Clearwater Books

DOUGLAS ADAMS. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 4. Pan Books, London 1984. First edition. This copy inscribed by the author on the title page with a brief Christmas greeting and dated the year of publication. 8vo. 191pp. A tiny bump to the head of the upper board, and four inkstamped numerals to the base of the front free endpaper. Very good indeed in price-clipped dust wrapper with the inset holographic decoration to the front panel; the wrapper lightly rubbed and dust soiled, with a tiny indeterminate splash of white to the base of the spine. The fourth volume of the author's increasingly misnamed Hitch Hiker’s Trilogy. £275

BRIAN ALDISS. The Malacia Tapestry. A novel. Jonathan Cape, London 1976. First edition. 8vo. 313pp. With a frontispiece and illustrations by G.B.Tiepolo and Francesco Maggiotto. Edges lightly spotted, and with a single instance of spotting to the margins of two or three preliminary leaves. A very good copy in pictorial dust wrapper, very lightly rubbed at the head of the spine panel. £20

KELLY ANDREW. The Whispering Dark. A novel. Gollancz, London 2022. First UK edition, issued the same year as the US edition. This one of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author on a separate Illumicrate title page tipped-in before the primary title leaf. 8vo. 386pp + [vi] acknowledgements and credits. Black cloth with a striking pink-stamped decoration to the upper board and a handsome decorative fore edge printing. Decorated endpapers. A fine unopened copy in double-sided dust wrapper, just fractionally rubbed at several edge and with a single tiny indentation. £25

ISAAC ASIMOV contributes his stories Trends and Bridle and Saddle (the first bookform appearance of any of his celebrated Foundation stories) to the pioneering science fiction anthology Men Against the Stars. Edited by Martin Greenberg and with a seven-page introduction by Willy Ley. Grayson & Grayson Ltd., London 1951. The scarce first UK edition. 8vo. xv, 253pp. A sliver of discolouration to the cloth at the head and base of the backstrip, else in fine state with edge worn pictorial dust wrapper, chipped at the head of the spine panel and with several small areas of loss to the extremities and some chafing to the natural folds. This copy from the library of science fiction novelist Lionel 'Lan' Wright, with his neat signature to the half-title. An anthology of eight science fiction stories with other contributions by A.E.van Vogt (Far Centaurus), Lewis Padgett (The Iron Standard), Robert Moore Williams (The Red Death of Mars), E.M.Hull (Competition), Manly Wade Wellman (Men Against the Stars) and L.Ron Hubbard (When Shadows Fall). Most uncommon. £250

Originally published in the US in 1950 by Gnome Press (Martin Greenberg was the co-founder), this was the very first "theme" anthology in science fiction, with all the stories about a common idea, setting, or concept. It was also of particular note for being the first bookform appearance of any of Asimov's Foundation stories (Bridle and Saddle subsequently appeared under the title The Mayors as the third part of his celebrated Foundation novel) This UK issue appeared a year later in a slightly reduced version with four of the original contributions absent and with differing dust wrapper artwork.

ISAAC ASIMOV. The Genetic Code. [The Story of DNA]. John Murray, London 1964. First UK edition. 8vo. 161pp. Small bump to the tip of one corner. A nice crisp copy in dust wrapper, rubbed and chafed at spine ends and tips of corners, and sunned and a little dust marked at unprinted rear panel. Bold former owner name to front endpaper alongside the ghost of another partially erased pencilled name. £15

J.G.BALLARD. War Fever. Collins, London 1990. First edition. 8vo. In fine state with fine dust wrapper. Ballard’s first collection of short fiction for nearly ten years, fourteen short stories, most previously published in periodicals with one appearing in print here for the first time. £15

