Massive Vintage SF Book Haul | Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- #bookrecommendations #booktube #sciencefictionbooks
#booktubesff #sciencefiction #sciencefictionbooks #fantasy #booktube #scifi
Part 1 of 3, where I go over the majority of what I acquired from another SF collector/reader of the good old vintage stuff. This haul, although insanely large, and thus destined to mostly sit in storage for the next little while, fills various gaps in my collections, and adds many classics to my library of older SF. I'm really on a mission to build up a library of older SF over the coming years, with the end result being a nice representation of my favorite decades of the genre and what they had to offer. This haul goes a long way toward those goals.
SFR Wishlist: www.amazon.ca/...
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Good grief! This is like my influx from Dave a few months back. Right, let me settle in and watch this properly.
That copy of The Green Millennium is amazing. I know nothing about Sci-Fi but a cat might get me interested :D
Congratulations and well done for finding this fantastic collection. The science fiction book gods are smiling on you. The previous owner couldn’t have found a nicer or dedicated young Science Fiction reader than you.
I look forward to seeing your future library and hope that you one day get the proper library space you require to house your collection!
Thanks so much! It'll be a fun time on the channel when I do end up with more space for shelving and books!
I understand the need to cut down & weed out. Totally. But, you may want to read the Fafrd & Grey Mouser in those paperbacks first. The organization/timing/grouping of those tales into complete distinct units that size is VERY satisfying. Especially with that cover art. Not just nostalgia. I've read them both ways & it was just more satisfying a unit. And one of the best portraits of them is that early Michael Whelan cover. Of course though. Whelan *actually* reads the books & illustrates. I suspect that they are in such condition even though so many others are near mint because he re-read them THAT much.
ANYWAY, awesome haul. I LOVE those 60's Stainless Steel Rat covers ! (I've not seen most of them before.) That's the "right" aesthetic for them.
Thanks for the suggestion! I think in hindsight the hardcovers I have of his are a different series entirely, and not Fafrd & Grey Mouser related. Good to know the paperbacks are the best way to consume the stories though! I'm really looking forward to checking them out!
Wow, what a score. Like I've said before, those books are in good hands. You need a custom mass market shelf system to display all those vintage SF books.
Indeed I do! Perhaps in a year or two once I’ve moved from an apartment to a house. Either way my shelving will need to grow to accommodate these.
I'm going to have to finish this tomorrow, but wow, loads of them are in superb condition! I just finished Timescape, it was great, and am busy trying to get hold of the Galactic Centre books so i can read em. 👍
I loved Timescape - looking forward to your review!
Just got home from work, i was actually think about this bookhaul all day lol, well i have what to watch now
Starting off right with a bunch of Fritz Leiber. I don't have quite the same versions on all but have all of the books. I'm reading The Wanderer now, actually.
I’m very much looking forward to checking him out. Especially the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories!
Obviously i am totally consumed with raging jealousy, but let me say through gritted teeth, congratulations!! 😀 What a great SF collection to land, definitely worth the journey and the storage headache. Delighted for you Matt, I know this would have made me very happy and i can tell you are made up! Look forward to parts 2 and 3...
Haha thanks, Jon. Yeah it was definitely worth it. I saved myself a couple years of book hunting here.
Thought I was watching one of my hauls for second 😂😂😂 that's so good man! How good is it 👏
I think you remain the king of book hauls lol.
Amazing to be able to add that many novels to your collection. In some ways I'm the opposite of you and if I can keep a hardback edition, I'll usually do so. Like some other booktubers I've been watching I also don't care if that causes it to be a mismatched set if the novel is part of a series. Not the most effective way of space usage though, so I definitely understand your reasoning 🙂
I loved the Stainless Steel Rat series when I was a kid but I don't know how well it would hold up. Those old novel covers are so nostalgic.
I’m in the same boat, I have a hard time finding SF from the last 20 years that I really like. Vintage wins. EDIT: Neal Asher is on my list and it’s your fault, so maybe there’s more modern stuff in my future.
