YEAR END SCIENCE FICTION DEALER WAREHOUSE VISIT & BOOK HAUL

We end book hauling for 2023- and what a year it has been! - with another visit to Dorset Bob (contact him at [e-mail] with your wants lists), one of the greatest SF dealers and collectors it's ever been my honour to enjoy a friendship with. A little tour of his warehouse, a glimpse of his personal library and many asides from myself interspersed with a high quality Vintage Paperback SF 'book haul' and we're ho ho hoing our way to 2024. Yes, Santa came early...
Music: Steve Holmes (C)
Many thanks to Jules Burt and Dorset Bob!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

You can send your wants lists and specific queries to Bob at [e-mail]. Jules Burts' video of this expedition is at kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHaZf2SQiriWhJY

[@JulesBurt]

Great haul there Steve. I really enjoyed the hardback coverage, never got to that on the day🙂

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

There's NEVER enough time at Bob's, I find!

[@jbrichardson8891]

love vicarious shopping when you visit Bobs many thanks

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It has he benefit of being cheaper! Glad you like these vids.

[@GypsyRoSesx]

Amazing. What an absolute pleasure to look at all of those beautiful books.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I think I've been to Bob's five times this year, it's always a joy. More like this next year at new locations. Thanks for your support, Rose!

[@music-dz7bi]

'They're probably Harry Potter fans.' My favourite moment in this channel's history hahaha

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Sometimes you just have to say it like it is- let the chips fall where they may.

[@tragicslip]

have a healthy, happy new year! your channel is both a great comfort and resource.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Season's greetings to you too, many thanks!

[@waltera13]

The Star Virus is well recommended by Michael Moorcock - I had to run out & get that one myself

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, MM was an endless supporter for BJB- I did a video about him early in the channel, but I pulled it a while back as I want to film an updated one soon. He was excellent.

[@themojocorpse1290]

With a name like barrington j Bayley how could he be anything but fantastic. What a warehouse i could spend hours and a fortune there ,so many great books not read that silverberg one missing from my collection never ceases to amaze me how prolific he was and brilliant . Edmund cooper is a new one on me lots of interesting stuff as ever.

[@glebmikheev4587]

6000! ❤

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

We got there!

[@KiwiExpressCream]

What a haul, and I have no idea how you resist with so much temptation there. I got quite a nice Philip K Dick haul from Dorset Bob at the last vintage book fair so I'm hoping he brings a few more along in March 😃

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

He will be trucking up with sterling material and I'll be alongside him selling- glorious SF anecdotes will rain down. I only resist as I can never spend more than 2-3 hours shopping due to train travel restrictions....

[@MakeMeAmerican1812]

I read Sea Horse In The Sky last year as a random pick up. I really enjoy getting those snapshots of SF history.

[@GardnerGoldsmith]

Fantastic! I loved those shots from Bath Spa, man!! I love your taste, and gotta get in touch w Dorset Bob!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Many thanks. Bob will sort your book needs out if he can.

[@leakybootpress9699]

Thanks, Steve. It's great to see So many old friends (book-wise I mean) and a few which are strangers to me. "Apeman, Spaceman" is a wonderful anthology of anthropological SF edited by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover, published in the UK in hardcover by Rapp and Whiting (I believe) and, if my memory is right, by Penguin in paperback. The also collaborated on "Stonhenge", a pretty good pseudo historical novel which set out a new theory as to why Stonehenge came to be.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I recall the Penguin Harrison/Stover- I used to have it somwhere...now what did I do with it? LOL

[@bookjack]

I agree with what you said about Vonnegut. Glad I realized before I dug in too deep. Great video. Awesome Stuff

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, Kurt can be a bit much at times- one slice of cake, then lay off him for a bit works better for me!

