L.W. Currey had another $10 sale, so I bought several signed books at that price, and a few that were slightly more expensive.
Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category
Library Additions: Seven Signed First Editions
Monday, June 2nd, 2014Jay Lake, RIP
Sunday, June 1st, 2014Jay Lake lost his long, well-documented fight with cancer today. He was 5 days shy of his 50th birthday.
I saw Jay at the San Antonio Worldcon. When he rolled up in his scooter, I went “Jay, you know the same conversation you’ve already had with every one of your friends this weekend? Let’s just pretend we already had that conversation.”
He was a swell guy and a good writer who will be missed.
I’m actually about to go off and visit a relative recovering from cancer in the hospital, which is one reason this is so brief…
Book Auction Watch: Bonhams June 18 Book Auction
Thursday, May 29th, 2014Auction houses other than Heritage do occasionally offer up notable science fiction first editions. On June 18, Bonhams is offering up:
Library Additions: Roger Zelazny’s A Rose for Ecclesiastes
Monday, May 26th, 2014This is an upgrade book, replacing an Ex-Library copy:
Zelazny, Roger. A Rose for Ecclesiastes. Rupert Hart-Davis, 1969. First edition thus and first hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with very slight spine fading. First hardback edition of Four For Tomorrow. Levack, 17b. Kovacs, V11c/V20. Zelazny’s first short story collection.
Library Addition: Signed/Limited Edition of Jack Vance’s Son of the Tree
Monday, May 19th, 2014Slowly but surely I’m closing in on my complete Jack Vance hardback collection:
Vance, Jack. Son of the Tree. Underwood/Miller, 1983. First hardback edition, #183 of 200 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just a tiny bit of wrinkling at head and heel. Hewett, A13g.
H. R. Giger, RIP
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014Pioneering artist H. R, Giger has died at age 74. Few other 20th century artists produced work so technically accomplished, pioneering, and disturbing (all at the same time) as his biomechanical paintings, which were mostly produced by airbrush. Even if Giger had never done the design for Alien, his work would still have been hugely influential. And few artists are able to open successful museums of their own work in their own lifetimes.
2015 To Be Filled With Blockbuster Franchise Sequels
Monday, May 5th, 2014There’s lots of news about staggeringly successful, critically acclaimed movie franchise having new installments out in 2015.
What, you’re saying the words “staggeringly successful,” “critically acclaimed” and “franchise” don’t apply to Sharknado?
All I have to say about that is: I had a great deal more fun watching Sharknado than I did Attack of the Clones.
In other Sharknado-related news, The Asylum is crowd-funding a scene in Sharknado 2: The Second One. Personally, I think $50,000 for a single scene is more than a bit high. Give The Asylum’s previous track record, with that much money I would expect them to make an entire film…
Library Addition: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Four Different Poems
Thursday, May 1st, 2014Another weird library addition, not so much a book as a “book-like object.”
Le Guin, Ursula K. Four Different Poems. Longhouse, 2007. First edition chapbook original, a 3″x5″ card with an accordion foldout attached and a title band signed by Le Guin wrapped around, one of only 24 signed copies, a Fine copy.
An odd item with a very small limitation. Bought for $20 off the Internet.
Crap: Almost Human Cancelled
Wednesday, April 30th, 2014Fox has evidently cancelled the science fiction police drama Almost Human. Which is a damned shame, since it was the first attempt to do a serious post-cyberpunk drama on American TV. (The true first was Japan’s animated Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.) While it wasn’t a great show (it had too much 1970s cop dram patina to it, including the requisite Climatic Gunfight at the end of every episode), it was a pretty good one and had a lot of potential.
Well, so much for that. Unless another network picks it up, or the DVD sales convince Fox to pick it up again. I’m not holding my breath.
PAX Coming to San Antonio in January 2015
Saturday, April 12th, 2014Penny Arcade Expo is coming to San Antonio January 23-25, 2015. No venue was announced, but I can’t imagine they can hold that monster in anything smaller than the convention center, since PAX Prime in Seattle has drawn as many as 70,000 participants.
This is what they call “a big deal.” And unlike Worldcon, expect most of the attendees to be under 30 rather than over 50…
