New Mexico Road Trip Book Haul

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Been enjoying this series of on the road vids. I have a friend who lives in New Mexico, so one day....

[@vintagesf]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal With enough notice this could definitely happen. New Mexico is a beautiful state with some otherworldly vistas. Will definitely explore more in the future.

[@paulcooper3611]

Happy New Years, Richard. It was a real pleasure to meet you and Carol for breakfast and I'm glad you found some books at our little paperback exchange store. You forgot to mention what you said when holding the Bradbury book: "It's Ray Bradbury. It's only three dollars. There are 100 stories. I'm sure there are some I haven't read." Changing topics, 'The Goblin Reservation" is well up on my list of Clifford D. Simak's books, even while recognizing the nostalgia factor. It was the first novel I ever read in serial form in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. I was seventeen at the time. It impressed me so much, I loaned the three issues of Galaxy to a friend to read. It was his first introduction to SF magazines. Oh, and thanks for giving me that copy of 'Star of the Unborn'. It is now number two on my TBR pile.

[@vintagesf]

@@paulcooper3611 Couldn’t believe the Bradbury was three dollars. Hope you get on better with ‘Star of the Unborn’ than I did. If not, feel free to sell or pass on to someone who would appreciate it. Simak’s writing is sometimes called pastoral but he also comes up with some absurd scenarios like alien bowling balls invading earth.

[@rolpaw4371]

Really cool sweat 😊 Happy new year from France 🇫🇷

[@vintagesf]

@@rolpaw4371 Happy New Year! 🇨🇦

[@JosephReadsBooks]

This was a wonderful haul! It looks like you had a great trip!

[@vintagesf]

@@JosephReadsBooks So many highlights. Just sharing a few that make sense for this channel. It was fun having two thanksgivings. Canadian in October and American in November.

[@stephenboucher2804]

The tripods series has three main books (white Mountain, city of Gold and lead, and pool of fire) there's also a prequel "when the tripods came". These are his best known juveniles and were made into a UK tv series.

[@picturepainter]

Another thing about "When the Tripods Came" (1988) is that it's set over 100 years before the events of the original trilogy. So if you can't find a copy, it doesn't really matter. It's not absolutely necessary to read it. Curiously, I think the prequel feels more dated than the original trilogy. The Earth was invaded at a time when people were recording TV shows onto VHS cassettes and the Iron Curtain was still in existence. When people first read "The White Mountains" in 1967, they found themselves in a future world that had regressed to a primitive, pre-industrial state, reminiscent of the farming community in John Wyndham's "The Chrysalids". (On the whole, John Christopher's prose is quite Wyndham-esque.)

[@vintagesf]

One more to find. Unfortunately it's the first one. I'm guessing these aren't stand alone reads?

[@vintagesf]

@@picturepainter I agree that Christopher's prose is reminiscent of Wyndham. I think that is one of the reasons I'm interested in his work.

[@picturepainter]

@@vintagesf It is possible to read "The City of Gold and Lead" without reading "The White Mountains". At the beginning of "The City of Gold and Lead" the narrator gives a summary of what happened in the previous book. So you'll be able to understand what's going on. Personally, I think it's better to start with "The White Mountains". It's the story of a long, perilous journey. One of my favourite parts of that book is chapter five.

[@vintagesf]

@ I’ll wait until I find ‘The White Mountains’. Thanks!

[@paulcampbell6003]

*Happy New Year* Richard! 🥳 And _great_ score with the Kornbluth volume! 😍

[@vintagesf]

@@paulcampbell6003 Happy New Year Paul! So much fun having breakfast with our wives and then visiting the bookstore together. Till we meet again!

[@paulcooper3611]

Richard and I had a brief tussle over that Kornbluth book. I griped because he has another NESFA book that I don't. He graciously said that he would let me have it if I wanted it. I told him, he found it first, so finders, keepers. I'll get lucky some other time.

