Posts Tagged ‘Philip K. Dick’

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Brief After Action Report on the April 11, 2012 Heritage Book Auction

Friday, April 13th, 2012

I wanted to do a brief follow-up on Wednesday’s Heritage Books Auction. Results were all over the map.

First, books I have trending data for:

  • The Asbestos-bound copy of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 went for a hefty $13,750.00, up considerably from a lesser copy in the Jerry Weist auction last year.
  • By contrast, the signed copy of Philip K. Dick’s Confessions of a Crap Artist went for $1,000, down over 80% from a slightly better copy in the Weist auction.
  • H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others went for $2,250.00, down from the $3,883.75 paid for a slightly worse copy.

    • Books I don’t have trending data for:

  • The signed, limited first edition of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World went for $3,750.
  • The first Stephen King book he ever signed, an incribed ARC of Carrie, went for $11,250. (The Stephen King collector’s market, after some declines among “regular” signed/limited editions over the past few years, seems to be alive and well.)
  • A first edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with a signed letter from Stoker laid in went for $5,625.

    • But the most schizophrenic result from the auction was two early signed Thomas Pynchons going for hefty sums, but two later signed copies failed to sell at all:

  • The Crying of Lot 49 went for $8,750.
  • Gravity’s Rainbow went for $16,250.
  • Slow Learner failed to sell. It can be yours as an after-auction buy for a mere $3,125.
  • An ARC of a later edition of V failed to sell and can be yours as an after-auction buy for $2,500.

    • You would think there would be enough hardcore Pynchon collectors for those two to sell, especially the Slow Learner.

    And a beat-up Shakespeare and Company true first edition (in wrappers) of James Joyce’s Ulysses went for $35,000.

    As for the non-fiction first editions:

  • Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations went for $80,500.
  • Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection went for $83,500.
  • A beautifully bound subscriber’s edition of T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom went for $62,500.

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    Posted in Books, Horror, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »

    Another Heritage Book Auction

    Sunday, April 8th, 2012

    Heritage Auction is having another of their big book Auctions April 11.

    There are a few notable SF/F/H works listed:

  • Another Asbestos-bound copy of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
  • Another signed copy of Philip K. Dick’s Confessions of a Crap Artist.
  • A copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others with perhaps the nicest dust jacket (an original, not the de la Ree facsimile) I’ve ever seen offered for sale.
  • The signed, limited first edition of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
  • The first Stephen King book he ever signed, an incribed ARC of Carrie.
  • A first edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with a signed letter from Stoker laid in.

    • There’s also some signed Thomas Pynchon, which almost never comes on the market, including:

  • The Crying of Lot 49
  • Gravity’s Rainbow
  • Slow Learner
  • An ARC of a later edition of V

    • Plus the notoriously fragile Shakespeare and Company true first edition (in wrappers) of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

    But the main strength of the auction is in non-fiction, including first editions of:

  • Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
  • Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
  • A beautifully bound subscriber’s edition of T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom

    • Not to mention several Isaac Newton first editions, plus a whole lot of important economic and military first editions.

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »

    Philip K. Dick -30-

    Sunday, March 4th, 2012

    Philip K. Dick died 30 years ago, on March 2, 1982.

    Dick was already a major science fiction writer before he died, but since his death he has come to loom over popular culture in a way that other near contemporary SF writers of similar stature (say, Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, Harlan Ellison, and John Brunner) have not. Dick’s themes of paranoia and unreality continue to resonate in a world where almost every human action is permanently recorded, an where so many of us live lives half in a world of unreality (said a man typing in his blog).

    Dick’s prose may often have been workman-like, but his vision and voice were unique, and his sheer productivity was staggering not only for its quality, but also it quantity. Between 1961 and 1966, Dick wrote:

  • The Man in the High Castle
  • We Can Build You
  • Martian Time-Slip
  • Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb
  • The Game-Players of Titan
  • The Simulacra
  • The Crack in Space
  • Now Wait for Last Year
  • Clans of the Alphane Moon
  • The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
  • The Zap Gun
  • The Penultimate Truth
  • His portion of Deus Irae (later finished by Roger Zelazny)
  • The Unteleported Man
  • The Ganymede Takeover (with Ray Nelson)
  • Counter-Clock World
  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
  • Nick and the Glimmung
  • Ubik

    • That’s in order of composition. Some of those are minor works, and many were only published later or after his death, but five or six are considered classics. Had an otherwise unknown SF writer written just one Dr. Bloodmoney or Ubik, they would still be remembered today as the one-hit wonder of a minor classic. To think that Dick cranked them out in six years (and was just as productive writing short stories earlier in his career) is pretty mind-boggling.

    I recently read Clans of the Alphane Moon on the way back from Stavanger, and I hope to have a review up in the not so distant future.

    (Also, I have a few Dick firsts and paperback reprints available through Lame Excuse Books.)

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    Posted in Books, Movies, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »

    What Should I Read in 2012?

    Saturday, February 4th, 2012

    Better late than never!

    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 few more, counting multiple titles by a single author) of fiction I’m considering reading in 2012. With a few exceptions (like forthcoming books), they’re pretty much 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 are already reading), 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.

  • Michael Shea: The Color Out of Time (read)
  • Jack Vance: The Killing Machine (read)
  • Stina Leicht: Of Blood & Honey (reading)
  • Joe R. Lansdale: Hyenas
  • Joe Dominici: Bringing Back the Dead
  • China Mieville: Embassytown
  • Robert Jackson Bennett: Company Man
  • Vernor Vinge: The Children of the Sky
  • Philip K. Dick: Clans of the Alphane Moon
  • Michael Moorcock: The War Hound and the World’s Pain
  • Greg Egan: Crystal Nights
  • Peter Ackroyd: Hawksmoor
  • Paolo Bacigalupi: The Windup Girl
  • Iain Banks: Against a Dark Background or Matter
  • John Barnes: Kaleidoscope Century or One for the Morning Glory
  • Stephen Baxter: Traces or Mayflower II
  • Peter S. Beagle: A Fine and Private Place
  • Greg Bear: The City at the End of Time or Hull Zero Three
  • Leigh Brackett: The Best of Leigh Brackett or The Long Tomorrow
  • David Brin: Dr. Pak’s Preschool
  • Tobias Buckell: Sly Mongoose or Tides from the New World
  • Octavia Butler: Fledgeling
  • Jack Cady: The Night We Buried Road Dog
  • Ramsey Campbell: Creatures of the Pool
  • 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
  • Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
  • Paul Di Filippo: Lost Pages or A Princess of the Linear Jungle
  • George Alec Effinger: What Entropy Means to Me
  • Harlan Ellison: Deathbird Stories
  • Greg Egan: Crystals Nights or Zendegi
  • John M. Ford: The Dragon Waiting
  • Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things or The Graveyard Book
  • Hinko Gotleib: The Key to the Great Gate
  • 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: The Coming of Conan
  • Nalo Hopkinson: Brown Girl in the Ring or The Salt Roads
  • Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle or The Lottery
  • 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: The Dark World or Black God’s Shadow or No Boundaries
  • R. A. Lafferty: Archipelago, Aurelia, or The 13th Voyage of Sinbad
  • Fritz Leiber: Night’s Black Agents
  • 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
  • Maureen McHugh: Mothers and Other Monsters
  • Sean McMullen: The Miocene Arrow
  • Ward Moore: Bring the Jubilee
  • Richard Morgan: Woken Furies
  • Pat Murphy: The Falling Woman
  • John Myers Myers: Silverlock
  • William F. Nolan: Things Beyond Midnight or Wild Galaxy
  • Naomi Novik: Black Powder War
  • 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
  • Fletcher Pratt: The Well of the Unicorn
  • Mike Resnick: Paradise or Kilimanjaro
  • 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
  • John Scalzi: The Lost Colony
  • Karl Schroeder: Permanence or Lady of Mazes
  • Michael Shaara: The Herald or The Killer Angels
  • 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 Apocalypse Codex (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
  • Manly Wade Wellman: The Sleuth Patrol or The Last Mammoth
  • Martha Wells: The Element of Fire
  • John Whitbourne: To Build Jerusalem or Binscomb Tales
  • Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn: Star Bridge
  • Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog
  • Gene Wolfe: The Land Across (forthcoming)

