Blue Girls, Assaults without impact, Editor Frustration: REVIEWS & HAUL

[@user-mb9ll9wy6g]

"There's much more grit in Vermilion Sands.." Great quote & a good builders' recommendation. Class.

[@rickkearn7100]

I have an affinity for good, classical horror whether Brit or Yank, OB, and have always pined away for a good anthology to no avail. Now, like magic, here is one featured in today's episode! Outlaw Bookseller is a gift that keeps on giving. Great content, quality, production and presentation as is always! Cheers.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, it's content cannot be denied! Great stuff.

[@anthonyparkinson4517]

I'd like to see Jonathan Nolan adapt Vermilion Sands for a limited series and get the Comsat Angels to do the music. I expect 10% of the money if that ever happens!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I'd like to see David Cronenberg do it myself. As much as The Comsats would work, I think Cliff Martinez, who did the music for 'Neon Demon' and 'Drive', would work best- but anything that gets people reading the book works for me.

[@inkiwell]

So much info, detail and deep dive on your channel..Tfs!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Well, there are many knowledgeable SF readers out there, but as someone once said 'You are the voice of SF experience on youtube' - that's what over 50 years of reading and 40 years of bookselling and a number #1 amazon bestseller does- it's a vocation

[@inkiwell]

I pretty much gave up on SF in the late 80’s (sold my whole collection about 35 years ago). Everything seemed to be moving towards Fantasy. I moved on to British Mysteries and a lot of non-fiction. I started recollecting recently and your channel (and I bought your SF must reads) have sparked me to reconnect with SF.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@inkiwell You gave up at the right point. SF had stopped evolving by 1993 and the tipping point came with the Space Opera revival in 86/87

[@allanlloyd3676]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal I'm afraid that I would disagree with you there. SF since that time has produced many fine writers. They have just become harder to find with the shelves full of generic fantasy. I have been reading a lot of Michael Swanwick lately, and his work covers a huge array of subjects and attitudes. His short stories are so literary and wide-ranging, and demand rereading to fully appreciate. His Dragon trilogy completely subvert fantasy, and I would argue that they are close to SF. His Darger and Surplice stories are funny and entertaining as his two conmen stumble through a post-apocalyptic future leaving chaos in their wake. And Vaccuum Flowers would please any fan of cyberpunk. I could make similar arguments for Michael Bishop or Lucius Shepard, but the writer that you often dismiss as New Space Opera and that I think deserves much more consideration is Paul McAuley. I don't get on with his work set in outer space, but his Quiet War books are brilliant explorations of near future politics. He writes thrillers set Africa and the Arctic, alternative history, parallel worlds (in Cowboy Angels), and a great set of stories about an immortal Dr Frankenstein-like villain called Dr Pretorious. So much more than just Space Opera, and well written with great characters. I also think that Charles Stross is producing entertaining and challenging fiction, which is fun to read but makes you think as well.

[@JulesBurt]

Fascinating as always Steve, thanks. So pleased you enjoyed my Puffin video, beautiful books to collect.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I absolutely LOVED it mate, we watched it twice as I say and showed a friend. We must go to Hay again at some point and do the rest of the shops including the Children's Bookshop.

[@lostboy3050]

Love your channel. Got me back into reading vintage sci fi and I bought your book. 🇨🇦

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Many thanks for buying my book, hope you like it!

[@paulcampbell6003]

*Snap!* I picked up that very same edition of _Electric Forest_ just last month. I have read a handful of her short stories over the decades in many anthologies and had the great pleasure of meeting her numerous times since the mid-2000s at various conventions, such as Fantasycon. As of the end of last year I have been making a conscious effort to expand my Tanith Lee library of paperbacks from the '70s & '80s, as well as all seven issued by Headline Feature in the early '90s with the absolutely gorgeous wraparound artwork by Mark Salwowski. I hope to get around to reading one of her short story collections this month... I went through a re-read of Alice B. Sheldon's first four story collections last year. Russ is good, Le Guin is great - but NO ONE wrote like Sheldon! 🤗 Yes, "The Girl Who Was Plugged In"; what a remarkable story!! Cyberpunk, ten years before there was cyberpunk!!! 😮 Met Brian Stableford in '95 at the SF Worldcon in Glasgow. Got him to sign my paperback edition _The Werewolves of London._ First of a fantastic trilogy! At the tail end of February there, I read the third *Hooded Swan* novel. Magic stuff! 👍

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

You probably met Dorset Bob at Fantasycon, he dealt there very often, sometimes with Pete Crowther of PS. I met Stableford at the Worldcon and I've just recalled a second time on the 'Tales From the Forbidden Planet' tour I seem to recall, when I spoke to him about his 'The Sociology of Science Fiction', which is superb.

