 1971. First edition paperback original thus (adding one story not in the UK PBO) with no statement of printing on copyright page and 75¢ on the cover, as per Currey, a VG+ copy with stamp at heel, wear along extremities and at tips, and a pinhead sized indention/scrape to front cover. Short story collection. $5.

    LP2108. McDonald, Ian. Empire Dreams. Bantam Spectra, 1988. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with edgewear at head, otherwise tight and square. His first short story collection, including the short version of “King of Morning, Queen of Day” and “Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain, by van Vogh.” Recommended. $7.

    LP2109. Moon, Elizabeth. Lunar Activity. Baen, 1990. First edition paperback original, a VG+ copy with spine creasing and lean, crease along top front cover, and general wear. Short story collection. $5.

    LP2110. Moon, Elizabeth. Phases. Baen, 1997. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with one page (9/10) formerly dog-eared, otherwise apparently new and unread. Inscribed by Moon: “For Lauren/Best wishes/Elizabeth Moon.” Short story collection. $10.

    LP2111. Nolan, William F. Logan’s World. Bantam, 1977. First edition paperback original (no additional printings listed), a Near Fine copy with phantom creasing to front cover, and a few touches of general wear, but tight and square. Sequel to Logan’s Run. $10.

    LP2112. van Vogt, A. E. Masters of Time. Manor Books, 1975. Paperback reprint, Near Fine. $3.

    LP2113. Waldrop, Howard, and Jake Saunders. The Texas-Israeli War: 1999. Ballantine Books, 1974. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with a bit of bunching near spine and a small crease along outer front cover edge, otherwise a solid square copy. $10.

    UT’s Ransom Center Gets Glenn Lord’s Robert E. Howard Manuscripts

    Monday, August 12th, 2013

    Robert E. Howard fans (I’m looking at you Mark Finn) will be interested to know that the estate of late REH-scholar Glenn Lord has donated “more than 15,000 pages of manuscripts, sketches and ephemera” to the University of Texas Harry Ransom Center.

    Knowing what Howard manuscripts go for on the open market, that’s probably a 7-figure bequest. I’m sure REH scholars will be pouring over that treasure trove for years to come.