Tag Archives: Secondhand second hand books

Books Update: Comic Strip Books

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*Comic Strip Books: We’ve added five new books to this compact and bijou section: The Executive’s Comic Book featuring Goodman Beaver (Kurtzman & Elder) and Fiction Illustrated # 1 – 3 (considered to be among the first graphic novels). #1 features Schlomo Raven Public Detective (Preiss & Sutton), # 2 features Starfawn, ‘in the tradition of Star Trek’ (Preiss & Fabian) and #3 features Chandler, ‘a hard-boiled detective’, written and drawn by Steranko. More alert readers will have counted up to four and be wondering what the fifth book is – in addition to the standard version of Fiction Illustrated #3 we also have the Curtis Circulation variant, distinguished by the ‘cc’ logo and numbered 02764 instead of P4078.

Books Update: Strange, Weird, Eerie – Badger Supernatural Stories

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re delighted to have new in 8 of Badger’s Supernatural Stories. The series ran from 1954 to 1967 and was mainly written by Robert Lionel Fanthorpe and John Glasby, using a variety of pseudonyms. Each book was rigidly written to have 45,000 words, leading to some incongruous instances of padding or extremely rapid plot resolutions, depending on how close the author got to the target. A mere £22.50 was paid for each book, so the publishers got what they paid for! Most issues resemble pulps, having several short stories instead of one novel; these are listed under the editor’s ‘name’, John S Manning (actually Maurice Nahum), while single story issues are listed by author. Each comes with a lurid cover, usually courtesy of Henry Fox. Just a few titles to whet your appetite – enough to show that they lived up to their slogan – Centurion’s Vengeance (SN 49), The Phantom Ones (SN 48) and The Sorcerers Of Bast (SN 31). We also have the last in the series, SN 109, which has as its feature story The Thing In The Mist by Max Chartair.

Books Update: Ever Popular SF Anthologies

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A large addition to the shelves of more than 15 anthologies, with well-known editors including Asimov, Carnell, Carr, Ellison, Knight, Merril, Mills and Wollheim. Four are HC, Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age (Carr), A Pocketful Of Stars (Knight), The Best Of The Best (Merril) and Science Fiction At Large (Peter Nicholls). The last is a fascinating collection of essays about the interface between science fiction and reality, taken written for a 1975 symposium, and includes contributions from an eclectic cast such as Ursula Le Guin, Edward de Bono, Alan Garner, Harry Harrison, Robert Sheckley and Philip K Dick.

Books Update: Hitchcock’s Horror

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Our latest book update is in keeping with the spirit of our latest window display (Halloween), with 16 collections of horror stories assembled by Alfred Hitchcock. These are a mixture of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ and ‘Alfred Hitchcock’s’ titles, but both share a predilection for dubious puns (The Best of Fiends, Slay Ride, Coffin Break and Murder Racquet being just a few examples).

 

Books Update: Philip K Dick Restocked

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: With the sequel to Blade Runner wowing viewers in the cinemas, this is an apposite time to add more Philip K Dick books, including, of course, the original Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? and its movie version, Blade Runner. In addition we’ve added A Handful Of Darkness, A Scanner Darkly, Martian Time-Slip and The Game Players Of Titan.

Books Update: Firsts To Be Reckoned With

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Just added, a small set of 1st PB editions, including Port Eternity (Cherryh), Dreamsnake (McIntyre), The Space Circus (Raymond) and This Immortal (Zelazny). Humour is well-represented, with The Silver Eggheads (Leiber) taking a swipe at the publishing profession, The Fickle Finger Of Fate (Keel) skewering certain superheroes (Batman? Superman?) and A Farce To Be Reckoned With (Zelazny & Sheckley) having fun with the eternal battle between Good and Evil.

Books Update: Eine Kleine Heinlein

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: It’s always a pleasure to announce more Heinlein books being available. In this restocking update we have Assignment In Eternity, Double Star, I Will Fear No Evil (1st US PB), Starship Troopers, The Door Into Summer, The Puppet Masters and Time For The Stars. The only thing left to say is – Enjoy!

Books Update: A Kurt Announcement – Vonnegut Restocked

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Kurt Vonnegut remains one of our most popular SF authors, so we’re very pleased to be able to expand the number of books on offer from him. This time we’ve added Cat’s Cradle, Player Piano, Wampeters Foma & Granfalloons and Welcome To The Monkey House. We’ve also added God Bless You, Mr Rosewater and Jailbird, neither are strictly SF, but written in Vonnegut’s unique, surreal style and highly entertaining.