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 5 Comments »

    Library Additions: August 8—December 31, 2011

    Sunday, January 8th, 2012

    Despite this big-ass list, I think my book buying is actually slowing down a little. It’s getting harder to find things that I want (and don’t already have) at Half Price Books or eBay. Despite that, I always seem to have a surprisingly large number of books every time I do one of these roundups, mainly due to new small press offerings. (And speaking of small presses, many of the books listed below from Subterranean, Golden Gryphon, Haffner, etc. will be on sale through Lame Excuse Books, so drop me a line if you want to be on the mailing list.)

  • Allston, Aaron. Doc Sidhe. Baen, 1995. First edition paperback original.
  • Anderson, Poul. Fire Time. Doubleday, 1974. Fine in a Near Fine dust jacket, inscribed to Locus editor Charles N. Brown.
  • Anonymous. Man Abroad. Gregg Press, 1978. First hardback edition, a reprint of the 1887 paperback, one of only 257 copies printed, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. From the Jerry Weist collection.
  • Bailey, Dale and Jack Slay. Sleeping Policemen. Golden Gryphon, 2006.
  • Beagle, Peter S. Strange Roads. Dreamhaven, 2008. First edition chapbook original, signed by Beagle and artist Lisa Snellings.
  • Bennett, Robert Jackson. The Company Man. Orbit, 2011. Trade paperback original.
  • Bester, Alfred. Virtual Unrealities. Vintage, 1997. Trade paperback original, NF- with 1/4 sticker pull at bottom of front cover.
  • Bester, Alfred, and Roger Zelazny. Psychoshop. Vintage, 1998. Trade paperback original (TPO) first edition, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear.
  • Bloch, Robert. Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper. Subterranean Press, 2011. Expanded from the Belmont paperback edition.
  • Bowes, Richard. From the Files of the Time Rangers. Golden Gryphon, 2005.
  • Brackett, Leigh. Shannach: The Last Farewell to Mars. Haffner Press, 2011.
  • Brown, Eric. Threshold Shift. Golden Gryphon, 2006.
  • Campbell, Ramsey. The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants. Arkham House, 1964. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight darkening to spine, and slight edgewear at heel and fold points.
  • Carroll, Jonathan. The Ghost in Love. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008.
  • Chayefsky, Paddy. Altered States. Harper & Row, 1978. A Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a few touches of wear.
  • Datlow, Ellen, and Terri Windling. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. St. Martins Griffin, 2002. Inscribed to me by Datlow.
  • Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Riverhead Books, 2007.
  • Dick, Philip K. The Early Work of Philip K. Dick Volume One: The Variable Man and Other Stories. Prime Books, 2009.
  • Dick, Philip K. (edited by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem) The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Non-fiction.
  • Dozois, Gardner. When the Great Days Come. Prime Books, 2011.
  • Donaldson, Stephen R. The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 250 numbered, leatherbound copies signed by the author.
  • Donaldson, Stephen R. The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson. Subterranean Press, 2011. Trade edition.
  • Farmer, Philip Jose. The Keeper of the Secrets. Severn House, 1985. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of haze rubbing to the rear cover. First hardback edition of The Mad Goblin.
  • Farmer, Philip Jose. Love Song. Brandon House, 1970. Paperback original. Full details here.

  • Gaiman, Neil. Melinda. Hill House, 2004. Full details here.


  • Graham, H. E. The Battle of Dora William Clowes & Sons, Ltd. 1931. First edition hardback, a Very Good copy in a Good+ dust jacket with three 1/4″ chips at edges. Future war book set in an imaginary European country concerned with primarily with the evolving tactics of mechanized warfare. With fold-out maps!

  • Haldeman, Joe. A Tool of the Trade. Morrow, 1987.
  • Haldeman, Joe. World’s Apart. Viking, 1983. With review slips laid in.
  • Heinlein, Robert A. Podkayne of Mars. Putnam, 1963. Full details here.

  • Howard, Robert E. The Coming of Conan. Gnome Press, 1953. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with slight bends at head and heel and slight foxing to strip along front and back gutters, in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight dust staining to white rear cover and a few touches of rubbing to spine panel (but no spine fading). This completes my Robert E. Howard Gnome Press Conan collection. (At some point I suppose I’ll pick up the De Camp volumes but, eh. what’s the rush?)

  • Howard, Robert E. Marchers of Valhalla. Donald M. Grant, 1971. Bought from a notable SF book dealer for $8.
  • Hubbard, L. Ron. Final Blackout. Hadley Publishing, 1948. Full details here.

  • Leyner, Mark. My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist. Harmony Books, 1990. First edition trade paperback original, Near Fine+ with a crease to bottom front corner.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Lockhart, Ross E. The Book of Cthulhu. Night Shade Boooks, 2011. First edition trade paperback original.
  • Lynch, Scott. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Gollancz, 2006. A Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket, signed by the author.
  • Martin, George R. R. GRRM: A RRetrospective. Subterranean Press, 2003. First edition hardback, Letter B of 52 signed, lettered, leatherbound copies, housed in a handcrafted traycase, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket; however, the traycase housing the book has a cracked bottom outer hinge, as well as a tiny bit of bend at the top front traycase tip.

  • Martin, George R. R., editor. Wild Cards: Marked Cards. Baen, 1994. First edition paperback original. Second book in the Baen Wild Cards series, and the Fourteenth overall.
  • Matheson, Richard. Born of Man and Woman. Chamberlain Press, 1954. Details here.

  • Matheson, Richard. The Shrinking Man. David Bruce & Watson, 1973. First hardback edition. Details here.

  • McCammon, Robert. The Hunter from The Woods. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 1,000 signed, numbered copies.
  • Miller, Warren. Looking for the General. McGraw-Hill, 1964. Bought for $8 from a notable SF book dealer. Howard Waldrop recommended this.
  • Miyabe, Miyuki. Brave Story. Viz, 2007. First English-language edition.
  • Moon, Elizabeth. Lunar Activity. First edition paperback original (PBO), a near Fine+ copy with invisible spine creasing and slight edgewear. Signed by Moon.
  • Moorcock, Michael. Dr. Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles. BBC Books, 2010. Signed by Moorcock.
  • Moorcock, Michael. The Runestaff. White Lion, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of wear in a Fine dust jacket. First hardback edition.
  • Moorcock, Michael. The Sleeping Sorceress. New English Library, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with color loss along inner flaps edges (possibly a printing flaw). First hardback edition of The Vanishing Tower.
  • Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler’s Wife. McAdam Cage, 2003. First edition hardback, a near Fine copy with slight lean in a Near Fine- first state (no logo) dust jacket with several long creases.
  • Niven, Larry. Strange Light. Dreamhaven, 2010. First edition chapbook original.
  • Niven, Larry. A World Out of Time. Holt Reinhart Winston, 1976. Bought from a notable Sf book dealer for 48. Review slip laid in.
  • Niven, Larry, and Steve Barnes. Dream Park. Phantasia Press, 1981. One of 600 signed, numbered copies in slipcase. From the Jerry Weist collection.
  • Novik, Naomi. Victory of Eagles. Del Rey, 2008. Fifth Temeraire book.
  • Oliver, Chad. Another Kind. Ballantine Books, no date (1955). First edition hardback (an unrecorded variant binding of green boards with red lettering), a Near Fine copy with slight age-darkening to page (most noticeable in one signature) and slight bending at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight age darkening and touches of wear at extremities. Actually quite nice. All of the Ballantine SF hardbacks if this era are hard to find.

