Book Hauls!

[J-Sun]

These arrived today:

Includes Gravy Planet, the original title for The Space Merchants.

Don't really recall the first two, but I've seen the cover to the third one before - love it. And, yeah, excellent serial. I think they may have expanded it slightly for book form - if so, it'd be interesting to see the differences. Probably remembering that wrong, though.

 

[BigBadBob141]

Not as many copy's of the old SF mags around as there used to be.
I think too many collectors have been snapping them up, just like me!
I've got most of Galaxy & If, all but one of F&SF, most of the Campbell Astounding's & Analog's.
All but 3 Unknown's plus the first four decades of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Plus lots of other odds and ends.
There seemed to be a lot more around ten years ago, it's a shame to think of them slowly crumbling away, as they were printed on cheap acidic paper.
I hope they are preserved some how in the future before they are lost for good.

 

[Vince W]

This arrived today from Belgium. I love the cover art. Does anyone have any idea who the artist might be?

 

[Bick]

Does anyone have any idea who the artist might be?

Peter Jones.

 

[Vince W]

Peter Jones.

Thank you Bick.

 

[dask]

What a summer that must have been.

 

[Rodders]

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno.

 

[dask]

These arrived today:

Includes Gravy Planet, the original title for The Space Merchants.

For what it's worth, my seemingly senseless remark a few spaces above was actually referring to the posting of this remarkable acquisition. Someday, with a lot of trial and error, I'll figure out how to function within the new Chrons.

 

[dask]

Not as many copy's of the old SF mags around as there used to be.
I think too many collectors have been snapping them up, just like me!
I've got most of Galaxy & If, all but one of F&SF, most of the Campbell Astounding's & Analog's.
All but 3 Unknown's plus the first four decades of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Plus lots of other odds and ends.
There seemed to be a lot more around ten years ago, it's a shame to think of them slowly crumbling away, as they were printed on cheap acidic paper.
I hope they are preserved some how in the future before they are lost for good.

This reminds me that I don't seem to recall anyone ever mentioning SCIENCE FICTION PLUS, Gernsback's second wind in the early 1950s. Anyone familiar with these?

 

[J-Sun]

For what it's worth, my seemingly senseless remark a few spaces above was actually referring to the posting of this remarkable acquisition.

I have to confess to being puzzled by that for a bit, myself, but I eventually guessed that was what you meant. Nice to have it confirmed.

This reminds me that I don't seem to recall anyone ever mentioning SCIENCE FICTION PLUS, Gernsback's second wind in the early 1950s. Anyone familiar with these?

Nope. I know of its existence and I'm sure I must have come across at least a story here and there in anthologies/collections but I couldn't even name one. SFE names some but the stories don't ring bells even though the authors, of course, do. Doesn't sound like that great of an effort though I do sympathize with the idea and the "you guys are too highbrow" editorial.

 

[dask]

Couple more library freebies:

 

[dask]

Nope. I know of its existence and I'm sure I must have come across at least a story here and there in anthologies/collections but I couldn't even name one. SFE names some but the stories don't ring bells even though the authors, of course, do. Doesn't sound like that great of an effort though I do sympathize with the idea and the "you guys are too highbrow" editorial.

I purchased a couple of issues without covers several years back but never got around to reading them and unfortunately don't remember where I put them. Need to dig them out and give them a try. I can't believe the stories are that bad. Why invest a bunch of money just so you can buy and publish stories by people who write for a living that are so bad they'll put you out of business? Never seemed like a good way to make a profit. Of course SFE didn't say outright they were bad, just nostalgic. But that's kind of like saying the same thing. For something that is neither a fault or a crime, nostalgia seems to pluck knee-jerk strings of negativity like little else.

 

[Extollager]

A replacement copy of Don Martin Steps Out -- the worn-from-many-perusals copy I used to have survives only as a front cover.

 

[J-Sun]

I purchased a couple of issues without covers several years back but never got around to reading them and unfortunately don't remember where I put them. Need to dig them out and give them a try. I can't believe the stories are that bad. Why invest a bunch of money just so you can buy and publish stories by people who write for a living that are so bad they'll put you out of business? Never seemed like a good way to make a profit. Of course SFE didn't say outright they were bad, just nostalgic. But that's kind of like saying the same thing. For something that is neither a fault or a crime, nostalgia seems to pluck knee-jerk strings of negativity like little else.

Well, I wouldn't think they'd be that "bad" - just maybe not the greatest and probably out-of-step with much of the readership of the time. Though it is true that, despite Gernsback's place in the history of the field he was just never too commercially successful with his SF magazines for long. Re: nostalgia: SF is a forward looking field, so looking backwards to 30s and 40s SF is bad. Looking back to the 30s and 40s mainstream (whether 1940s or 1840s) on the other hand, is cutting edge and sure to garner you many Nebulas and much critical praise.

Don Martin Steps Out

I should hunt down some of that, myself. In addition to Martin, I loved the Spy vs. Spy stuff and all the inter-panel cartoonery. Just Mad in general.

 

[Alex The G and T]

I still have a legible copy of that same Don Martin Paperback around here somewhere.

I saw a gorgeous collection in bookstore a few years ago. I choked on the price; but found a seat and spent the next hour giggling in a corner of the store.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0762430508/?tag=brite-21

 

[Extollager]

The Don Martin fans are coming out of the woodwork!

 

[j d worthington]

When I got home from work I found a package waiting for me from Hippocampus Press containing the following:

The Assaults of Chaos (S. T. Joshi)
Lovecraft and a World in Transition: Collected Essays on H. P. Lovecraft (STJ)
Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2 vols.; STJ)
200 Books by S. T. Joshi: A Comprehensive Bibliography (STJ)
Dead Reckonings #15 (ed. STJ)
Lovecraft Annual #8 (ed. STJ)
William Hope Hodgson: Voices from the Borderland (ed. STJ and Sam Gafford)
Spectral Realms #1 (ed. STJ)
Ghouljaw and Other Stories (Clint Smith)
Sex and the Cthulhu Mythos (Bobby Derle)
Burnt Black Suns (Simon Strantas)
Through Dark Angles: Works Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft (Don Webb)
Dreams from a Black Nebula (Wade German)

 

[Tracy]

Recently I bought I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, The Meaning of it All by Richard Feynmann, What if? by Randall Munroe (really funny stuff) and Tinseltown by William J. Mann.
I'm kind of on a speculative fiction withdrawal for the holidays, thanks to Jordan and his Wheel of Time, all of which I bought just last month.

 

[Vince W]

Picked up Proxima by Stephen Baxter. Looks interesting.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Every year, my city has something called the "Big Bad Wolf Book Sales" which is a huge book sale of brand new books at warehouse prices (between $1.00 - $10.00 depending on the type of book).

This year's haul for me:

1. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah E. Harkness
2. Shadow of Night - Deborah E. Harkness
3. The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson
4. The Gray Wolf Throne - Cinda Williams Chima
5. The Wolf Gift - Anne Rice
6. Top Dog - Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman
7. Unbreakable - Kami Garcia
8. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
9. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
10. First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde
11. Something Rotten - Jasper Fforde
12. The Ogre Downstairs - Diana Wynne Jones
13. Black Heart - Holly Black
14. City of Dark Magic - Magnus Flyte
15. City of Lost Dreams - Magnus Flyte
16. Angelopolis - Danielle Trussoni
17. Reckless - Cornelia Funke

Total damage to the purse: Approximate $58