Books Update: More Classic SF Collections

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Today we’ve added eleven collections by nine great authors, published in the quarter century between 1962 and 1987.  Represented twice are Alan E Nourse with The Counterfeit Man and Tiger By The Tail and Theodore Sturgeon with Caviar and E Pluribus Unicorn. Also represented are Brian Aldiss (The Canopy  Of Time), Frederic Brown (Nightmares And Geezenstacks), Arthur C  Clarke (Tales From The White Hart), Avram Davidson (Or All The Seas With Oysters), Harry Harrison (Prime Number), Damon Knight (Natural State And Other Stories) and C M Kornbluth (The Explorers). All experts in their field, these are guaranteed to entertain – don’t say we don’t spoil you!

Books Update: Penguin SF Over 4 Decades

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Another SF update by publisher brings us to Penguin, known for their good taste in books. Our earliest book is a venerable 1946 copy of H G Wells’ Island Of Dr Moreau, only FA, but deserving a special mention for reaching it’s eighth decade. From the 1960’s comes Ballard’s The Terminal Beach, Bester’s Tiger! Tiger!, Boardman’s Connoisseur’s S.F., Judd’s Gunner Cade and Pangborn’s A Mirror For Observers. Finally two published in the 1970’s, Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange and Peake’s Titus Alone. Excellent books and some stunning covers, as the images show; what more could you ask?

Books Update: A Mixed Bunch Of Childrens’ Classics

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*Childrens’ Books: As it says on the tin, a selection of classics have joined our shelves, ranging from Lewis Carroll’s Alice (both tales in one book), facsimiles of original editions of Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter’s Bolt and (as Hilda Richards) Bessie Bunter of Cliff House School and Enid Blyton’s first story of the Famous Five, Five On A Treasure Island. We’ve also added The Whispering Mountain (Joan Aiken), The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen (Alan Garner) and The Hundred And One Dalmations plus it’s sequel, The Starlight Barking, by Dodie Smith.

Books Update: Sphere Of Influence

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Our Science Fiction restocking continues apace with a selection of books published by Sphere. With legendary authors such as Gordon R Dickson, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Larry Niven, Alexei Panshin, Clifford Simak, Cordwainer Smith and Jack Williamson (deep breath), it’s no wonder that Sphere books remain very attractive.

Books Update: Howard’s Hyperborian Heroics

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A fine update in the fantasy hero tradition, written or inspired by Robert E Howard, mainly 1st UK PBs and featuring some notable cover artists. Works by the man himself are King Kull, the Skull-Face trilogy (all with Chris Achilleos cover art) and Marchers Of Valhalla. Howard, Nyberg and de Camp are represented by Conan The Avenger and Howard, de Camp and Carter by Conan Of Cimmeria, both with Frank Frazetta cover art. L Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter were inspired to write the only non-Howard book in this update, Conan Of The Isles, with cover art by John Duillo. Finally, we must give a special mention to Chris Achilleos, for creating at least five pieces of heroic barbarian cover art without a single scantily clad nubile/pneumatic female in view.

Books Update: Pan Science Fiction

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Our latest additions are a selection of Pan paperbacks dating from 1953 to 1979. Arthur C Clarke (Childhood’s End, The Sands Of Mars) is joined by Richard Cowper (signed copy of The Road To Corlay), C S Lewis (Voyage To Venus), Bob Shaw (Orbitsville and Other Days, Other Eyes) and Clifford Simak (Why Call Them Back From Heaven) as well as a collaboration between Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson (Farthest Star).

 

Books Update: SF & Fantasy Well Worth A GLancer

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: This week’s update is devoted to Lancer, a publishing company that knew what it liked, both in terms of swashbuckling storytelling and cover art. Writers such as Lin Carter, Gordon R Dickson, Robert E Howard, Richard A Lupoff, C C MacApp, David Mason, Robert Moore Williams, Robert Silverberg and Jack Williamson were published in books adorned by striking covers by artists such as Frank Frazetta (Conan Of Cimmeria – Howard et al, Kavin’s World – Mason, The Reign Of Wizardry – Williamson), Jack Gaughan (One Million Centuries – Lupoff), Jeff Jones (Zanthar series – Moore) and Jim Steranko (Prisoners In The Sky – MacApp and The Shores Of Tomorrow – Mason). Many feature the lovely, distinctive purple page edge colouration, and most are 1st US PB.

