FormCritic wrote:This seems to be a good forum to ask this question:I just got the final Silver John novel (by Manly Wade Wellman) in the mail today. The Voice of the MountainI bought it for cheap. (I know that for many here a $35+ book would not be especially expensive, but it is for me. Anyone?)For reference, see here: http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl ... 20mountainI prefer to collect hardbacks and all but one of my Wellman books are former library copies. (No, I didn't steal them, but someone else might have, I guess.) (The Voice of the Mountain came from Oconee County Library in Watkinsville, Georgia. It was last stamped for checkout in April of 1991)I actually prefer former library copies, which is good because I usually can get them for less. They are much tougher and the plastic casing on their slip covers looks good and protects against accidentsFor you guys who know more about book collecting....does a library copy carry less value because of the modifications to its dust jacket and/or possibly stamping inside the cover?This seems to apply even to books that are not especially rare, such as Lawerence Schick's Heroic Worlds. My copy was a former library copy and it sold for less than the other large paperbacks:http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl ... %2520gamesWhat do you think? Library copies....good or bad?
Badmike wrote: Likewise, I once sold a set of hardcover "library only" set of Tom Swift books (the newer series from the 90s) that miraculously had no library markings on them (they buyer told me they were almost impossible to find that way).
jonjhargreaves wrote:Have loved the KEW Kane stuff, thanks to this thread.http://www.amazon.com/Where-Summer-Ends ... 1933618973Saw this, any thoughts on his Horror stories from those in the know?Thanks,Jon
Badmike wrote:jonjhargreaves wrote:Have loved the KEW Kane stuff, thanks to this thread.http://www.amazon.com/Where-Summer-Ends ... 1933618973Saw this, any thoughts on his Horror stories from those in the know?Thanks,JonHe is one of the best American Horror writers of the 20th century, hands down.Jump all over this one when it's finally available.Mike B.
FormCritic wrote:Badmike wrote:He is one of the best American Horror writers of the 20th century, hands down.Jump all over this one when it's finally available.Mike B.I am wondering about their initial price as opposed to their actual price. These seem a bit over-priced to me, even if Wagner is unavailable elsewhere.I found the two Wagner books while searching around for Wellman this week. I notice there is also a re-issue of Wellman's John Thunstone stories in progress. It is over-priced as well.With the re-issue of REH stories that took place in the last few years, this is a good time to be seeking out your old fantasy favorites.
Badmike wrote:He is one of the best American Horror writers of the 20th century, hands down.Jump all over this one when it's finally available.Mike B.
bbarsh wrote:Ok, since this is basically our "What are you reading now" thread, I feel the need to send out a warning. I was on vacation last week and I always grab a book to read on the beach. Sometimes I grab one from home - REH, Lovecraft, etc. This year I ran over to Barnes and Noble with the kids on the first day. I ran across a paperback "Aliens: Steel Egg" by John Shirley. Since I love aliens running rampant, I was easily hooked. By Aliens I mean as in Alien the movie.Anyway, the book started off ok and it basically tells the story of an early encounter with the aliens (prior to the movie Alien). It goes on to sort of explain a bit more about the aliens (how they grow, different stages, etc.). Ok I am in. Then, all of the sudden there is a paragraph about global warming and flooding in New York. WTF? Then it moves on. Ok, moving on. A bit later, after the aliens start killing everyone, another diversion into "going green on earth" and reference about another group of aliens who visited earth and talked to the dolphins. Now I am getting a bit irritated. I just want to read a book about aliens destroying us humans and I keep running into modern "Green" nonsense. Then near end I get the coup de grace! An earth space ship called the Al Gore arrives on the scene. I had to set the book down and go for swim (the ocean was a bit chilly, but I had to do it!). I finished the book and of course there was some other green reference in the final chapter. Now that I am done ranting, for the most part, I can say the book had some interesting perspectives on the Aliens. That is not an endorsement. I guess I was just shocked to see contemporary "issues" so blatantly pushed.
FormCritic wrote:Green Ronin Publishing actually made an RPG setting about this sort of literature.It is called Blue Rose, and it sets D&D in the world of the modern fantasy novel where liberal politics are the key campaign issues and evil is defined as being insensitive to minorities, disrespectful to women and harmful to the environment. Depending on your political bent you can regard the Blue Rose setting as either a new high in gaming or a wonderful satire on modern fantasy writers.There are, however, some equally cloying examples from conservative politics. Robert Heinlein wrote Stranger in a Strange Land mostly to comment on modern culture and religion. He wrote Starship Troopers as a commentary on the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era. Starship Troopers actually includes multiple scenes where characters spew hippy rhetoric and other characters demonstrate how stupid their Leftist arguments are.Dune is a thinly veiled metaphor about oil and Islam.Aslan has a few speeches in the Narnia stories, but he gets a pass because lions are cool and the books never pretended to be anything but metaphor.I prefer my metaphor more honest. I like Wagner's Cold Light, which is about how extreme devotion to law and good can become more evil than the evil it fights. In Wagner's stories, real evil is far older than mankind, and human attempts at evil are kind of pathetic against the real horrors hiding around their world. I like Moorcock's Elric stories, where Elric is just slightly less disgusting than the asshats he kills. But, I suspect that the anti-hero appeals more to my generation than it does to the younger generation of readers....judging by the crap they buy and read. (How Mercedes Lackey ever published a second book is a mystery to me. It was probably the same publisher who read one Wheel of Time novel and still wanted to read another one.)
JasonZavoda wrote:FormCritic wrote:There are, however, some equally cloying examples from conservative politics. Robert Heinlein wrote Stranger in a Strange Land mostly to comment on modern culture and religion. He wrote Starship Troopers as a commentary on the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era. Starship Troopers actually includes multiple scenes where characters spew hippy rhetoric and other characters demonstrate how stupid their Leftist arguments are.Dune is a thinly veiled metaphor about oil and Islam.Aslan has a few speeches in the Narnia stories, but he gets a pass because lions are cool and the books never pretended to be anything but metaphor.You're just mean. :cry:
FormCritic wrote:There are, however, some equally cloying examples from conservative politics. Robert Heinlein wrote Stranger in a Strange Land mostly to comment on modern culture and religion. He wrote Starship Troopers as a commentary on the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era. Starship Troopers actually includes multiple scenes where characters spew hippy rhetoric and other characters demonstrate how stupid their Leftist arguments are.Dune is a thinly veiled metaphor about oil and Islam.Aslan has a few speeches in the Narnia stories, but he gets a pass because lions are cool and the books never pretended to be anything but metaphor.
FormCritic wrote:I just re-read this post.I have a problem with a $45 compilation book from an author who did not really write all that much...and the $45 book has "Volume 1" in its title. PDT_Armataz_01_02 But, wow! We're getting such a good deal at $27.95! :roll:
FormCritic wrote:I guess I differ on how they look on the shelf. I prefer them [ex-library books] because I think they look good.
FormCritic wrote:He wrote Starship Troopers as a commentary on the anti-war movement of the Vietnam Era. Starship Troopers actually includes multiple scenes where characters spew hippy rhetoric and other characters demonstrate how stupid their Leftist arguments are.