  • Paltock, Robert. The Life & Adventures of Peter Wilkins. Hyperion Press, 1974. Reprint of the 1928 edition, which in turn reprints a novel first published in 1750 or 1751 (sources differ; Bleiler’s Checklist (1978 edition) says 1753, which I believe is the publication year for the second volume). Fine- copy, with trace of wear along bottom board, sans dust jacket, as issued.
  • Pohl, Frederik, and C. M. Kornbluth. The Space Merchants. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins, 2011. “Revised 21st Century Edition,” trade paperback original thus.
  • Powers, Tim. The Bible Repairman and Other Stories. Subterranean Press, 2011. One of 500 signed, numbered copies.
  • Resnick, Mike. Blasphemy. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
  • Rickert, M. Holiday. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
  • Rochelle, Warren. The Called. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
  • Rochelle, Warren. A Harvest of Changelings. Golden Gryphon, 2007.
  • Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Recovering Apollo 8. Golden Gryphon, 2010.
  • Sargent, Pamela. Thumbprints. Golden Gryphon, 2004. Signed by Sargent.
  • Scalzi, John. Fuzzy Nation. Tor, 2011.
  • Serviss, Garrett P. Edison’s Conquest of Mars. Carcosa House, 1947. Full details here.

  • Shute, Nevil. On the Beach. Heinemann, 1957. First edition hardback, a near Fine plus copy with dust staining to top page blocks and touches of wear to boards at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket, with slight edgewear at head and heel and a few very short, closed tears.
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume Six: Multiples 1983-87. Fine, sans dj, as issued.
  • Skillingstead, jack. Are You There. Golden Gryphon, 2009.
  • Skipp, John and Cody Goodfellow. Spore. Morning Star Press, 2011. Signed PC copy; the regular edition was 150 signed, numbered copies.
  • Smith, Clark Ashton. The Collected Fantasies Volume 5: The Last Hieroglyph. Night Shade Press, 2010.
  • Stross, Charles. Palimpsest. Subterranean Press, 2011.
  • Twain, Mark (edited by Harriet Elinor Smith). The Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1. University of California Press, 2010. Non-fiction, and large enough to stun an ox.
  • (Vance, Jack) Andre-Driussi, Michael. Vance Space. Sirius Fiction, 1997. First edition chapbook, a Fine copy in self-wraps. Signed by Vance. Non-fiction.

  • Willis, Connie. All Clear. Ballantine Books, 2010. Signed.
  • Williamson, Jack. At the Human Limit: The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Eight. Haffner Press, 2011.
  • Wilson, Robert. Julian Comstock. Tor, 2009.
  • Wolfe, Gene. The Sorcerer’s House. Tor, 2010. Read this in ARC, and sort-of reviewed it here.
  • Zelazny, Roger. Unicorn Variations Timescape, 1983. Supplements an inscribed book club edition.

    • Related Topics

    Other science fiction book collecting topics you might find of interest:

  • A description of my own library of science fiction first editions (a couple of years out of date; I need to update this)
  • My Books Wanted List
  • Lame Excuse Books, my own side SF/F/H book business, where a discerning collector may find several first editions of potential interest.
  • Other book related posts

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    Notes from the World of Philip K. Dick

    Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

    The first volume of The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick has finally been published. (Note: That Amazon link has it at half cover price, something I (and most probably other booksellers) can’t hope to match.) Paul Di Filippo offers a review: “It’s like the greatest Spalding Gray staged monologue ever conceived.”

    Also of interest to the devoted Dickhead: The Philip K. Dick estate is suing the people who made The Adjustment Bureau, saying they’re owed additional money for the film rights. Media Rights Capital, in turn, is saying that the copyright was never properly renewed. Previous coverage of the dubious status of SF works that might (or might not) be out of copyright can be found here.

    Finally, there’s another book of PKD interest coming out, not about Dick himself, but about his missing android head.

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    Lame Excuse Books October Catalog

    Saturday, October 15th, 2011

    Once again, it’s time for “Lawrence posts the latest Lame Excuse Books Catalog as a big block of text.”

    Welcome to Lawrence Person’s Lame Excuse for a Book Catalog! Once again there’s lots of great stuff, including new books from Joe R. Lansdale, James P. Blaylock, Robert E. Howard, and Paul Di Filippo, as well as notable older first editions by Stephen King and Robert A. Heinlein, some signed Joe Hill books, numerous small press books from Subterranean, Night Shade, Golden Gryphon, PS Publishing, and Prime, among others, plus a few sale books (including a lot in the trade paperback section). Most in-print books start at $3 off cover price, and as usual I only have one or two copies for many titles, so you might want to act quickly.

    I should also note that a lot of the things I’ve had around for a while have been disappearing over he last few months. The Best of Michael Swanwick? Gone. Want some of those signed Subterranean Press John Scalzi books? Sorry, they’re all gone. The Collected Zelazny? Down to my last copy of Volume 6, and the rest are gone. Those signed copies of R. A. Laffery’s Serpent’s Egg I had lying around and selling slowly for years and years? Sold the last one. (I do have one of the signed East of Laughters left, if you act quickly; I think there’s actually a bit of a Lafferty revival going on right now.)

    Anyway, if you were putting off buying something thinking “Hey, Lawrence at Lame Excuse Books will have that for a while, I can put off getting that,” you might want to think again. I try to keep my inventory pretty light, so when something is gone, it’s GONE.

    Also, since I have a few books that have been sitting around for quite a while, I’m going to make the following offer to regular customers (i.e., anyone receiving this email):

    1. Add one or more grab-bag mass market paperbacks (my choice) to any order for $1.
    2. Add one or more grab-bag hardback or trade paperbacks (again, my choice) to any order for $2.

    Further clarification:

    • Maximum number of grab bag books is ten total per order
    • All SF/F/H or related
    • I promise it’s a book I thought was worth selling when I cataloged it
    • I won’t include any duplicates in the same order
    • I won’t include any media tie-in books or any books 2 or higher in a series
    • I might include an ex-library book, but only one per order
    • Regular shipping charges apply
    • To sweeten the deal, the first five grab-bag orders for both paperback and hardback/trade paperback orders will receive a book signed by the author

    $1-2 is a pretty low risk proposition, and there’s a good chance you might get something you like. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

    The URL for the main Lame Excuse Books webpage is:

    https://www.lawrenceperson.com/lame.html

    I’m still doing a Lame Excuse Books Twitter feed:

    https://twitter.com/LameExcuseBooks

    Payment, Contact & Shipping Information

    E-mail me at lawrenceperson@gmail.com. I can hold books ten days on e-mail or phone requests (please leave a message on my voice mail for the latter: (512) 569-9036). U.S. shipping is $5.00 for the first book, and $1.00 a book thereafter. Foreign shipping is at cost (please inquire; for most locations, Global Priority starts at $13.00). Books may be returned in the same condition sent for any reason within 10 days of purchase for a full refund. Please make checks payable to Lawrence Person. I can also take Paypal payment to this e-mail address at http://www.paypal.com, and I can take MC and Visa directly through my merchant account.

