Posts Tagged ‘Philip K. Dick’

The Lame Excuse Books Catalog for March 2011

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Greetings, and welcome to the latest installment of Lawrence Puts The Latest Book Catalog Up as a Whopping Big Block of Text Without Any Formatting. All these are available for sale. (Check out the Lame Excuse Books page for my previous stock and payment details.)

Hardbacks

LP1872. Anderson, Poul. The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson Volume 3: The Saturn Game. NESFA Press, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Bob Eggleton cover. I still have one copy of Volume 2 around if you need one. $26.

LP1247. Attanasio, A. A. Radix. William Morrow and Company, 1981. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy, some of the usual flaws (see Ex-Library Note), including stamps on all three edges, interior stamps and dj protector remnants inside front and rear covers, a slight bit of spine lean, and a slight bit of wear at heel; however, the dust jacket is in Near Fine shape, with moderate, slightly uneven (from a successful sticker removal that left no other signs) sunfading to spine, but otherwise complete and very attractive. Spine out, there is no sign this is an Ex-Library copy. The true first hardback edition of Attanasio’s first book (and a Nebula Finalist), and very uncommon thus (reportedly only 1000 hardbacks were done). $100.

LP1874. Bacagalupi, Paolo. The Alchemist. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Novella set in the same fantasy universe as Tobias Buckell’s simultaneously published The Executioness. $18.

LP1875. Buckell, Tobias. The Executioness. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Novella set in the same fantasy universe as Paolo Bacagalupi’s simultaneously published The Alchemist. $18

PBTBCombo1: Pick up both The Executioness and The Alchemist for $35.

LP1519. Bradbury, Ray. Moby Dick: A Screenplay. Subterranean Press, 2008. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. The basis of the John Huston movie. $29.

LP1456. Brite, Poppy Z. Antediluvian Tales. Subterranean Press, 2007. First edition hardback, one of 400 numbered copies signed by Brite in a better binding with marbled endpapers, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. Collection of short stories all written before her home town of New Orleans was flooded. $35.

LP1253. Bujold, Lois McMaster. Falling Free. Easton Press, 2001. First edition hardback thus (“Collectors Edition”), and first non- book club hardback edition, a Fine- leatherbound copy, new and unread (though with a slight “scratch” to top edge gilt finish), sans dj, as issued. Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel. This edition contains a new introduction by James Gunn, as well as original artwork. Easton Press “Collector’s Notes” laid in. Precedes the NESFA edition by several years. $49.

LP1838. Butler, Octavia. Patternmaster. Doubleday, 1976. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with previous owner’s signature on inside front cover and slight spine lean (but NO remainder spray) in a Near Fine dust jacket with a few tiny scratches and abrasions, tiny bit of foxing on interior flap edges, and foxing to blind side of dust jacket spine. Still a very attractive and presentable first edition of Butler’s first book. $60.

LP1053. Campbell, Ramsey. The Overnight. PS Publishing, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, one of 500 limited copies signed by Campbell (plus an additional 200 slipcased), new and unread. Full length horror novel set in a bookshop. What self-respecting book junkie can resist that? Only have one. $30.

LP889. Campbell, Ramsey (Poppy Z. Brite). Told By the Dead. PS Publishing, 2003. First edition hardback, one of 500 numbered “trade” hardbacks signed by Campbell and Introduction author Poppy Z. Brite, Fine in a Fine dj, new and unread. Full length short-story collection. Had an extra around a while I forgot to list. $35.

LP1385. Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. Tor, 1985. First edition hardback, an externally clean Ex-Library copy, with dj flaps formerly attached to book, pocket removal on FFE, and discard stamp on title page, otherwise VG with slight spine lean and slight wear at heel, in a Fine Mylar-protected dust jacket. Formerly my own personal copy. Far and away the most difficult domestic Hugo and Nebula winner of the last quarter century; you’d have to go back to Lord of Light in 1968 to find a domestic Hugo & Nebula winner that goes for more. $495

LP1628. Carey, Jacqueline. Kushiel’s Dart. Tor, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight dust staining to head in a Fine- dj with just a tiny trace of wear at the top outer tips. First in the Kushiel series. Supposedly very good, very popular, and very kinky. $35.

LP48. Carter, Raphael. The Fortunate Fall. Tor, 1996. First edition hardback, Fine/Fine-, unread, with trace of wear to matte black cover. One of the best first novels of the 1990s. Recommended. $10.

LP655. Cherryh, C. J. Cyteen. Warner Books, 1988. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy, with all the usual flaws, otherwise G+/NF+ with spine lean, significant wear to bottom boards, long black marker line on heel, spine leaned and slightly concave. Well-worn, but an attractive dj for an Ex-Lib, and a true first of a Hugo winner. $8.

LP1386. Clarke, Arthur C. Earthlight. Ballantine Books, 1955. First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey), an Ex-Library Copy, with two lines of black marker on half title page, small stamp and writing on copyright page, “Salvage” stamp on FFE, pocket and stamps on RFE, and tape ghosts to boards, otherwise VG- with moderate dust soiling to top page block and wear to bottom boards in a VG+ dust jacket with 1″ x 2″ yellowed repair tape to head to repair what appears to be two 1/2 x 1/8″ sections of dj loss along front and rear join folds; save for that, this is a very attractive dust jacket in a Mylar protector that shows no signs of being from an Ex-Lib copy, and save the tape, the rear white panel appears to be free of the usual soiling. All and all, better than a shelf-filing copy of one of Clarke’s better novels, depicting a military conflict centered around a moon colony and near-Earth orbit. The Ballantine Books hardbacks of this era had very small runs compared to the simultaneous paperback editions; while this is not quite as hard to find as Childhood’s End, it’s hard enough. $225.

LP1119. De Camp, L. Sprague. Time & Chance. Donald M. Grant, 1996. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. De Camp’s massive, Hugo-award winning autobiography. $24.

LP1878. Dick, Philip K. The Complete Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 1: The King of the Elves. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. If you don’t have the Underwood/Miller Collected PKD set, then you need this. If you do, you should know that is expanded from the edition, incorporating new story notes, and two added tales, one previously unpublished, and one uncollected. So if you’re a serious Dick fan, you probably need this as well… $37.

LP1395. Dick, Philip K. Voices from the Street. Tor, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Dick’s last previously unpublished novel (or at least the last for which a manuscript is known to exist). David Hartwell tells me that it’s actually much better than it’s reputation. $12.

LP1260. Disch. Thomas M. The Prisoner. Dennis Dobson, 1979. First hardback edition, an Ex-Library copy, with faint signs of pocket removal from FFE, and stamps to copyright page, in an otherwise VG copy with spine lean, slight wear at heel, and a half a dime-sized stain to RFE, in a VG+ dj with no visible Ex-Lib signs, some slight 1/8″ or less chipping at head and heel spine joins, and a touch of darkening along top and bottom dj edges. Quite a presentable copy, actually. Based on the cult TV show starring Patrick McGoohan. $25.

LP658. Dozois, Gardner. Strange Days: Fabulous Journeys with Gardner Dozois. NESFA Press, 2001. First edition hardback, Fine in Fine dj, new and unread. A short story collection, not completely overlapping with Slow Dancing Through Time and Geodesic Dreams. This also includes his 1995 travel diary, his novel Strangers, and introductions to the works by people like Michael Swanwick, George R. R. Martin, Ian MacLeod (whose name is misspelled on the back cover), Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Silverberg, etc. Gardner is such an excellent and influential editor that it’s easy to forget what a fine writer he was before taking over Asimov’s. You need it. Signed by introduction author Connie Willis. $24.

