Posts Tagged ‘Mystery’
Wednesday, February 27th, 2019
This is an upgrade, replacing an unsigned copy of he trade edition with a signed copy of the trade edition:
Bloch, Robert. Screams. Underwood -Miller, 1989. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with a $39.95 overprint pricing sticker on flap (as issued). Signed by Bloch. Omnibus edition of The Will To Kill, Firebug, and The Star Stalker, being the first hardback editions of each. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 440. Bought off eBay for $25.
Tags:Horror, Mystery, Robert Bloch, signatures, Underwood/Miller
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Thursday, September 27th, 2018
Sometimes you overpay for something because you couldn’t afford it when it came out, or to get the whole set.
Both of these volumes were produced by the Vance Integral Edition project (VIE for short), and were produced separately from the 44 volume VIE set (which I also own). I thought the volumes too pricey for what you got when they were announced, but since I’m closing in on a complete Jack Vance hardback collection, and own a VIE, I paid a premium for each.
Vance, Jack. Coup de Grace and Other Stories. Vance Integral Edition, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, matching the appearance of the “Reader’s Edition” of the Vance Integral Edition. Short story collection done as a “preview” edition to generate interest in the VIE project. Offered at $75. Chalker & Owings (2002), page 946. Chalker & Owings list a print run of 1,000 copies, which seems too high given the relative scarcity of the title, though several were evidently distributed at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Bought off eBay for $102.50.
Vance, Jack. Strange She Hasn’t Written/Death of a Solitary Chess Player/The Man Who Walks Behind (AKA 14 bis). Vance Integral Edition, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, matching the appearance of the “Reader’s Edition” of the Vance Integral Edition. The original titles for three mystery novels originally published under the Ellery Queen pseudonym as (respectively) The Four Johns, A Room to Die In and The Madman Theory, with textual corrections based on evidence of Vance’s original manuscripts uncovered as part of the VIE text correction process. Evidently one of 400 copies printed. ISFDB gives an offering price of $63, [Edited to add: Though this issue of Cosmopolis says they were available to subscribers like myself for $45]. Bought off eBay for $122.50. Edited to add: This source says that there were only 100 copies of this volume printed, which accords much more with how rarely I’ve seen it offered…
Neither of these volumes comes to market nearly as often as the stated print runs would have you believe, so I was happy to snag these.
I lack but one other VIE volume, the “science fiction preview” volume containing The Languages of Pao and The Dragon Masters, which I’ll have to put on the want list even though I already have first edition hardbacks of both… (Update: Now I have that as well.)
Tags:Books, Jack Vance, Limited Editions, Mystery, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Vance Integral Edition
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Thursday, August 23rd, 2018
The first batch of the books I bought at Armadillocon a few weeks ago:
Lansdale, Joe R. Jackrabbit Smile. Mullholland Books/Little Brown, 2018. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed to me by Lansdale. Hap and Leonard novel.
Lansdale, Joe R. Jonah Hex: Shadows West. DC Comics, 2013. First edition trade paperback graphic novel thus, compiled from previous individual comic books, a Fine copy, inscribed to me by Lansdale.
Lansdale, Joe R. Rusty Puppy. Mullholland Books/Little Brown, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Lansdale. Hap and Leonard novel.
All obtained for swaps/trade credit.
Tags:Books, comics, Horror, Joe R. Lansdale, Mystery
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Tuesday, March 20th, 2018
Subterranean Press had a charity sale for PC copies of various lettered and numbered states of various books, most of which had already sold out. I took advantage of it to snap out some books for authors I collect, this being the first:
Vance, Jack. Desperate Days. Subterranean Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a PC copy of the 26 copy lettered edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dustjacket and a Fine- traycase (there’s a small flaw to the cork-lined interior front lid), signed by Vance. Contains “The Genessee Slough Murders: Outline for a Novel” not in the trade edition (though reprinted from Jerry Hewett’s bibliography). Contains three Vance mysteries: The Fox Valley Murders, The Pleasant Grove Murders and The Dark Ocean. Note that there was no regular numbered edition of this, so the lettered edition was the only one signed by Vance. Bought from the Subterranean PC sale for $250 plus shipping. Supplements a trade edition.
Also note that the traycase for Desperate Days is distinctively different from the one the lettered edition of Dangerous Ways, the first book in this mystery reprint series and which resembles an even larger book with it’s rounded spine. The traycase for Desperate Days resembles the regular Subterranean square traycase.