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    Lame Excuse Books
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    Now the books!

    Hardbacks

    LP1895. Bishop, Michael. Brighten to Incandescence. Golden Gyphon, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. Back in stock. $15.

    LP1896. Blaylock, James P. The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, one of 1,500 copies signed by Blaylock, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. A Steampunk Langdon St. Ives adventure. List is $35, but since I managed to double-order this, let’s sell it cheap. $28.

    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.

    LP1898. Dann, Jack. Junction. PS Publishing, 2011. First hardback edition (it was originally a PBO in 1981), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Story of a boy who’s town is right next to Hell. Looks interesting. $30.

    LP1777. De Lint, Charles. Eyes Like Leaves. Subterranean Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, signed by De Lint. $25.

    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. Now $5 off cover price. $35.

    LP1900. Di Filippo, Paul. Little Doors. Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection, back in stock. Only have one. $12.

    LP1901. Di Filippo, Paul. Princess of the Linear Jungle. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Sequel to A Year in the Linear City. $17.

    LP1263. Erikson, Steven. Fishin’ With Grandma Matchie. PS Publishing, 2005. First edition hardback, one of 400 limited, numbered copies signed by Erikson and introduction author Graham Joyce, a fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. $21.

    LP1460. Erikson, Steven. The Lees of Laughter’s End. PS Publishing, 2007. First edition hardback, one of 1000 unsigned hardback copies, Fine in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. The latest Bauchelain and Korbal Broach book set in Lamentable Moll, in a very affordable hardback edition. $15.

    LP1905. Farmer, Philip Jose. Up the Bright River. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, one of 1500 copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. How does 25% off cover price sound? $30.

    LP1906. Heinlein, Robert A. Podkayne of Mars. Putnam, 1963. First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey, p. 233), an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws (pocket, stamps, stickers, tape, etc.), otherwise Good with significant wear along bottom boards, spine lean, cracked front hinge and general wear, in a Good+ dust jacket missing a 1/2″ x 1/2″ chip from head, faint dampstain along top of rear cover, and other touches of general wear, price of $3.50 intact. Heinlein’s last juvenile, and surprisingly hard to find these days. $95.

    LP1635. Hill, Joe (writing name for Joseph Hillstrom King). Gunpowder. PS Publishing, 2008. First edition hardback, one of 500 unsigned copies in decorated boards, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, new and unread. Signed by Hill (with a drawing of a planet) at the 2011 World Horror Convention. $30.

    LP1907. Howard, Robert E. The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard. Subterranean Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 750 copies signed by artist Greg Staples, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase, new and unread. Huge, handsome, and lavishly-illustrated volume. $7 domestic shipping, considerably more overseas. Only have one. $145.

    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. $49.

    LP1908. King, Stephen. The Little Sisters of Eluria. Donald M. Grant, 2008. First edition hardback, one of 4,000 Artists copies signed by artist Michael Whelan, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and foil-stamped slipcase, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. “This volume contains [the expanded version of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger] as well as the novella The Little Sisters of Eluria which chronicles an earlier adventure of Roland’s as he persued the Man in Black. Published in a larger format than the Dark Tower series which enhances Michael Whelan’s thirteen full color plates and over twenty three black & white designs.” A nicely lavish production I’m offering at $5 off the cover price. Only have one. $90.

    LP1909. Kress, Nancy. Nothing Human. Golden Gryphon, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with two tiny (1/16″) closed tears at head, otherwise new and unread. Novel. Thanks to that flaw, you can pick it up at half cover price. $13.

    LP761. Lafferty, R.A (Gene Wolfe). East of Laughter. Morrigan (UK), 1988. First edition hardback, one of only 260 numbered copies signed by Lafferty and Wolfe, Fine in Fine dj and slipcase, new and unread. An additional Lafferty story, “The Story of Little Briar-Rose: A Scholarly Study,” and Wolfe’s postscript, “Scribbling Giant,” appear only in the limited edition. The binding is also in a slightly better grade of cloth that matches the slipcase. A chance to pick up a signed edition of one of the late, great R. A. Lafferty’s weird, wonderful books. $36.

    LP1846. Lake, Jay. The Sky That Wraps. Subterranean Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 1,000 signed copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection by the author of the Hugo-nominated Mainspring, and a swell guy to boot. $35.

    LP1847. Lake, Jay. The Specific Gravity of Grief. Fairwoods Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of only 250 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. With an introduction by Maureen McHugh. Novella about a man with cancer (with which Jay has had more than one bout), so probably not something for the light reading pile. Only have one. $20.

    LP1911. Lansdale, Joe R. Hyenas. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. New Hap & Leonard novella. Even though this is the trade edition, this copy is signed by Lansdale. $22.

    LP1910. Lansdale, Joe R. Zeppelin’s West. Subterranean Press, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine dust jacket; if you look carefully at the top edge, you can see that there’s a very slight bow to the rear board near the spine, though you couldn’t tell looking at it on the shelf. Signed by Lansdale. First volume of Lansdale’s steampunk romp featuring the head of Buffalo Bill Cody preserved in a jar, as well as many other famous historical personages, fictional and otherwise. Long out of print from Subterranean. $49.

    LP1912. Niven, Larry/Derwin Mak. Eeriecon Chapbook Ten: Doubling Rate/Willpower. Buffalo Fantasy League, 2011. First edition hardback chapbook, one of only 15(!) hardback copies, signed by both authors, Fine in a Fine dust jacket. Only have one. I think it’s safe to say that there are more than 15 serious Niven collectors in the world… $150.

    LP1913. Reynolds, Alastair. Troika. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Tale of humans finding an enigma in space. Out of print from the publisher. $35.

    LP1914. Smith, Clark Ashton Smith. The Collected Fantasies Volume 5: The Last Hieroglyph. Night Shade Books, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. They were supposed to send this to me last year, but it slipped their mind. I only have one, and the other volumes I’ve sold out of. $37.

    LP1915. Rucker, Rudy. Jim and the Flims. Night Shade Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. New novel about aliens from another dimension taking up residence with the protagonist. Only have one. $22.

    LP1916. Swanwick, Michael. Dancing With Bears. Night Shade Books, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. His latest novel, featuring con-men Darger and Surplus. $22.

    LP197. Tepper, Sheri. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall. Bantam, 1996. First edition hardback, Fine in a Fine dj, new in dj. $5.

    LP1918. Williamson, Jack. The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson Volume Eight: At the Human Limit. Haffner Press, 2011. First edition, hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. Last volume of the Collected Williamson. $37.

    Trade Paperbacks (including proofs and chapbooks)

    LP1194. Aylett, Steve. Toxicology. Gollancz, 2001. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the hardback) thus, with six stories (two original to this edition) not in the Four Walls Eight Windows edition, a Fine- copy with a tiny bump at head, otherwise new and unread. Very weird postmodern slipstream stories. $7.

    LP1919. Beagle, Peter S. Strange Roads. Dreamhaven, 2008. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, signed by Beagle and artist Lisa Snellings. At 72 pages, pretty hefty for a chapbook. Only have one. $12.

    LP532. Blaylock, James P. Thirteen Phantasms. Edgewood Press, 2000. An “Advance Uncorrected Proof”; of the first hardback edition, F with a glue bump at heel (as bound) and a blue ballpoint pen correction to the zip code on the cover (presumably by the publisher). $8.