LP1334. Dozois, Gardner, editor (with Bruce Sterling, Howard Waldrop, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick, William Gibson, Frederik Pohl, Bruce Sterling, John Crowley, Orson Scott Card, Karen Joy Fowler, Robert Silverberg, James Patrick Kelley, Avram Davidson, Nancy Kress, Joe Haldeman, Walter John Williams, James Tiptree, Jr., George R. R. Martin, Lucius Shepard, R. A. Lafferty, Pat Cadigan, James P. Blaylock, Lewis Shiner, Kim Stanley Robinson). The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection. Bluejay, 1986. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dj with one 1/2″ closed tear at top front (right through the dj protector). Signed by Haldeman, Sterling and Waldrop. Man, look at that list of names above! If you want to know why Dozois won more Best Editor Hugos than anyone else, here’s a good place to start. With the exception of S. C. Sykes, every single person in this collection was or is a major writer in the field, even though many were just starting out when he picked these stories. This is one of the strongest of all the Year’s Bests he’s done. All the Bluejay Year’s Best volumes are hard to find now in any state or condition, and hardbacks firsts are nearly impossible. Highly recommended. $115.

LP1527. Egan, Greg. Incandescence. Gollancz, 2008. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dj with a tiny bit of crimping at head, new and unread. Far future SF novel, and the first in several years for Egan. Precedes the Night Shade edition. Gollancz seems to have cut back drastically on their hardback print runs; this came out May 15, and was already OP in hardback on June 1, and I had to scramble around to find some in the UK. $49.

LP1836. Egan, Greg. Zendegi. Night Shade Press, 2010. First U.S. edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Egan’s latest novel, set in a post-theocracy Iran and a popular virtual reality game. $15.

LP1688. Farmer, Philip Jose. The Other in the Mirror. Subterranean Press, 2009. First hardback edition (and first thus), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Collects three novels (Fire and the Nigh, Jesus on Mar, and Night of Light), previously published as paperback originals. Only have one. $35.

LP487. Fuentes, Carlos. The Good Conscience. Ivan Oblensky, Inc., 1961. First edition hardback (“First Printing” stated), an Ex-Library copy will all the usual flaws, otherwise G+/NF- with wear to head and heel as well as a thin line staining at top and bottom boards (almost certainly from an old style library dust jacket protector), front hinge starting to crack and shallow chipping at dj head. His second novel. $15.

LP1879. Garton, Ray. Darklings. Bloodletting Press, 2004. First hardback edition, one of only 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $30.

LP1461. Gaiman, Neil (Gahan Wilson). M is for Magic. Subterranean Press, 2007. First Limited Edition, one of 1000 copies signed by Gaiman and illustrator Gahan Wilson, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. New collection of stories, theoretically of the children-friendly variety, but I’m sure all Neil’s fans will want a copy, especially given the usual wonderful Gahan Wilson illustrations. List price is $60. Your price: $45.

LP1785. Gentle, Mary. Ash: A Secret History. Gollancz, 2000. First edition hardback (the American edition was broken up into four paperback volumes, the first volume of which preceded this), a Fine- copy with a few pinhead sized spots of black ink to the front free endpaper (transfer from a former magic marker over the price on the dust jacket that wiped right off, leaving no sign on the dust jacket itself) and one page with the very tip slightly dog-eared, in a Fine- dust jacket with one tiny wrinkle at head, and one very faint brownish spot, smaller than a half dime, at the top of the inner flap; just short of a perfect copy, as these are all extremely minor flaws. Huge (1,110+ page), ambitious fantasy (with science fiction elements) about a female mercenary captain in a middle ages very different from our own (a world where a Visigothic Carthage not only never fell, but which lives under the Penitence, a sort of supernatural perpetual twilight), framed by a scholar reading the manuscript of same, only to find elements of this divergent reality leaking into our own. Recommended. $65.

LP1058. Glass, Julia. Three Junes. Pantheon, 2002. First edition hardback (numberline goes down to I, “First Edition” statement present) in a first state dj (no mention of Good Morning America), a Fine-/Fine- copy with just the barest trace of bumping at head and heel, and a phantom wrinkle to top front cover just above title. National Book Award winner. $10.

LP1880. Hamilton, Edmund. The Complete Edmund Hamilton, Volume One: The Metal Giants and Others. Haffner Press, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. First volume of the collected stories of this early science fiction giant, whose career started before and continued into the Golden Age. I’ve picked up a few Haffner Press titles to see how they sale, and like all of them this is a big fat, square book. Only have one. $5 off cover price. $35.

LP1404. Hand, Elizabeth. Illyria. PS Publishing, 2006. First edition hardback, one of less than 400 signed copies (limited to Postscripts subscribers, plus 200 unnumbered copies, of which this is one), Fine in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. This year’s Postscripts Christmas special. Only have one. $30.

LP1690. Harris, Charlaine. The Julius House. Scribner, 1995. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with small previous owner’s name in blue ink on FFE and slight spine lean, in a Near Fine+ dj with a slight crimping at head and heel and some slight, non-breking creasing to back top and back fold, otherwise fairly nice. Part of the Aurora Teagarden mystery series by the author of the enormously popular Sookie Stackhouse vampire books. $34.

LP1534. Heinlein, Robert A. Project Moonbase and Others. Subterranean Press, 2008. First edition hardback, one of only 750 copies signed by introducer John Scalzi and illustrator Bob Eggleton, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. A huge, 546 page volume containing the screenplay for the SF film of the same name, plus eleven finished teleplays and two story outlines for a projected television show. This, and a forthcoming companion volume, are the last unpublished Heinlein material existent, and 750 is a pretty puny print run considering the huge number of Heinlein fans. No unsigned edition. $60.

LP1637. Hodgson, William, Hope. The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson Volume 5: The Dream of X and Other Fantastic Visions. Night Shade Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. Fifth and final volume of the collected Hodgson. The first printings of all the rest are out of print. $28.

LP1881. Kuttner, Henry. Terror in the House: The Early Kuttner, Volume One. Haffner Press, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Kuttner was one of the greats, did his best work in short fiction, and is an under-appreciated writer today, so I’m glad to see Haffner collecting all his stories. Only have one. $5 off cover price. $35.

LP1882. Kuttner, Henry, and C. L. Moore. Detour to Otherness. Haffner Press, 2010. Haffner Press, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Moore was another great writer who did her best work in short fiction, and the two of them together were usually pretty damn good. Only have one. $5 off cover price. $35.

LP1640. King, Stephen. Stephen King Goes to the Movies. Subterranean Press, 2009. First edition hardback, one of 2000 copies (and the only hardback edition), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Includes five stories by King that were made into movies (“1408,” “The Mangler,” “Low Men in Yellow Coats” (made into Hearts in Atlantis), “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” “The Mist” and “Children of the Corn,” each with new introductions by King about how the moves were made and what he thought of them. Illustrations by Vincent Chong. With two color printing and heavier than usual paper, this is a lavish production beyond even the usual high Subterranean Press standards. I haven’t read all the stories in here, but the ones I have are among King’s best. Recommended. $65.