There’s only a few modern day authors whose new releases I care to check out, otherwise my interests have mostly turned to the vintage stuff. Years from now I imagine I’ll be reading todays stuff lol.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers by R A Lafferty is a collection of short stories. It is somewhat rare as are a lot of Lafferty books. Wow. You look overwhelmed, in a good way. Congratulations on an epic find. Looking forward to your next couple videos.
Thanks, Richard! Overwhelmed in a good way is right 😄
Im new here, we think alike when it comes to buying stuff. I wanted to start a channel similar and talk about all the books i buy and why. I also love the best of collection. I love buying the del rey books they did 11 or 15 of thoae best of buy banger authors
You should! I thought about it for 4 or so years before I finally started a channel. Never did i expect to reach 1k subs or really much engagement at all. It's been a great experience.
Thanks for sharing - bought my first sci fi bundle of 10 books from local secondhand book shop today ($3 each) and Im hooked on discovering all the cool cover art of the 70s and looking up the authors, turns out I chose well. New sub today for your channel.
Awesome! Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoy your journey into SF and some truly awesome cover art!
What a score! You have some real treasures. Enjoy! I can also relate to your problem of lack of space. I need to box a lot of my books that are just piles on the floor. As for Sprague de Camp I've only read his masterwork, Lest Darkness Fall, a time travel novella.
I already have so many boxed up, it’s getting ridiculous lol. Lest Darkness Falls sounds intriguing, more so than the majority of his stuff I have here.
@@sciencefictionreads without giving away too much of a spoiler, it's about a guy, I think he is some kind of scientist or engineer, who is struck by lightning and is transported to the past at the end of the Roman Empire during the Barbarian occupation of Rome. He tries to bring back the Roman Empire using his twentieth century knowledge. I read it decades ago, and I thought it was pretty good.
Epic indeed!
Although that Space Merchants cover is AWFUL, it honestly matches the tone of the novel very well.
In that case I’ll actually keep it 👍
What an incredible haul Matt! This is something I can only dream of. As you said there was no way you could turn down the opportunity - you'd only have had massive regrets later. Those Ballantine / Del Rey best ofs are ones I try and pick up whenever I see them, but they are difficult to find over here - think I have around 10, not sure how many in total there were - look forward to seeing the others you have. You really should read more Bradbury - he's one of my favourite authors (of any genre). I read the Illuminatus Trilogy back in the 80s (and still have my original copies). I absolutely loved them at the time. They are a satirical science fiction / fantasy tale based on historical conspiracy theories and the shadowy Illuminati organisation behind them. It does have references to Lovecraft's mythos too. I would love to reread them but I'm afraid that I won't like them as much as I did originally as at the time I was heavily into all that stuff being an avid reader of Fortean Times. Look forward to seeing more from the haul.
The Illuminatus Trilogy sounds pretty interesting! Yes I think id of been quite upset with myself if i didn't make the trip to pick these up. Its just a little overwhelming at first sorting through everything. A lot to look up and see if I'm even interested in them! Your right in saying i need to read Bradbury. I'm sure I've read a short story or two maybe but that's it. I've also never read any Heinlein. Two major names of the genre I need to check out!
I enjoy your channel. I’d love to know if your willing or planning on selling some of those books. I’d definitely be happy to donate to your channel by buying some of those off of you. Eagerly anticipating your capitalist instincts and the opportunity to free up some space for you, starting with the Gene Wolfe and Fritz Leiber books just to name a few. Thanks for your consideration.
Haha, at the moment I'm not too sure what I'm doing. Lots will be donated, some could perhaps be sold but it'll be days still before I've sorted through everything.
Keith Laumer: I have only read two Retief books. The one called Retief: Envoy to New Worlds seemed kind of meh to me...but all the stories in Retief of the CDT had me laughing, and it counts as one one of my favourite humorous SF books. The story 'Pime Doesn't Cray' is, for me, a stand-out, loved it. Meanwhile - The Monitors by Laumer is not held in high regard, and yet I have fond memories. I recommend it, but again, with the tip-off that not everyone thinks this is such a great book...and I did read it decades ago. I think there's a film of it, actually.
