Posts Tagged ‘PBO’
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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Tuesday, January 6th, 2026
Shortly after I finished my DFW trip and sent out the latest Lame Excuse Books catalog, I had a chance to visit my mother in Houston, and do some book shopping while in town.
It’s always a good book hunting trip when you find a signed Heinlein for $2.99.
Pournelle, Jerry (with John F. Carr). The Survival of Freedom. Fawcett Crest, 1981. First edition paperback original (“First Fawcett Crest Printing: August 1981” and “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”), a Near Fine- copy with slight spine creasing and a touch of edgewear, a few other touches of wear, and pages slightly toned, signed not only by editor Pournelle, but also contributors Robert A. Heinlein (twice; once on the title page and once after his non-fiction piece on the L-5 society), Poul Anderson and Larry Niven. Proof, once again, of George Locke’s dictum not to look for books, but look at books. Heinlein didn’t make many (if any) public appearances after the Kansas City Worldcon in 1976. I found this book at the Half Price Books in Clear Lake City, so I wonder if the contributors might have signed this at a NASA or L-5 event. Contains a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, and includes contributions from Russell Kirk (non-fiction), Harlan Ellison (“‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”) and Jack Vance (“Dodkin’s Job”). Bought for $2.99, quite a bargain considering that signed Heinleins start at about $300 these days.
This was the most valuable book I found on my Houston trip, followed by a signed first of Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate.
Tags:Books, Half Price Books, Harlan Ellison, Jack Vance, Jerry Pournelle, John F. Carr, Larry Niven, PBO, Poul Anderson, Robert A. Heinlein, Science Fiction, signatures
Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 7th, 2025
Two more purchases from that ongoing library sell-off on Facebook:
Niven, Larry. Ringworld. Ballantine Books, 1970. First edition paperback original (“First Printing: October 1970,” as per Currey), a Near Fine copy with just a start of spine creasing, traces of soiling to rear cover, and trace of wear at head and heel and tips, otherwise a tight, square, beautiful copy. Hugo and Nebula winner for Best Novel. Currey, page 387. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 262 (“***”). Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4 *4-316. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction Literature, pages 1799-1804. The true first edition and the one in which Niven infamously had the earth rotating the wrong way. Supplements a copy of the Gollancz hardback first and replaces a less attractive PBO copy I’ll offer up in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog (probably November). Bought for $5.
Renick, Mike. Eros Descending. Signet, 1985. First edition paperback original (“First Printing, December, 1985/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9”), a Near Fine- copy with spine crease just beginning, start of a hairline crease along front spine join, a dozen or so very small rubs to bottom half of front cover, bookstore stamp to blurb page, and a trace of edgewear, otherwise a tight, square copy, signed by Resnick. Third book in the Tales of the Velvet Comet. Bought for $5.
Tags:Books, Facebook, Hugo Award, Larry Niven, Mike Resnick, Nebula, PBO, Science Fiction, signatures
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Tuesday, June 24th, 2025
Two more signed paperbacks from that same eBay seller. The theme here seems to be “books I already had plenty of copies of.”
Bryant, Edward and Harlan Ellison. Phoenix Without Ashes. Fawcett, 1975. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a trace of edgewear and spine ever so slightly concave, signed by Bryant and Ellison. Richmond, Fingerprints on the Sky page 108. Currey, pages 76 and 178. Supplements a Near Fine copy signed by Bryant, a Fine, unsigned copy, and a Near Fine unsigned copy, so now I have two each under Bryant and Ellison, which is probably more than I need. And I have unsigned copies for sale through Lame Excuse Books. Bought off eBay for $19.87.
Koontz, Dean R. (as Leigh Nichols). Shadowfires. Avon, 1987. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with one slight spine crease, start of a faint crease along front spine join, slight bumping at head, trace of wear at corners, and touch of age darkening to very tops of white cover, signed by Koontz: “Leigh Nichols/[quotation marks around printed Leigh Nichols name]/also known as/Dean R. Koontz.” One of Koontz’s many pseudonymous novels. Supplements unsigned copies of the book club hardback and the Dark Harvest trade hardback under Koontz’s own name. Bought off eBay for $15.59.
Tags:Books, Dean R. Koontz, Ed Bryant, Harlan Ellison, Horror, PBO, Science Fiction, signatures
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Monday, June 23rd, 2025
Two more purchases from that eBay seller who’s been offering signed PBOs:
Bloch, Robert. Fear and Trembling. Tor, 1989. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with small chip to top tip of rear cover, small chip to top tip of blurb, slight, non-breaking spine creasing, and slight edgewear, inscribed by Bloch: “For Ingrid/ – best, always./Robert Bloch.” Bleiler, Supernatural Fiction Writers page 111. Bought for $16.77.
Bloch, Robert. Mysteries of the Worm: All the Cthulhu Mythos Stories of Robert Bloch. Kensignton Zebra, 1981. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with a faint crease starting down front spine join and a few thin stray marks to pageblock edges, otherwise tight and square, inscribed by Bloch: “Warmest/good wishes/to/Dan/from/Robert Bloch.” I don’t think the sub-title is entirely accurate (or was even then), but otherwise a very solid collection of Bloch’s Mythos stories. Larson, The Complete Robert Bloch page 61. Bleiler, Supernatural Fiction Writers page 111. Supplements a less attractive, unsigned copy. Bought for $17.87.