LP1884. Lansdale, Joe R. Christmas With the Dead. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. Zombie story. According to Joe, this has been fast-tracked to be turned into a film. $14.

LP18840. Lansdale, Joe R. Christmas With the Dead. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 300 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Now out of print from the publisher. $35.

LP1277. Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi). Collected Essays Volume 3: Science. Hippocampus Press, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. I haven’t seen a print run listed for this, but according to the publisher, the print run for the hardbacks for the first two volumes was only 250 copies (and I’ve sold all my copies of those). $34.

LP1346. Lovecraft, H. P. Collected Essays Volume 4: Travel. Hippocampus Press, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. I know that there were only 250 copies of the hardback printed for some of the earlier volumes, and of the five copies I ordered, I only have one left. $34.

LP1414. Lovecraft, H. P. Collected Essays Volume 5: Philosophy, Autobiography & Miscellany. Hippocampus Press, 2007. First edition hardback, one of only 250 hardback copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. The final volume of Lovecraft Essays. $34.

LP1885. Martin, George R. R. A Feast for Crows. Voyager, 2005. One of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, in slipcase, as issued, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. List price is $100. My price? $65.

LP1018. McAuley, Paul [J.]. Whole Wide World. HarperCollins/Voyager (UK), 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dj with a tiny bit of crimping at head and the barest trace of edgewear, otherwise new and apparently unread. They evidently took the J. out of his name in hopes of fooling the computers and making this his breakthrough mainstream technothriller. Actually looks like an SF murder mystery. This UK edition precedes the Tor edition by a year. $10.

LP1886. Morris, Mark, editor (Joe R. Lansdale, Lucius Shepard, Alastair Reynolds, etc.). Cinema Futura. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Companion volume to Cinema Macabre, with the likes of Joe R. Lansdale, Alastair Reynolds, Mike Resnick, etc. providing commentary on important SF movies from Metropolis to Avatar. If you’re a serious movie buff you probably want a copy, and I only have one. $42.

LP1284. Pohl, Frederik. Gateway. St. Martins, 1977. First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey), an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws, otherwise VG- with moderate wear at heel, slight bumping to head and heel, and sticker ghosts on covers, in a NF- dj with slight crinkling at head, library sticker on spine, and three tack-head sized spots of wear that may or may not be on the dj itself rather than the protector, not clipped, with price of $8.95 intact. Signed by Pohl. Hugo and Nebula winner. Perhaps the hardest domestic SF novel of the 1970s to find. $95.

LP1887. Stephenson, Neal. Zodiac: The Eco Thriller. Subterranean Press, 2011. First hardback edition, one of 500 copies signed by Stephenson, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, in slipcase. First hardback of Stephenson’s second novel, and the usual quality Subterranean Press production. Let’s list this at $10 off the publisher’s price. $140.

LP1888. Stross, Charles. Scratch Monkey. NESFA, 2011. First edition hardback, one of only 800 numbered trade copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Previously unpublished novel of far-future, galaxy-spanning SF. 800 copies (plus 200 signed, slipcased copies) is ridiculously low for a Stross book, and the copies I got have numbers in the 790s, so you might ant to pick one up sooner rather than later. $24.

LP523. Turtledove, Harry. Agent of Byzantium. First edition hardback, Fine/Fine-, with barest trace of edgewear to rear cover. Part of the “Asimov’s Presents” line edited by Gardner Dozois. $13.

LP1889. Vance, Jack. Book of Dreams. Underwood/Miller, 1981. First hardback edition. On the exterior, this is a Fine copy; unfortunately, someone has annotated this volume with highlighting and several different colors of pen, including notes on the title, quarter title, and half-title page, so call it Very Good-. The fifth and final Demon Prince novel, and the hardest of the five to find by a good measure. $49.

LP1890. Watts, Peter. Starfish. Tor, 1999. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket, with just the barest touches of wear hear and there, otherwise new and unread. His first novel, and increasingly hard to find since Blindsight was a Hugo finalist. $49.

LP696. Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties: Volume II: 1958-1962. McFarland, 1986. First edition hardback, VG+ with slight scuffing to covers (mainly the back) and three tackhead to quarter sized stains to top edge, slightly affecting FFE at top, in yellow decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. The second volume of Bill Warren’s excellent and engaging set documenting and reviewing the science films of the 1950s, and is roughly twice the size of its predecessor (and includes a few films left out of that volume). Covers everything from The Time Machine and Village of the Damned to Plan 9 From Outer Space. Also includes cast and crew listings for the films covered. Truly a must for anyone with an interest in SF films of the era, and has earned the Howard Waldrop seal of approval. Recommended. $35.

LP1192. Wells, Martha. The Element of Fire. Tor, 1992. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dj with just a trace of edgewear at extremities, otherwise immaculate. Difficult to find in any edition, nearly impossible for the hardback, and doubly so for a signed copy. $49.

LP207. Williams, Walter Jon. Aristoi. Tor, 1992. First edition hardback, Fine in a Fine DJ. His best SF novel, IMHO. Recommended. $15.

LP1069. Williams, Walter Jon. The Rift. Harper Prism, 1999. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dj with traces of bumping at head and heel; extremely minor for a book this large. His disaster novel, where the real life New Madrid fault along the Mississippi River gives way. $10.

LP1103. Willis, Connie. To Say Nothing of the Dog. Bantam, 1998. First Edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dj, with very faint bumps at head and heel (including a very slight wrinkle at heel), and the barest trace of haze rubbing to the rear cover. Otherwise this is a beautiful copy of a Hugo winning first that’s recently gotten quite pricey. Signed by Willis. $70.

LP1552. Willis, Connie, with Cynthia Felice. Light Raid . Ace, 1989. First edition hardback, an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws, otherwise Near Fine/Fine copy with a trace of spine lean. Signed by Willis and Felice. $10.

LP1432. Wilson, Robert Charles. Julian: A Christmas Story. PS Publishing, . First edition hardback, one of 300 numbered copies signed by Wilson and introduction author Robert J. Sawyer, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. For those who care about such things, the numbers on the ones I got were all between 10 and 20. Out of print from the publisher. $28.

LP1705. Zelazny, Roger (Neil Gaiman). The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume Three: This Mortal Mountain. NESFA Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. The third in a six volume series of all Zelazny’s short fiction. Neil Gaiman and David Hartwell each provide an introduction. This volume also includes a deleted sex scene from The Guns of Avalon. Another cool thing about this series is a uniform illustration position on the dust jacket so that the spines form a unified picture. I’ll be getting the rest in as they’re published. Highly recommended. $4 off the cover price. $25.

LP1706. Zelazny, Roger (Joe Haldeman, Steven Brust). The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume Four: Last Exit to Babylon. NESFA Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. The fourth in a six volume series of all Zelazny’s short fiction. Joe Haldeman and Steven Brust each provide an introduction. Again, $4 off the cover price. $25.

LP1752. Zelazny, Roger. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume Five: Nine Black Doves. NESFA Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $25.

LP17520. Zelazny, Roger. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume Six: The Road to Amber. NESFA Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. $25.

LP1891. Zelazny, Roger. Eye of Cat. Underwood/Miller, 1982. First limited Edition, #207 of 300 numbered copies signed by Zelazny, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. A novel of a man of American Indian decent stalked by a fearsome alien he captured many years before. $80.

