Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

« Older Entries

Library Addition: Signed First of Hal Clement’s Cycle of Fire

Monday, July 13th, 2026

I’m working on a complete Hal Clement collection, and this was one of the key titles I was missing.

Clement, Hal (pseudonym for Harry Clement Stubbs). Cycle of Fire. Ballantine Books, 1957. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws, including stamps on page block edged, inside covers and interior pages, tape ghosts, endpapers excised. etc., with wear along bottom boards, moderate crease to spine, and writing on lower spine, in a dust jacket with 1/4″ chips at head, sticker at heel, and severe sunfading to spine and an inch to free cover, completing fading the the title, and front label faded from orange to yellow, with a bit more wear at edges at points, otherwise intact; call it a Good/Very Good- Ex-Lib copy, signed by Clement (“Hal Clement” (Harry C. Stubbs)”). Hassley, Hal Clement, pages 33-37./ Currey, page 469. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 76. ought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $100, bargained down from considerably more. It’s been decades since I’ve seen a Fine/Fine copy offered for sale, and even Ex-Lib copies tend to list for several hundred dollars.

I knew Hal a little bit, having given him a ride back from an Armadillocon dinner decades ago. We talked about him flying B-24 Liberators in World War II.

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »

Library Addition: Signed First of Ray Bradbury’s S is for Space

Monday, July 6th, 2026

Another addition to my library of signed Ray Bradbury firsts:

Bradbury, Ray. S is for Space. Doubleday, 1966. First edition hardback(“First edition” stated, as per Currey), a Near Fine- copy with a 1/4″ stripe of lightness across front, back and spine, probably from the binding process, a former owner’s name and address on front free endpaper, and slight wear at head, heel and points, in a Very Good- dust jacket with 1/4″ chips at head and heel, and smaller chips at points, silver dollar sized spot of light staining to rear cover with slight blind-side foxing, signed by Ray Bradbury. Currey, page 58. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 268. Bought off eBay for $200, bargained down from $250.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »

Library Addition: First of Jack Vance’s Isle of Peril

Monday, June 22nd, 2026

If you’re collecting every first edition of a popular, prolific writer’s books, chances are you may have to settle for a less-than-ideal copy of famous or (as in this case) hard-to-find titles.

Vance, Jack (as Alan Wade). Isle of Peril. Mystery House, 1957. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with most of the usual flaws (pocket removal, old style dust jacket protector, etc.), otherwise a Good+ copy with wear to bottom boards, bumping at head and heel, black marks along top and bottom board edges due to an old-style dust jacket protector, a long, thin crease to spine, etc., in a Good only dust jacket with long (5″) now-closed tear across top third of dust jacket front, wrapping across spine and along to back panel, where it turns into a crease, held in place by the old style dust jacket protector, spine fading, and a wide variety of small lesser nicks, stains, etc.; a very well worn Ex-Library copy, but both book and jacket are essentially intact. Mystery novel. Hewett, A6.a. Cunningham, B.42. Currey, page 499. Stephenson-Payne/Benson, Jack Vance: A Fantastic Imagination (2nd revised Edition), B36. Hubin, page 408. Later republished as Bird Isle. In my experience, this is the hardest of Vance’s first edition novels to find. Bought off eBay for $32, and even in this condition, copies usually go for over $100.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »

Library Addition: Signed First of Dan Simmons’ The Abominable

Monday, June 15th, 2026

This was the last Simmons title I didn’t own.

Simmons, Dan. The Abominable. Little Brown, 2015. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Simmons. Bought off eBay for $50, the opening bid.

The only Simmons first I lack is the trade first of The Fifth Heart, which preceded the Subterranean Press limited edition (which I have).

Tags:, ,
Posted in Books, Horror | 1 Comment »

Library Addition: Micheal Swanwick’s Basil, Pepper, Salt, and Garlic Greens

Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

Been a while since the last Dragonstairs Swanwick chapbook:

Swanwick, Michael. Basil, Pepper, Salt, and Garlic Greens: A Year in a Witch’s Kitchen. Dragonstairs Press, 2026. First edition chapbook original, #16 of 80 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Short stories tied to seasonal dishes.

I will have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (probably Novemberish).

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Books, Fantasy | No Comments »

Library Addition: Signed First of Greg Bear’s Take Back the Sky

Monday, June 8th, 2026

I picked this up because I had the first two books in the War Dogs trilogy and I found this signed first for less than cover price.

Bear, Greg. Take back the Sky. Orbit, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Bear. Third book in the War Dogs trilogy. Bought off a fellow Biblio dealer for $20.66 plus shipping

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »

Library Addition: Signed First of Andrew Vachss’ Flood

Monday, June 1st, 2026

Another Half Price Books find:

Vachss, Andrew. Flood. Donald I. Fine, 1985. First edition hardback, a Fine-copy with slight bumping at head and heel, in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with a 3/4″ hairline crease at bottom front panel, and slight bumping at head, heel and points, signed by Vachss. His first novel, a mystery. Vachss died in 2021. Replaces an unsigned copy. Bought for $5.39 from Half Price Books.