[@joebrooks4448]

Great video and book snag! I just recently came across a copy of "The Time Hoppers" by Robert Silverberg! A rare find is always rewarding! I have not read it since borrowing it from the Library roughly 1969. It is as good as I recall. You have a unique find with van Vogt's "The Violent Man". My copy from Pocket (1978) is the only copy I have ever seen. It does contain the 3.5 pages of references vV (now I am using this🙂) read before writing the book. He researched this for years in the 1950s. This shows in the book, he is trying to relay psychological pathologies, and his writing seems to suffer some. The incredibly descriptive prose and plotting of "Black Destroyer", "The Mixed Men", "Slan", etc. is not as evident. The "Successful Psychopath Theory" had been created by a Canadian Psychiatrist (1972?) and was being used by Law Enforcement in the 1970s. During my mid 1970s College years, I took a lot of Psychology electives and a bunch of others, too. Someone mentioned I should read "The Violent Man", as a comparison to "The Succesful Psychopath Theory". I had never heard of this van Vogt, before. Pretty rough book, just a heads up.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I'd never seen the VV either- I was delighted to find it. 'The Time Hoppers' is good- and then it's typical of Silverbob's lesser but still fundamentally strong work, always unmissable in that period. Great to hear from you as always, thanks for your detailed post.

[@joebrooks4448]

@outlawbookselleroriginal I wish there was a way to turn off the spellcheck and grammar bots on YT. I guess my archaic spelling and grammar induces interventions. I nearly always find some alterations later on.

[@magnadump]

Thanks for another great video! I have been watching the back catalogue throughout the year, really insightful and entertaining (and most importantly, unpredictable!) Great to see more AE Van Vogt coverage - sad to say that, as a Canadian, I had no idea about him until you recommended him. As for the poor mouse who devoured the copy of Androids, well, I guess it couldn't have happened to a more appropriate book - Mercerism would approve!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Thanks VERY much for the Super-Thanks, helps the channel big time! There will be more Van Vogt next year. The Mouse? yes, very Wilbur Mercer- Bob wasn't too happy but was philosophical about it and his cat got away with not performing as the rodent came through the ceiling I understand.....

[@barrrie]

No groans here at the prospect of looking at some mainstream stuff. Really looking forward to that. Ive no doubt we will get some interesting recommendations. Really enjoyed this one. Cheers.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Thanks Barrie, you'll see the variety growing as the month goes on.

[@ianburke5867]

Wow, what an amazing collection Bob has! I read a lot of SF & Fantasy as a teenager in the eighties, finding your channel has rekindled those feeling and already, in the last few months, I've bought back a lot of the books I had and many more. I'm steadily working my way through your recommendations, keep up the great content and have a very Merry Christmas.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

You'll find many other visits to Bob's place and to Zardoz/Allyouneedisbooks too, run by the magnificent Maurice- look at the 'bookshopping and bookhauls' playlist. There will be more to come, as well. I'm pleased you're rediscovering the old pleasure of what I guess is now 'Vintage SF', that vibrant period of evolution and revolution between 1950 and 1990, which never tarnishes for invention, verve and flash.

[@johnmooney9403]

Hi Stephen great video. Just purchased ' Downward to the Earth' by Robert Silverberg. I have heard so many good thing's about the novel

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It's a great one - a serious, meditative work that covers the great Silverbob themes: power, transcendence, transformation and redemption. A wise book.

[@alanbaker3442]

I love these dealer visits and book hauls - so many wonderful books on display. I particularly liked your Edmund Cooper score. I read Seahorse in the Sky in my late teens and thought it was terrific; and it's one of the few Foss covers that actually bears some relation to the story! Going off topic a bit, and knowing of your love for all things Italian (which I share), I was wondering if you've read The Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio de Maria, which I found deeply strange, poignant (dealing as it does with a tragic and turbulent period of Italian history) and utterly captivating. Also, if you're ever in the mood for a bit of high strangeness, I heartily recommend the collection A Different Darkness by a contemporary Italian writer, Luigi Musolino, published by Valancourt. Wonderfully weird tales from a European perspective - give me more of that! Another excellent video, Stephen.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, that cover of 'Seahorse' does relate to that comment I made about baby seahorses, I noticed. I've heard of the de Maria and the Musolino will be a must-buy for me, as I love Valancourt, they do excellent work and I've not checked the site for ages. Thanks also for your praise, much appreciated.