LP1815. Zelazny, Roger. Nine Princes in Amber. Doubleday, 1970. First edition hardback (Currey, p. 571, Levack 28a) with First Printing stated and date code L16 on page 188 , an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws, including pocket remains to rear, numerous date stamps and paper attachments to FFE, book taped to dust jacket with non-archival tapes, the remains of which have now discolored, with spine lean, worn bottom boards, in a a largely intact but worn dust jacket, with sun-faded spine and stamp at spine heel, numerous white-line creases along spine and at top front of book, a few shallow chips (1/16″) on front dj bottom, small spots of abrasion near the line creasing next to (but not on) the “N” in “Nine” on the front cover, moderate discoloration to white back cover, and general wear; call it a Good/Good Ex-library copy, since the book is very well read, but still structurally sound. The first book in the Amber series. The story is that Doubleday’s warehouse was mistakenly ordered to pulp all Zelazny’s books the same day this one arrived from the printer, which means that only pre-orders and library sales escaped the pulping, and why the vast majority of the very few copies that come up for sale are Ex-Library copies. Normally a book in this condition would only be a space filler copy, but this is so rare that it may have to suffice unless you’re willing to drop a couple of grand for a non Ex-Lib. Highly recommended. $350.

LP1754. Zelazny, Roger. The Sign of the Unicorn. Doubleday, 1975. First edition hardback (Currey, p. 571, Levack 33a), a Near Fine copy with a bookplate and previous owner’s signature on the FFE in a Near Fine- dust jacket, with a 1/2″ semi-closed tear on rear bottom spine join, a 1/2″ closed tear on front bottom spine join, tiny flecks of white rubbing along rear spine join, a 1/4″ closed tear on bottom rear, and some slight dust staining to white rear dust jacket, but otherwise a very presentable copy. The third Amber novel, and getting harder to find. Highly recommended, as are all five of the original Amber novels. $49.

Trade Paperbacks

LP1892. Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers. Orbit, 2010. Advanced Reading Copy (ARC), trade paperback format, of the first edition, a Fine copy, new and unread. First novel. As you can tell from this review, I’m think it’s pretty good: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/02/review-mr-shivers-by-robert-jackson-bennett/ . $10.

LP1893. Leicht, Stina. Of Blood and Honey. Night Shade Press, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Stina is a friend and long-time member of the Turkey City Writer’s Workshop, so it’s good to see her first novel make it out into the world. This is a fantasy set against the Troubles of Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Signed by Leicht. $14.

LP1894. (Zelazny, Roger) Kovacs, Christopher C., compiler. The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny. NESFA Press, 2010. First edition trade paperback original (no hardback edition), a Fine copy, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. Same size and with a cover that extends the matching Whelan spine cover from the six-column Collected Zelazny set. Only have one… $23.

Most Significant Book Acquisitions in 2010

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

You may have noticed that I bought a lot of books last year. Since I’m getting ready to do another “this is what I bought recently” post, I thought I would do a recap of my most significant acquisitions in 2010. These may be significant for being important, valuable, cool, beautiful, hard to find, or some combination therefore. As usual, all of these are Fine/Fine copies unless otherwise listed. Ala George Locke’s Spectrum of Fantasy volumes, I’m listing where I got them and how much I paid, plus occasional notes on the books (with links if I’ve already described them before).

  1. Bear, Greg. Sleepside Story. Cheap Street, 1988. One of 52 signed and numbered, traycased “publisher’s edition” copies, a fine copy in tray case, sans dust jacket. For full details see here. Bought for $175 from a notable SF book dealer having a 50% off sale.

  2. Bradbury, Ray. Dark Carnival. Arkham House, 1946. First edition hardback, good only, with lettering on spine almost completely worn away, spine lean, general wear, and lacking the dust jacket. Bought from someone selling their late father’s collection (mostly, alas, book club editions) for $20.
  3. Brunner, John. Stand on Zanzibar. Doubleday, 1968. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just the tiniest bit of wear. Replaces an ex-library copy. (I bought this online back in June for $199.99 and forgot to list it last time around.) Brunner’s undisputed masterpiece.

  4. Dick, Philip K. Eye in the Sky. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition. Fine-, with a tiny bit of crimping at head, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought from a notable SF dealer having 50% off sale. Replaced an Ex-library copy in my collection.
  5. Dick, Philip K. Vulcan’s Hammer. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Replaced an Ex-library copy in my collection.

  6. Hill, Joe. Horns. PS Publishing, 2010. First UK and first limited edition hardback, one of 200 copies signed by both the author and artist Vincent Chong in traycase with three extra chapters not in the trade edition, extra art not in any other edition, etc. a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and traycase. Notably thicker than the slipcased edition. Bought at a pre-publication dealer discount from the publisher.

  7. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Chatto & Windus, 1932. VG- only, lacking the dust jacket. Bought for $35 from a notable SF book dealer having a 50% off sale. I don’t usually buy books without dust jackets, but the price was right for this space-filling copy of this famous dystopia.
  8. Lafferty, R. A. The Devil is Dead. Gregg Press, 1977. First hardback edition, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Found at Recycled Books in Denton for $36. Replaces a more worn copy in my library. For a while this wasn’t too hard to find, but recently copies have become scarce. In fact, it seems like a lot of the rarer Lafferty books have gotten scarce as of late. Looks like years of just about every SF writer talking up Lafferty have finally paid off…
  9. Lovecraft, H.P. Collected Poems. Arkham House, 1963. VG/VG, with top inch of boards discolored and sun-fading to dj spine. Bought at auction for $75.

  10. Oliver, Chad. The Wolf is My Brother. Herbert Jenkins, 1968. First UK and first hardback edition, a Near Fine copy in a Good+ only dust jacket, missing an irregular 3/4″ x 1/2″ chip at head, and shallow chipping and edgewear. I didn’t even know there was a hardback until I chanced across this copy (though it is in Currey). No other copy online as of this writing. Bought for $50 during a Half Price Books coupon sale.

  11. Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Secker & Warburg, 1949. See here for full details. Arguably the most important novel of the 20th century. Bought from a notable SF book dealer for $500.

  12. Powers, Tim. Deliver Us From Evil. Charnel House, 2010. One of 100 signed, numbered copies in slipcase with accompanying manuscript page. See here for full details. Bought at a pre-publication dealer discount from the publisher.

  13. (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John, editor. Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography. PS Publishing, 2009. One of 26 signed, lettered Deluxe copies in slipcase with two companion volumes, The Waters Deep, Deep, Deep and bound, photographic reproduction of the original hand-written manuscript for The Anubis Gates, not included with the trade or Slipcased editions. Slipcase and Anubis Gates volume very slightly bumped, otherwise Fine/Fine.

  14. Temple, William F. 88 Gray’s Inn Road. Sansato Press (AKA Ferret Fantasy), 2000. Roman-a-clef that features a thinly-disguised Arthur C. Clarke (who provides the introduction) as a character, with Clarke’s signature plate affixed to the FFE, reportedly one of only 50 such copies. Found at Recycled Books in Denton, priced the same as the non-signed edition (I paid $32 for it). Replaced a non-signed copy in my collection.

  15. Vance, Jack. Bird Isle/Take My Face. Underwood/Miller, 1988. One of 500 signed, numbered sets in slipcase. Found at Recycled Books in Denton for $160 for the set.