    LP925. Clement, Hal. Noise. Tor, 2003. Advanced Uncorrected proof of the hardback first edition, a Fine copy, unread. His last novel. $8.

    LP874. Datlow, Ellen & Windling, Terri. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the hardback edition), a Fine- copy with one small, faint, tackhead-sized dust stain to lower fore-edge, otherwise new and unread. Lots of the usual suspects, including Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Karen Joy Fowler, etc. These are always worth picking up. $5.

    LP1440. Delany, Samuel R. Silent Interviews: On Language, Race, Sex, Science Fiction, and Some Comics. Wesleyan University Press, 1994. Second printing of the trade paperback edition, a Fine- copy with a trace of haze rubbing and a few pinpricks of wear, otherwise new and apparently unread. A quick look shows this a few orders of magnitude more accessible than Delany’s deconstructionist “close reading” criticism. $5.

    LP1708. Dick, Philip K. Puttering About in a Small Land. Tor, 2009. Advanced Uncorrected Proof of the first Tor edition, trade paperback format, a Fine copy, new and unread. Good to see Tor bringing back some of the more obscure mainstream Dick titles into print. This edition isn’t scheduled to be published until December. $10.

    LP1920. (Dick, Philip K.) Carrere, Emmanuel. I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the Mind of Philip K. Dick. Picador, 2005. First trade paperback edition, a reprint of the hardback that came out the previous year, a Fine copy, new and unread. $5.

    LP772. Di Filippo, Paul. Lost Pages. Four Walls Eight Windows, 1998. First edition trade paperback original, NF with some wear to matte black cover. Strange literary alternate history tales where Kafka was a costumed superhero, Anne Frank a Hollywood movie star, etc., with Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Alfred Bester, etc., all appearing as characters. $8.

    LP1300. Di Filippo, Paul. Shuteye for the Timebroker. Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. $13.

    LP703. Friedman, Kinky. Steppin’ on a Rainbow. Simon and Schuster, 2001. An Advanced uncorrected reader’s proof (side-bound trade paperback format), Fine- with a trace of handling to front cover. Mystery set in Hawaii. The latest weirdness from this gonzo country music singer turned author. $7.

    LP746. Elrick, George S. Science Fiction Handbook. Chicago Review Press, 1978. First edition trade paperback (simultaneous with the hardback edition), VG, with general yellow and wear to white covers. Provides a long section of definitions on SF topics relating to fiction, astronomy, physics, etc., plus a reading list. $3.

    LP1367. Genoa, Chris. Foop! Eraserhead Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread, with bookmark signed by the author laid in. Ostensibly a time-travel novel, I heard someone (maybe John Barnes) rave about this on a panel at Worldcon. Supposedly very weird, somewhat Steve Aylett-ish, and has “something funny on every page.” Gets blurbs from James Morrow, Christopher Moore and Nick Sagan, among others. Looks like fun. $8.

    LP1921. Hill, Joe. 20th Century Ghosts. PS Publishing, 2005. First edition trade paperback (simultaneous with the hardback states), one of 1000 copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. A very solid short story collection. At the World Horror Convention in Austin this year, Peter Straub and I talked about how we’re both fans of the story “pop Art.” This copy has been signed (with a simple drawing) by Hill at that convention. $49.

    LP1922. Hughart, Barry. Eight Skilled Gentlemen. Doubleday/Foundation, 1991. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the much rarer hardback edition), a Fine- copy with a bit of wear along the spine edges. third and final master Li & Number 10 Ox book, and one that keeps selling for me. Highly recommended. $20.

    LP1923. Lafferty, R. A. Aurelia. Donning Starblaze, 1982. First edition trade paperback original (no hrdback has ever been published), a Fine- copy with just a tiny trace of wear at head and heel. Haven’t read it, but I’m pretty sure it’s weird. Like a lot of Lafferty, it’s getting pretty hard to find these days. $49.

    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 $12.

    LP1924. (Lovecraft, H. P.) Lockhart, Ross E. The Book of Cthulhu. Night Shade Books, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Cthulhu Mythos anthology, a mixture of new stories and reprints, with stories by Gene Wolfe, Charles Stross, Kage Baker, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, Bruce Sterling, etc. At 500+ pages, it’s a lot of Cthulhu for your money. Hopefully I should be able to sell you a copy; I paid for four from Night Shade and have only received one so far… $14.

    LP774. Panshin, Alexi and Cory. The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence. Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1989. First trade paperback edition, having being preceded by the Elephant limited hardback, VG, with creasing to front and back cover, and slight creasing, wrinkles, and wear to spine. A history of science fiction’s “Golden Age” which won the Hugo for best non-fiction. $8.

    LP709. Prachett, Terry. The Last Hero. HarperCollins, 2001. Uncorrected proof (trade paperback format) of the first U.S. edition, Fine-, mint and unread save for a booksale sticker to spine. A proof of just the text portion of this illustrated Discworld novel. $15.

    LP1204. Shan, Darren. The Vampire’s Assistant. HarperCollins, 2000. First edition trade paperback original (preceding the American), a Fine- copy with just a trace of wear to matte black cover and phantom crease to top rear corner. Book two of The Saga of Darren Shan and sequel to Cirque du Freak. Well-regarded YA vampire series. $5.

    LP776. Shirley, John. Black Butterflies. Mark V. Ziesing, 1998. First edition trade paperback original, Fine- with a neat former-owner’s signature on the inside front cover. Some of Shirley’s darker stories. $12.

    LP710. Shirley, John. Eclipse (Volume One, A Song Called Youth trilogy). Bluejay Books, 1985. First edition trade paperback original, NF with slight edge staining, the usual slight age yellowing of spine and back, and a tiny bump at heel. $8.

    LP1305. Sterling, Bruce. Visionary is Residence. Thunders Mouth Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original (no hardback edition), Near Fine with a faint, non-breaking crease along the spine, despite it being a new, unread copy. Short story collection. Signed by Sterling. $15.

    LP1925. Taylor, H. P. Shadowmancer. Putnam, 2004. Advanced Reading Copy of the hardback first edition (trade paperback format), a Fine- copy with a few faint scratches on the lower spine, otherwise new and unread. Well-received young adult fantasy novel. $49.

    LP1926. Taylor, H. P. Wormwood. Putnam, 2004. Advanced Reading Copy of the hardback first edition (trade paperback format), a Fine- copy with a tiny bump at heel, otherwise new and unread, with review materials laid in. Second in the series following Shadowmancer. $49.

    LP1209. Utley, Steven (Tuttle, Lisa). The Beasts of Love. Wheatland Press, 2005. First edition trade paperback original (as a POD book, there are technically no first editions as such, but I got this straight from the publisher at Armadillocon shortly after it came out), a Fine copy, new and unread. The latest short story collection by this talented and prolific ex-Austinite most famous for his collaborations with Howard Waldrop. Introduction by Lisa Tuttle. $15.

    LP1370. Waldrop, Howard. Howard Who? Small Beer Press, 2006. Trade paperback reprint, a Fine copy, new and unread. Signed by Waldrop. Waldrop’s landmark first short story collection, one of the best SF collections of the 20th century, out of print for nearly two decades, with such classic stories as the Nebula-winning “The Ugly Chickens,” “The World, as We Know’t”, “Horror We Got,” “Mary Margaret Road Grater,” and “Heirs of the Perisphere.” Highly recommended. $12.