Tags:Books, Jack Vance, Limited Editions, Mystery, Science Fiction, signed, Subterranean Press
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Tuesday, March 6th, 2018
Another small press Joe R. Lansdale item:
Lansdale, Joe R. and Jussi Piironen. Hap and Leonard: Savage Season. SST, 2017. First hardback and first limited edition, number 105 of 270 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Graphic novel adaptation of the first Hap and Leonard novel. The IDW trade paperback edition precedes.
I’ll have copies of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Tags:Books, graphic novel, Joe R. Lansdale, Mystery, signed, small press publishers
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Monday, February 12th, 2018
Usually I try to do these updates shortly after the period covered, but I’ve been busy. Here’s the comprehensive roundup of all the books I’ve added to my professional library between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. Some of these I’ve blogged about before, but not all of them. All books are Fine/Fine first edition hardbacks, unless otherwise marked.
Aldiss, Brain W. Billion Year Spree. Wiedenfield & Nicolson, 1978. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a touch of edgewear at bottom front. Non-fiction history of science fiction. Signed by Aldiss. Bought from Cold Tonnage Books for £12 plus shipping.
Asimov, Isaac. Little Lost Robot. The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1977. First edition chapbook original thus, a Fine- copy with the barest traces of wear at points. “This edition first published 1977” on copyright page at rear of book, as per Currey (1979), page 18. Bought off Biblio for $42 plus shipping.
Barker, Clive. Infernal Parade. Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #275 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Bought for $30 after discount.
Beagle, Peter S. In Calabria. Tachyon, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Beagle.
Bester, Alfred. The Deceivers. Severn House, 1984. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine, plastic-protected dust jacket. $5.
Beukes, Lauren. Slipping. Tachyon, 2016. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Short story collection.
Bradbury, Ray. Christmas Wishes 1986. Self-published, 1986. First edition 8 1/2 x 11″ broadsheet, folded once (as mailed), otherwise Fine- with slight wrinkling. inscribed by Bradbury: “Hans N!/Ray Bradbury”. A one page poem, like all Bradbury’s Christmas broadsheets. This one says “From Maggie & Ray Bradbury,” but I’m not sure it was actually co-written by his wife. Bought off eBay for about $35.
Bradbury, Ray. The R.B., G.K.C., and G.B.S. Forever Orient Express. Joshua Odell Editions, 1994. First edition chapbook original, consisting of a long, skinny (17 1/2″ x 5 1/2″) outer cardstock binding with the four pages of the poem laid in (not stapled or otherwise attached), a Fine- copy with a pinhole through the top of the chapbook and one tiny white scratch to rear, otherwise mint. Reportedly done in an edition of 300 copies. Signed by Bradbury. Poem, longish by Bradbury standards, about Bradbury riding a train with G. K. Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw in the afterlife. The rear cover says that this is an excerpt from the forthcoming Journey to Far Metaphor: Further Essays on Creative Writing, Literature and the Arts, a book that Joshua Odell Editions evidently cancelled. This work would later show up in Bradbury’s collection The Cat’s Pajamas. Bought off eBay for $37.79.
Brown, Christoper (formerly Chris Nakashima-Brown). Tropic of Kansas. Harper Voyager, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, with a long inscription to me by the author. (I’m also thanked in the acknowledgements.) His first novel, preceded by a co-edited anthology and a chapbook.
Caro, Robert. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path To Power. Knopf, 1982. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with a bit of wear in a Very Good+, price-clipped dust jacket and non-authorial inscription on FFE. Non-fiction. First volume of Caro’s massive, still in-progress biography of President Lyndon Johnson, the third volume of which (Master of the Senate) won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. I already had a first edition of the second volume, Means of Ascent.
Carr, Charles. Colonists of Space. Ward Lock, 1954. Presumed first edition hardback (states “First published..1954,” but the ISFDB lists two states of that HB, with differing prices, but this dust jacket, while intact, has no price whatsoever; if I had to guess, I would say this is a first edition with a variant dust jacket for the library trade), a Near Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and heel in a Near Fine- dust jacket with very shallow chipping at head, slight dust soiling to white rear, and wear at points, in plastic dust jacket protector. Bought for $5.