  16. Vance, Jack. The Dark Side of the Moon. Underwood/Miller, 1986. One of 200 signed/numbered copies. One of the rarest Underwood/Miller Vance books. (Are they being snapped up by Pink Floyd fans?) Found at Recycled Books in Denton for $160. Replaced a trade copy in my library.

  17. Wells, H. G. The World of William Clissold. Published by Ernest Benn (UK) 1926 in three volumes, one of 198 copies signed by Wells on the title page. For full details see here. Bought at the main Austin Half Price Books for $175, marked down from $350, during their coupon sale. Scott Cupp told me this copy formerly belonged to him, and that he obtained it at one of UT’s library sales.

    H. G. Wells: The World of Williams Cissold, three volume set of the first edition, signed by Wells

    The limitation page, with H. G. Wells' signature

  18. Zelazny, Roger. Bridge of Ashes. Gregg Press, 1979. (Replaces my Ex-Library copy.) Found at Recycled Books in Denton for $40.

  19. Zelazny, Roger. Hymn to the Sun: An Imitation. NA Publications, 1996. Poetry chapbook, a Near Fine- copy with some rubbing to price code on rear cover, spot on front cover, and black dot at heel. I missed this when it came out, and it’s been devilishly hard to find. Bought it off a dealer on Amazon, of all places, for abut $25. (99 times out of 100, Amazon is going to be higher than buying directly from a dealer on Bookfinder for collectible books.)

  20. Zelazny, Roger. Nine Princes in Amber. Doubleday, 1970. An Ex-Library copy, but cleaner than the Ex-Library copy previously in my collection. Reportedly Doubleday ordered their warehouse to pulp all Zelazny’s books the same day this came in from the printer, so only review copies, pre-orders, and library copies escaped the pulper, which is why non-Ex-Library copies are exceedingly rare. The first Amber novel, and one of Zelazny’s best. Found at Recycled Books in Denton for $160.

Library Additions: November 15, 2010-January 14, 2011

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Here are all the books I’ve added to my professional library over the past two months. Every time I start to think I’m slowing down I buy a bunch more stuff…

  • Baker, Kage. The Hotel Under the Sand. Tachyon, 2009. Trade paperback original, Fine.
  • Beagle, Peter S. The Line Between. Tachyon, 2006. One of 250 signed, numbered copies, Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued.
  • Beagle, Peter S. The Unicorn Sonata. Turner Publishing, 1996.
  • Beagle, Peter S. Your Friendly Neighborhood Magician. Tachyon, 2006. Chapbook, one of 100 signed copies, Fine.
  • Bear, Greg. Foundation and Chaos. Harper Prism, 1998.
  • Bear, Greg. Sleepside Story. Cheap Street, 1988. One of 52 signed and numbered, traycased “publisher’s edition” copies, a fine copy in tray case, sans dust jacket. See here for details.
  • Brunner, John. Stand on Zanzibar. Doubleday, 1968. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with just the tiniest bit of wear. Replaces an ex-library copy. (I bought this back in June and forgot to list it last time around.)
  • Carriger, Gail (pen name for Tofa Borregaard). Soulless. Orbit, 2009. Paperback original, Fine- with slight spine creasing. Thought I’d pick this up since we swanned about together at Worldcon before she hit the big time…
  • Chabon, Michael. Manhood for Amateurs. Harper, 2009. Non-fiction.
  • Cherryh, C. J. Cuckoo’s Egg. Phantasia Press, 1985. First edition hardback, one of 350 signed, numbered copies, in slipcase.
  • Clark, Alan M., Randy Fox and K. J. Peterson. The Pain Doctor’s of Suture Self General. Arts Nova Press, 1995. First edition hardback, one of 550 signed, numbered copies. Art book.
  • Clavell, James. Shogun. Atheneum, 1975. VG with spine worn, slight separation between page block and backing at head, and stains to page block edges, in VG, price-clipped dust jacket.
  • Dick, Philip K. Eye in the Sky. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Replaced an Ex-library copy in my collection.
  • Dick, Philip K. Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick. Pantheon, 2002.
  • Dick, Philip K. Vulcan’s Hammer. Gregg Press, 1979. First hardback edition. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Replaced an Ex-library copy in my collection.
  • (Dick, Philip K.) Dick, Anne. The Search for Philip K. Dick. Tachyon, 2010. Trade paperback original. Expanded, revised, and corrected edition. Non-fiction.
  • Disch, Thomas M. The Wall of America. Tachyon, 2008. Trade paperback original, Fine.
  • Disch, Thomas M. The Word of God. Tachyon, 2008. Trade paperback original, Fine.
  • Fforde, Jasper. Shades of Grey Hodder & Stoughton, 2010. First UK edition (curiously, the American precedes, which is very unusual for Fforde), a Fine copy, one of 1000 numbered copies signed by Fforde to be sold through the Waterstone’s bookstore chain, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dj, in decorated slipcase, as issued.
  • King, Stephen. The Bachman Books. NAL, 1985. First hardback edition and first omnibus edition, all four included books (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man) having previously been published as paperback originals. F/NF- copy, with rubbing to edgewear to dust jacket.
  • King, Stephen. Pet Semetary. Viking, 1983. Fine/Near Fine, with slight wear at dust jacket head and heel.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. By Bizarre Hands Rides Again. Morning Star Press, 2010. Expanded edition with new stories and story notes, one of 300 copies signed by Lansdale.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Deadman’s Road. Subterranean Press, 2010.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Flaming Zeppelins. Tachyon, 2010. Trade paperback original thus (omnibus edition), Fine.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. and Pat LoBrutto, editors. Razored Saddles. Dark Harvest, 1989. Octavo, cloth. First edition hardback, one of 600 numbered copies signed by all the contributors, in slipcase. I had the trade, but not the limited.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft. Hippocampus Press, 2010. First edition hardback, two volume set. Non-fiction.
  • Marquis, Don. archy and mehitabel. Dolphin Books, no date (probably about 1969). Paperback reprint.
  • Martin, George R. R. A Feast for Crows. Voyager, 2005. One of 1,000 signed, numbered copies, Fine, sans dust jacket, in slipcase, as issued.
  • Michaels, Barbara (AKA Barbara Mertz, AKA Elizabeth Peters). Ammie, Come Home. Meredith Press, 1968. First edition hardback, Fine- with a trace of spine lean in a Fine- dj with slight wear at head and heel.
  • Moorcock, Michael. The Best of Michael Moorcock. Tachyon, 2009. First edition trade paperback original, Fine.
  • Morrow, James. The Cat’s Pajamas. Tachyon, 2004.
  • Niven, Larry. The Best of Larry Niven. Subterranean Press, 2010. One of 250 signed, numbered, leatherbound copies
  • Niven, Larry. The Best of Larry Niven. Subterranean Press, 2010. Trade edition.
  • Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four Secker and Warburg, 1949. See this post for details.
  • Powers, Richard. Galatea 2.2. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995.
  • Power, Tim. Deliver Us From Evil. Charnel House, 2010. One of 100 signed, numbered copies in slipcase, sans dj, as issued, accompanied by an original manuscript page. See here for full details.
  • Powers, Tim. Night Moves. Axolotl Press, 1986. First edition hardback, one of 100 signed, numbered copies.
  • Schroeder, Karl. Pirate Sun. Tor, 2008.
  • Shea, Michael. I, Said the Fly. Silver Salamander Press, 1993. First edition hardback, one of 300 signed hardback copies.
  • Simmons, Dan. Drood. Little, Brown, 2009.
  • Vance, Jack. Lurulu Tor, 2004.
  • Watts, Peter. Maelstrom. Tor, 2001.
  • Williamson, Jack (John Stewart Williamson). Wolves of Darkness: The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson Volume 2. Haffner Press, 1999.
  • There. I thought I’d document this bunch since I have another bunch coming in…

    Greg Bear: Project Gutenberg Screwed Up

    Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

    You may remember this post on how a lot of science fiction was showing up in the public domain at Project Gutenberg (which was picked up by SF Signal, Io9, etc.).