[@ElfGoblin]

I've never known 45 minutes fly by so fast! Tremendous entertainment and some important info (that I have writen down in my trusty notebook). Peter Owen is one of those publishers that I always trust and collect (just yesterday I bought a copy of Cocteau's Thomas The Imposter) so I shall keep an eye out for those memoirs. I suppose a modern equivalent would be Fitzcarraldo Editions though I find them a bit hit and miss. As for Tanith Lee, I can never hear the name Tanith without seeing the eyes of Charles Grey in the car mirror, in the film The Devil Rides Out, saying "Tanith, Tanith, listen to me Tanith ...) Scary stuff !

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yeah, I have the same with Charles Grey! I agree re Fitzcarraldo- obviously they do great work but there is a feeling they're trying too hard sometimes to be lofty. With Owen it was second nature.

[@thekeywitness]

I was surprised to learn that the stories in Vermilion Sands predate JGB’s novels since the collection first appeared in ‘71. It’s a top 10 JGB book for me.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It's a preferred text of mine, too. They're among his earliest stories, of course. My photo-illustrated Psychogeographical essay "Me: Capri: Brigitte Bardot" (around 12,000 words long, which is in 'Deep Ends 2019') looks at how my Italian holidays are Ballardian, with specific references to 'Vermilion Sands'.

[@jimflannery9563]

Strange, I have such a strong sense memory of sitting on the pavement outside Winterland Ballroom, waiting to buy day-of-show tickets for a Grateful Dead concert, blasting through Electric Forest in one long, cold sitting [tho I remember nothing of the plot, so I guess I'm ready for a revisit!] ... but the isfdb lists the pub date as 1/79, one month later. Could the SFBC mailing have gone out a couple weeks early, or did the acid warp space and time more effectively than usual? Hm. Sad to hear of Stableford's passing. He's done such an amazing amount of translation work in the last decade or so -- all those Decadent and Symbolist texts, vampire novels, proto-SF, right up to last year -- more than double his original work, and all that critical writing ... and all those novels. When did the man sleep?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

The DAW edition of 'Electric Forest' indeed came out in 79, the UK one some years later. Yes, BS did some sterling work for Dedalus, great publisher.

[@jimflannery9563]

Right, but it was the Science Fiction Book Club edition I had ... and I know the date I was on that sidewalk was 26 Dec 1978 (Winterland closed forever 1 Jan 79). A puzzler.

[@robhussell]

I'm from Basingstoke, i think you made the right choice

[@athoszubiaur2144]

oh, i hadn't heard about stableford's passing. it is indeed a time when lots of writers are leaving us. alas, more to come. i read the walking shadow many years ago and don't recall much except that final word which does linger. i believe it was a pringle recommendation as at that time i was poring over his suggestions. i've never read any of the hooded swan series and i quite enjoy space opera so will keep an eye out for the halcyon drift. thanks for putting it on my radar (about halfway through with frontera and enjoying it!) cheers

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Glad you're enjoying the Shiner. I'll be doing a Stableford video in a few weeks, covering a little-discussed classic by him.

[@iantoo3503]

Hi, thank you so much for your tribute to Brian Stableford. I have been thinking of doing a video running through my collection, but am working hard enough just to produce a 6 min video, :)

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I will be doing something more in depth on Brian later this year, but I have a stack of reading/re-reading to do.

[@leakybootpress9699]

I'm amazed by your loyalty to John Wyndham, Steve. For me he was an OK writer, not a great writer. His plots were often very thin, his character building equally thin. His books would not have been bestsellers if they'd demanded any thought rrom his readers. You've read enough much more competent writers to have left Wyndham behind. Edmund Cooper wasn't a great writer either, but his books always entertained me for a while, even when hastily written in an alcoholic haze to meat a deadline. Another interesting video, despite my quibbles.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

John Wyndham: First Love. That simple!

[@beefymario88]

Hi Steve, sorry but unrelated to video, which is great btw. I bought ‘He died with his eyes open’, I think based off your recommendation. Do you remember which video that was? I’m enjoying it so far, I like the way the chapters have been done.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It would have been my video 'Poland Street: The Visionary Writer's Way' or maybe one of the crime videos in my Crime Playlist- scroll to the bottom of the channe; page on a PC or smart Tv and open the crime playlist. Cheers.