L. Sprague de Camp: I'm not his biggest enthusiast, but I did enjoy Land of Unreason, and a lot of the stories in Tales From Gavagan's Bar. Far and away, my favourite book by him was written with Fletcher Pratt, called The Complete Compleat Enchanter (I don't think you held it up, and maybe not any of the books that got collected in it - but I thought I'd mention it.)
I enjoyed Pohl and Williamson's Undersea books - The Undersea Trilogy - but the vibe is definitely Young Adult, though with lots of fun adventure after what I found to be a quiet first book. The first SF I recall reading was nautical, oceanic, sea creature-centric, so Undersea Fleet is one of the first SF books I ever read, and it was only much later that I read the whole trilogy and still had fun as an adult who, admittedly, had grown a bit beyond the books.
I loved The Singers of Time, by Pohl and Williamson. Again, this was long ago for me - but I recall great pace, and great aliens, lots of energy. The book doesn't seem to have endured, but I recall having a terrific time with that one - whatever else anyone thinks, The Singers of Time is my fave Pohl and Williamson collaboration by a wide margin.
Loved The Malacia Tapestry by Aldiss. The guy could write Fantasy.
You're a Brackett fan, and that makes Kuttner's The Dark World a must. Wonderful book. Quick, perfect. I'm less sure about Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson as the book that will win you over to Anderson, but I liked the stories it offered, and I recommend it as a keeper among all the ones you showed by the author.
Fortunately, i do have a hardcover of The Complete Compleat Enchanter. That ones been of interest to me for awhile now. Not much of the Laumer stuff seems of much interest to me but I do intend to check out the Retief character at some point, and I'll be sure to keep the copy of The Monitors, which if i recall correctly did sound interesting when i looked it up. I'm thinking my next Poul Anderson should be one of his higher regarded fantasies or Tau Zero as I've wanted to read that for quite a while now. At the moment I'm quite excited to continue with C L Moore and then check out Kuttner! I think in the case of 'The Dark World' its generally considered to be a collaboration between the two. Even more exciting!
I recently reread some Retief stories and I enjoyed them all over again. There aren't as many as you might think because a lot of them show up in multiple collections.
I also reread The Stainless Steel Rat and could see why younger me liked the series.
Anderson's Future Histories are long time favorites of mine...I even like the Van Rijn stories!
Laumer, Harrison and Anderson are some of my favorite authors but I much prefer their series work over their stand alones. But I feel that way about most authors.
I actually did like the Van Rijn story settings, plots, themes etc. The character is just a little too larger than life for me i guess. But having read up on Anderson's future histories I'm still very much interested in reading through them. And now I've got a decent amount of the stories on my hands. I'm looking forward to checking out Laumer and Harrison since I've read very little of either so far. I've enjoyed most of the short stories of Laumer's I've read.
Donosaur Beach is Laumer’s best book imo. Highly recommended!
Also Songs of Earth and Power is an omnibus of The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage.
Thanks for the info! I didn’t realize that. And I look forward to checking out Dinosaur Beach!
How much did you pay? We're all dying to know! C'mon tell us, please. What is very reasonable?
I'm betting somewhere between 150 and 250 Canadian dollars..
A good guess, but it was truly an exceptional opportunity. They were $100.
Sweet! No wonder you drove 5 hours for that. Thank you, Harry!
Wowwwww!!!!
I know you probably won't cause it is too much a pain in the arse to sort out. But would love if you do a roundup of space operas and novels withing this collection you got. Just so I can see some lesser known ones.
It's probably more likely that what's here and qualifies will be part of a larger video on my Space Opera suggestions and the stuff i haven't yet got to but want to check out! I'm on vacation from work soon, so perhaps ill get around to a Space Opera video quite soon.
Roadmarks by Zelazny is good
I like Anderson overall, but I found some of the books you've read were his least enjoyable. The Agent of the Terran Empire series is similar to Laumer's Retrief series, but more serious and better
My favorite of his work is his time patrol series, The High Crusade, and the Hokka books he co-wrote with Gordon R. Dickson.
Keep trying, I think you'll find a Poul Anderson you like.