RAY BRADBURY. The Silver Locusts. Rupert Hart-Davis, London 1951. First UK edition – originally issued in the US a year earlier under the title The Martian Chronicles, and with some textual alterations made to this British issue (one story added, and another shortened to make room for it). 8vo. 232pp. Edges lightly spotted and with some uneven browning to the free endpapers alongside several small instances of tape residue marking.  Former owner gift inscription to the front pastedown, partly obscured by the wrapper flap, and also a tiny dealer plate. A very good copy in pictorial price-clipped dust wrapper, a little rubbed, chafed, spotted and dust soiled. Twenty-six interlinking stories detailing the Human colonization of Mars. £155

JOHN CHRISTOPHER. The Death of Grass. Michael Joseph, London 1956. First edition of the author’s second novel. 8vo. 230pp. Tip of one corner bumped, edges lightly spotted and with just a trace of additional spotting to several preliminary leaves. A very good copy in pictorial dust wrapper featuring a handsome design by Trevor Denning, lightly chafed at head of spine panel and tips of several corners, and just a little dust marked at predominantly white rear panel. A super copy of the author’s post-apocalyptic science fiction novel (re-titled No Blade of Grass for the US edition, in order for it to sound less “like something out of a gardening catalogue". £350

ARTHUR C.CLARKE. Prelude to Space. Sidgwick & Jackson, London 1953. The first UK and first casebound edition of Clarke’s first published science fiction novel (first issued in 1951 as a cheap science fiction paperback by Galaxy Science Fiction, and here quite heavily revised). 8vo. Cloth fractionally rubbed at tips of corners and head and base of spine. Former owner name and date inked to front endpaper and small dealer plate to front pastedown. Tiny stain to lower margin of ten leaves but no text impacted. A very crisp and bright copy of a scarce volume, in pictorial dust wrapper, creased and a little dust marked, with two short jagged tears and some loss to spine extremities and from the head of the rear panel. £50

MICHAEL CONEY. The Ultimate Jungle. Millington, London 1979. First edition. 8vo. Some tanning to paperstock else a nice crisp copy in dust wrapper, lightly rubbed at bottom and top edge and with a single short internally repaired tear. Former owner blind-stamp to front endpaper. £15

THOMAS D.DISCH. The Genocides. A novel. Ronald Whiting & Wheaton, London 1967. The first UK edition of the author’s first book, and also the first casebound issue (originally published in the US in 1965, but only as a paperback). 8vo. 192pp. Red and black patterned boards lettered in silver at the spine. A touch of light staining to the top edge and some very light partial browning to the free endpapers, accompanied by a sliver of near-invisible spotting. Some further very light spotting to the upper margins of occasional text leaves and just the tiniest slant to the binding. A very good copy in very good pictorial dust wrapper, with just a hint of toning to the predominantly white rear panel and several tiny areas of internal discolouration. £350

“Majestic indeed…as credible a menace as I ever came on” – Brian W.Aldiss.

J.E.FLECKER. The Last Generation. A Story of the Future. The New Age Press, London 1908. First edition. Small 8vo. vii, 56pp + viii publisher’s advertisements. Pictorial wrappers, very lightly rubbed and nicked at the yapped edges, and with just a trace of toning to the margins of the rear wrapper. A touch of spotting to the half-title and title page, and to the fore edge, encroaching a little to the margins of very occasional leaves. A very good copy of this short science fiction tale: Flecker’s first book of prose. Mercer 3. £75

NEIL GAIMAN. American Gods. A novel. Headline Book Publishing, London 2001. First edition. 8vo. 504pp. The backstrip ends gently bruised, the corner tips rubbed, and with a little light spotting to the edges and free endpapers. Title hinge just a fraction tender. A good bright copy in rubbed and a little edgeworn, chafed and creased dust wrapper. A sound if not spectacular copy of the author’s third solo novel, winner of the 2002 Hugo and Nebula Awards. £30

DAVID S.GARNETT. Mirror in the Sky. Robert Hale, London 1937. The first UK and first casebound edition of the author’s first book, a space opera novel originally issued in the US as a paperback in 1969. Small 8vo. 160pp. A near-invisible trace of spotting to top edge, else in fine state with lightly dust mark and chafed dust wrapper designed by Laurence Cutting. £20