Books Update: Spotted At Last – More Philip K Dick!

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: After a lengthier hiatus than we would wish, the Books section presents five Hard Cover works by Philip K Dick. A man of wide-ranging talent, he wrote mainstream novels as well as Science Fiction, and we’ve stretched our boundaries a little to accommodate two non-SF books. So what do we have? The non-SF titles are The Broken Bubble and The Dark Haired Girl, both 1st editions from 1989 and 1988 respectively. The SF titles consist of Valis, World Of Chance and a collection entitled Robots, Androids, And Mechanical Oddities – The Science Fiction Of Philip K Dick (ed. Warrick & Greenberg). In addition to being a 1st UK HC, Valis is distinguished by being a Trade edition, from a run limited to only 1500 copies. This copy seems to have spent some time at W1A, having BBC stamps on the front and back pages. World Of Chance is the only one of the five to lack a DJ, but it is the oldest, being a 2nd UK HC from 1957. Robots, Androids, And Mechanical Oddities collects 15 of Dick’s short stories, each with an introductory note by the editors.

 

Books Update: A Luxury SF Selection

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Here’s an update brimming with classic authors and titles, often 1st PB – like a box of chocolates, it’s hard to know where to start! Asimov’s I Robot joins Biggle’s Watchers Of The Dark, Farmer’s The Stone God Awakens, Le Guin’s The Dispossessed and The Wind’s Twelve Quarters (Vol. 1), Moorcock’s The Knight Of The Swords, Stewart’s Earth Abides and Swann’s Green Phoenix. Other highlights of this collection consist of Leinster’s Planet Explorer, Davidson’s Mutiny In Space (with Jack Gaughan cover art), two excellent works by Keith Roberts, Pavane and The Chalk Giants. In the first he imagines an alternate history of Britain if the Armada had succeeded, while in the latter he conjures up a fearful future. Hal Clement represents the best of hard SF, conjuring up a completely believable planet and aliens in Mission Of Gravity, and another, but very different alien in Eye Of The Needle. Saving the best for last (unlike a box of chocolates) we have Spinrad’s The Iron Dream aka Adolf Hitler’s blockbuster SF hit. All of these books are guaranteed to give you hours of reading pleasure; your only problem will be choosing.

Books Update: A Rare Pair Of 1950’s Stunners

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: New to our shelves this week are two Science Fiction novels, both 1st UK PB, with vibrant covers that belie their ages of more than 60 years. Rogue Queen (L Sprague de Camp) shows a presciently punk-hairstyled woman joining spear brandishing men in an attack (artist unidentified). An important book, it’s renowned for being the first to broach sexual themes. Vanguard To Neptune (J M Walsh), with cover art by Ron Turner, is slightly less well-preserved, but the quality of the colours has to be seen to be believed.

Books Update: As recommended by Sir Terry Pratchett

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Five Harry Harrison books join our shelves today, showcasing his riotous imagination and talent for galaxy-spanning fun in addition to his talent for more straightforward Science Fiction. Bill The Galactic Hero was identified by Sir Terry Pratchett as ‘simply the funniest science fiction book ever written’, and in these books Bill is joined by Jason dinAlt (Deathworld 2), Professor Arnie Klein (In Our Hands, The Stars) and the Stainless Steel Rat himself, Slippery Jim diGriz, as they scheme, finagle and battle to make sense of Worlds Gone Mad!

Books Update: Philip K Dick restocked

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Fifteen Philip K Dick titles have been added, ranging from well-known titles such as Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, Time Out Of Joint and Ubik to less well-known ones such as The Penultimate Truth and Now Wait For Last Year. Also included are several collections of short stories, such as A Handful Of Darkness, The Preserving Machine and The Turning Wheel And Other Stories. There are several 1st PB editions: Lies, Inc., Now Wait For Last Year and Dick’s collaboration with Ray Nelson, The Ganymede Takeover, in 1st US PB with the added attraction of Jack Gaughan cover art. With so many goodies SF fans will be hard-pressed to make a choice!

