Steiner Ranch Evacuated Due to Fire Hazard

September 4th, 2011

So I’m hearing. Drought + high winds = fire hazard.

And Steiner Ranch is only about 15 miles from here. On the other hand, the land around here is flat rather than the hill country arroyos that make fires easier to start and harder to fight. And I have managed to keep the overwhelming majority of my lawn alive.

Be safe, everyone. And if you haven’t done it before, now might be a good time to figure out what you need for a “bugout bag” and make sure you have at least one fire extinguisher in your house…

More news here.

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Books I Picked Up at the Reno Worldcon

September 2nd, 2011

Various issues have kept me remarkably busy the last few days, so it may take a little while to get my blogging back up to speed. In particular, I wanted to do a brief roundup of some of the books I bought at the Reno Worldcon.

This year’s Worldcon had a better dealer’s room than Denver in 2008 (the last Worldcon I went to), and there were many rare and tempting items there (including not one, but two copies of the first edition of William Timlin’s The Ship That Sailed to Mars, as well as a fine signed first edition of Alfred Bester’s Tiger Tiger listed for $2,500, and which sold for a bit less) which, alas, they wanted more for than I was willing to spend.

But here are a few items I was able to add to my collection:

  • Serviss, Garrett P. Edison’s Conquest of Mars. Carcosa House, 1947. First edition hardback, one of 1,500 copies, a Fine copy in one of only 500 (or fewer) dust jackets distributed with the book, a Near Fine example of dj with just a few traces of edgewear and slight age-darkening to the spine. The dust jacket is rarely found, and even more seldom found in such excellent condition.

    The dust jacket art itself is perhaps the finest ever drawn by an eight-year old…

  • Hubbard, L. Ron. Final Blackout. Hadley Publishing, 1948. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with slight age darkening to white portions of cover. I’m not a big fan of Hubbard (or his church), but this and Fear are reportedly among his best works, and I am less familiar with his output than almost any other Golden Age author. Plus it puts me closer to having a complete collection of Hadley Publishing, an important early SF specialty press.

  • Gaiman, Neil. Melinda. Hill House, 2004. First edition graphic novel, one of 1,500 signed copies, Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Wanted this when it came out, but not enough to pay the $250 or so Hill House was asking for it, especially considering how slender it is. But the $50 I picked it up for was just right…


  • Anderson, Poul. Fire Time. Doubleday, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with edgewear. Not a difficult or valuable title, except this copy was inscribed by Anderson to Charles N. Brown, which I thought made it worth a good bit more than the $15 the Locus folks were asking for it.
  • Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Riverhead Books, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Been looking for a copy at various Half Price Books and not finding one, so I was happy to pick this up from Scott and Willie.
  • 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. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy, with slight cover wear and ownership stamps and stickers for Diana Ann Barbour. My best find at the convention wasn’t even a purchase; Barbour had specified that her library was to be given away, and when I spotted this green spine among the stacks of Philip Jose Farmer paperbacks being set out, I snagged it. (I left behind two of the Essex House paperbacks they were putting out, because it doesn’t pay to be piggish.) The only copy of the PBO online lists for $850. That’s too high, but $200-400 is probably realistic.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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    Bad Logo Design

    August 30th, 2011

    I missed this Cracked cartoon on Bad Logo Design when it came out earlier this year, but I’m posting it now because I can’t stop cracking up at Nazi Jim’s Panzerotti. (Some NSFW language.)

    In other news, I’m still recovering from Armadillocon and various other personal upheavals, so blogging may be light until I manage to get a few ducks marching in the right direction…

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    What It’s Like in Austin Today

    August 28th, 2011

    Just in case you were wondering…

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    Happy 95th Birthday to Jack Vance!

    August 28th, 2011

    He was born August 28, 1916.

    By way of celebration, if you haven’t already seen it, here’s someone else’s Jack Vance collection. Remember to pick your jaw up off the floor before you leave.

    And here’s some of Mike Berro’s extensive collection.

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    Attending Armadillocon

    August 27th, 2011

    Which is keeping me busy, so expect blogging to be light to non-existent for the next couple of days. After which there will be no shortage of photos…

    Here’s are some pics from last year’s Armadillocon.

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    Worldcon 2011 Photos for Sunday, August 21

    August 26th, 2011

    Just a few more to round out the set.


    I’m sorry if my previous picture gave you the impression that Lauren Beukes is merely attractive rather than gorgeous.


    Newly-named 2013 Worldcon Toastmaster Paul Cornell.


    Gardner Dozois, 700-time Hugo winner and the man I made my first professional science fiction sale to, which obviously makes him an editor of superb taste…


    The newly married George R. R. Martin. I tried to get pictures of him and his bride Parris a couple of days before, but my camera battery died first.

    And that’s the last of the Worldcon photos. And Armadillocon starts, er, today…

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    Worldcon 2011 Photos for Saturday, August 20 (Part 2)

    August 24th, 2011

    Now that I’ve recovered a bit, here’s another set of Worldcon photos.


    You may have seen the previous photo sets, and asked “Lawrence, do you think you have enough pictures of Gail Carriger?” And the answer, of course is: No, I don’t. So here’s her Hugo-night outfit. Indeed, I was only able to capture three of the six outfits she wore there. One man can only do so much…


    Steven Gould, tipping his jaunty straw boater.


    This picture of the Klingon Party Room is one the flash just ruined, as it was actually dark with red and orange flame lighting, but at least it gives you a hint of the work that went into it.


    Scott Bobo carrying Brad Foster’s Hugo.


    A congoer dressed in a traditional Mexican vaquero outfit.


    Karen Anderson.


    Deanna Hoak and Gail Carriger flank some lucky bastard that isn’t me.

    I should have one more post of Worldcon photos, after which it will probably be time for Armadillocon photos…

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    Posted in Fantasy, pics, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »

    Back From Worldcon

    August 22nd, 2011

    Still catching up on stuff, and have more photos to upload, so blogging might be light for a few days…

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    2011 Hugo Award Winners

    August 21st, 2011

    Hot from the Renovation home page, here’s the 2011 Hugo Award Winners:

    Best Novel (1813 ballots)
    Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)

    Best Novella (1467 ballots)
    The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean)

    Best Novelette (1469 ballots)
    “The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010)

    Best Short Story (1597 ballots)
    “For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010)

    Best Related Work (1220 ballots)
    Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian)

    Best Graphic Story (1263 ballots)
    Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse, written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)

    Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (1755 ballots)
    Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner)

    Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (1466 ballots)
    Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales)

    Best Editor, Short Form (983 ballots)
    Sheila Williams

    Best Editor, Long Form (898 ballots)
    Lou Anders

    Best Professional Artist (1304 ballots)
    Shaun Tan

    Best Semiprozine (1112 ballots)
    Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace; podcast directed by Kate Baker

    Best Fanzine (870 ballots)
    The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon

    Best Fan Writer (814 ballots)
    Claire Brialey

    Best Fan Artist (993 ballots)
    Brad W. Foster

    John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (1138 ballots)
    Lev Grossman

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