[@ralphmarrone3130]

My favorite Tiptree is A Momentary Taste of Being. Blew me away when I read it in her collection Star Songs of an Old Primate.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

That's a very uncommon book in the UK, never seen one over here. But one day....

[@ralphmarrone3130]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal I still have the Del Rey paperwork I purchased when it was published.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@ralphmarrone3130 Nice!

[@GregSloman]

Thanks Steve.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Thank YOU, Greg, that's very helpful, cheers again!!!!

[@miljenkoskreblin165]

I read The Exorcist two years ago and found it terrific. The sequel is pretty much unreadable, but Blatty's film adaptation is excellent. If you are intersted in the franchise then try Nat Segaloff's The Exorcist Legacy. I read S.T. Joshi's The Modern Weird Tale, Unuterrable Horor, and his book of esssys Driven To Madness With Fright. He is a good historian, but not very good critic. It's not that i disagree with him on many points, it's that his points are generally poorly argued and shallow. But, I will always be grateful to Joshi for introducing me to the work of the truly amazing Caitlin Kiernan.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I'm pretty much disinterested in anything once it becomes a 'franchise' if I'm honest, though of course I like the film of 'The Exorcist' and I'm one of the few who loves the (admittedly flawed but incredibly interesting) 'The Heretic'. Beyond that, I'd stick with Ray Russell.

[@miljenkoskreblin165]

I will try Ray Russel, if I can find it. There are some very exorcist novel out there like John Farris's Son of Endless Night, Johantan Janz's Exorcist Falls, and Paul Tremblay' A Head Full of Ghosts. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Norman Partridge. You said you hear that he is fantastic. You heard right. He is quite phenomenal. Try his Slipping Into Darkness and Dark Harvest, as well as his short fiction. Outstanding stuff.

[@JR-np7kg]

20:02 Re: editors. Darrell Schweitzer is probably more known as an editor than as a writer in his own right. Very unfortunate in my opinion. A master fantasist (and stylist) who rarely gets any recognition for his fiction. So there is my one counterargument to this theory.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

The exceptions usually prove the rule, but yeah, there are others- Moorcock is a brilliant editor, but equally superb writer.

[@CelticChief1979]

Leigh Brackett as in The Big Sleep (1946)? Wow.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes. As I say, she was adept at Crime fiction too.

[@paulcampbell6003]

Yes, and the first draft of _The Empire Strikes Back_ before her untimely death.

[@CelticChief1979]

The Big Sleep is in my top 5 films of all time. I had no idea she was an SF writer outside her involvement with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@CelticChief1979 My advice is this: every name you come across, research. Your knowldge will then spread like a tree's branches and make connections. Of course, don't rely on the internet for accuracy, use it, but then seek out print sources.

[@CelticChief1979]

@outlawbookselleroriginal absolutley. I'm mid 40s and remember reference books being the font of all things. That said, I need to be stocking up on my SF reference book, as that part of my library needs to be expanded.

[@MindApe]

I always thought the term "infodump" was a recent, online sort of neologism but was shocked to see it appear in Dr. Adder: " "The incompetent writer's way of revealing the details of his story's setting, or whatever axe that particular writer had to grind." I wonder if Jeter originally used that term when he drafted it back in the 70s,,,

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I haven't read 'Adder' for ages, so remind me, is this in the text or a foreword or the like and which edition? I think it's only around 30 years old as a term, but Jeter was always ahead.

[@MindApe]

It's on page 31 of the 1984 paperback. It sounds like something that should be in a foreword but he works it into the text! Really funny: "If only life was like a science fiction novel, thought Limmit, pushing slowly through the crowds on the street again. He remembered his own collection sitting in the shelves over his bed in Phoenix, now lost to him forever. If only people actually did just sit around and talk, unloading on each other the secret or even well-known underpinnings of their society . . . info-dump, the practice had been called in a book review from one of the tattered old magazines Limmit had among his collection." Not sure if the 'tattered old magazine' means he got it from some fanzine?@@outlawbookselleroriginal

[@MindApe]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal It's on page 31 of the 1984 paperback. It sounds like the sort of thing that should be in a foreword but he works it into the text. Really funny: "If only life were like a science fiction novel... If only people actually did just sit around and talk, unloading on each other the secret or even well-known underpinnings of their society..." Limmit says he gets the term from one of his "tattered old magazines" so maybe it comes from a fanzine somewhere?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@MindApe That's the US paperback you have then, which publisher? The pagination is different in the Uk edition, I'll take a look at my Bluejay hardcover. I'd imagine he'd revised the text a few times while waiting 12 years for someone to publish it, but I'm not surprised, as American SF on the cutting edge in the 1980s was more advanced than many people who weren't around then think. SF has effectively stagnated since the early 90s and a lot of the things people think are 'Modern' (they mean 'Contemporary' of course) are actually old hat. I suspect Limmit's 'old magazines' are SF magazines from the early 80s...LOL

[@MindApe]

Yes sorry I should have specified - 1984 trade paperback from Bluejay as well. I totally agree, it's amazing how shockingly new and transgressive Adder still feels like in 2024, and how stale a lot of contemporary genre fiction feels in comparison.@@outlawbookselleroriginal

[@leakybootpress9699]

Fair enough! Hahaha!