    Well, Greg Bear and Astrid Anderson Bear, his wife and daughter of Poul Anderson (whose works were among those put up by Project Gutenberg), are saying that Project Gutenberg screwed up:

    After conducting legal research on the LEXIS database of legal cases, decisions, and precedents, we have demonstrated conclusively that PG was making incorrect determinations regarding public domain status in many, many works that originally appeared in magazine form. The Poul Anderson estate has been able to get one work, “The Escape”, that PG had firmly declared to be public domain, removed from their site. PG’s original reasoning was that since the magazine it appeared in had never actually filed for copyright, the work was unprotected. “The Escape”, printed in 1953, was the first half of Anderson’s well-known novel BRAINWAVE, which was published and properly copyrighted the following year.

    However, even if ‘The Escape” had not been published as a novel, it would have remained under copyright protection until 1981 (28 years) and been eligible for copyright renewal. Authors of that era, and Anderson in particular, were very aware of the need to renew copyrights, and typically meticulously kept their copyright protections up to date. Copyright law for works created more recently is much easier: life plus 70 years. (Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, 1998).

    (snip)

    In general, Project Gutenberg is doing a tremendous service by making available texts that have truly long since fallen out of copyright, but they are clearly overstepping their original mandate. They are not merely exploiting orphan works, but practicing a wholesale kidnapping of works that are under copyright protection. Authors and estates need to aggressively take back what belongs to them.

    I would imagine that Project Gutenberg may very well be hearing not only from the estates of Philip K. Dick and Leigh Brackett, but from lawyers for the still-very-much alive Frederik Pohl, Norman Spinrad and Jack Vance…

    Lots of Science Fiction Showing Up in the Public Domain

    Thursday, November 11th, 2010

    Take a look at this list of new science fiction put up at Project Gutenberg. Lots of familiar (and fairly recent) names there: Philip K. Dick, Mark Clifton, Leigh Brackett, Poul Anderson, Norman Spinrad, Frederik Pohl, and Jack Vance. And the last three of those are still alive.

    It would be interesting to know how these slipped into the public domain. Did the original magazines where they appeared use work-for-hire contracts, or did the authors forget to file the copyright renewal?

    Edited to add: Wrong link, fixed now.

    Edited to add 2: Really, really fixed now. This time for sure!

    Books Read: The Collected Stories of Phillip K. Dick, Volume 2: Second Variety

    Sunday, October 10th, 2010

    The Collected Stories of Phillip K. Dick, Volume 2: Second Variety
    Underwood/Miller, 1987

    People think I’ve read every damn SF book in the world, but this isn’t even remotely true. For example, I’m still trying to catch up to the works the previous generation of SF readers read when they were growing up. So while I’ve generally read the highlights of their work, I’m still trying to catch up on authors like Henry Kuttner, C, L. Moore, R. A. Lafferty, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance and Philip K. Dick.

    In this second volume of Dick’s collected short stories, the themes of “what is reality” and “who is human” that would dominate so many of his novels crops up again and again. The title novella (the longest here) is set during a third world war after a U.S./Soviet nuclear exchange, where U.S. forces are only able to hold off the Soviets thanks to the development of semi autonomous “claw” robots assembled in automated underground factories. A U.S. soldier goes out under truce to a small band of Soviet survivors, only to have a little boy tag along behind him, a boy that’s shot on sight approaching the bunker, as he’s one of two known “impostor” claws varieties in human form. In the bunker, our protagonist is told that there’s a “second variety” of impostor, who’s form is unknown. Paranoia ensues, especially when he returns to his own bunker to find out they’ve been overrun by claw impostors. “Human Is” and “Impostor” also question what it means to be human, and how can you tell if you’re really human?

    “Adjustment Team” is another Dick story where the protagonist finds out that Reality Is Not What he Thought it Was, being given an accidental glimpse of something adjusting the world. Believe it or not, they’re making it into a romantic comedy starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Because “romantic comedy” is the first thing you think of when talking about the work of Philip K. Dick. (Although “The World She Wanted,” in which absolutely everything goes exactly right for the woman the protagonist meets (because, after all, it is her world) could also be considered one.)

    By this point, Dick was already a technically proficient author capable of moving a story swiftly along with a minimum of wordage. The overwhelming majority of stories in this volume come in at 10-20 pages long, and finish long before they wear out their welcome. As with all Dick’s work, none is perfect, but all have their points of interest. Amazingly, every story in this book (according to the notes at the end) was turned out between August 27, 1952 and April 20, 1953, a rate of productivity that was probably only surpassed by Robert Silverberg at the highpoint of his robotic pulpy period. I can only imagine what sort of effect these stories had on the field when they were originally published, and they’re still well worth reading today.

    ABE Books Doesn’t Know Dick

    Sunday, March 14th, 2010

    I stopped dealing books on ABE Books eight years ago because it was obvious they wanted to nickle-and-dime dealers to death, as well as force us to sign up for third party re-sale programs that were previously voluntary. Plus the people in charge didn’t strike me as the smartest knives in the toolbox.

    Speaking of ABE stupidity, over at SF Signal I noticed this link to an ABE article on the most valuable first editions of Philip K. Dick. Below some boilerplate on Philip K. Dick’s life (generally accurate, but nothing anyone couldn’t have written by skimming Wikipedia or Clute & Nichols) there’s a list of “Top 15 Most Collectible Philip K. Dick titles sold on AbeBooks”. The problem is, anyone with a knowledge of Philip K. Dick first editions who looks at the pictures accompanying those fifteen titles can tell the people who put them up didn’t have a freaking clue, as many don’t match the edition they’re illustrating:

    1. The picture accompanying Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is not the Doubleday first edition of 1968 described, but a later UK edition. An example of the real dust jacket for the first edition (albeit an Ex-Library copy) from my own collection is shown below.

    2. The picture accompanying the listing for a UK Gollancz edition signed by Dick could not have been the edition Dick signed, since it is part of the Gollancz Masterworks editions published about two decades after Dick’s death. FWIW, my copy of the true Putnum first edition is shown below.

    3. The edition of Valis shown in the image is not that of the Kerosina Press lettered hardback edition, but the more recent trade paperback reprint. (I have a copy of the slipcased numbered edition signed by Kim Stanley Robinson, but not one of the lettered copies with the Dick signature tipped in.) A scan of the cover of the Kerosina edition is shown below.