Thanks! Yeah, The Agent of the Terran Empire series and the Time Patrol stuff (of which i have an omnibus that collects all or nearly all of the stories) are some of the Anderson I'm most interested in. Along with his highly recommended fantasy and Tau Zero.
Read Enders Shadow at least 🙏 it's so good 👍 👌 Trust me! I'm a librarian 😁
Cool channel btw, but one small criticism. Your intro audio is really loud and your narrative audio during the video is really quiet. I'd recommend normalizing those a bit more. Otherwise...good stuff.
Thanks! I’ll tweak these a bit moving forward.
Absolutely loving the haul you have got, 55min of bliss for us science fiction lovers! Do you have an instagram that we can follow?
Thanks! I do not, RUclips is the only place I’m posting about books at the moment.
How much did it all cost?
$100. So, well worth the drive!
@@sciencefictionreads unreal
I try to be positive in comments, but I must be a grumpus for a minute; L. Sprague DeCamp is a tough nut to crack . I know him mostly for F*cking up Conan stories w/ Lin Carter. I've always heard he's much better on his own, and you've got a GREAT opportunity to test that out because of that large pile of his books I've never seen in the wild , nor even heard of before! So, in that case, I'd skip the steaming pile of "Lest Darkness Fall" (which may have historical relevance to the formation of the genre, but) which is probably best known as a time travel story when your choices for time travel stories were: Foundation, Skylark, Red Planet, Lensman, or Childhood's End. What could be more interesting than a thumbnail understanding of Late Roman/ Pre- Byzantine history as a backdrop for a M id-Century Modern Douche trying to create gun powder & squash Islam before it starts? Oh boy - I hope he's got sexist stuff to say!
And **I'm** the guy who always says "Read the Classics."
Please, I beg of thee, Do us ALL a great service and read one of the OTHERS that sounds good to you and tell us about it!
Now I've got to take the next 20 min chunk of this tomorrow.
Cool haul tho.
Haha yeah my uninformed opinion of the author kind of seems to be accurate. Aside from Lest Darkness Fall and the Compleat Enchanter stuff he's never been of much interest to me. But I have a bunch of his books now in the 'Viagens Interplanetarias' series that i'd never heard of before now. From some brief research it looks like a kind of future history with shades of Space Opera and Sword and Sorcery. Sounds like they could be good or terrible but that's probably where I'll start when I pick up a book of his.
@@sciencefictionreads I mean it in a good way! You have such an unusual opportunity- we only see the two you mentioned and now you've got so many others to pick from. I had to steer you clear from that "classic" - and I'm the guy who always says read the classics (at least to know which one's the skip later!) I think it's awesome that you'll be able to pick something you'd probably like more, an awesome that we get to hear reviews of books that *nobody* ever talks about.
Win/win!
Jealous!
Congratulations. This is awesome! Funny I feel the same about Orson Cards: 4 books I care about.
It's a tsunami, but I think you'll make short shrift of this. I just read that some science-fiction author once said that 80% of all Sci-Fi was trash!
I was never attracted to all these Stainless Steel Rats. Smells like pot-boilers to me. By him I read Prometheus In Orbit that basically is the International Space Station (equivalent) losing orbit and spiraling down to Earth, another disaster movie.
But Harry Harrison also wrote Make Room! Make Room! which with another story formed the basis for the classic movie SOYLENT GREENreleased in 1972 and set in 2022.
Cyril M. Kornbluth also caught my eye, famous for The Space Merchants with Frederik Pohl (a must-read).
I discovered a short story by him titled Two Dooms (I have to find in which book) whose setting is an America that has lost World War Two and is divided between Japan and Germany, PREDATING The Man In The High Castle by a few years..
I only watched half the vid will finish 2morrow. Cheers!
Edit: I just finished the video. I now watch your videos with notebook and pen on hand. Here are some reactions:
- Nancy Kress is a very good writer. She is also one of my writing teachers through her articles in Writer's Digest.