[@User_Un_Friendly]

Richard, Merlin's Ring is one of the pivotal novels of my youth. It's simply brilliant. Gwachmai is the son of the Roman Legionary Varro, who fled the fall of Arthur's Britain with the great mystic Merlin, after the pivotal battle with Mordred. He and the remains of the Fifth legion, who followed Arthur, (explaining the disappearance of the Roman Fifth Legion) came to Mexico, where he eventually formed the Aztec empire and was worshipped as the incarnation of the God of War. Gwachmai was sent to gather aid, to rekindle the Britain of Arthur's ideas in America. As Merlin's Godson, he wore Merlin's Ring, which preserved him through the centuries, thus to see events in history, forever parted and reunited with his great love, the last surviving girl from Atlantis. It's just great, a wonderful tale, and after finishing Merlin's Ring, you're going to look for Merlin's Godson, which is as brilliant. The Bradbury collection has a companion volume, the Stories of Ray Bradbury. I've never been impressed by his novels, and I consider him a master of the short story. Between this and the volume you've collected, you need never buy another Bradbury again. I'm going to recommend the best book by Avram Davidson, the Phoenix and the Mirror. Like Munn, (Merlin's Ring) he writes in the way that fantasy used to be written, as a soaring epic and high drama. Recommended. 😉

[@vintagesf]

Read 'The Phoenix and the Mirror'. Mixed feelings about it. There is a video on the channel. Munn's books do sound interesting. Thanks for the summary! The Bradbury omnibus I picked up is the 100 best stories. So you're saying there is a second story omnibus?

[@User_Un_Friendly]

@ Like many older fantasy books, I suspect the Phoenix and the Mirror would best be appreciated if read while you're young. The Stories of Ray Bradbury is another huge collection of his short stories, and according to Wikipedia, there are no duplicates between the two volumes. The two volumes of short stories cover about half of Ray Bradbury's prolific output, and doesn't include his early works, which by the author's own admissions were bad. Munn is awesome. His other works were forgettable, but Merlin's Godson and Merlin's Ring are simply wonderful.😉

[@vintagesf]

@@User_Un_Friendly Thank you!

[@paulcooper3611]

The Merlin's Godson series started with the book 'King of the World's Edge', published in 1939. Munn followed it up with 'The Ship From Atlantis' in 1967, twenty-eight years later. The two were published in the omnibus, 'Merlin's Godson' after the successful publication of 'Merlin's Ring' in 1974. The three books are vey different and you can see Munn's growth as an author if you read all of them. However, you can read 'Merlin's Ring' without reading the first two, which I recommend. The first two have some flaws, but the third one is just about perfect.

[@User_Un_Friendly]

@ Yes I completely agree that Merlin's Godson has flaws. Fortunately I read it when I was very young, as well as Merlin's Ring. I was in fact too young to appreciate the wonderful depth of historical allusions, and and the depth and skill of the writing of Merlin's Ring. Of course, I still remember passages that struck and struck to me over the decades...like that scene when they burn Joan of Arc...(I think you know what I'm referring to.) Glad to find another lover of Munn's prose, Paul. And I think we can both commiserate the author passing away before he was able to complete the sequel to Merlin's Ring.🥺😭😭😭. I'm going to recommend for you, and Richard "D'Shai" and the "Hour of the Octopus". I was immediately struck by the familiar sense of wonder that I remembered from reading "Merlin's Ring". Joel Rosenberg is an immensely underrated author, for those two masterpieces. I found his other books "M'eh" however...🙄

[@Jmustang1968]

When I was vacationing in Santa Fe in the spring I had to make a stop at Book Mountain. At that time, he was doing the half of cover price. I grabbed an amazing haul from there. I wanted to look more, but wife and kids were getting impatient.

[@chocolatemonk]

I may have to hit the COAS on the next trip. Happy New Year from the south!

[@vintagesf]

Happy new year to you too from the great white north!

[@PulpMortem]

I just picked up 1972 and 73 of those Annual World's Best SF - they were too cool to leave on the shelf! My local bookstore also has volume 1 and 2 of the Chad Oliver collection, but they're asking $25 so you scored on that! Great video, although I think your sweatshirt has burned the outer layer of my retina....ow..

[@vintagesf]

😆 Guess I need to put a warning that you may need sunglasses to watch this video. My wife was amused at how I was geeking out over everything at the VLA and suggested we get matching sweatshirts. I wasn't even interested in visiting the gift shop, books yes but not tourist tchotchkes. They are so loud, proud and 60s that we went for it.

[@rickkearn7100]

A very fine and interesting road trip, Richard. I've been enjoying this series. Well done as always! Cheers.

[@vintagesf]

Thank you Rick! Happy new year to you and yours!

[@LiminalSpaces03]

That was so much fun! Happy New Years!

[@vintagesf]

Happy new year my friend!