[@robjohnston5673]

Another great book haul and Dorset Bob trip. I read Edmund Cooper's Five to Twelve in my teens. The thing I most remember about it is that I first thought the title meant five minutes to midnight! While watching the video, I couldn't help being drawn to one of the books in the stack over your left shoulder (Out of Time's Abyss.) I've just finished re-reading the Burroughs' Caprona trilogy, nearly fifty years after reading it the first time.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I love 'The People That Time Forgot' in particular...

[@chocolatemonk]

I have started sleeving a month ago. I have collected many things over the years and the "sleeve" is for anyone serious about collecting.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

With you totally.

[@rickkearn7100]

Great to see you're over the 6K subscribers mark, OB! Can't wait to see it grow, you should be heard, you've so much good to say. Happy Holidays old chap. Cheers!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Always great to hear from you Rick, I'm pleased to get to 6K, you've been instrumental in supporting me with super-thanks and kind comments at the times when the channel really needed a boost, you're a fine example of the kind of charming, intelligent and generous people we get here. I'm touched!

[@miljenkoskreblin165]

A little bit of trivia about Damien Broderick. He asked Clarke if could write the sequel to The City And The Stars but nothing came of it because, at that time, Benford was writing the sequel to Against The Fall of Night. It would be an interesting read.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Nice!

[@camo_for_cocktails]

Another great visit to live vicariously through. There’s no groaning here; that last video on mainstream novels was one of my favourites. I was curious to know what you think of Delilo and others. Merry Christmas!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

DeLillo I have been asked about here a few times, did show a copy of 'Libra' in a recent video. I started reading him in 1986, have read 8 of his books and find him incredibly inconsistent and more often than not irritating, but always fascinating - I like 'Americana', 'Libra', 'Mao II' and 'Cosmopolis'. 'White Noise', 'Ratner's Star' and 'Zero K' and another I can't recall I found irksome. I have vowed to read no more by him, but do want to revisit 'Libra'. I'm more of an Auster man, really..or I was until he became similarly inconsistent. very pleased to hear you're liking the mainstream content.

[@camo_for_cocktails]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Echo your Auster preference, especially the New York trilogy. I was disappointed in Delillo’s Great Jones Street. But always liked Libra.

[@vintagesf]

Some great pick ups as always from Dorset Bob’s. Great to hear Bob on the video! Look forward to hearing how you get on with The Revolving Boy., a YA friendly read that I enjoyed very much. The Ace Specials did feature some YA fiction by James H. Schmitz, Ursula K. Le Guin, etc. Hope you get on better than I did with A Torrent of Faces. Thank you for taking us along on these trips. Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year Stephen!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, as ever it was a haven of unearthly temptation- even after I make my selections and settle up the money with Bob, I'm asking him to put other stuff aside for me. Season's greetings to you too, Richard, it's a joy interacting with you!

[@vintagesf]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal It’s been so much fun this year watching your channel and chatting with you. A highlight was discovering a mutual love for John Wyndham.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@vintagesf My admiration for JW began in chaildhood and has never faded, he's still the greatest. Something coming up on him soon, in a video I'll be filming within the next two weeks. It's always good to bond with other JW fans!

[@daveac]

At about 17m+ lovely to see rows & roes of the monthly Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine - I had most of them from the early 1960s to 1973 or 74. Were banished to the garage only to be found a number of years later - most having been half shredded by mice :-(

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I kept saying to my partner 'I like those F&SF in the background'. One day at Bob's I'll actually look at some, but I'm scared too as I'll want to buy them and I try not to pick up mags...

[@strelnikoff1632]

Good to see some Ace doubles. I was going to ask you about those. Another good episode

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I am reconsidering my policy on these for next year: I need to do some serious bibliographic work to consider what I'd need, if anything....

[@danieldelvalle5004]

Glad to see you got the Barrington J. Bayley The Star Virus, Ace Double. I have that same edition, and being a completist like yourself, Im missing a few of his books. He's very neglected these days unfortunately. Reissues of his books would be great, but given the nature of the publishing beast at present I doubt we'll see such an event.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yeah, it's a shame. I love Bayley and a revised updated overview will pop up here next year. Thanks for all your comments, support and friendship here this year, Dan.