Crowther, Pete and Nick Gevers. Postscripts 18: This Is The Summer of Love. PS Publishing, 2009. First edition hardback, Letter D of 26 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Crowther, Pete and Nick Gevers. Postscripts 19: Enemy of the Good. PS Publishing, 2009. First edition hardback, Letter D of 26 signed, lettered copies, a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued.
Del Rey, Lester, editor. Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Third Annual Collection. Dutton, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight crimping at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with significant sun-fading to red portion of the spine. Currey, page 145. Gardner Dozois would later take over this series as editor for volumes six through ten, before beginning his own Year’s Best Science Fiction series in 1984. Bought for $6.
Dozois, Gardner. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fourth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s, 2017. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket.
Elliot, H. Chandler. Reprieve from Paradise. Gnome Press, 1955. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with a bit of crimping at the head and heel and a touch of spotting along inner join margin on front free endpaper, in a Near Fine dust jacket with usual age darkening and slight spotting on lower half of front spine join, in the first binding state (green boards lettered in maroon). Chalker/Owings (1991), page 202. Kemp, page 242. Bought for $9.99.
Ellison, Harlan. Brain Movies: The Original Teleplays of Harlan Ellison Volume One. Edgeworks Abbey, 2011. First edition trade paperback original (no hardback state), the “Babylonian Limited Edition,” a Fine copy signed by both Ellison and introduction author J. Michael Straczynski. In addition to many of Ellison’s most celebrated teleplays (“Soldier,” “Demon With a Glass Hand,” etc.), it also includes “Memos From Purgatory” featuring numerous holographic corrections in Ellison’s hand. Not in ISFDB. Edgeworks Abbey is Ellison’s own press and he’s issued a whole lot of trade paperback books through it of previously unpublished or uncollected material. (The Brain Movies series alone is now up to six volumes.) Bought for $29.99 (the opening bid) off eBay.
Ellison, Harlan (art by Larry Todd). Harlan Ellison’s Chocolate Alphabet. Last Gasp Eco Funnies, 1978. First edition comic book original, a Fine copy (or “Mint” in comic parlance) save slight age darkening to pages, signed by Ellison. Graphic novel version of a short story that appeared a few years earlier in F&SF. Bought off eBay for $18.96.
Ellison, Harlan. Dreams With Sharp Teeth. Quality Paperback book Club, 1991. First edition paperback original, a Very Good+ copy with spine slightly concave, light crease across entire front cover, wear at points, and wrinkling to first few pages. Signed by Ellison. Omnibus edition of the collections I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, Deathbird Stories and Shatterday, minus duplicated stories between the volumes plus an original introduction by Ellison and slightly revised texts and story introductions. Bought off eBay for $12.50. Below the condition I usually collect, but there were no other signed copies online at all…
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Classic Philip Jose Farmer: 1964—1973. Crown, 1984. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Signed by Farmer. Companion piece to The Classic Philip Jose Farmer: 1954—1962. Bought for $17.99.
Farmer, Philip Jose. Red Orc’s Rage. Tor, 1991. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with slight spine fading. Signed by Farmer. Bought off eBay for $14.99.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The World of Tiers Volume One. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), no date (but 1981). First edition hardback thus, an omnibus edition of Maker of Universes and The Gates of Creation, a true first edition thus as indicated by the L44 gutter code on page 311, as per the ISFDB, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with a bit of rubbing. Signed by Farmer. Bought for $9.99.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The World of Tiers Volume Two. Nelson Doubleday, Inc. (SFBC), no date (but 1981). First edition hardback thus (first printing has gutter code “L44” on page 531, as per the ISFDB), an omnibus edition of A Private Cosmos, Behind the Walls of Terra and The Lavalit World, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with edgewear at head and heel and a few small rubs. Signed by Farmer. Bought off eBay for $15.99.
Furze, Colin. This Book Isn’t Safe! Penguin Razorbill, 2017. First edition hardback (the U.S. and UK editions seemed to be simultaneous), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction book by the very popular YouTuber/crazy inventor, somewhat geared toward a Young Adult audience, on how to craft various projects and inventions. Click here for some of the Colin Furze videos I’ve posted here.
Handey, Jack. The Stench of Honolulu. Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Novel by the author of Deep Thoughts (and yes, he’s a real guy).