 

 

 

Books Update: Masters Of The Macabre

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: An update for Horror fans this time, with works by Charles Beaumont (Shadow Play and The Edge, both 1st UK PB), E F Benson (The Horror Horn, 1st UK PB), Algernon Blackwood (Dance Of Death), H P Lovecraft alone (The Lurking Fear, 1st UK PB, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth) and with August Derleth (The Lurker At The Threshold and The Shuttered Room) and Bram Stoker (Dracula’s Guest and The Lair Of The White Worm). All of these authors have strong claims to being a Master of the Macabre: Charles Beaumont wrote many Twilight Zone stories, E F Benson was a wide ranging and versatile author (he also wrote Mapp & Lucia) while the other four authors need no supporting evidence.

Books Update: Short Stories For SF Fans

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A great selection of single author short story collections have just joined our shelves. Authors include Harry Harrison (The Best Of ..), Walter M Miller Jr (A View From The Stars), Larry Niven (Tales Of Infinite Space), Frederik Pohl (Digits And Dastards), two from A E Van Vogt (Away And Beyond and The Far-Out Worlds Of ..) and (previously a glaring omission from our catalogue) James Tiptree Jr (Ten Thousand Light Years From Home).

Books Update: Ellison’s Wonderland

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Harlan Ellison is the author restocked this time, with several of his classics included. All The Sounds Of Fear has been added as both Panther and Granada editions; this is the collection that includes the classic ‘I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream’. In addition to these, The Time Of The Eye, The Beast That Shouted Love At the Heart Of The World and Ellison Wonderland also join the shelves.

Books Update: Science Fiction Novels, Including One For Arachnophiles

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Six excellent SF novels have been added recently. Two have been offered before: M John Harrison’s The Pastel City and Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah. Of the others, Sleeping Planet (William R Burkett) involves the ultimate stealth alien invasion, when practically all humans sleep through the event, Tyranopolis (A E Van Vogt) forecasts a very dystopian future and The Ophiuchi Hotline is a rollicking adventure involving clones, strange human-alien symbioses and a huge lie. Finally, there’s an unusual appearance in this category for Spiderman in The Octopus Agenda (Diane Duane).

Books Update: “Mrs. Peel?” “Don’t tell me –we’re needed again!”

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*TV/Film Tie-Ins: The (M) Appeal of the classic TV Avengers series from the 1960’s never seems to fade, and Steed & Mrs Peel are seemingly ever with us! New to our listings this week are several of their adventures in novel form in a variety of guises: Titan’s (now) uncommon 1994 reprints of the Patrick Macnee written stories Dead Duck and Deadline, the 1967 Panther originals The Floating Game, The Passing Of Gloria Munday, The Laugh Was On Lazarus and Heil Harris, and one adventure with Mrs. Peel’s successor Tara King in an American original from Berkley The Drowned Queen. Bowlers, brollies and kinky boots to the fore! Consult our catalogue for pricing details and other information. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

Books Update: The Name is Bond…James Bond (well, duh)

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*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Some classic Bond paperback editions in this week’s books update, including Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia, With Love (movie cover), The Man With The Golden Gun (1st PB edition), Thunderball (bullet-hole cover) and You Only Live Twice. Among the most famous adventures of the greatest spy/secret agent of them all!

Books Update: Horror Turns Nasty!

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A small, overdue, restocking of the Horror subsection, with two H P Lovecraft classics, three Dennis Wheatley shockers and Stephen King’s masterly overview of the Horror genre in Danse Macabre. Lovecraft’s only full-length novel, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is joined by a collection of six of his shorter stories in The Shadow Over Innsmouth. From Dennis Wheatley we have three of his most famous novels: The Devil Rides Out, To the Devil – A Daughter and The Haunting Of Toby Jugg.

Books Update: A Populist Move – More SF Anthologies

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Anthologies are among our most popular books, so we have eight more added to our shelves. Featuring not only favourites such as Asimov (Nightfall Two), Merril (Ed.) (10th Annual S-F) and Wollheim & Carr (Eds.) (World’s Best SF 1) but also more unusual items such as Heinlein (Ed.) Tomorrow, The Stars and Mills (Ed.) A Decade Of Fantasy And Science Fiction. Together with Apeman, Spaceman (Stover & Harrison Eds.), The Eighth Galaxy Reader (Pohl Ed.) and Continuum 1 (Elwood Ed.) these are eight books guaranteed for enjoyment.