[@PeterKerans-h6z]

Wonderful stuff. Nice to see Broderick mentioned - the Norstrilia Press hc edition of The Dreaming Dragons has a far more sensitive jacket illustration connecting it to indigenous themes. Love the Keith Roberts hc - do you ever see The Furies hc in that condition?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

You hardly ever see 'The Furies' in hardcover at all- there is one on sale in my favourite Hay-On-Wye bookshop- it's been there for at least 15 years and it's £25 and ****ed. A decent copy is at least £100-£200 and there are never more than 2 on the market at any given time- assuming we're talking about the first editions, that is. There are two dedicated Roberts videos here on the channel, including one in which I visit the locations of 'Pavane' and 'The Chalk Giants', so subscribed please and watch my massive backlist.

[@PeterKerans-h6z]

Thanks Stephen - I have an old ex-lib copy of Furies 1st edition, really beaten up. That explains why I’ve never seen it elsewhere, especially here in Australia. Although sometimes great 1st editions were dumped in Australia- for example Priests Real-time World, Wolfe’s Chatto 1st of Anubis Gates, even Ballard’s Myths of the Near Future. 100-200 pounds - way out of my league!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@PeterKerans-h6z Priest, Sladek and Coney seem to be prevalent in Australia and my suspicion is that all three visited the country as convention guests- Priest won a Ditmar, I think Coney visited too and I suspect Sladek did. I can't think of any other explanation for this.

[@PeterKerans-h6z]

The strangest encounter was coming through Brisbane on the way back to Sydney and seeing a huge pile of Doubleday 1sts of Dick’s Scanner Darkly on a remainder table - bought one of course, but they must be hugely valuable now. In the seventies there were two piles of Real time world in a department store for a couple of dollars. Weird.

[@thekeywitness]

Do something on Donald Barthelme. I’ve been thinking about revisiting his work, having discovered him back in my university years.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I'd like to. Like yourself, I've not read him proper for decades, so a re-read would be necessary...

[@goatman3358]

Thomas F. Monteleone; "The secret sea" with captain nemo in his submarine. is that the one?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

That's it, couldn't recall the title in the heat of the moment!

[@SciFiScavenger]

I can never be allowed in there. I'd be like one of those unfortunates that builds up a gambling debt that takes them down. I'd need a truck to take all the shiny books home. 😢

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It requires enormous restraint- a lifetime resisting the 'kid in a sweetshop' syndrome that comes with decades working in bookshops is the only thing that keeps me from foaming at the mouth when I visit dealers.

[@chrisnewman6047]

I like the way Edmund Cooper writes. I just started reading “ All Fools Day” and it is gonna be a good one! I get some Matheson vibes here. You said he got a bad wrap for his narration devices, what a shame. It is funny how some authors are affected by stereotypes. Shouldn’t the “never judge a book by its cover” cliche work for the writer as well? (Thomas Pynchon has been in hiding since day one, is this the secret to his success?)

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Well, he was probably viewed differently by many when he was actively writing. I think it's readers unwilling to step outside contemporary narratives who are most affected by stereotypes and also you can't judge an author always by mouthpiece characters. As for the cover question, I think that remains open, Chris!

[@glockensig]

You have to have a lot of self control.....fer sure!!!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Not as much as I'd like!

[@willp2877]

I see you with that Only Forward there GOOD SIR

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I thought a flash of the now iconic A Format first edition was necessary - and Dorset Bob has two mint copies....

[@thekeywitness]

Jealous that you have access to that warehouse of vintage paperbacks, but I’d probably go broke if I did too 😅

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

.....you'll notice how book collectors are rarely wealthy (I think that chap at The Library Ladder is the exception that proves the rule).....

[@Spacejack-xx2yp]

The best thing about having a root canal is if you think to have your dentist wear a baby mask like Michael Palin. Sadly, I did not think of this until mine was already underway.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Intense!

[@jackdoud]

Funny, I collect Warhammer books so they're the only Bailey and Watson that I own. The thing is their books are so old at this point that they're essentially no longer part of Warhammer universe canon.

[@erikpaterson1404]

Hopefully, no more mice. Otherwise, let loose Smudge...