ROBERT A.HEINLEIN. The Man Who Sold the Moon. Stories. With an introduction by John W.Campbell Jr. Sidgwick & Jackson, London 1953. The First UK edition, issued three years after the US edition. 8vo. 256pp. Time-line illustrated endpapers. A small crease to the base of the backstrip, and a tiny dent to the upper and lower edges of the front board. A very good copy in dust wrapper, chipped with a little loss at the spine ends and at several corner tips, with a little dust soiling to the rear panel, and a small area of surface abrasion to the spine panel. The wrapper is not price-clipped, but a small Australian dealer plate has been pasted over the original price. A two-page preface by the author and a four-page introduction by John W.Campbell Jr. precede six short stories (the same content as the US edition, but the order of the stories rearranged for this UK edition). £95

FRANK HERBERT. Eye. Stories. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1986. First UK edition, issued a year after the US edition. 8vo. 328pp. Illustrated with sixteen full-page or double-spread black and white Jim Burns illustrations. A trace of bruising to the base of the backstrip, else a fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, lightly faded at the spine panel. The dust wrapper is un-priced and hence possibly an export edition. A six-page introduction by the author (where he discusses for the first time the David Lynch adaptation of Dune) precedes thirteen short stories, at least three of which, including The Road to Dune (an illustrated collaboration between Herbert and artist Jim Burns), are hitherto unprinted in the UK. £25

ROBERT HOLDSTOCK. Earthwind. A novel. Faber, London 1977. First edition. 8vo. 245pp. Half a dozen tiny pinpricks of spotting to the fore edge, else a fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The author’s second novel. £10

URSULA LE GUIN. The Other Wind. An Earthsea novel. Harcourt Inc., New York 2001. The correct first edition – this US edition issued a year before the UK edition. 8vo. 246pp. Paper-covered boards. With one colour map, drawn by the author. A near-invisible speckling of spotting to the top edge, else in the fine with fine dust wrapper. The fifth and final volume in the author’s celebrated Earthsea sequence. £20

STANISLAW LEM. The Chain of Chance. A novel. Translated from the Polish of Katar by Louis Iribarne. Secker & Warburg, London 1978. The first UK edition. 8vo. 179pp. A fine copy in dust wrapper, with some fading to the publisher’s blue spine panel colouring. The uncommon English edition of this Lem science fiction novel, published the same year as the US edition but considerably more uncommon. £25

GEORGE H.LEONARD. Someone Else is on Our Moon. Sphere Books Ltd., London 1978. The first paperback edition, issued a year after the original casebound edition. 8vo. ixx, 232pp + [ii] advertisements. Card wrappers. With over thirty captioned black and white photographic plates, and further illustrations in the text. A little tanning to the paperstock. A very good copy. Tricky to determine whether this is a hoax, or just penned by a lunatic; I’d like to think the former but opening it at random seems to confirm the latter (“My thanks to the one-time NASA scientist whom I call Dr. Samuel Wittcomb. The book would still have been written without him, but not only did he make it a better book – he helped me feel cocksure while I wrote it”). “An excavating machine as big as a city – on the surface of the moon! And that’s just one of George H.Leonard’s sensational, shocking revelations” – blurb. £75

KEN LIU. Broken Stars. Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation. Translated and edited by Ken Liu. Head of Zeus Ltd., London 2019. First UK edition, issued the same year as the US edition. 8vo, 479pp. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. Sixteen Chinese science fiction stories, six of which are hitherto unpublished in English, followed by three essays exploring the history of Chinese science fiction publishing and fandom. Includes stories by Liu Cixin, Hao Jingfang and Tang Fei. £20

ANNE MCCAFFREY. To Ride Pegasus. Stories. J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd., London 1974. The first UK and first casebound edition, issued a year after the US edition which only appeared in paperback format. The publisher’s file copy, with their inkstamps to the front free endpaper, title page, and rear pastedown, and their three-digit library reference number inked to the head of the front free endpaper. 8vo. 243pp. Binding a little tender at the copyright page. A very good copy in dust wrapper, chafed at the head of the spine panel and at several other extremities, and with a small sliver of loss from the base of the front panel. Four science fiction stories, one of which, the title novella, was written especially for this collection, and serves as a prequel to the other three stories, which had been previously printed in assorted periodicals and anthologies. £95

