Posts Tagged ‘Fantasy’
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 2008. 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:Associational Copy, auction, Books, Fantasy, George Orwell, H. G. Wells, Heritage Auctions, Horror, Isaac Asimov, J. R. R. Tolkien, Larry Niven, Philip Jose Farmer, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Science Fiction, Stephen King
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2026
Subterranean Press had one of their 50% off sales, so I grabbed this.
Carriger, Gail. Dear Lord Akeldama & Parasolverse Ephemera. Subterranean Press, 2025. First edition hardback, #705 of 750 copies, a Fine copy in embossed boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, in publisher’s bag with bookmark and packed by card laid in. Material from the Soulless universe. Bought for $25 plus shipping.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Gail Carriger, Limited Editions, Subterranean Press
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Monday, May 4th, 2026
There’s a big Heritage SF/F/H book auction coming up, this one for book dealer David Aronovitz’s collection, and Heritage sent me a big fat catalog for it. I’ve been receiving catalogs from Heritage since 2007, but haven’t recorded them previously.
(Aronovitz, David) The David Aronovitz Collection of Important Science Fiction & Fantasy Part I. Heritage Auctions, 2026. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Aronovitz is an SF bookseller who got started a lot earlier than me, all this is expensive stuff I wouldn’t have been able to bid on even if I weren’t between jobs. While I have copies of a lot of the first editions being auctioned (I have firsts of six of the ten books shown on the cover), Aronovitz generally had much nicer copies and/or more desirable states, along with manuscripts and associational copies (like I, Robot inscribed to John W. Campbell).
Previous notable Heritage SF/F/H auctions include:
The Jerry Weist Collection
The Robert and Diane Yaspan Collection
The Ventura Collection
Tags:book auction, Books, Fantasy, Heritage Auctions, Horror, Science Fiction
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 27th, 2026
Another Half Price Books find:
Carriger, Gail. Soulless. Orbit, 2018. First illustrated hardback edition, a Fine- copy with a tiny little ump at heel, sans dust jacket in illustrated boards, as issued, signed by Carriger. Supplements the signed PBO. I lack the Subterranean Press signed/limited edition, which was the first separate hardback. Bought for $13.50.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Gail Carriger, Half Price Books, signatures
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026
I tried to order copies of this right after Howard told me about it, way back in 2022, before it was even announced. It finally came out in January.
Waldrop, Howard. Masters of Science Fiction: Howard Waldrop. Centipede Press, 2026. First edition hardback, #13 of 500 numbered copies signed by Waldrop, introduction author Paul Di Filippo, and artists Jim & Ruth Keegan, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, still in shrinkwarp. Massive 1,048 page compilation of Howard’s short work, including pretty much all his great stories, and even a sampler of his early work. Bought from the publisher, though I got far fewer signed copies than I ordered.
I will have a very small number of unsigned copies in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (hopefully in May).
Tags:Books, Centipede Press, Fantasy, Howard Waldrop, Limited Editions, Science Fiction, small press publishers
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 19th, 2026
Both of these books are signed by Positronic Publishing Editor/Publisher Warren Lapine, who I think also edited both of these (though that’s not mentioned on their covers or title pages).
Zelazny, Roger. Immer, Zlaz: The Zelazny Yoke Letters, Portrait of a Lifelong Friendship. Positronic Publishing, 2022. First edition? hardback, (sold as such, though its a print on demand book; as there’s no date code on the POD page at the back, so its possible that it’s a first printing), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, signed by editor/publisher/introduction author Warren Lapine. Massive 933 page volume of correspondence between Zelazny and longtime friend/critical biographer Carl B. Yoke. Bought from Lapine off eBay for $20.
Zelazny, Roger. Seven Tales in Amber. Positronic Publishing, 2023. Hardback print on demand book; as there’s no date code on the POD page at the back, so its possible that it’s a first printing, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, signed by editor/publisher/introduction author Warren Lapine. In contrast to the above, this is a slender, 86 page hardback containing seven Amber stories, many of which had originally appeared in obscure places like Amberzine. Bought from Lapine off eBay for $12.
Tags:Books, Fantasy, Positronic Publishing, Print-on-Demand, Roger Zelazny, Science Fiction, Warren Lapine
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Tuesday, January 13th, 2026
Another Tim Powers limited edition from Charnel House:
Powers, Tim. The Mills of the Gods. Charnel House, 2025. First edition hardback (according to Charnel House, both this and the Baen edition came out December 2, 2025), #54 of 150 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Supernatural fantasy set in 1925 Paris. Bought from the publisher at the usual discount.
I will have a single copy available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Updated with more first edition information from the publisher.
Tags:Books, Charnel House, Fantasy, Limited Editions, small press publishers, Tim Powers
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Monday, January 12th, 2026
An odd chapbook find from my trip to Houston:
Lethem, Jonathan. K is for Fake. McSweeney’s Quarterly, 2000. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy. Story about Franz Kafka from the then-forthcoming Kafka Americana. Bought for $10 from The Little Book House in the Woods in Spring, Texas.
Obviously I’m a sucker for weirdo SF/F chapbooks…
Tags:book, chapbooks, Fantasy, Franz Kafka, Jonathan Lethem, Slipstream
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Thursday, January 8th, 2026
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is a writer I previously had one book for, The Healer’s War, because the Nova Express crew recommended it back in the day. But I found a signed copy of another Scarborough book I was intrigued about (mainly due to the title) quite cheap, so I picked it up.
Scarborough, Elizabeth [Ann]. The Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas. Bantam Spectra, 1986. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with slight pine creasing and lean trace of edgewear and wear at tips, slight foxing and page toning, inscribed by Scarborough: “For Bobbi,/Not a tall tail but a long one./Elizabeth Scarborough/Ann[?].” Bought at a Half Price Books for $1.99.
I found several PBOs inscribed by Scarborough on the trip, the rest of which will be available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (probably May).
Tags:Books, dragons, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Fantasy, Half Price Books, PBO, signed, Texas, Western
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Monday, January 5th, 2026
Another Dragonstairs chapbook:
Swanwick, Michael. Winter Constellations. Dragonstairs Press, 2024 (not seen until 2025). First edition chapbook original, #76 of 118 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy. Bought directly from the publisher.
Tags:Books, chapbooks, Dragonstairs Press, Fantasy, Michael Swanwick, small press publishers
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