    4. The copy of Dr. Bloodmoney shown is not the Gregg Press hardback described, but the true paperback original (PBO) edition mentioned in passing. (All a scan would show is the usual Gregg Press plain green cloth.)
    5. The copy of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick shown is not one of the 1/100 deluxe editions with Dick’s signature tipped in, but rather the regular unsigned edition (which is also the edition I have).
    6. The picture of Solar Lottery shown is not the Gregg Press (first US hardback) edition described, but the PBO. (Again, all a scan would show is the usual Gregg Press plain green cloth.)
    7. The copy of Confessions of a Crap Artist shown is not the Entwhistle hardback described, but one of the trade paperback editions (I own the hardback first, a scan of which is shown below, but I don’t own the paperback, so I can’t tell from sight whether this is one of the essentially simultaneous first edition in wrappers, or the second printing.)

    So, out of fifteen books, seven have the wrong picture. That’s pretty piss-poor for an article on collectible books. Then again, ABE frequently does things in a piss-poor manner. Anyone with any familiarity with Dick first editions would have spotted the discrepancies between the text and pictures right away.

    And when I said “generally accurate,” there is a significant error in describing why Dick’s works are so valuable:

    Because of his relative obscurity throughout much of his life, most of Dick’s works received modest initial print runs. As a result, signed copies of those titles remain very scarce, making Dick one of the most collectible names in modern science fiction.

    No, Dick’s early PBOs had runs in the hundreds of thousands (as did most SF paperbacks of that era), and the print run for Dick’s hardback books from mainstream SF publishers, while modest by the standards of bestsellers, were not any smaller than the runs companies like Doubleday did for their other SF writers. Signed Dick books are particularly valuable because he didn’t go to a lot of conventions or do terribly many signings. Also, many of his works published as paperback originals had later small hardback print runs from either small press or UK publishing houses, but they were not initial print runs, they were later editions for the collector or library markets, and they were done not because Dick was obscure, but because he was quite popular among SF readers.

    For more reliable information of Dick first editions, I would direct you to L.W. Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction and Daniel J. Levack’s PKD: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography.

    For the record, of the 15 Dick titles they list, I have the first hardback editions of 12 of them (though not in the signed states that made many of the copies listed in the ABE piece so pricey); I lack Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, the Gregg Press Dr. Bloodmoney and the Rich & Cowen World of Chance, which was the first hardback edition of Solar Lottery. I do, however, have a copy of the Cape first hardback edition of The Penultimate Truth, which is rarer than about half the books on their list…

    Updated 3/17/10: At least someone at ABE seems to have been paying attention, as many of the wrong images have now been replaced, and the text I singled out as erroneous has been rewritten.

    Great Moments in American Forgery

    Thursday, February 25th, 2010

    From the “Old News is So Exciting” front, from half a century ago, here’s the story of Joseph Cosey, one of the greatest forgers in American History.

    Cosey received an even greater tribute from the New York Public Library when, in 1934, with the dual purpose of educating the innocent and removing from circulation as many specimens of his work as possible, it set up, under Bergquist’s supervision, a special file known as the Cosey Collection, to which it has been adding ever since. Consisting principally of items the library has been able to prevail upon Cosey’s dopes to donate, the Collection now comprises seventy-eight documents—thirty-one Lincolns, eight Poes, five Franklins, five David Rittenhouses, four Mary Baker Eddys, four George Washingtons, two Edwin M. Stantons, two Thomas Jeffersons, two John Marshalls, two James Madisons, one John Adams, one Samuel Adams, one Button Gwinnett, one Lyman Hall, one Benjamin Rush, one Richard Henry Lee, one Patrick Henry, one Alexander Hamilton, one Walt Whitman, one Mark Twain, one Sir Francis Bacon, one Earl of Essex, and one Rudyard Kipling, the last three being rather unusual examples, since Cosey made few excursions into the foreign field. Bergquist started the Cosey Collection with two specimens he had more or less confiscated from the forger himself —a Lincoln legal petition and a draft of some notes Poe wrote in connection with “Tamerlane.” The latest additions—two Franklin pay warrants, probably copied from the one Cosey stole—were contributed in 1954 by Arthur Swann, a vice-president of Parke-Bernet, who weeded them out, with the owner’s approval, from a group of autographs the galleries were about to auction off. Although speculation is almost meaningless in such matters, one well-informed collector has ventured to guess that if its contents were genuine, the Cosey Collection would be worth about a hundred thousand dollars.

    The issue is of particular interest to me because the anonymous nature of the Internet and venues like eBay have given rise to a boom in modern forgery. Though concentrated in sports memorabilia, there have been some notable recent cases in the book trade as well. This is why I won’t buy a Robert A. Heinlein or Philip K. Dick signature without provenance. (I currently have no signed Philip K. Dick and only a single signed Heinlein (an inscribed book club edition I bought from David Hartwell). There is a also certain online seller (whom we shall refer to as F_________) that my friends and colleagues are reasonably sure makes his living selling forged signatures (though mixed in with real ones, just to keep people guessing).

    As always, caveat emptor.

    What Should I Read in 2010?

    Monday, February 8th, 2010

    In the Before Time, the Long Long Ago (i.e., before I started this blog), I would ask The Vast Wisdom of Usenet (i.e. rec.arts.sf.written) what books I should read this year. Now that I have the blog, I’m posting the question here.

    Below are 100 books (or a more, counting multiple titles by a single author) of fiction I’m considering reading in 2010. With a few exceptions (like forthcoming books), they’re all books I already own in first editions. Most likely I’ll get to considerably less than 100. The first few are books I’ll probably get to (or have already read), whereas the rest are a little vaguer (and in alphabetical order by author). That’s where you come in. Tell me which of the books below I should or shouldn’t read, and why. If a book’s not on the list, it’s probably because I’ve already read it, or have no interest in it, won’t get to it this year, etc., so save your electrons instead of suggesting alternates (there are plenty of other places for that). And if I list Book #2 in a linear series, rest assured I’ve already read Book #1.

    I don’t promise I’ll read all the highest rated works, but those most highly praised are considerably more likely to be added to the reading stack, which is what’s happened the previous years I’ve done this.