CHARLES ERIC MAINE. The Tide Went Out. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1958. First edition. 8vo. 190pp + [i] publisher’s advertisement. Top edge spotted and a little very light creasing to the base of the rear board. Tiny dealer plate to the front pastedown (obscured by the wrapper flap). A very good copy in chipped and toned dust wrapper with four or five quite small areas of edge-loss. An uncommon science fiction novel: a series of mistakes made by atomic scientists results in the possible destruction of the world. £35 

GEORGE R.R.MARTIN. A Storm of Swords. The third volume of the author’s A Song of Fire and Ice sequence. Bantam Books, New York 2000. Eighteenth impression – this copy signed by the author on the title page. Large 8vo. 973pp. Paper-covered boards. Map-illustrated endpapers. Head and base of spine lightly bruised and spine lettering very slightly defective in several places. A minor production fault finds the base of front pastedown lifting just a fraction. Very good indeed in virtually fine dust wrapper, just fractionally rubbed at head and base of spine panel. £200

RICHARD MATHESON. I Am Legend. A novel. David Bruce & Watson Ltd., London 1974. The fugitive first UK edition, issued four years after the American edition and even more uncommon than that rarity. 8vo. 122pp. Top edge lightly spotted. The tip of one corner bumped and with just a trace of bruising to the backstrip ends. A very good copy in dust wrapper designed by Bill Botten, lightly chafed and edgeworn. A very nice copy of the author’s most celebrated novel; the basis for three cinema adaptations. £500

SAM J.MILLER. Blackfish City. A novel. Orbit, London 2018. First UK edition. 8vo. 328pp. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, marred only by a tiny area of creasing to the upper edge. The author’s second novel, winner of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. £15

JOHN MUNRO. A Trip to Venus. A novel. Jarrold & Sons, London 1897. First edition. 8vo. 254pp + [xviii] publisher’s catalogue at rear. Blue smooth weave cloth lettered in gilt and red, and decorated with gilt-stamped stars. Publisher’s monogram blind-stamped to rear board. David Gascoyne’s copy, with his name and the date 1943 inked to the front endpaper. Cloth discoloured at backstrip. Front hinge tender at half-title yet binding perfectly sound thereafter. Some darkening to endpapers and pastedowns. A lovely crisp copy of an extremely uncommon science fiction novel: an account of a journey to an idyllic utopia on Venus, with a brief excursion to Mercury, written by a Bristol-based mechanical engineer. The first chapter, A Message from Mars, for originally published as a stand-alone short story in Cassell magazine (1895), and was subsequently revised into this current form. £350

CLAIRE NORTH. The Sudden Appearance of Hope. A novel. Orbit, London 2016. First edition. 8vo. 468pp. Boards very lightly marked and with a touch of wear to several extremities. A very good copy in dust wrapper, fractionally rubbed at the upper edge. The author’s fourth pseudonymous science fiction novel, winner of the World Fantasy Award. £20

CLAIRE NORTH. The End of the Day. A novel. Orbit, London 2017. First edition. 8vo. 403pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. The author’s fifth pseudonymous science fiction novel. £15

FREDERIK POHL. A Plague of Pythons. A novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1966. The first UK and first casebound edition, issued a year after the American edition which was only produced in paperback format. 8vo. 158pp. Contemporary former owner gift inscription inked to the head of the front free endpaper, and a little light very occasional soiling to one or two leaf margins. A very good copy in dust wrapper, tanned, dust soiled, torn, nicked and a little chipped with several tiny fractions of edge-loss, but now protected and looking considerably better than this description makes it sound. £20