    LP374. Willis, Connie. To Say Nothing of the Dog. Bantam, 1997. ARC of the hardback first edition, Fine- with bumps to head and heel and contact stickers on front cover. Hugo winner, Nebula finalist. Signed by Willis. $75.

    LP1928. Zivkovic, Zoran. Steps Through the Mist. Polaris, 2003. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Either linke short stories or an episodic novel. Like the other Polaris books, this is an odd trim size: thicker than a chapbook and slightly taller and wider than a mass market paperback. This Belgrade edition precedes the U.S. edition by three years. $20.

    Mass Market Paperbacks

    LP1930. Jeter, K. W. The Night Man. Onyx, 1990. First edition paperback original (PBO), a Fine copy, new and unread. Jeter’s horror PBOs are not as common as they used to be. $5.

    LP1933. Shirley, John. The Brigade. Avon, 1981. Paperback original (PBO) first edition, Very Good+, with spine creasing and lean. One of Shirley’s most difficult PBOs, and I don’t think it’s ever been reprinted. $10.

    LP1934. Zelazny, Roger. Ace, 1966. First edition paperback original (PBO) (no statement of printing on copyright page, F-393/40¢ on cover, as per Currey), a Near Fine- copy with a line at head and some touches of wear, otherwise nice and square, with usual foxing to inside cover and age darkening to pages. Hugo winner for best novel. Levack, 34a. $3.

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    After Action Report on Heritage Auction’s Sale of the Jerry Weist Collection

    Monday, September 19th, 2011

    Every year or two, Heritage Auctions in Dallas conducts a big auction of a major science fiction book collection. In 2007, it was the Ventura Collection.

    The Ventura Collection auction was very successful, and since it occurred right before the advent of The Great Recession, many of the prices achieved in that auction have not since been equaled. (It may also be the first auction catalog Heritage mass-mailed to prospective SF collectors; I had not received any before then.)

    In 2008, it was The Robert and Diane Yaspan collection, which included a vast array of SF firsts as well as several SF manuscripts and a few select non-SF firsts, such as many firsts by mystery writer Earle Stanley Gardener.

    Later in 2008 was the auction of The Frank Collection, which was mainly SF art, but included a number of notable SF first editions as well.

    The just completed auction of the Jerry Weist collection was of the same caliber. There was some original art and pulp magazines in the collection, but the bulk of it was collectible SF/F/H first editions. The auction realized more than $1 million (though a significant fraction of that was for the artworks).

    I’m going to talk about some of the more interesting items sold, and how the prices realized compared to comparable copies of the same firsts in previous years. I’ll also mention when I have a copy of the first edition discussed in my own library.

    A few general observations:

  • Unlike previous Heritage SF Auctions, there were very few multi-volume lots of less desirable titles. I think Heritage will be selling those books individually on their weekly Internet book auctions.
  • Weist, like myself, settled for less than perfect copies of many difficult titles, including some worn, corner-clipped, or ex-library copies. (By contrast, the vast majority of the Ventura collection were pristine copies.)
  • The Weist collection was very strong in Golden Age and pre-Golden Age authors, but very weak in Hypermodern SF.
  • It was strong in Ray Cummings and Edgar Rice Burroughs (neither of which I collect), Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, William Hope Hodgson (many if not all of the firsts published in his lifetime), Robert E. Howard, Curt Siodmak (more about which anon), Clark Ashton Smith, and Olaf Stapledon.

  • Conversely, assuming the volumes presented in the auction do constitute the cream of the crop and nothing has been held back, it was weak in Jack Vance, Stephen King, Avram Davidson, R. A. Lafferty, Gene Wolfe and (save the two Fahrenheit 451s) Ray Bradbury.
  • I’ve tried to do some trending for various titles here, but there’s a lot of volatility at the high of the market. A book that normally goes for $100-200 might hit $2,000 for a signed copy at auction If two deep-pocketed collectors each need it to complete their collection.

    • Holy Grails

    To me, far and away the most interesting and desirable item was one of only five copies of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Dawn of Flame to have the unsigned introduction by Amazing editor Ray Palmer. Weinbaum’s widow evidently objected to the introduction, which is why only five copies were so produced. Even the 245 copy Currey B state (with Lawrence Keating’s introduction replacing Palmer’s) is rare enough, and the book is widely considered the first true SF small press book. I don’t believe I’d seen a copy of the Palmer state for sale before, but I think one was sold when the Sam Moskowitz collection was auctioned off (they didn’t send me a catalog). Moreover, this particular copy once belonged to legendary collector and fan Forrest J. Ackerman, and was inscribed by him to Weist. Counting the buyer’s premium (a little shy of 20%, and which I’m going to include for all the other prices listed here), it went for $9,560.00; it wouldn’t have surprised me to see it go for twice that much.

    There were some other SF collecting “holy grails” sold there:

  • One of 50 copies of the signed, presentation hardback state of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, which went for $8,365.00. This represents an increase over the $5,377 a copy fetched in the Yaspan auction.
  • One of 200 asbestos bound copies of Fahrenheit 451 graded Very Good, went for $5,975.00. This represents something of a decline; a Fine copy went $15,535 in the Ventura Collection auction, a Very Good copy in the Yaspan collection went for $8,962, and a Near Fine copy in the Frank auction went for $9,560.
  • To me one of the most surprising outcomes was seeing a signed copy of Philip K. Dick’s Confessions of a Crap Artist go for $5,078.75, since there’s at least one signed copy from the 90 copies originally signed by Dick available online for $1,500. (And I think there were two copies for well under $5,000 when the auction commenced…) I have one of the unsigned firsts, which goes for considerably less.
  • Speaking of Dick, a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? went for $6,572.50, despite tape stains on the jacket folds. I thought the $9,560 fetched by a Near Fine copy in the Ventura auction was outrageous at the time, but the value seems to have held up. (I have an ex-library copy myself, and even Ex-Lib copies list online for two to four grand.)
  • One of only 75 sets of E. E. “Doc” Smith’s History of Civilization, the six volume signed, leatherbound Fantasy Press set (in box, but without lid) went for $5,377.50. A set with the lid went for $5,676.25 in the Yaspan auction.

    • Other Notable Books

    From Holy Grails we move on to books that are merely Really Freaking Expensive. There are usually a few copies of these bumping around on Bookfinder.com, albeit with a comma in the price.

