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

DOUGLAS ADAMS. Mostly Harmless. Volume five of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Heinemann, London 1992. First edition. 8vo. 219pp. Some toning to the paperstock and a tiny nick to the edge of a single text leaf, impacting no text. A very good copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The final Hitch Hiker's book penned by Adams, and the last book published in his lifetime. £10

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 contributes his short story The Subliminal Man, its first UK appearance in book-form, to the science fiction anthology Window on the Future. Edited by Douglas Hill. Rupert Hart-Davis, London 1966. First edition. 8vo. Top and fore edge lightly spotted and with some occasional very light fox blemishing to margins of several preliminary leaves. A very crisp and bright copy in slightly dust marked dust wrapper, lightly rubbed at head and base of spine panel. An anthology of seven science fiction stories which includes contributions from John Brunner, E.C.Tubb and Brian Aldiss. Ballards’s The Subliminal Man was first printed in the SF magazine New Worlds in 1963 and subsequently appeared in the US paperback collection Terminal Beach. This anthology printing marks its first casebound appearance. £25

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

PETER BRYANT [i.e. Peter George]. Two Hours to Doom. A Novel of Suspense. T.V.Boardman, London 1958. First edition, preceding the US edition which was issued as Red Alert under the author’s real name, Peter George. 8vo. 192pp. Boards very lightly marked and with just a hint of spotting to several preliminary and concluding leaves. A very good copy in pictorial dust wrapper with an inch of loss from the head and base of the spine panel and several further tiny fractions of extremity loss. A thriller based in-part of the Welsh author’s R.A.F. experiences (he as a flight lieutenant and navigator during WWII, serving with No. 255 Squadron flying night fighter missions over Malta and Italy). Famously the book was the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr. Strangelove; the screenplay was penned by George alongside Kubrick and Terry Southern (and was nominated for an Academy Award), although the tone of the movie was considerably altered from the original source material. Most uncommon. £500

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

JOHN CROWLEY. Little, Big. A novel. Victor Gollancz ltd., London 1982. The first English and first casebound edition, issued a year after the US edition which only appeared in paperback format. 8vo. 538pp. A touch of very light bruising to the backstrip ends, and a faint scattering of very light spotting to the fore edge. A virtually fine copy in dust wrapper, with a very light score to the front panel. No price is printed to the front flap of the wrapper (although the price of the soft-cover UK edition is mentioned), suggesting that this might have been a copy intended for export. The author’s fourth novel, winner of the World Fantasy Award, and deemed a “neglected masterpiece” by Harold Bloom, and "the best fantasy novel ever. Period" by Thomas M.Disch. £175

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.

FANTASY REVIEW. Fantasy Review. Subsequently Science-Fantasy Review. Incorporating Scientifiction and To-Morrow. Edited by Walter Gillings. Six non-consecutive issues of the S.F. periodical, from Vol. 1 No. 6 (Winter 1947/48) to Vol. 4 No. 17 (Winter 1949/50). Wrappers, in crisp state. Contributors include Arthur C.Clarke, Everett Bleiler, David H.Keller, Frank Edward Arnold, an interview with E.E.Smith and letters to the editor from August Derleth and Robert Bloch. £20

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

WILLIAM GIBSON. Idoru. A novel. Volume two of the Bridge Trilogy. Viking, London 1996. The first UK edition, which was issued the same year as the US edition but which remains considerably more uncommon. 8vo. 292pp. A tiny hint of dust soiling to the top edge, else a fine copy in just very good dust wrapper, with just a trace of rubbing to the base of the spine panel and to the upper edge. A super copy of the middle volume of the author’s acclaimed cyberpunk Bridge Trilogy, preceded by Virtual Light (1993) and followed by All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999). £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

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

COLIN KAPP. The Patterns of Chaos [and] The Chaos Weapon. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London [and] Dennis Dobson Ltd., London 1972 and 1979. The first edition and first English edition respectively, and in both cases the first casebound issues. Individual volumes as follows: The Patterns of Chaos (Gollancz, 1972). First edition – preceding the American edition by a year (the US edition also only appeared in paperback format). 8vo. 222pp. Top- and fore edge very lightly spotted, and with a single tiny nick to the upper hinge. A virtually fine copy in dust wrapper with a tiny trace of creasing to the upper edge. The Chaos Weapon (Dobson, 1979). The first UK and first casebound edition, issued two years after the American edition, which was only published in paperback format. 8vo. 201pp. A tiny sliver of toning to the fore edge margin of the front free endpaper, else a fine copy in very good dust wrapper, with just a tiny trace of creasing to the head of the spine panel, and the publisher’s laminate lifting a fraction in one small area. A super hardcover set of the author’s classic all-action space opera and its sequel. £50