Harrison, Harry. Backdrop of Stars. Dennis Dobson, 1968. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with age darkening to pages in a Very Good+ dust jacket with rubbing (heaviest along spine join) and moderate dust soiling. Bought for $5.99.
Howard, Robert E. Three-Bladed Doom. Ace Books, 1979. First Ace edition paperback original (preceded by a Zebra paperback edition), a Very Good+ copy with wear at points, black signature squiggle on inside front cover, store stamp on teaser page, and general wear. El Borak stories.
Hughes, Matt[hew]. Fools Errant. Maxwell Macmillan Canada, 1994. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Hughes. Bought from an online seller for $35.
Knight, Damon. The Best of Damon Knight. Pocket Books, 1976. First paperback edition (the SFBC edition precedes), a Fine- copy with age darkening to page and foxing to inside covers.
Lansdale, Joe R. Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers. Subterranean Pres, 2017. First edition hardback, #580 of 1500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Prequel (of a sort) to Bubba Ho-Tep. Elvis, Nixon, Colonel Parker, and cosmic horrors.
Lansdale, Joe R. Coco Butternut. Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #274 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Hap and Leonard novella. Bought for $22.50 after discount.
Lansdale, Joe R. Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade. Tachyon, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy.
Lansdale, Joe R. Honky Tonk Samurai. Mullholland Books/Little Brown, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Lansdale. Hap & Leonard novel.
Lansdale, Joe R. Hoodoo Harry. Mysterious Bookshop, 2016. First edition hardback (small trim size), letter T of 26 lettered copies (along with an additional 100 hardback numbered copies, not seen), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. “Bibliomysteries 33.” 72 page Hap & Leonard novella. Bought directly from the publisher for $100, since they were already out of the numbered edition.
Lansdale, Joe R. Hoodoo Harry. Mysterious Bookshop, 2016. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with bend to bottom outer tip (due to the way Mysterious Bookshop packaged things), otherwise new and unread. Presumably simultaneous with the hardback issue.
Lansdale, Joe R. Miracles Ain’t What They Used To Be. PM Press, 2015. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, signed by Lansdale. Collection of non-fiction essays, many autobiographical.
Leckie, Ann. Ancillary Justice. Orbit, 2013. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine, new and unready copy. Hugo and Nebula Award winner. Bought for $7.99 at Half Price Books. Supplements the later Gale/Thorndike Press large print hardback edition and the Subterranean Press signed/limited edition.
Lee, Tanith. The Silver Metal Lover. DAW, 1982. First paperback edition (the SFBC edition precedes), a Fine- copy.
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Real and the Unreal: Seclected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin Volume 1: Where on Earth. Small Beer Press, 2012. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Already had Volume 2.
Lethem, Jonathan. The Fortress of Solitude. Doubleday, 2003. Bought at Half Price Books for $5.99.
Lippman, Laura. Snowflake Time: A Christmas Story. Mysterious Bookshop, 2017. Center-stapled chapbook. Back cover reads “A holiday gift with the compliments of The Mysterious Bookshop.”
Mieville, China. Railsea. Del Rey, 2012.
Lovecraft, H.P. (edited by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi). Letters to C.L. Moore and Others. Hippocampus Press, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Non-fiction.
Lovecraft, H.P. (edited by S. T. Joshi). H. P. Lovecraft’s Collected Fiction: A Variorum Edition: Volume 4: Revisions and Collaborations. Hippocampus Press, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Companion to the three volume hardback Variorum edition volumes (but no hardback edition for this one, alas).
Lovecraft, H.P. and Clark Ashton Smith (edited by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi). Dawnward Spire, Lonely Hill: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. Hippocampus Press, 2017. First edition hardback, one of 500 copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Huge 800 page non-fiction volume of Lovecraft/Clark letters.
Moorcock, Michael. London’s Bone and Other Stories. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016. Trade paperback reprint, a Fine unread copy.
Morrow, James. The Asylum of Dr. Caligari. Tachyon, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Short novel that uses the silent German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Norton, Andre. Ordeal in Otherwhere. World Publishing, 1964. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with patterning on spine in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with edgewear at head and heel and some blind-side transfer from spine (but no sun fading to spine), in plastic dust jacket protector. Currey, page 391. Bought for $5.