  • A signed copy of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Empire ($1,912) went for more than a signed (via bookplate) I, Robot ($1,553.50), probably due to some mild water damage to the latter. A Fine but price-clipped copy of I, Robot went for $2,270 in the Ventura auction, while another imperfect copy went for $1,434 in the Yaspan auction. I, Robot has become by far the hardest to find among the Gnome Press Asimovs.
  • A signed, Near Fine copy of Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man went for $872.35. I have a Fine copy, but not signed.
  • A merely Very Good copy of Bester’s Tiger! Tiger! (the hardback first of The Stars My Destination) went for $1,015.75, which is probably about market. A Fine copy in the Ventura auction went for $1,792.
  • The late Jack Chalker’s inscribed copy of Hal Clement’s Cycle of Fire went for $1,015.75. The title is harder to find than most of Ballantine Books SF hardbacks of the fifties.
  • Bob Weinberg’s inscribed ex-library copy of Philip Jose Farmer’s Green Odyssey went for a relatively modest $334.60. Like Cycle of Fire, this is one of the most difficult Ballantine Books hardbacks to find, especially for non-ex-library copies. Despite that, a Very Good signed copy failed to sell in the Yaspan auction, while a restored ExLib copy went for $448.13 in the Ventura auction.
  • A Fine, signed copy of the Gollancz (first hardback) edition of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, probably the essential novel of Hypermodern Science Fiction, went for $1,553.50. This is one of the few items for which you can see a clear, unambiguous decline across auctions, as a similarly Fine, signed copy went for $2,695 in the Ventura auction, while a similarly Fine, signed copy went for $2,151 in the Yaspan auction. I have a signed Fine- copy.
  • A copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars went for $985.88. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the copy I just picked up last month for $235.
  • A Very Good+ copy of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers went for $2,270.50. A Fine copy fetched $4,780 in the Ventura auction. I have a very nice Ex-Library copy.
  • A Near Fine copy of Frank Herbert’s Dune went for $4,780. A Fine- copy (a rating I thought was a bit generous, given the rubbing along the dj spine) in the Ventura auction went for $10,755. I have a very worn Ex-Library copy.
  • An inscribed, Near Fine copy of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon went for $2,390. A similar copy (though with a tipped-in signature rather than an inscription) went for $1,434. My copy is a bit less fine, and unsigned.
  • A copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others (the first Arkham House book and a cornerstone for both SF and horror collections) went for a healthy $3,883.75.
  • Another rare Lovecraft item, an exceptionally nice copy of the Visionary Publishing edition of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, went for a hefty $7,170.00. That’s toward the high end for an unsigned copy (since it was published in Lovecraft’s lifetime, signed copies do exist, and can be had for less than the price of a new Lexus), but there’s a dizzying number of variant states, and I’m not sure which are considered the more desirable among high-end Lovecraft collectors.
  • A Very Good+ copy of Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz went for $2,031.50, mainly because it has the rare orange promotional band. I have an Ex-Library copy.
  • An inscribed, conservatively graded Very Good copy of the Gollancz (first hardback) edition of Larry Niven’s Ringworld went for $2,390.00. In the Ventura auction, a Fine signed copy went for $5,206.25, while in the Yaspan auction, the better of two copies (not signed) went for $1,792. I have an unusually clean Ex-Lib Gollancz Ringworld, which might pass for Fine save an excised front free endpaper. (Did you know there was an unused dust jacket state for the Gollancz Ringworld? Lord knows how this guy (who I believe also owns this amazing Jack Vance collection) got a copy of it…)
  • A price-clipped copy of Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book went for $507.88. One of the more interesting outliers at the Ventura collection was a Fine signed copy going for an eye-popping $1,912. I have a Fine copy Connie inscribed to me after she attended Turkey City I picked up when it came out at cover price.

    • One of the most puzzling results of the auction was a signed first of Curt Siomdak’s Skyport was initially reported going for a stunning $8,611.17. That’s only about $8,500 more than it’s worth. But now when you go to the auction page for the item itself, it shows a far saner $101.58. I’m assuming there was some sort of glitch.

    Slightly less puzzling was a signed, Near Fine copy of L. Sprague de Camp’s The Wheels of If (which has one of Hannes Bok’s most famous dust jacket illustrations) went for $717, which is a good bit more than it usually goes for; Lloyd Currey has a comparable-to-better signed copy online right now for $150. Before this I had the impression de Camp was out of fashion among collectors (and thus I have been able to pick up a number of signed copies of his work pretty cheap). I suspect this is an outlier.

    Although I bid on several items, I only won one: an Ex-Library first of the UK David Bruce & Watson (first hardback) edition of Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man for $95.60. Fine copies go for over a grand.

    Related Topics

    Other science fiction book collecting topics (and glimpses into my own bibliomania) you might find of interest:

  • A description of my own library of science fiction first editions
  • My Books Wanted List
  • Lame Excuse Books, my own side SF/F/H book business, where a discerning collector may find several books of potential interest.
  • Other book related posts (including new acquisitions to my library)

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | 8 Comments »

    My Updated Books Wanted List

    Thursday, August 11th, 2011

    I may have mentioned that I have a large library. I started out collecting first edition hardbacks of “hypermodern” (which in my case meant “post-Neuromancer“) science fiction (with some fantasy and horror works and authors thrown in for good measure), and once I had collected everything I wanted there, I started going after every important post-World War II SF work, toward which I’m making significant progress. Hence this list of books I’m still looking for.

    By and large, I don’t buy later printings, copies without dust jackets, copies with price-clipped dust jackets (unless all copies of the true first edition were released that way), copies with facsimile dust jackets, or overly crummy copies. Most of the books I buy are in Fine/Fine condition, but that relaxes a bit the older (and pricier) books become. I have picked up Ex-Library copies in dust jacket when the better copies of the true first can’t be found under a grand. I also only buy first state bindings and dust jackets, unless there’s no priority, or the true first state is insanely rare (such as with Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Dawn of Flame).

    With that in mind, I compiled a list of first editions on my want list, so here’s a significant portion of that list (omitting things available relatively cheap, or hideously expensive), listed alphabetically by author. I also put down all the Manly Wade Wellman and Jack Vance books I was looking for, since I have so many I was having a hard time keeping track of what I had and what I was still missing.

  • Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Arthur Baker)
  • Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot (Gnome Press)
  • J. G. Ballard’s Crash (Cape)
  • J. G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (Gollancz)

  • Alfred Bester’s Tiger! Tiger! (Sidgwick & Jackson)
  • James Blish’s A Case of Conscience (Faber & Faber)
  • Robert Bloch’s The Opener of the Way (Arkham)
  • Philip K. Dick’s Dr. Bloodmoney (Gregg Press)
  • Philip K. Dick’s Counter-Clock World (White Lion)
  • Philip K. Dick’s Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said (Doubleday)
  • Philip K. Dick’s A Handful of Darkness (Rich & Cowan, 1st state in blue boards stamped in silver, in first state dj (no mention of World of Chance))
  • Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made (Sidgwick & Jackson)
  • Philip K. Dick’s World of Chance (Rich and Cowan)
  • Harlan Ellison’s The Fantasies of Harlan Ellison (Gregg Press)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Between Planets (Scribner’s, unclipped $2.50 dj)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Beyond This Horizon (Fantasy Press)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s The Door Into Summer (Doubleday)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Farmer in the Sky (Scribner’s)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Glory Road (Putnam)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Methuselah’s Children (Gnome, 1st state binding, 1st state dj)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters (Doubleday)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Red Planet (Scribner’s)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo (Scribner’s, unclipped $2.00 dj)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s The Star Beast (Scribner’s, unclipped $2.50 dj)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (Gnome)
  • Robert A. Heinlein’s Waldo & Magic Inc. (Doubleday)
  • Robert E. Howard’s The Coming of Conan (Gnome Press)
  • Robert E. Howard’s The Dark Man (Arkham House)
  • Robert E. Howard’s Skull-Face and Others (Arkham House)
  • R. A. Lafferty’s Horns on Their Head (Pendragon Press HB)
  • R. A. Lafferty’s Funnyfingers & Cabrito (Pendragon Press HB)
  • Joe R. Lansdale (as Ray Slater)’s Texas Night Riders (Chivers)
  • Fritz Leiber’s Two Sought Adventure (Gnome)
  • Fritz Leiber’s The Secret Songs (Rupert Hart-Davis)
  • H. P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others (Arkham House)
  • Richard Matheson’s Born of Man and Woman (Chamberline Press)
  • Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man (David Bruce and Watson)
  • Chad Oliver’s Another Kind (Ballantine HB)
  • Chad Oliver’s Shadows in the Sun (Ballantine HB)
  • Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan (Eyre & Spottiswoode)
  • Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast (Eyre & Spottiswoode)
  • Mervyn Peake’s Titus Alone (Eyre & Spottiswoode)
  • Jack Vance’s Araminta Station (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s The Deadly Isles (Bobbs-Merrill)
  • Jack Vance’s The Dragon Masters (Dennis Dobson)
  • Jack Vance’s Ecce and Old Earth (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s Four Men Called John (Gollancz)
  • Jack Vance’s The Houses of Iszm (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s The House on Lily Street (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s The Eyes of the Overworld (Gregg Press)
  • Jack Vance’s The Last Castle (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph (Dennis Dobson)
  • Jack Vance’s Monsters in Orbit (Dennis Dobson)
  • Jack Vance’s Seventeen Virgins/A Bagful of Dreams (Underwood Miller HB)
  • Jack Vance’s Showboat World (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s Son of the Tree (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s Strange Notions/The Dark Ocean (Underwood Miller)
  • Jack Vance’s To Live Forever (Ballantine Books HB)