I have two other things signed by Vachss: The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine No. 1, and the signed hardback edition of Veil’s Visit, his collaboration with Joe R. Lansdale.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Books | No Comments »

Library Addition: Franz Kafka’s A Little Scarlet Book of the Surreal

Wednesday, May 20th, 2026

Another Borderlands Little Book:

Kafka, Franz. A Little Scarlet Book of the Surreal. Borderlands Press, 2026. First edition hardback, #463 of 350 copies signed by editor Ben Keefe (Borderlands: “we only print 350 copies but if anyone has matching numbers above 350, we make sure they continue to get it”), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Collection including eight stories, of which “In the Penal Colony” is probably the most famous.

(White smudges are scanner artifacts.)

I will have a small number of copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, currently in progress.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Books, Horror | No Comments »

Library Addition: Dozois Year’s Best SF 28th

Tuesday, May 19th, 2026

The final library addition from that Dozois auction buy.

Dozois, Gardner, editor. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Collection. St. Martin’s Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine, Mylar-protected dust jacket, new and unread. One of the years St. Martin’s printed this on thin paper, so the volume is slimmer than usual even though it has the same number of pages as other Dozois volumes.

(Note: What look like whitish smudges near the top are scanner reflections from the Mylar dust jacket protector.)

Now the only Dozois Year’s Best volume I lack from my want list is Fifteenth.

If you’re looking for individual Dozois Year’s Best hardback first volumes, I’m going to have a whole bunch of pristine copies of carious years in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, currently in progress.

Tags:, ,
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | No Comments »

Highlights from the David Aronovitz Auction

Monday, May 18th, 2026

That Heritage auction of the David Aronovitz collection happened last week, and there were some truly breathtaking prices achieved. Here’s a look at some of them.

  • An unsigned, first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit went for a jaw-dropping $450,000. Pretty sure that smashes the record for that title.
  • Speaking of Tolkien, an unsigned but exceptionally nice first edition, first state set of The Lord of the Rings went for a similarly astounding $325,000.
  • An inscribed, first edition of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in a first state dust jacket (Father Cody and unclipped, original $8.95 price on the dust jacket), pretty much a holy grail for King collectors, went for a breathtaking $68,750.
  • Speaking of King, an asbestos-bound Firestarter went for $75,000.
  • Somehow Aronovitz had gathered all three dedicate copies of Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (to Robert Cornog, Frederic Brown, and Philip Jose Farmer), and the lot went for a whopping $118,750. I only have an Ex-Library first of this.
  • An associational copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot inscribed to John W. Campbell (which is a great associational copy) went for an eye-popping $87,500.00.
  • A first English-language edition in dust jacket of Eugene Zamiatin/Yevgeny Zamyatin classic dystopia We went for $52,500. I’m not sure I’ve seen a copy offered in the dust jacket. I have a reprint of a later translation Bruce Sterling gave me. (I should probably read it some time…)
  • A green-jacketed first of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four went for $32,500. Interestingly, a copy of the more desirable red-jacked version, with the paper Evening Standard recommendation band, went in a Freeman’s auction for $48,000. I have a less attractive copy in a green jacket.
  • A nice but unsigned first of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? went for $37,500.00. I only have an Ex-Library first of this.
  • In a really inexplicable result, a signed Currey D binding (pretty much the ordinary hardback state) of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 went for $42,500, which is much more than the much rarer “asbestos-bound” copy went for in the same auction ($25,000), and than an association copy of the presentation state B inscribed to longtime friend and fan Forrest J. Ackerman went for $23,750.00. Similar signed Currey D copies can be had for much less online. My own, less desirable D-state copy is covered here.
  • A very nice inscribed first of Frank Herbert’s Dune went for $75,000. I only have an Ex-Library first of this.
  • A copy of the Gollancz hardback first of Larry Niven’s Ringworld in the very rare proof state dust jacket (I know of only one other copy) went for $8,125.
  • A very nice (but unsigned) trade first of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World in dust jacket went for $32,500, which is more than the one of 324 signed, limited copies went for ($8,125). I have an unsigned, jacketless copy of the trade first.
  • A nice, but not pristine, first of H. G. Wells First Men in the Moon signed by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went for $10,625. I have a less-attractive first of First Men in the Moon. I also have a first of another book signed by Buzz Aldrin.
  • A partial manuscript first draft of Gene Wolfe’s The Shadow of the Torturer went for $16,875.

    • Not everything went for crazy money. An E. E. “Doc” Smith History of Civilization set with box and lid went for $7,500, less than $2,000 more than a similar set with lid sold for all the way back in 2008. A copy of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Dawn of Flame went for $1,250, or all of $50 more than I paid for my copy back in 2013. A nice copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others went for $5,625, which seems around market to me. A signed Gollancz Neuromancer went for $6,875, down considerably off recent over $10,000 highs (though $3,500 for a signed first of the PBO is probably a new record).

    But generally, the very highest highpoint firsts of SF/F/H seem to be appreciating in value more rapidly than similar literary highpoints,

    Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »

    « Older Entries