TERRY PRATCHETT. Sourcery. A Discworld novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1988. First edition. This copy inscribed by the author on the title page (this being a contemporary inscription, signed using his full flowing signature rather than the shortened version he subsequently resorted to). 8vo. 243pp.The tips of two corners gently bumped and with a trace of bruising to the backstrip ends. Very good indeed in very good double-spread pictorial dust wrapper, with just a hint of corresponding creasing to the spine panel ends and to two corner tips. The fifth volume of the author’s celebrated Discworld series. £300

TERRY PRATCHETT. Pyramids. The Book of Going Forth. A Discworld novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1989. First edition. 8vo. 272pp. A tiny trace of spotting and toning to the top- and fore edge, and a hint of wear to the backstrip ends. A virtually fine copy in very good double-spread pictorial dust wrapper, with a little light creasing to the head of the spine panel, a tiny nick to one corner tip, and two tiny creases to the base of the front flap. The seventh volume of the author’s celebrated Discworld series. £95

TERRY PRATCHETT. Moving Pictures. A Discworld novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1990. First edition. 8vo. 279pp. Top- and fore edge lightly spotted. Very good indeed in very good price-clipped pictorial dust wrapper, lightly rubbed at the spine panel ends. The tenth volume of the Discworld series. £75

CHRISTOPHER PRIEST. The Space Machine. A Scientific Romance. Faber, London 1976. First edition. A presentation copy, humorously inscribed by the author to his editor: “To Chris Holifield. Can I have your decision on this by tomorrow, please? Lots of Love, Chris Priest, January 1979”. 8vo. 363pp. A small bump to the head of the upper board, the tips of two corners gently rubbed and with a single tiny area of staining to the top edge. Short marginal crease to four adjacent text leaves. A very good copy in just fractionally rubbed dust wrapper. An H.G.Wells-influenced science fiction novel which binds together the plots of The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Winner of the 1977 Ditmar Award. £100

KEITH ROBERTS. The Furies. A novel. Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London 1966.  First edition. 8vo. 254pp. A trace of dust soiling to the top edge, else a fine copy in lightly rubbed, toned and soiled dust wrapper. The author’s scarce first book. £250

KEITH ROBERTS. The Inner Wheel. A novel. Hart-Davis, London 1970. First edition. 8vo. 203pp. A very nice, bright copy in triflingly marked dust wrapper. The author's fourth novel. £100

KEITH ROBERTS. The Boat of Fate. Hutchinson, London 1971. First edition. 8vo. 351pp. Some extremities of covers slightly bumped. A very nice, bright copy in nicked dust wrapper, with a small internal stain to one edge. £35

KEITH ROBERTS. Kiteworld. A novel. Gollancz, London 1985. First edition - this copy signed by the author on the title-page. 8vo. 288pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. £25

KEITH ROBERTS. The Lordly Ones. Stories. Gollancz, London 1986. First edition. 8vo. 160pp. A hint of spotting to top edge else in fine state with dust wrapper, just a little creased at the head of the spine panel. Seven stories. £20

F.HORACE ROSE. The Maniac's Dream. A Novel of the Atomic Bomb. Duckworth, London 1946. First edition. 8vo. Covers a little faded at some edges. A good copy in torn, chipped and repaired pictorial jacket. Inscription of former owner. Bleiler p.170 A very early example of A-bomb fiction. £35

JOANNA RUSS. The Female Man. A novel. A Star Book / W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd., London 1977. The first English edition, issued two years after the original US edition. 8vo. 214pp + [ii] publisher’s catalogue. Card wrappers featuring a splendid Peter Jones design (both the US and this UK editions were originally only issued in paperback format). A hint of toning to the wrappers. Very good indeed, and somewhat more uncommon than the first US edition. The author’s third novel – and her most celebrated, heralding the beginnings of feminist science fiction. The blurb on the upper wrapper proudly states that it won the Nebula Award, but in fact it was only nominated, although The Female Man did go on to win, almost inevitably, one of three Retrospective Tiptree Awards in 1996. £40

