24Jan 2021 in Reviews
BooksThe elephant in the room (in this room there's only me and the elephant) is The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I read the final four volumes (it's 13,000 pages long, over 10 volumes) in 2021 and without sounding too melodramatic it put a real dint into…
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16Nov Reviews For, Well, the Last Ten Months
My last series of reviews was back in January (it was meant to be monthly). I'd like to blame covid, but alas, it's mere forgetfulness. Anyway, on with it.BooksI've read a good 60 books since January, so it's going to be tricky to narrow it down. I'll start with the…
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15May The Case for Having a Did-Not-Finish Pile
Fiction is an indulgence. An entertainment. We read fiction, for fun. That's not to say we don't get anything out of it beyond cheap thrills, far from it. We get a better understanding of the human condition, culture, every aspect of the world. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking…
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14Jan Numbered and Lettered Limited Editions Wanted - Centipede Press, Subterranean Press etc.
We're currently putting together a couple of collections for clients with a focus on modern small / private publishers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. We are looking for regular numbered editions but also, particularly, lettered editions, where applicable. Please be aware that we don't buy all titles from these…
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08Jan Reviews for January 2020
BooksThe GoodDecember never bore much good fruit for me. Perhaps the best was The State of the Art, by Iain M. Banks. Odd Attachment is a truly funny short story, and Descendant is quite moving. Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold was middling, an excellent start to a novel or trilogy, but not…
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05Dec Over-Priced Later Impressions
Something needs to be said about the growing trend of over-priced later printings of first editions.There's something nebulous about the motivation behind book collecting. The desire to own the physical object; a memento or an object d’art, or a concrete representation of nostalgia or achievement, a manifestation of one’s soul,…
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08May The Greatest Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writers to Ever Have Lived, with Rock-Solid Proof
Heads Up: Don't take this too seriously, I think, perhaps, it's primarily nonsense pitted with opinion and anecdote. But hey, it's the 21st Century. So it goes.The IdeaDo you know who's a better fantasy writer than Tolkien? Terry Pratchett. That's a fact*. Also, H.G. Wells is a terrible writer (see…
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09Apr A Complete Collection of Gnome Press Publications
The most rewarding thing about this job is not just helping collectors fill gaps in their collections, but helping collectors fill the last gap in their collection. Recently, one of our clients emailed us to let us know that a book we'd sent had completed their collection of Gnome Press publications.…
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19Feb Where Can I Sell First Edition Books?
One of the questions we get asked the most is where can I sell my [insert rare book]. Here's a brief outline of your options and a short assessment of the pros and cons.At Auction. This has been a common option for a couple of hundred years. We don't generally…
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15Feb The Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films
What defines a top-ten list of films? Contribution to film-making? The breaking of boundaries? Exploring new territory? Responding to or driving the cultural milieu? Sheer entertainment? Usually, it’s a combination of all those things. With science fiction though, there’s another element: achieving the sublime. That’s not to say that all…
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