[@StevenEverett7]

You have lots of good reading there Richard. A few that pop out for me are Anderson's Un-man, John Jakes short stories, Coming of the Terrans by Brackett, and Selected stories by Chad Oliver among many others. Have fun! Have a great New Years for you and your wife.

[@vintagesf]

Thank you Steven! Happy new year to you too!

[@paulcooper3611]

'The Makeshift Rocket'/'Un-Man' are very early Poul Anderson stories, 1962/1963, respectively. The first one is comic, the second one is post-WWIII, and pretty dark. You can see Anderson learning his trade in them. 'The Best of John Jakes' is also, effectively, the last SF of John Jakes. With the coming of the US Bicentennial, Jakes switched over to historical novels and family sagas. He was quite successful. 'The Coming of the Terrans' is a nice collection of Leigh Brackett's early short fiction which, if nothing else, give some historical insight to her work. I also love the Grey Morrow cover.

[@StevenEverett7]

@@paulcooper3611 Although I can't think of any other Jakes' early SF titles at the moment, I did read a number of them years ago. I do remember them to be quite enjoyable. Grey Morrow did some wonderful covers.

[@waltera13]

Happy New Year!🎉 GREAT pic in front of the dish! You've had some really nice books haulled on this trip. I get the feeling you pick really carefully, and you're not the guy who comes home with shopping bags full of books - no matter what the price and selection. This video seems strangely familiar though. . . But I get the feeling that your trip has been scrambled in the order of these videos. . .

[@vintagesf]

This is the actual order of my trip. Now my wife and I have travelled to Arizona two other times, one were I posted some book hauls in Lincoln, Nebraska, COAS books in Las Cruces and then Tucson and Phoenix. Those videos are probably about a year ago. I do try to discern which authors and which series of books I think I will like. Not going to pick up every L. Ron Hubbard or Peter F. Hamilton I see. Just don't get along with those writers.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Love the road trippin book hauls. Great to hear about all the travels and it's really cool you got to meet Paul as well.

[@vintagesf]

@@sfwordsofwonder Meeting Paul and his wife was one of the highlights of the trip, along with our get together and meeting Chris of Liminal Spaces.

[@secretfirebooks7894]

Awesome haul, Richard! You've been having some wild adventures, huh?

[@vintagesf]

@@secretfirebooks7894 Really enjoyed this trip. New friends, great places to explore and lots of hiking and biking.

[@vilstef6988]

Jeff Wayne's Muscal War of the Worlds is a favorite of mine! Your roadtrip videos have been a lot of fun!

[@vintagesf]

@@vilstef6988 Thank you. It was a great vacation.

[@JosephReadsBooks]

There are 4 books in the tripods series if you include the prequel called When the Tripods Came. They are YA but still fun reads.

[@vintagesf]

@@JosephReadsBooks Will hunt down someday! Thanks!

[@SciFiFinds]

Just got a copy of Tower of Glass myself. Happy New Year!

[@vintagesf]

Along with other Silverberg I see! Happy New Year!

[@unstopitable]

Beautiful finds. Happy New Year, Richard.

[@vintagesf]

All the best to you in the new year!

[@gamernewbieed7832]

What authors and which books would you put in a top 10 Post Apocalyptic Novels of all Time.

[@vintagesf]

Not a top ten but off the top of my head, 1949 Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (pandemic), 1951 Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (blindness and plants), 1955 The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (nuclear of some sort), 1956 The Death of Grass by John Christopher (starvation), 1959 A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (nuclear war), 1959 Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (nuclear war) and 1980 Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. Contemporary books? The Stand by Stephen King, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Note these are novels I've read, haven't recommended ones I haven't read like On the Beach by Neville Shute.

[@gamernewbieed7832]

@vintagesf Thank you so much, I appreciate it so much.

[@vintagesf]

@ My pleasure!

[@paulcooper3611]

@@vintagesf You really should read 'On The Beach' by Nevil Shute. The movie is good, too, and Fred Astaire showed he was a fine actor as well as a dancer.

[@vintagesf]

@ Will read someday. Need to look in the classics section of used bookstores.

[@HeyYou992]

Cool. I have that same Annual World's Best SF 1984. It's good, but the only story I remember cleary is the last. A man shoots his brain into the future and wakes up inside a lobster or lobster-like thing. An oddly touching story despite how odd and alien the situation is.

[@vintagesf]

It does sound bizarre.