Books Update: A Welcome Return For Wells, And More Wyndham

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: H G Wells returns with The Invisible Man and The First Men In The Moon and we add two more John Wyndham books, Jizzle and Trouble With Lichen. The First Men In The Moon is  distinguished by having scenes from the film on the cover, and Trouble With Lichen is the first appearance in paperback form.

Books Update: Stellar Authors, Stretching All The Way From A To D!

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Fifteen Science Fiction books by authors who should need no introduction join our bookshelves today. Venturing only four letters into the alphabet, they are Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, J G Ballard, Arthur C Clarke and Philip K Dick. Every book is a highlight, but notable amongst them are Report On Probability A, Aldiss’ take on quantum mechanics and the multiverse theory, which is complex enough to make Schrodinger’s cat need a lie-down, Ballard’s The Drowned World, where the Triassic Age returns to London, and Philip K Dick’s The Transmigration Of Timothy Archer, the final part of the Valis trilogy, an exploration of belief. Other titles include Dick’s Our Friends From Frolix 8 and the Simulacra, Ballard’s Low Flying Aircraft and Clarke’s Tales Of ten Worlds, plus more.

 

Books Update: Back With Even More Anthologies

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: After a short hiatus the Science Fiction bookshelves have been refilled, this time with a selection of anthologies not previously offered. Highlights include The Science Fictional Solar System (Asimov, Greenberg & Waugh eds.), Science Fiction Showcase (Mary Kornbluth ed.), Gentle Invaders (Santesson ed.) and Deep Space (Silverberg ed.). Also represented are the first of the very successful Spectrum anthologies (Amis & Conquest eds.), Alien Worlds (Hill ed.) and also edited by Silverberg, Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Vol. One.

Books Update: Avengers Reassembled!

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*TV / Film Tie-Ins: The Avengers are back! Steed and co. are back in stock this week with some rare paperbacks. First up is the very first Avengers novel by Douglas Enefor. We’re fortunate to have two copies of this rarity available in a choice of printings: 1st printing (left below) VG at £55, 2nd printing (centre) VG at £50. Also, Dead Duck, authored by Patrick Macnee himself, VG at £15. Still hugely popular and transcending their cult status following, Steed and his female companions have entered into true iconic status.
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Books Update: Time Travel And More In TV/Film Tie-Ins

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46_jt_capscarletsabw46_jp_escapeplanetapesw*TV / Film Tie-Ins: Four more books join this section today, two sharing a time travel motif.  Captain Scarlet battles the Silent Saboteur, intelligent apes go back to 1970’s Earth in Escape From The Planet Of The Apes, The Protectors (with a cover featuring the late Robert Vaughn) do their thing and two teenagers dart about the fourth dimension in Timeslip.

Books Update: Five Digits In Hand

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Brown & Watson Ltd published mainly Western and Crime books, but they launched Digit in the 1950’s when Science Fiction began to increase in popularity. This update has a full handful of titles, mainly from the 1960’s: Louis Charbonneau’s Corpus Earthling, Nal Rafcam’s The Troglodytes, Jonathan Burke’s The Pursuit Through Time and Tom Wade’s The World Of Theda. Star of the releases, however, is the 1st UK PB of Sydney J Bounds’ The Robot Brains, issued in 1956. In an update that has several very striking covers The Robot Brains stands out for its stunning cover art by the rarely seen C. Stewart.

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Books Update: A Fine Pair Of Crests

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44_hg_ralphw44_eh_staroflifew*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Crest books were launched by Fawcett Publications in 1955 as a means of getting round a deal that prevented them from reprinting paperbacks of their own for over a decade. Most of the titles were Crime or Western, Peanuts or the US Dennis the Menace, but a few Science Fiction titles were issued as well. We have two of these, Hugo Gernsback’s classic Ralph 124C 41+ and Edmond Hamilton’s The Star Of Life. Both are enhanced by wonderful and distinctive cover art by Richard M Powers.

Books Update: Four Square Books

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We present a range of Four Square Science Fiction and Fantasy books published during the 1960’s. In the first camp are Titan’s Daughter (James Blish), Space Pioneer (Mack Reynolds) and Memoirs Of A Spacewoman (Naomi Mitchison’s fascinating future where many humans devote their time to communicating with all sorts of strange aliens). Firmly in the Fantasy camp are Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels about Venus (Carson Of, Lost On and Pirates Of) and A Princess Of Mars, all with very striking cover art.