Tags:Books, Cthulhu, eBay, Horror, PBO, Robert Bloch, signatures
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Monday, June 9th, 2025
Two more purchases from that same eBay seller offering signed PBOs:
Farmer, Philip Jose. Dare. Ballantine Books, 1965. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy with a 1″ non-breaking crease or slice to rear cover, a bit of non-breaking spine creasing just starting, and a trace of edgewear, signed by Farmer. Currey, page 183. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, page 79. Bought for $36.
Farmer, Philip Jose. The Lovers. Ballantine Books, 1961. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine copy with one faint spine crease just starting and slight edgewear Currey, page 185. Brizzi, Phillip Jose Farmer, pages 18-24. Pringle, Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, 189. Bought for $16.49. Supplements a signed copy of the later hardback first and a less attractive signed PBO.
Tags:Books, eBay, PBO, Philip Jose Farmer, Science Fiction
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Monday, June 2nd, 2025
I managed to pick up an Avram Davidson associational PBO at a bargain price.
Davidson, Avram. The Island Under The Earth. Ace, 1969. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine+ copy with faint creasing along front spine join and slight edgewear (most noticeable at head and heel), otherwise square and bright, inscribed by Davidson to editor Lin Carter: “From one six-limbed to/another -/Lin Carter from/Avram Davidson/Jun 11, 1976/New York City.” In addition to having edited the acclaimed Ballantine Adult Fantasy line, Carter also bought two stories from Davidson: “Caravan to Illiel” for Flashing Swords #3: Warriors and Wizards, and “Milord Sir Smiht, The English Wizard” for Year’s Best Fantasy Stories 2, making this an even better associational copy. Dillon cover. Supplements an unsigned copy. Bought off eBay for $13.95.
Tags:Associational Copy, Avram Davidson, Books, Fantasy, Lin Carter, PBO
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Monday, May 12th, 2025
Three more signed PBOs from that same eBay seller:
Sturgeon, Theodore. More Than Human. Farrar. Straus & Young and Ballantine Books, 1953. First edition paperback original (Currey state B, simultaneous with the hardback issue), a Good+ copy only with significant waviness to book and moisture spotting to edges, a touch of edgewear to covers, and just a trace of space concavity, otherwise square, signed by Sturgeon to the inside front cover. His celebrated fixup novel of a gestalt organism, including the classic “Baby is Three.” Currey (1978), page 472. Currey (2002), page 403. Pringle, SF 100 14. Bought off eBay for $20.61.
Wagner, Karl Edward. Bran Mak Morn: Legion From the Shadows. Zebra Books, 1976. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a tiny crease to bottom front corner and a trace of wear at points, inscribed by Wagner: “To Ed —/from the King of the Picts/Karl Edward Wagner/CONAN.” Novel featuring Robert E. Howard’s Bran Mak Morn character. Bought off eBay for $37.
Wellman, Manly Wade. The Beyonders. Warner Books, 1977. First edition, second printing paperback original (This is the rare case where Currey (1978) got something wrong: There it states “First Printing: April 1977/10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2” on the copyright page as the true first, but the 2002 Currey CD says “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” and no “First Printing” statement is the true first), a Near Fine+ copy with slight small crease to bottom outer corner, hairline crease along front spine join, and slight edgewear, otherwise nice and square, inscribed by Wellman: “To Vickie [?]/From whom I’ll sign/anytime./Manly Wade Wellman.” Science fiction novel. Currey (1978), page 512. Currey (2002), page 435. Supplements an unsigned first printing. Bought off eBay for $26.79.
Tags:eBay, Fantasy, Karl Edward Wagner, Manly Wade Wellman, PBO, Robert E. Howard, Science Fiction, signatures, Theodore Sturgeon
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Thursday, April 17th, 2025
That same eBay seller keeps having some interesting signed PBOs going cheap, including this one:
Tenn, William. The Square Root of Man. Ballantine Books, 1968. First edition paperback original (“First Printing: June, 1968”), a Very Good copy with spine creasing and lean, crease along front spine join, edgewear, and a bookstore stamp to teaser page, signed by Tenn. Currey, page 278. Bought for the opening bid of $10.
Tags:Books, eBay, PBO, Science Fiction, William Tenn
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Friday, February 21st, 2025
Two more paperbacks bought at the local Half Price Books.
Brackett, Leigh. The Reavers of Skaith. Ballantine Books, 1976. First edition paperback original, a Fine- copy with a trace of edgewear. I now have all three Skaith books, thanks to a previous Half Price Books purchase. Currey, page 53. Bought for $1.34.
Brackett, Leigh. The Starman of Llyrdis. Ballantine Books, 1976. First edition paperback original thus under this title, (a reprint of the 1952 Gnome Press hardback The Starman), a Near Fine copy with edgewear and a large bookstore stamp inside the front cover, otherwise nice and square. Currey, page 53. Bought for 67¢.
Tags:Books, Half Price Books, Leigh Brackett, PBO, Science Fiction
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