  • Jack Vance’s Vandals of the Void (Winston)
  • Jack Vance (as Alan Wade)’s Take My Face (Mystery House)
  • Jack Vance (as Peter Held)’s Isle of Peril (Mystery House)
  • Stanley G. Weinbaum’s A Martian Odyssey and Others (Fantasy Press)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Carolina Pirate (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Clash on the Catabwa (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s The Ghost Battalion (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Gray Riders (Aladdin)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Haunts of Drowning Creek (Holiday House)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Jamestown Adventure (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Mystery at Bear Paw Gap (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s Napoleon of the West (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s The South Fork Rangers (Washburn)
  • Manly Wade Wellman’s The Specter of Bear Paw Gap (Washburn)
  • Gene Wolfe’s The Grave Secret (Portentous Press chapbook)
  • Gene Wolfe’s The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin Was the Sun (Cheap Street chapbook)
  • Roger Zelazny’s Damnation Alley (Putnam)

    • If you have nice copies any of the above, and if you’re willing to sell it to me considerably cheaper than can be found on Bookfinder.com, drop me an email at lawrenceperson@gmail.com and I’ll consider it.

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 3 Comments »

    Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 2: Oversized Books)

    Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

    And here’s the second part of my series on my reference library. The last installment dealt with the books I reach for most often. The reference works listed in this post share only size, being too big for most of my other shelves, which is why they’re filed here. Some of these (the Nevins, the first two Bleilers) get a lot of use, while others almost never get taken down (things that have been superseded by both the Internet and the two Clute encyclopedias).

    (Click to embiggen.)

    I’m not going to do a full run-down of publication dates, etc. for everything, but here’s a general overview of what’s here:

  • Harris-Fain, Darren, editor. British Fantasy and Science-Fiction Writers before World War I (Gale Dictionary of Literary Biography Volume 178). Eclectic selection, but a very solid work for the writers (about half the volume) who aren’t well-covered in other references.
  • Bleiler, Everett F. Science Fiction: The Early Years and Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years. Kent State University Press, 1990/1998. Absolutely essential for anyone with an interest in the early years of the field.
  • Bleiler, Everett F. Science Fiction Writers. First and second editions. Superseded by the two Clute Encyclopedias.
  • Smith, Curtis S., et. al. (editor) Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers. Ditto.
  • Vinson, James and D.L. Kirkpatrick, editors. Twentieth Century Western Writers. It was cheap. Like, $2 at a library sale cheap…
  • Tuck, Doanld H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Two volumes. Another book set superseded by the two Clute Encyclopedias.
  • Nevins, Jess. The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana. MonkeyBrain Books, 2005. Extremely useful work, but not quite worth the $2,000 some people are asking for online…
  • Bell, Joseph. Les Bibliotheques Howard Phillips Lovecraft (Volumes 1-8). Soft Books, 1984-1987. Weird, eight volume, stapled paper-wrappers collection of various H. P. Lovecraft-related bibliographic tidbits. Huge overlap with the Joshi bibliography and the catalog of the Grill-Berkin collection (both of which I have), but some odd and interesting information for the Lovecraft fanatic (of which there are many). I will probably do a separate post on my collection of Lovecraft reference works sometime in the indeterminate future…
  • Sidney-Fryer, Donald. Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography. Donald M. Grant, 1979. If this isn’t the most irritatingly organized single-author bibliography of all time, it’s not for want of trying…
  • Grant, Donald M. Talbot Mundy: Messenger of Destiny. Donald M. Grant, 1983. Just picked this up, so it’s still in the shrinkwrap…
  • Day, Bradford M. Materials Toward a Bibliography of the Works of Talbot Mundy. Science-Fiction & Fantasy Publications, 1955. My copy was beat to hell when I got it, and it was regarded as not entirely accurate even when it was produced. A historical curiosity only.
  • Pringle, David. St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers. St. James Press, 1998. A lot less superseded than the SF & Fantasy works, but unless it’s something quite modern, I’ll generally reach for Bleiler’s The Guide to Supernatural Fiction instead.
  • Hall, Hal. Science Fiction Book Review Index, 1974-1979. Gale, 1981. If you need it (and you know who you are), you need it.
  • Spignesi,Stephen J. Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia. Popular Culture Ink., 1991. A mixture of the really useful and the completely worthless.
  • Wiater, Stanley, Christopher Golden and Hank Wagner. The Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King. Cemetery Dance, 2001. Signed, slipcased edition. I don’t have too many King reference works, but I’ve got these two. (Plus Hank use to do a lot of reviews for me back in the Nova Express days.)
  • Hawk, Pat. Hawk’s Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Series & Sequels. Hawk’s Enterprises, 2001. Not perfect, but nothing else really covers so much information for this particular area.
  • Stableford, Brian. The Dictionary of Science Fiction Places. Simon & Schuster, 1999. A solid work, but I almost never find myself consulting it.
  • Turner, George R. (Bruce Gillespie, editor) SF Commentary 76: The Unrelenting Gaze: George Turner Non-Fiction: A Selection. A hefty selection of commentary, reviews, etc. from the dean of Australian SF writers. The full text is available online.
  • Wright, H. Stephen. Philip K. Dick: A Secondary Bibliography, 1960-1983. Just what it says. Bound pages. Not a particularly common work. Like Lovecraft, I plan on doing a future post on my Philip K. Dick reference works.
  • Shoaf, Eric C. Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist. Ratishna Books, 2000. Bought this off eBay back around 2001, and was initially disappointed that it was just bound pages, but this is actually a really solid bibliography. For example, there’s an in-depth history of the Grove Press publication of Naked Lunch.
  • Bradbury, Ray. Futuria Fantasia. Graham, 2007. Hardback reproduction of four issues of an early fanzine Bradbury published. I’m guessing the green ink is designed to matched the original look of the fanzine, but man, it’s really hard on the eyes…
  • Collins, Paul, editor. The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy. Melbourne University Publishing, 1998. Felt compelled to pick this up after I published a very scathing John Clute review of it in Nova Express.
  • Science Fiction Bibliography, Volume 1, Number 1 (and only). Science Fiction Syndicate, 1935. A curiosity, being the first published science fiction bibliography on record (and published here in Austin, no less). Mainly reviews fanzine and magazines you’ve never heard of, condemning some as complete worthless. No author listed, but it was apparently a D. R. Welch, the first used SF book dealer in Austin. Picked up for $35 back when Currey was asking $100 for it. Mainly useful as something to pull out for guests and go “Look! The first published SF bibliography!” and watch them nod indulgently.

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    Posted in Austin, Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »

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