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Post by dem on Jun 25, 2009 13:40:29 GMT
That Eat Them Alive-Fleshbait combo is the greatest book in history. There's a GNS triple Sucking Pit-Bats Out Of Hell-The Slime Beast (thanks KC) and the NEL Gift Box (doesn't really qualify: individual copies of The Shining & The Stand in a box) but were there any more? Thanks v. much for posting, Steve.
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Post by killercrab on Jun 25, 2009 15:34:01 GMT
That Eat Them Alive-Fleshbait combo is the greatest book in history. >>
I'm very jealous...
KC
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Post by Steve on Jun 25, 2009 15:43:23 GMT
There's a GNS triple... and the NEL Gift Box... but were there any more? The "...in one big read" thing seems to be something NEL tried out in the late '70s/early '80s. There's stuff like Two Great Battle Books in One Big Read and a couple of Edge omnibuses ( Three Great Westerns in One Big Read), you get the idea... but apart from the GNS one you mention I don't know of any other horror doubles or triples. As far as gift sets go though there's an advert in NEL's Ghoul magazine offering, alongside other NEL horror titles, a special 9-book horror gift pack. For £3.55 (incl. p&p) you got The Village of Blood, The Rats, The Venomous Serpent, The Crystal Mouse, Night of the Vampire, Dracula's Gold, The Hell-Fire Club, Werewolf by Moonlight, and Castledoom. Not sure if they came in any sort of box or special packaging but still it's a tasty little selection, isn't it? |
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Post by dem on Jun 25, 2009 16:03:38 GMT
.... and the 'special 9-book horror gift pack' is the greatest gift-pack in history. NEL. They never put a foot wrong, did they? At least, not when Peter Haining was around they didn't.
Mere jealousy doesn't seem adequate.
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Post by killercrab on Jun 25, 2009 16:10:18 GMT
I need to go lie down...
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Post by vaughan on Jul 7, 2009 21:01:32 GMT
Okay - so it doesn't really fit here, but thought I'd mention I got this for 40p today: I don't read a lot of Sci-Fi, but I liked the story as it reminded me of much more recent Radio play I'd recorded (62Y5). A drug to prolong life and restore youth. Suddenly - and dramatically - the scientists' dream comes true. But from its discovery develops a world crisis. The population explosion causes widespread famine. Morals degenerate increasing rates of suicide, divorce and crime. The only solution lies in brutal restiction of population growth. Euthanasia is practised on a large scale and abortion becomes legal for all. Then a new menace presents itself. The drug has been forbidden in the Communist countries. Will they now strike for global domination as the free world crumbles under the influence of the drug? Has the neurosis spread too far? |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 8, 2009 12:05:08 GMT
The great thing is, anything fits here. Sort of. That's a nifty one, V- assuming it's written by the Chapman Pincher, the Their Trade Is Treachery chap?
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Post by vaughan on Jul 8, 2009 16:41:33 GMT
I'm actually not sure if that's the same chap. This - according to the back cover - is his first novel, first published in 1965 (this edition, 1967).....
Still, looks interesting at least.
Publisher: Four Square (New English Library), Edition 1967, 251 pages.
You can't see it too well in the tiny scan - but the cover states: "The Daily Express Columnist's gripping novel of the future".
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Post by bushwick on Aug 16, 2009 13:19:46 GMT
Trip to Manchester yesterday, picked up a few bangers:
'Cutthroat- Michael Slade (NEL)
two old Brak The Barbarian books coz they were cheap
'Check Force: 100 Megaton Kill' - Ralph Hayes (Manor) (some Executioner-type business featuring rugged gun-toting dudes in polonecks on the cover)
'Simon Rack: Earth Lies Sleeping' and 'Starcross' - Laurence James (Sphere) (very happy to have found these)
and
'Horrorscope#1: The Green Flames of Aries' by Robert Lory (Pinnacle) (with a lovely John Holmes cover, which I wouldn't know was by John Holmes if it wasn't for Johnny's interview in PF, cheers!)
I would say, MCR seems OK for second-hand books. A lot better than Leeds. There's a stall on the street kinda near the Arndale that has loads of stuff, you'd need a good few hours there as a lot of the thinner paperbacks are all piled on top of one another.
You've also got the Empire Exchange, near Piccadilly, which is a treasure trove of all things second-hand. Massive, too, but I didn't hit such a result there with books this time. Shudehill Books as well, which is one of those old-school places (like Empire) with a comprehensive porn section at the back. Real British history, these places, and it's reassuring to see they're still surviving, for now at least. There's loads of porno shops in Manchester actually...I see this a good gauge of a city's 'rude health'!
( Manchester seems to be avoiding the uniform gentrification/McDonaldisation of UK city centres. Or at least putting up a good fight. It's been blander since the IRA bomb and the death of the Corn Exchange, but there's still independent life there.)
The real revelation was Paramount Books on Shudehill. This place is big, with a good 'proper literature' section, a wall full of SF (with bits of horror mixed in), loads of comics, old Fangorias, Monster Mags, movie stills...stacks of stuff. The proprietor has two prosthetic arms (not that this has any bearing on anything) and only opens on Fridays and Saturdays. God knows what his rent must be...I'm guessing he bought the place back when it will have been cheap. Had a good chat with him. He says he's been in the business for 30 years and has 2 more floors of books not on display...many gems there, horror etc.
(There is a wire rack next to the counter containing fruit. He said to me 'take an orange with you, or a lime'. I said, thanks, I will. I forgot and was about to leave, and he insisted that i take an orange. I must look unhealthy.)