    • Gene Wolfe: The Sorceror’s House
    • John Scalzi: The God Engines
    • Joe R. Lansdale: Vanilla Ride
    • China Mieville: King Rat
    • Steven R. Boyett: Elegy Beach
    • Joe Hill: 20th Century Ghosts
    • Philip K. Dick: Collected Stories Volume II or Radio Free Albemuth
    • Michael Moorcock:The War Hound and the World’s Pain or The Final Programme
    • Greg Egan: Crystal Nights
    • Peter Ackroyd: Hawksmoor
    • J. G. Ballard: Crystal World
    • Iain Banks: Against a Dark Background or Matter
    • John Barnes: Kaleidoscope Century or Mother of Storms
    • Stephen Baxter: Traces or Mayflower II
    • Peter S. Beagle: A Fine and Private Place
    • Greg Bear: The City at the End of Time
    • Poppy Z. Brite: Plastic Jesus
    • Tobias Buckell: Sly Mongoose
    • Octavia Butler: Fledgeling
    • Jack Cady: The Night We Buried Road Dog
    • Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
    • John Christopher: No Blade of Grass
    • Susanna Clarke: Ladies of Grace Adieu
    • Hal Clement: Iceworld
    • Avram Davidson: The Adventures of Dr. Esterhauzy or Limekiller
    • L. Sprague de Camp: A Gun for Dinosaur
    • Bradley Denton: Laughin’ Boy
    • Paul Di Filippo: Lost Pages or Fractal Paisleys
    • George Alec Effinger: What Entropy Means to Me
    • Harlan Ellison: Deathbird Stories
    • John M. Ford: The Dragon Waiting
    • Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things or The Graveyard Book
    • John Gardner: Freddy’s Book or The Wreckage of Agathon
    • Ray Garton: Night Life or Nids
    • Jane Gaskell: The Serpent
    • Joe Haldeman: The Accidental Time Machine
    • Peter F. Hamilton: Mindstar Rising
    • Robert E. Howard: Conan the Barbarian
    • Nalo Hopkinson: Brown Girl in the Ring or The Salt Roads
    • Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle or The Lottery
    • M. R. James: More Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary
    • K. W. Jeter: Noir or Dark Seeker
    • Ha Jin: Waiting
    • James Patrick Kelly: Strange But Not a Stranger
    • Stephen King: Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass or The Colorado Kid
    • Russell Kirk: The Surly Sullen Bell (and yes, I’ve read the 2 Arkham House collections)
    • Henry Kuttner and/or C. L. Moore: Mutant, Fury, Black God’s Shadow or No Boundaries
    • R. A. Lafferty: Archipelago or The 13th Voyage of Sinbad
    • Fritz Leiber: Night’s Black Agents
    • Stanislaw Lem: Solaris
    • Jonathan Lethem: Motherless Brooklyn
    • Thomas Ligotti: Grimscribe, Noctuary, or The Shadow at the Bottom of the World
    • Ian MacLeod: Breathmoss and Other Exhalations
    • Ken MacLeod: Giant Lizards from Another Star or The Execution Channel
    • Gregory Maguire: Wicked
    • Barry Malzberg: Hervoit’s World
    • Richard Matheson: Duel or What Dreams May Come
    • Ian MacDonald: River of Gods
    • Maureen McHugh: Mission Child or Nekropolis
    • Sean McMullen: The Miocene Arrow
    • Larry McMurtry: Lonesome Dove
    • Ward Moore: Bring the Jubilee
    • Pat Murphy: The Falling Woman
    • John Myers Myers: Silverlock
    • William F. Nolan: Things Beyond Midnight or Wild Galaxy
    • Naomi Novik: Throne of Jade
    • Patrick O’Leary: Other Voices, Other Rooms
    • Chad Oliver: The Shores of Another Sea or The Winds of Time
    • Susan Palwick: The Fate of Mice
    • H. Beam Piper: Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
    • Tim Powers: Three Days to Never or Pilot Light
    • Alastair Reynolds: Redemption Ark
    • Rudy Rucker: Master of Time & Space or The Secret of Life or White Light
    • Matt Ruff: Fool on the Hill
    • Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children
    • Joanna Russ: The Female Man
    • Karl Schroeder: Permanence or Lady of Mazes
    • David J. Schow: Crypt Orchids
    • Michael Shaara: The Herald or The Killer Angels
    • Michael Shea: A Quest for Simbilis
    • Lucius Shepard: Floater or Aztechs or Viator
    • Lewis Shiner: The Edges of Things or Black and White
    • Dan Simmons: The Terror or Hard as Nails
    • Robert Sladek: Roderick
    • Neal Stephenson: Zodiac or The Big U
    • Charles Stross: The Fuller Memorandum (forthcoming)
    • Theodore Sturgeon: Microcosmic God: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon Volume 2
    • Steph Swainston: The Year of Our War
    • Thomas Burnett Swann: The Day of the Minotaur
    • Karl Edward Wagner: Darkness Weaves
    • Howard Waldrop: The Moone World (forthcoming)
    • Manly Wade Wellman: The Sleuth Patrol, The Last Mammoth or Fastest on the River
    • Martha Wells: The Element of Fire
    • John Whitbourne: To Build Jerusalem or Binscomb Tales
    • Liz Williams: The Demon and the City
    • Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn: Star Bridge
    • Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog
    • Jack Vance: Star King, The Languages of Pao, or Ports of Call
    • Roger Zelazny: Wilderness or DonnerJack

    Library Additions: December 1, 2009—January 14, 2010

    Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

    I’ve got a big-ass post on my trip up to Archer City and the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex coming up, so I thought it was high time to engage in some preliminary bookgeeking by listing all the books I’ve picked up since my ginormous post on my library. This may be of very limited interest to people who aren’t book collectors or science fiction fans, but it it will help me document my library on an ongoing basis, making it much more likely that I’ll finally be able to compile a detailed, comprehensive list of what I actually have.

    • Asimov, Isaac. Cal. Doubleday, 1990. TPO short story chapbook given out as a freebie to Isaac Asimov Collection subscribers.
    • Boyett, Steven R. Elegy Beach. Ace, 2009. Sequel to Ariel, which only came out a quarter-century ago…
    • Brookmyre, Christopher. A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away. Little Brown, 2001.
    • Brunner, John. The Great Steamboat Race. Ballantine, 1983. Proof of the TPO first edition. (Unlike Mike Berro, who collects all manner of proofs, I only try to pick them up: A.) When the first edition was a TPO or PBO, B.) I’ve been sent them free as a review copy of a book I want to read, or C.) There has been some sort of change between the proof and the finished book, such as a title change (David Brin’s The Tides of Kithrup became Startide Rising), a publisher change (Random House canceling publication of Sherry Jones’ The Jewel of Medina after the proof had been published), or a significant textual change (such a story dropped or added from a collection).)
    • Cadigan, Pat. Synners. Bantam, 1991. PBO. Replaces an inscribed copy I managed to misplace at an Armadillocon. (I also have the UK hardback.)
    • Dick, Philip K. In Milton Lumky Territory. Dragon Press, 1985.
    • (Dick, Philip K.) Patricia S. Warrick. Mind in Motion: The Fiction of Philip K. Dick. Southern Illinois University Press, 1987.
    • Harter, Christopher, Anthony Tedeschi, and Jodine Perkins. Places of the Imagination: A Celebration of Worlds, Islands and Realms. The Lilly Library, 2006. Library exhibition catalog, with some color photos of notable first editions. TPO
    • Heinlein, Robert A. Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein and Tributes to the Grand Master. Tor, 1992.
    • King, Stephen. Song of Susanna. Donald M. Grant, 2004.
    • Lethem, Jonathan. You Don’t Love Me Yet. Doubleday, 2007.
    • Martin, George R. R., ed. Wild Cards Volume 9: Jokertown Shuffle. Bantam, 1991. PBO.
    • McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. Knopf, 2005.
    • Reynolds, Alastair. House of Suns. Gollancz, 2008.
    • Scalzi, John. God Engines. Subterranean Press, 2009 (actually not shipped until 2010). First edition trade hardback.
    • Scalzi, John. God Engines. Subterranean Press, 2009 (actually not shipped until 2010). Signed/limited edition. (Yeah, I’ve started picking up both the trade and limited editions of certain books when I can pick them up with my dealer discount. It’s a sickness…)
    • Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels. McKay 1974. Later hardback printing.
    • Sladek, John Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek. Big Engine, 2002. TPO.
    • Watts, Peter. Behemoth B-Max. Tor, 2004.
    • Willis, Connie. Firewatch. Bluejay, 1984. Fine in a Near Fine+, slightly rubbed dj.
    • Zelazny, Roger. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume 5: Nine Black Doves. NESFA Press, 2009.
    • Zelazny, Roger. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny Volume 6: The Road to Amber. NESFA Press, 2009.