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

C.S.LEWIS. Out of the Silent Planet. John Lane, The Bodley Head, London 1946. The third printing of the first volume of his celebrated Space Trilogy. 8vo. 182pp. Top edge lightly spotted, a small area of discolouration to the cloth at the head of the backstrip, and just a little toning to the wartime economy paperstock. A tiny area of light surface abrasion to the tip of the front free endpaper where a pencilled price has been erased. A very faint trace of offsetting from the wrapper design to the upper board. A very good copy in pictorial dust wrapper, a little soiled at the rear panel, with a little chipping and wear to the spine ends and corner tips, a little quite light chafing to one natural fold, and several tiny fractions of enclosed loss. A more than respectable copy of this early reprint (the first edition was issued in 1938, with the second, the first ‘cheap edition’, in 1943). £200

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

TOM POLLOCK. Our Lady of the Streets. The third volume of the Skyscraper Throne trilogy. Jo Fletcher Books, London 2014. First edition. This copy boldly inscribed by the author on the title page with his printed name struck-through. 8vo. 438pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. The third and final volume of the author’s Skyscraper Throne series, preceded by The City’s Son and The Glass Republic. £25

TERRY PRATCHETT. Soul Music. A Discworld Novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1994. First edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page with his typical flourish. 8vo. 286pp. A virtually fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The sixteenth Discworld novel. £250

TERRY PRATCHETT. Hogfather. A Discworld novel. Victor Gollancz, London 1996. First edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 285pp. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The twentieth instalment of the author’s Discworld series. £200

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 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

CLIFFORD D.SIMAK. Cosmic Engineers. An Interplanetary Novel. Gnome Press, New York 1950. First edition. 8vo. 224pp. First state binding of blue cloth lettered in yellow at the spine and upper board with a small rocket-ship vignette. Top edge very lightly spotted and with just a touch of bruising to the backstrip ends. A virtually fine copy in dust wrapper, with a little chafing to the spine panel ends, several corner tips and to one or two of the natural folds. The author’s first full-length novel, expanded from a ‘short novel’ originally serialised over three issues of Astounding Science Fiction between February-April 1939. 6,000 copies were printed, 1,000 of which were bound into wrappers for an armed forces edition. £75

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

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

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

JOHN WYNDHAM and JOHN CHRISTOPHER contribute stories to Gateway to the Stars. A Science Fiction Anthology. Edited and introduced by John Carnell. Science Fiction Club, London 1955. First edition – this copy signed by the editor on the front endpaper and also with his compliments slip laid-in. 8vo. An extremely crisp and bright copy in torn, nicked and chipped pictorial dust wrapper. John Wyndham (under his John Benyon pseudonym) contributes his story Never on Mars (the first bookform printing); and John Christopher his story Conspiracy (again, the first bookform printing of this story). This copy from the library of science fiction writer Lionel ‘Lan’ Wright who also contributes his story Operation Exodus, and with other contributions from J.T.McIntosh, James White, E.C.Tubb and others. £50

JOHN WYNDHAM AND LUCAS PARKES. The Outward Urge. A novel. Michael Joseph Ltd., London 1959. First edition. 8vo. 192pp. With the inkstamp of Wyndham’s literary agent, Laurence Pollinger Ltd. to the front free endpaper. Top edge dust soiled and with a little bruising to the backstrip ends and to several corner tips. A very good copy in the Kenneth Farnhill-designed dust wrapper, somewhat toned at the rear- and spine panels, and nicked with a little loss to the spine ends and corner tips. A four-part pseudonymous novel with the chapters at fifty-year intervals (Wyndham and Parkes are different pseudonyms for the same writer). £100

ROGER ZELAZNY. Isle of the Dead. A novel. Andre Deutsch / Rapp & Whiting Ltd., London 1970. The first UK and first casebound edition, issued a year after the US edition which only appeared in paperback format. 8vo. 190pp. A little spotting to the top edge, and three tiny indentations to the upper margin of the front board. A tiny area of scuffing to the tip of the front free endpaper. A very good copy in lightly rubbed and marked dust wrapper, with the original printed price struck-through. Remnants of a small sticker to one corner of the front panel. Nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and winner of the French Prix Apollo in 1972. £25