[@kennyrh9269]

Hi Stephen. Thanks for an entertaining and informative video as normal. Can I ask why the Brackett Fantasy Masterworks is so expensive? Scarce presumably.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, first copy I've seen in a decade. Dorset Bob helped source the stories for it too.

[@silex9837]

You've discussed Tanith Lee's Vivia as well. I have that exact same edition of Lee's The Electric Forest. I can't wait to read it! I'm a scholar of literary decadence and it's very intriguing that you compared Electric Forest with Vermillion Sands! Sands is a favourite of mine. Are you aware of an unpublished short story set in the VS universe titled 'The Hardoon Labyrinth'? Sadly the Ballard Estate did not allow a comprehensive edition of Vermillion Sands that would have included that short story, but it was translated in French and was published with a French publishing company, Tristram (the mustard yellow cover edition, which I've got a copy of). By the way, I've got Tiptree's 'The Girl Who Was Plugged In' in Cybersex, an anthology put together by Richard Glyn Jones (Foreword by Will Self). What do you think of it?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, Rick McGrath (my editor at 'Deep Ends') has been trying to get that story published in English for years. To hear what I thought about the Tiptree story, watch the video I refer too -it's called 'Cyberpunk Precursors'

[@silex9837]

@outlawbookselleroriginal Thanks, Steve; will do. Great to hear that your editor has been trying to publish 'The Hardoon Labyrinth'. I'm wondering why the Ballard Estate is so obdurate. I really hope to see that short story in print at some point.

[@pnptcn]

Yeah I dig Matt over at Bookpilled quite a bit too.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Matt and I are good friends, great guy.

[@waltera13]

I *just* picked up that American Horror anthology (in Hardcover) myself! I'm sure you know, but since you didn't mention it, and for all the home shoppers out there, that anthology is the cornerstone of a six book "Horror Essentials" (HC) series that Penguin did with Guillermo del Toro: that one, the four that you expect, and "Haunted Castles" by Ray Russell (which I think is predominantly in this group for "Sardonicus.") It kinda makes me wish that del Toro just did an anthology of "overlooked horror books that I love" as well.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yeah, I had one or two of them in hardcover but sold them on, nice books though!

[@waltera13]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Really, why would you or I need those 4? As new style, over marketed series go, one or two sprayed and spattered Goth aesthetic books are all you need if you've got the content elsewhere. . . I just thought there's someone who got them new in 2005, at age 14 and they will be cornerstones of their book collections leading them into writerhood.

[@joelstainer65]

Given your thoughts on Disaster books, what do you think of Tiltangle by Mackleworth (if you've read it)

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Not read it. My friend Graham is a Mackleworth collector, but I've never got around to picking any up...but one day. Overall, my feeling is that the catastrophe novel subgenre is small and studded with a few masterpiece, but otherwise comprised of minor variations on the theme- but you can say that about any subgenre. It's also an ill-defined area, often crossing into alien invasion (like Wyndham's 'Kraken') which makes it difficult if interesting to put a lid on it.

[@user-mb9ll9wy6g]

Hi Steve. Did you ever read Hubbard's Dianetics/SF stuff? Never seen any reviews online..

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I've read about it and experienced Scientologists invading the Worldcon in 1987. The book 'Astounding' by Alec Nevala-Lee, a biography of the same magazine and its key movers and shakers (including Hubbard) is revelatory. I've read some of his early work, which has verve and fizz, but he was ultimately a charlatan in my view. But 'Astounding' was a pretty cranky venue, Campbell himself being more than a little flaky- the up side of this was Van Vogt's wild ideas that he applied to his fiction.

[@user-mb9ll9wy6g]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Thanks. He's definitely a charlatan/faux messiah. Still puzzled why so many Hollyweird 'celebs' fall for all that crap.. maybe it's the drugz.(Burroughs did a good takedown). Great quick chat (as always) always helps me fill in the blanks. Defo my fave SF/Lit. channel. 👍