Pohl, Frederik and Lester Del Rey (as Edson McCann). Preferred Risk. Simon and Schuster, 1955. First edition hardback, a Near Fine- copy with page block spotting at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket with traces of wear at points and moderate soiling to white rear panel. Inscribed by Pohl: “To Rick—/With all good/wishes—/”Edson”/or/Fred Pohl.” Currey (1979), page 404. Bought for $8, down from $10 with a 20% off coupon. This is a case of knowing more than the bookseller, since I knew this was a Pohl/Del Rey pseudonym and what Pohl’s signature looks like. As for the book itself, evidently Galaxy magazine and Simon and Schuster ran a contest for an SF novel, didn’t like any of the submissions, and got Pohl and Del Rey to write this under a pseudonym for the contest.
Powers, Tim. Medusa’s Web. Subterranean Press, 2016. First edition hardback, #226 of 474 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and a Fine slipcase, new and unread. Bought for $62.50 after discount.
Pratt, Fletcher. Double in Space. Doubleday, 1951. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with moderate spine fading. Bought for $8.
Haijun, Yao and Mike Resnick, editors. World’s Science Fiction Story Collection II (ISBN 978-7-5364-8711-6). Sichuan Science and Technology Publishing House, 2017. Trade paperback original, a Fine copy, still in shrinkwrap. Chinese language anthology that prints a translation of my story “Crucifixion Variations.”
(Shea, Michael). Shea, Linda, and S. T. Joshi. And Death Shall Have No Dominion: A Tribute to Michael Shea. Hippocampus Press, 2017. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. A miscellany related to Shea, including short stories, novel segments, verse, unpublished work, and several tributes to him by other writers.
Simmons, Dan. The Children of the Night. Lord John Press, 1992. First limited edition hardback, #221 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought for $35 from a fellow collector who was downsizing.
Simmons, Dan. The Hollow Man. Lord John Press, 1992. First limited edition hardback, #324 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine slipcase, sans dust jacket, as issued, with errata slip laid in. Bought for $35 from a fellow collector who was downsizing.
Straub, Peter. The Process (is a Process All Its Own). Subterranean Press, 2017. First edition hardback, #650 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Novella. Bought for $20 after discount.
Swanwick, Michael. Midwinter Fables. Dragonstairs Press, 2016. First edition chapbook original, #22 of 110 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. Four short recastings of classic fables (“The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” “The North Wind and the Sun”) and a frame story (“Midwinter Fables”).
Swanwick, Michael. Touchstones. Dragonstairs Press, 2017. First edition chapbook original, #9 of 50 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. Three one page stories: “Lovers and Lunatics,” “Bradbury Jar 2.0” and “A Jarful of Keys,” as well as an Afterword. Related to Swanwick’s trip to China in 2017.
Vachess, Andrew, Geoff Darrow, Michael Black and Gary Gianni. The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine No. 1. Dark Horse, 2012. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with a small scrape at heel and just a trace of wear. Signed by Vachess, Darrow and Black. Pulp fiction homage that looks like fun. Bought for $7.99.
Vance, Jack. Cadwell II: Ecce and Old Earth. Underwood/Miller, 1991. First edition hardback, #107 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket in a Fine- slipcase with one 1/8″ square spot of soiling to spine rear. Hewett, A84. Bought from a fellow Jack Vance collector who was downsizing for $75.
Van Vogt, A. E. The Battle of Forever. Author’s Co-Op, 1978. First edition hardback, #57 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with rubbing at head and along rear edges. Bought for $8.
Van Vogt, A. E. The Beast. Doubleday Science Fiction, 1963. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with the barest traces of wear at head and heel. Signed by van Vogt: “Sincerely/A.E. and Lydia van Vogt.” Replaces an unsigned copy. Bought for $8.
Van Vogt, A. E. The War Against the Rull. Simon & Schuster, 1959. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with soiling along join line of white rear cover and touches of wear elsewhere. Inscribed by the author: “With the compliments/of the author/A. E. van Vogt.” Bought for $8.
Wallace, F. L. Address: Centauri. Gnome Press, 1955. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with the usual age-darkening to the paper, in a Very Good dust jacket with shallow chipping at head and heel, rubbing along spine and fading to spine, and other touches of wear, in the first state binding (gray boards lettered in black). Chalker/Owings, page 202. Kemp, page 236. Bought for $8.