V.E.SCHWAB. The Fragile Threads of Power. A novel. Titan Books, London 2023. First edition – this being the Waterstones Special Edition, signed by the author on a special leaf tipped before the half-title. 8vo. 575pp. White cloth with a red-stamped decorated design to the upper and lower boards, decorated endpapers and a handsome two-colour fore edge decoration. A touch of bruising to the backstrip ends and with several lengthy readership creases to the spine, yet still a very good copy in fine dust wrapper (the variant white issue). The first volume of the author’s Threads of Power sequence, a spin-off to her Shades of Magic series. £25

JOHN SLADEK. The Reproductive System. A Science Fiction Novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1968. First edition – this UK edition preceding the US issue by a year (the US edition was published under the title Mechasm and only appeared in paperback format). 8vo. 192pp. A tiny hint of spotting to the fore edge, else a fine copy in lightly toned, rubbed and dust soiled dust wrapper, with the publisher’s new metric price-sticker placed over the original price printed to the front flap of the wrapper. The author’s first book, bar his pseudonymous Gothic thriller The Castle and the Key, which appeared as a paperback accredited to ‘Cassandra Knye’ a year earlier. £35

EMILY TESH. Some Desperate Glory. A novel. Orbit, London 2023. The deluxe Illumicrate issue of the first edition, with patterned and lettered boards, pictorial endpapers (with differing designs to the front and rear) and sprayed decorated edges. Signed by the author by way of a plate pasted to the half-title. 8vo. 438pp. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper.  The author’s first novel, preceded by two novellas. Winner of the 2024 Hugo Award. £45

A.E.VAN VOGT. The Mind Cage. A Science-Fiction Novel. Simon & Schuster, New York 1957. First edition. 8vo. 220pp. Cloth-backed boards Publisher’s dark top edge stain. Spine ends just a little rubbed and with a touch of spotting to several preliminary leaves. Some tanning to the paper stock, particularly noticeable at the margins. A good copy in slightly chafed and frayed dust wrapper, with several tiny slivers of loss from the spine ends and corner tips. A novel adapted from the author’s 1948 short story The Great Jungle. £25

VARIOUS. Frontier Crossings. A Souvenir of the 45^th World Science Fiction Convention, Conspiracy ’87, held in Brighton, Gt. Britain from August 27th September 1st 1987. Edited by Robert Jackson. Science Fiction Conventions Ltd., London 1987. First edition. This copy signed by Brian W.Aldiss (“the Toastmaster”) on the title page, and additionally signed by ten other contributors on an Autographs page which precedes the title page, the signatures there including Bob Shaw, Iain Banks, Josephine Saxon, William Gibson, Gene Wolf, and M.John Harrison. 4to. 190pp. Top- and fore edge very lightly spotted, else a fine copy in virtually fine double-spread pictorial dust wrapper, lightly faded at the spine panel and with a small area of light creasing to the head of the front panel. Includes contributions by Doris Lessing, Alfred Bester, John Harrison, William Gibson, Brian W.Aldiss, Frederik Pohl, John Clute, Ray Harry Hausen, Ray Bradbury, John Brosnan, Arthur C.Clarke, Keith Roberts and others, plus various photographs, five full-page colour reproductions of works by Ian Sanderson, Les Edwards, Mike Embden, Ian Miller and George Parkin, plus seven smaller colour reproductions of works by Jim Burns. £125

IAN WATSON. The Jonah Kit. A novel. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 1975. The first American edition of Watson’s second adult book, this copy signed by the author on the title page and dated 1981. 8vo. 221pp. A small area of soiling to the top edge and the occasional finger smudge to leaf margins. A very good copy in very good pictorial dust wrapper (a significant improvement on the garish UK example which Gollancz produced), with several tiny nicks and two creases to the rear flap. £35

JACK WOMACK. Terraplane. Unwin & Hyman, London 1989. First UK edition of the author’s second novel. 8vo. 227pp. Spine ends fractionally rubbed, else a fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, with just a hint of corresponding chafing to the spine panel ends. £20