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Books Update: New Avengers #2-6

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*TV/Film Tie-Ins: The revamped New Avengers TV series proved just as popular as the original. Helped by the suave presence of Patrick Macnee as John Steed, Gareth Hunt (as Mike Gambit) and Joanna Lumley’s hairstyle as Purdey formed a swash-buckling trio, foiling Britain’s enemies at every turn. We have added five of the six paperback novelisations: The Eagle’s Nest, To Catch A Rat, Fighting Men, The Cybernauts and Hostage. In grades ranging from GD to FN, these are all first publications. The TV covers variously offer the chance to see Mike Gambit looking uncomfortable in a gi, Purdey breaking her toes in a poorly executed kick and Steed looking distinctly queasy as the passenger in a biplane piloted by Gambit.

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Books Update: Short SF Stories Bonanza

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’ve added more than fifteen collections of Science Fiction stories, both by single authors (John Brunner: Out Of My Mind, Damon Knight: Turning On and Theodore Sturgeon: The Joyous Invasions), and multiple authors curated by well-known editors such as Brian Aldiss, Tom Boardman Jr, Kenneth Bulmer, John Carnell, Harry Harrison, Kate Wilhelm and Donald Wollheim & Terry Carr. Pride of place goes to a sought-after copy of Best SF Four (Edmund Crispin ed.), published by Faber; new wave SF is represented by The New SF (Langdon Jones ed.), while the accolade for most unusual collection goes to 14 Great Tales Of ESP (Idella Purnell Stone ed.). We also have An ABC Of Science Fiction, New Writings In SF 19 and 24, Farewell Fantastic Venus!, The Other Side Of the Moon, Science Fiction Through The Ages 2, The Fantastic Universe Omnibus, Nebula Award Storis 9 and World’s Best SF 1.

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Books Update: Belmont / Belmont Tower Science Fiction

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: As the title suggests, our publisher of note this time is Belmont, founded in 1960, later subsumed into Tower Comics and hence becoming Belmont Tower. In the two decades of its existence it embraced Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror with a mix of well-known and aspiring authors. We have three Belmont double features (where could they have got that idea from?), Doomsman/Thief Of Thoth (Harlan Ellison/Lin Carter), an unusual combination of Doomsman/Telepower (Harlan Ellison/Lee Hoffman) and A Lamp For Medusa/The Players Of Hell (William Tenn/Dave Van Arnam). Harlan Ellison is also represented by From The Land Of Fear, while Dave Van Arnam’s solo work is Wizard Of Storms. In addition we have The Warriors of Terra (John Faucette), Doomstar (Edmond Hamilton), The Alien (Raymond F Jones) and After Some Tomorrow (Mack Reynolds), all designed to tempt you to the bookshelves.

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Books Update: UNCLE’S Girl

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46_blazingaff_maw46_cornishpixieaff_plw*TV/Film Tie-Ins: So popular was the Man From UNCLE on our screens in the mid-1960’s that a spin-off series was called for, starring Stefanie Powers as the Girl From UNCLE (and her side kick Mark Slate, played by Noel Harrison). Like the TV show, the book series from the franchise didn’t last as long as its parent; whereas a total of 23 books of the Man From Uncle were published (7 only in the US), Girl From only accounted for 5, bizarrely only 2 in US editions, and 4 in the UK, including #2, #3 and #4 which are UK originals. We have all three of those fresh in, plus #2 in the American series, The Blazing Affair, never published in the UK. Like the Man From UNCLE books, quality varied according to author, but Michael Avallone and Peter Leslie carried over their good work from the parent series.

 

Books Update: Classic Dr Who Novelisations: Hartnell, Troughton & Pertwee inc 1st Armada Daleks

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46_drwhodaleks_dww46_abomsnowmen_tdw*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Some classic Dr Who stories novelised this update, featuring the 1st three Doctors. Star of the show is the first ever Dr Who book from 1965, published by Armada: Dr Who In An Exciting Adventure With The Daleks, GD £18, written by David Whitaker, uncle of our late friend Steve Whitaker (who you can read about in our Extras section). The other books are all Target versions, including the 1st Doctor’s first encounter with the Cybermen, the 2nd Doctor’s monster ‘favourites’ in The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors and The Web Of Fear and the 3rd Doctor’s tussle with The Sea Devils.