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Post by dem on Aug 16, 2009 18:55:51 GMT
Thanks for the guided tour, Bushwick. Deserved a thread to itself, that, and will get one if anyone can figure how best to go about organising Vault's answer to the Drif Guides.
The only place that keeps me going around here is a stall in Spitalfields market, Commercial Street, London E1 (entrance just opposite the The Ten Bells of Jack the Ripper notoriety) operated by a gent named Mark Defoe. The market is only open on Sunday (from about 10 am - 4 pm) and prices have risen with the influx of yuppies (as soon as a branch of 'Fairy Gothmother' opens in your town you know the show is over), but you still find the odd bargain .... well, just so long as you don't stray from Mr. Defoe's stall. It's not particularly BIG but he's great for rock music biogs, annuals and, above all, novelisations & tie-ins , plus the occasional oddity. I don't think i've once paid a visit and came away empty handed. This morning i picked up:
Gordon McGill - Omen IV: Armageddon 2000 (Futura, 1983)
Timothy Lea - Confessions From The Pop Scene (Futura, 1974, 1975)
John Theydon - Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons (Armada, 1967)
Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange (Penguin, 1978; i wanted one with the iconic David Pelham cover to add to FM's post).
All very good nick, fiver all in.
There's another stall close by his which specialises in Penguin Originals, although you'll find the odd movie tie-in and the odd book that doesn't really belong there. Many of the Penguins are a reasonable £2 a pop, but i paid an extra quid for the magnificently named Philip Bonewits' Real Magic: Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult #14 (1974)
There's a branch of Spitalfield's Charity Trust opposite The Princess Alice, and anything can happen at the nearby Brick Lane market though some weeks it is DEAD, but that's pretty much the 'scene' in my neck of the woods, and it all takes place on SUNDAYS.
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Post by fullbreakfast on Aug 16, 2009 19:41:57 GMT
The only place that keeps me going around here is a stall in Spitalfields market, Commercial Street, London E1 (entrance just opposite the The Ten Bells of Jack the Ripper notoriety) operated by a gent named Mark Defoe. Hmm, that's strolling distance for me too. I'll have to check it out - thanks. I go in the Ten Bells from time to time but the crowd in there tends to make me feel rather old. |
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Post by dem on Aug 17, 2009 0:17:29 GMT
Hmm, that's strolling distance for me too. I'll have to check it out - thanks. I go in the Ten Bells from time to time but the crowd in there tends to make me feel rather old. If you use the entrance opposite the pub, you should be able to spot his stall pretty easy by all the annuals hanging off the side. You'll like Mark, he's one of the good guys. i'm not sure if i''ll make it next week but most likely will the following Sunday if you want to meet up? Haven't been in The Ten Bells for a few years - actually, the last time was with Mr. Marsh. Is it still as decrepit as ever or has it been ruined like everything else? There's been talk of '£million make-over's and 'a restaurant'.  |
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Post by fullbreakfast on Aug 17, 2009 13:12:32 GMT
If you use the entrance opposite the pub, you should be able to spot his stall pretty easy by all the annuals hanging off the side. You'll like Mark, he's one of the good guys. i'm not sure if i''ll make it next week but most likely will the following Sunday if you want to meet up? Ta. I'll drop you a PM if I'm going to be about a week on Sunday, not sure yet! Haven't been in The Ten Bells for a few years - actually, the last time was with Mr. Marsh. Is it still as decrepit as ever or has it been ruined like everything else? There's been talk of '£million make-over's and 'a restaurant'. No it's still the same old dump, I mean priceless historic gem, as ever. But tends to be noisy in the evening and tightly packed with students and miscellaneous young indie types. Mind it's been a few months since I was in. It used to be a semi-regular stop for me and a mate to take in a couple of pre-Brick Lane pints (you can always stand outside and admire Christ Church after all). But I'm more of a Lahore Kebab House man these days (that or the Empress on Leman Street, which is worth checking out) and more likely to have a pint in the Castle on Commercial Road. |
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Post by pulphack on Aug 17, 2009 18:07:25 GMT
sorry to jump in on this, chaps, but what about that bloke who does vintage paperback in the covered market bit opposite the old brewery down brick lane. don't know if he does every sunday but i was down there about a month back and picked up a nice copy of Doctors Wear Scarlet and a Bernard Kops exploitation about gay gangsters and pop stars in Mayflower for two quid each. he had a two quid box, and some of his other stuff was a little pricy by our standards, but actually resonable by dealer prices. he did give me a card, but i lost it! most of the stalls in there are a bit poncy, but he's worth a look.
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Post by dem on Aug 17, 2009 20:21:20 GMT
Damn! i've walked past that covered bit so many times in the past few months having dismissed it as a posy, over-priced, trendies hang-out on the one occasion the bride and me tried it. Will put that right next time and track down this fellow with the £2 box! Thanks for the tip, pulps.
Mr. Breakfast, nowadays i barely use the pubs but The Castle was something of a regular a few years back, though i was more of a Brown Bear (Leman St.)/ Artful Dodger (Royal Mint) man, not forgetting The Hungerford (Watney Market: the career alcoholic's boozer of choice) which i adore as it's a crazy house and most of the clientelle look like Primal Scream's grand-dads. If the Lahore Kebab house is the one next to the 24 hour Off Licence, chances are our paths may well have crossed already. You're not, by any chance, a tall Goth?
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