Wilhelm, Kate. The Infinity Box. Harper Science Fiction, 1975. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket, with just a trace of surface wear (exaggerated in the scan); this reflective metallic dust jacket is usually found much, much more badly scratched up. Currey, page 538. Bought for $5.99.
Tags:A. E. van Vogt, Books, China Mieville, Colin Furze, Dan Simmons, Fantasy, H. P. Lovecraft, Harlan Ellison, Horror, Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Swanwick, Mystery, Philip Jose Farmer, Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction
Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 17th, 2018
This is one of those books that almost eluded me, but I snagged what was evidently the last hardback copy:
Lansdale, Joe R. Hoodoo Harry. Mysterious Bookshop, 2016. First edition hardback (small trim size), letter T of 26 lettered copies (along with an additional 100 hardback numbered copies, not seen), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. “Bibliomysteries 33.” 72 page Hap & Leonard novella. Bought directly from the publisher for $100, since they were already out of the numbered edition.
Included with the same purchase:
Lansdale, Joe R. Hoodoo Harry. Mysterious Bookshop, 2016. First edition trade paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with bend to bottom outer tip (due to the way Mysterious Bookshop packaged things), otherwise new and unread. Presumably simultaneous with the hardback issue. Plus:
Lippman, Laura. Snowflake Time: A Christmas Story. Mysterious Bookshop, 2017. Center-stapled chapbook. Back cover reads “A holiday gift with the compliments of The Mysterious Bookshop.”
Not part of the bundle, but I might as well list it here:
Lansdale, Joe R. Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers. Subterranean Pres, 2017. First edition hardback, #580 of 1500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Prequel (of a sort) to Bubba Ho-Tep. Elvis, Nixon, Colonel Parker, and cosmic horrors. What’s not to like?
Tags:Books, Hap & Leonard, Horror, Joe R. Lansdale, Limited Editions, Mystery, Science Fiction, small press publishers, Subterranean Press
Posted in Books, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 5th, 2017
Well this plain sucks. Bill Crider’s cancer has stopped responding to treatment:
Things could change, but I suspect this will be my final post on the blog. I met with some doctors at M. D. Anderson today, and they suggested that I enter hospice care. A few weeks, a few months is about all I have left. The blog has been a tremendous source of pleasure to me over the years, and I’ve made a lot of friends here. My only regret is that I have several unreviewed books, including Lawrence Block’ fine new anthology, Alive in Shape and Color, and Max Allan Collins’ latest collaboration with Mickey Spillane, The Last Stand, which is a collection of two novellas, “A Bullet for Satisfaction,” an early Spillane manuscript with an interesting history, and “The Last Stand,” the last thing that Spillane completed. It saddens me to think of all the great books by many writers that I’ll never read. But I’ve had a great life, and my readers have been a big part of it. Much love to you all.
Bill is a prince among men, a fixture at Texas science fiction conventions, and beloved by all. He will be deeply missed…
Tags:Bill Crider, Books, cancer, Mystery, Science Fiction, Western
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 23rd, 2017
I try to collect at least one signature for every writer I seriously collect. I have signatures for H. G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Tom Reamy, to name a few.
I also have a few books signed by C. L. Moore, but not (until this item) any by her husband, Henry Kuttner, who were both behind the Lewis Padgett pseudonym. Kuttner, a first rate writer, died in 1958, and works signed by him seldom come on the market. However, I found the following first edition online, and not only is it signed, it’s an inscribed association copy.
Padgett, Lewis (Henry Kuttner and possibly C.L. Moore). The Brass Ring. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946. First edition hardback, a Very Good+ copy, with uneven fading to the spine (looks to be lightening in relation to the dust jacket) and age darkening to pages, in a Good+ dust jacket with a 1″ chip to bottom front and 1/4″ chipping at head and heel. Not a great copy, but it does have a great inscription on the front free endpaper: “For Bob —/In memory of a happy childhood at the old Basutoland reformatory,/now dust./Hank/(“Lewis Padgett”)”. It also has Bloch’s signature at the top of the page. Currey, page 291 (which says this was in collaboration with C. L. Moore). Hubin, Crime Fiction: 1749—1980, page 309 (which credits this to Kuttner alone). Bloch and Kuttner were friends and collaborators, making this a very important association copy from one SF giant to another. Bought, after much haggling, for $500 from a dealer online.
Tags:Associational Copy, book, First Edition, Henry Kuttner, Mystery, Science Fiction, signed
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