Books Update: A Sett Of Badgers With Added Fox

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Unlike many farmers and the government, we’re very fond of Badgers – so much so that we have taken in a substantial number of Badger Books. As usual, most are written by Lionel Fanthorpe in various guises (Bron Fane, Lionel Roberts, John E Muller, Pel Torro and Karl Zeigfreid), but The Brain Stealers is written by Murray Leinster. All of the books have distinctive Badger cover art, mostly by Henry Fox, and the grades are mainly in the GD – VG area, although Micro Infinity stands out as a FN/VF copy.

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Books Update: Some Ace Books With Quite A Nice Comic Shop Attached

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: In the first of an occasional series we’re planning to release books from a particular publisher, and where better to start than Ace, with their long and illustrious history in Science Fiction publishing. Founded in 1953 it soon had Donald A Wollheim as editor, and some of the best writers of the period, including Samuel R. Delany, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K Le Guin and Robert Silverberg. The Ace Doubles, with their tête-bêche format were a popular innovation. The Ace books that have been added range from the 1950’s (First On The Moon, Jeff Sutton) to the 1970’s (I..Alien, J Michael Reaves) and include Endless Shadow/The Arsenal Of Miracles  (John Brunner and Gardner F  Fox), The Einstein Intersection (Samuel R  Delaney), The Radio Planet (Ralph Milne Farley), four Star Wolf novels by Edmond Hamiton and Monsters In Orbit/The World Between (Jack Vance). Many have covers by artists such as Jack Gaughan and Emsh(willer). Ace passed through a succession of owners, but still continues to be an assurance of quality.

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Books Update: Aspects Of Asimov

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Isaac Asimov was never known for his modesty, but this update demonstrates that he had a lot to be immodest about: the Foundation series, his Space Ranger series (targeted at younger readers), short stories, work as an editor and collaborator with other authors are all represented here. We have Foundation itself, Second Foundation, Space Ranger and The Big Sun Of Mercury, Nightfall One as well as one of his anthologies of early Science Fiction, Before The Golden Age 4 and The Positronic Man, written with Robert Silverberg and based on Asimov’s short story The Bicentennial Man.

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Books Update: Persuading The Sweeney To Get Smart And Trek In Space!

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*TV/Film Tie-Ins: An eclectic selection of books for this ever popular section, covering law enforcement (Get Smart – Missed It By That Much!, The Persuaders Books One and Two and The Sweeney’s Regan And The Venetian Virgin) and space (Space 1999’s Planets Of Peril and Star Treks 2, 5 and 12. These are all 1st PB editions, in grades ranging from GD to VF.

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Books Update: Brave New Worlds

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*Pulp Fiction: A wonderful set of the premier British science fiction magazine New Worlds joins our stock this week. Ranging from #49 (July 1956) to #118 (May 1962), these will be especially enticing for J G Ballard aficionados. Featured authors form a who’s who of Science Fiction, including Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, J G Ballard, Sydney J Bounds, John Brunner, Kenneth Bulmer, John Rackham, Robert Silverberg, E C Tubb, James White and John Wyndham. Notable issues are #54, which has the first ever publication of a J G Ballard story (Escapement), #72, which has Wyndham’s tale Idiot’s Delight, #99 which has the first publication of Ballard’s The Voices Of Time, and #118, which has Ballard as guest editor.

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Books Update: Up From The Apes (And Right Back Down)!

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50_hkjunglebookw*Comic Strip Books: Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book swings onto our shelves today. This is what the book says about Kurtzman:

“Every morning now he runs up to his attic to think. When he has a good thought he runs over to the window and breathes deeply. Then he gives his Tarzan cry and goes loping off through the trees.”

Between lianas Kurtzman founded Mad, published by EC. The Jungle Book was conceived after he left EC, and taken up by Ballantine after they lost the right to publish Mad collections. It was the first paperback of original cartoons aimed at the US mass-market, with the same satirical outlook as Mad, but with a more adult slant. We’re anticipating a great deal of interest in this ground-breaking book, offered in 1st US PB at £25 in VG.

Books Update: Anthologies Galore

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*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A horde of Science Fiction anthologies are released back into the wild today, running the gamut from A – V. Highlights include Spectrum V (Eds. Amis & Conquest), The Unexpected Dimension (Ed. Budrys), Lambda 1 And Other Stories (Ed. Carnell) and The Post Reader Of Fantasy And Science Fiction (unacknowledged editor). All of these books offer a great opportunity to sample a wide range of authors and themes.

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