- Kathleen O'Neal aka Kathleen O'Neal-Gear is the co-author with her husband W. Michael Gear of the Precolombian Native American series People of The.. which we discussed previously. They are both archaeologists. Their books I've read are always full of genuine historical facts woven into breathtaking plots of mystery and murder. They were very prolific in this series while putting out their own solo novels. I lost track of their production, but if they write Sci-Fi like they wrote Paleo-Fiction, it should be quite interesting.
- Poul Anderson. Matt, you are now charged with murder attempt. Murder weapon: Poul Anderson! I have never seen so many of his books. Now the picture is getting clearer. Poul's classic sci-fi, his fantasy, his more modern novels. He is one of those classic authors that kept publishing for decades.
I just spent 20 euros on a copy of Starfox in a French edition ( with a gorgeous vintage like cover AND a bookmark matching the cover art! | hope the story is not as bad as you remember!
- Greg Bear. Slant was great, but clearly I've been missing out on the good stuff. I found A Dinosaur Summer super disappointing like he was trying to be Michael Crichton and writing a book that reads like a movie script, but nowhere as good as the Jurassic novels. So I'm adding a few titles of his to my big order from the UK (Hegira, Moving Mars, Forge, Anvil, Queen..).
Thank you for the book show! Now back to reading This Perfect Day by Ira Levin.. Cheers! Seven
PS: Obviously a bloated comment, but your video is quite an event! Seven🚀
It looks like 'Two Dooms' is collected in three short story collections of his, one of which I now have (A Mile Beyond the Moon). Cool! The Nancy Kress and Kathleen O. Neal trilogies I have here both look and sound intriguing. I still haven't read any of the "People of the" books, but eventually, some day...Too many books at the moment! I don't know where to start after my current read!
I imagine StarFox isn't as bad as I remember it. It was pretty early on in my reading career, i hope for your sake its not that bad. I think my next Anderson will have to be his higher regarded fantasy or Tau Zero. If i don't like those ill have to accept he's not for me. But I suspect ill enjoy plenty of his stuff over the years. This Perfect Day by Ira Levin sounds like an interesting dystopia!
I absolutely cannot stand modern science fiction. There's very little hard sf anymore. Nearly no one is tackling "big idea" scifi anymore. The on-the-nose topical political messaging in contemporary scifi just makes them completely unreadable. There's nothing wrong with a message. There's nothing wrong with being motivated to create a story inspired by recent events in the world. But I do have a problem with a story that if you read it 50 or 100 years from now it wouldn't even make sense because it requires knowing the political issues of the time it was written in to understand. I like stories with universal themes or things bigger than just right now. Old scifi has those things in spades, new scifi, not so much.
Well said! Although I do enjoy certain modern hard Sf authors such as Stephen Baxter, the vast majority is nowhere near as good as the older stuff.
That was pretty epic, Matt, looking forward to the rest! Yep, I'm delighted you liked "Shambleau", I sense a romance coming between you and C L Moore that will rival your ardor for Leigh Brackett (I understand, I went through it too!). Those Kuttners were lovely too, you are going to love 'Fury', which is my favourite Golden Age SF novel- try and get a copy of its prequel, 'Clash By Night'. Had he not died so young, Kuttner would have been one of the dominant names of the 1950s. As for Poul Anderson, I may well have recommended 'The Broken Sword' to you some time ago, for me his best book and in my view, the best Sword & Sorcery singleton ever, I still sell it all the time- I feel his Fantasy (of which there is very little) is better than his SF, but 'Tau Zero' and 'Brain Wave' are crackers. ....and I don't think I've EVER seen that many Keith Laumer books....
I'll keep a lookout for Clash by Night. And looking forward to Fury, considering your praise of it! Mostly, I'm very eager to continue with C L Moore at the moment! My next Anderson's will probably be the better known, recommended stuff. Perhaps The Broken Sword. And yeah the Laumer stuff is nuts. However, having just gone through them all in more detail I'm not so sure he's of much interest to me other than a couple titles and checking out the Retief character.
@@sciencefictionreads I personally think Laumer should have been a crime writer- the 'Best of' is worth holding on to, 'Dinosaur Beach' is quite good fun if not Earth-shattering.