Posts Tagged ‘Horror’

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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.

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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 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,

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    Library Addition: David Aronovitz Book Catalog for Heritage Auctions

    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

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    Library Addition: Two Signed “Garth Marenghi” Firsts

    Monday, April 20th, 2026

    In 2004, BBC 4 aired Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, a horror parody series satirizing the cheapness of 1980s BBC TV shows, created by Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, all supposedly the work of “Garth Marenghi” (Holness), “the only writer to publish more books than he’d read.” Last year, I showed these as the Halloween offering for our regular Saturday movie group. Dwight took that as a license to buy these two signed “Marenghi” firsts and give them to me as a birthday gift.

  • “Marenghi, Garth” (i.e., Matthew Holness). Garth Marenghi’s Incarcerat. Hodder & Stoughton Coronet, 2023. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine protected dust jacket, signed by the author (as Marenghi). Received as a gift.

  • “Marenghi, Garth” (i.e., Matthew Holness). Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome. Hodder & Stoughton, 2022. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine Mylar-protected dust jacket, signed by the author (as Marenghi). Received as a gift.

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    Library Addition: Jack London’s Little White Book of The Wild

    Tuesday, March 31st, 2026

    Another Borderlands Press Little Book came in:

    London, Jack. A Little White Book of the Wild. Borderlands Press, 2026. First edition hardback, #463 of 350 copies signed by editor John DeChancie, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Five stories, the only one I’ve which I’ve already read is “To Build A Fire.”

    I will have a small number of these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

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    Library Addition: Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters

    Wednesday, March 4th, 2026

    This Kickstarter from 2024 finally came in.

    Aquilone, James, editor. Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters Volume 1. Monstrous Press, 2026. First edition hardback graphic novel, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued, with three cards laid in. Just what the title says, the latest graphic novel featuring dogged investigative reporter of the supernatural Carl Kolchak. Brought to you by the same people who previously brought you the 50th anniversary edition graphic novel compilation and the first hardback edition of the original Jeff Rice Night Stalker novel. Bought from the Kickstarter for $32.

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    Dan Simmons, RIP

    Friday, February 27th, 2026

    From David Morrell comes the sad news that Dan Simmons has died:

    Of all the modern writers I read and collect, Simmons had, next to Gene Wolfe, the most complete writer’s toolkit of any of them. Characterization, plotting, pace, point of view, voice, he was a master of them all. He could write science fiction, horror, hard-boiled mysteries and thrillers, mainstream, you name it.

    After his World Fantasy Award-winning Song of Kali in 1985, Simmons would burst on the field like a supernova in 1989 with the publication of the Hugo-winning Hyperion, the Stoker-winning Carrion Comfort and the under-appreciated Phases of Gravity, and then it was off to the races. Simmons would be one of many writers tagged “The next Stephen King!”, and Summer of Night would make it onto the bestseller lists. But Simmons wouldn’t stick to horror for long, going on to publish more science fiction and a series of acclaimed historical novels that usually contained fantastic elements.

    I met Simmons a few times, and even did an interview with him for Nova Express that, alas, had tape recorder problems, so it never appeared. He was one of the best writers of his era, in any genre, and will be missed.

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    Library Addition: R. C. Matheson’s Bombyx

    Thursday, February 26th, 2026

    Another PS Publishing book came in:

    Matheson, Richard Christian. Bombyx. PS Publishing, 2025 (not shipped until 2026). First edition hardback, #58 of 200 copies signed by both Matheson and Mick Garris (who is co-credited with the story), a Fine copy in decorated boards and a Fine dust jacket. Novella of a guy graduating rehab who suddenly feels that everyone hates him.

    I will have one copy of this in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.

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    Library Addition: Signed, Limited Edition of Cold War Cthulhu

    Monday, February 16th, 2026

    This PS Publishing anthology finally came in, after difficulties getting the signing sheets all around the world.

    Schweitzer, Darrell. Cold War Cthulhu. PS Publishing, 2025 (though I don’t think this hardback edition was actually released until 2026.) First edition hardback (the hardback state was preceded by the trade paperback edition from PS’s Drugstore Indian Press imprint in May 2025), #45 of 100 signed, numbered copies signed by all the contributors, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Cthulhu Mythos stories set from 1950-1989. Includes familiar names like Paul Di Filippo, Harry Turtledove, and Don Webb (two stories). Bought from the publisher at the usual discount. Already sold out from the publisher.

    I will have a very small number of these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, hopefully in May.

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    Library Additions: Lansdale, Sterling Firsts

    Friday, January 9th, 2026

    Two more Houston Half Price Books finds, the only connection being two Texas authors I know personally.

  • Lansdale, Joe R. Freezer Burn. Mysterious Press, 1999. Advanced Reading Copy, trade paperback format, of the trade hardback first edition, a Fine- copy, with slight wear at corners. Supplements the Crossroad Press signed, limited, true first edition. Bought for $9.99.

  • Sterling, Bruce. Schismatrix Plus. SFBC, 2006. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Part of SFBC’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Honestly, I wasn’t even aware they had done this until I chanced across it. Supplements the trade paperback original and the hardback firsts of Schismatrix and Crystal Express. Bought for $4.99.

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