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Post by severance on Nov 2, 2017 13:43:48 GMT
No great concern - I've held off commenting about it so as to give Dem the first opportunity - but, typically, he's gone on one of his irregular walkabouts - router issues again perhaps.
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Post by mcannon on Nov 3, 2017 4:24:33 GMT
No great concern - I've held off commenting about it so as to give Dem the first opportunity - but, typically, he's gone on one of his irregular walkabouts - router issues again perhaps. *whew* - word at last. I was starting to wonder whether we'd have to wait for the inevitable Found-Footage movie. Mark
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Post by dem bones on Nov 6, 2017 10:14:07 GMT
No great concern - I've held off commenting about it so as to give Dem the first opportunity - but, typically, he's gone on one of his irregular walkabouts - router issues again perhaps. *whew* - word at last. I was starting to wonder whether we'd have to wait for the inevitable Found-Footage movie. Mark Apologies for delay. No router issues this time, just that after the sheer joy of pulp fair and the following evening's visit to Covent Garden, it was straight back to dealing with real life crap - will draw a veil over that and concentrate on the good stuff. Firstly, many thanks to Anna, Crom, Sev & H.P. Saucecraft for their pleasure of their company at perhaps the most enjoyable paperback fair to date at new venue. Whereas back in Victoria the event was often good as over by midday, business was still going strong at The National when Vault contingent said their goodbyes at throwing out time. That the adjoining ephemera fair is virtually a general book sale in all but name doubtless contributes as we were far from the only attendees pinballing from room to room throughout. Much to my amazement, woke up the following afternoon expecting to find usual pile of ropey "what was I thinking of?" purchases to be lobbed in bin, but, uniquely, this batch all look like winners. Bargain of bargains has to be a mint copy of Steve Holland's The Mushroom Jungle: A History of Post-War Paperback Publishing for .... £1 (!). Also among the nabbed at reasonable prices. Thank you so much to Crom for gifting me pair below which, previously, I only knew of by reputation. Have since read The Poacher in one sitting and it is indeed an ... experience. Also crashed through Son Of The Werewolf and the laugh-out-loud revolting The Festering, so will attempt to hack out some kind of commentaries over coming days. Following night, stage 2 of Dem mini-world tour took me to Waterstones, Covent Garden for Grady Hendrix Paperbacks From Hell signing. Unfortunately my inner sat nav is still two bob as ever so arrived pretty late ... but turns out it didn't matter. Seems there was some confusion over the venue as self and the only other non-staff attendee were initially informed the event was to be staged at the Piccadilly branch. Consequently, we had the charming Mr. Hendrix to ourselves for an hour! Again, please give me a few days and will try pick out the bones from that one. Finally for now, thanks to H. P. Saucecraft for the terrifying t-shirt!
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Post by andydecker on Nov 6, 2017 19:04:07 GMT
The Mushroom Jungle is a good one. I just had to re-read the part of E.C.Tubb for some info, and it still is a fascinating account of the early days of british SF.
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Post by andydecker on Nov 6, 2017 22:00:20 GMT
And now I realize that Tubb's article is in another magazine. Still, The Mushroom Jungle is a great book.
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Post by helrunar on Nov 8, 2017 21:45:04 GMT
Welcome back Dem! I myself haven't had the chance to log on very often in the past fortnight due to sundry layers of insanity.
J'adore that you put the scan of The Sucking Pit cover side by side to Kill Jason King!, not a work I had ever heard of, though I own the entire DVD sets of both Dept S and the eponymous spin-off sequel series.
Truly, thou art a very gentleman of wit and discernment.
The cover of The Festering almost threw me into a bout of uncontrollable hysterics. It needs to be subtitled "That's the last time you'll buy raspberries on sale from the bargain bin at Sainsbury's."
cheers, Steve
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Post by dem bones on Nov 11, 2017 10:52:13 GMT
Thanks Steve. Making decent progress on 'em, all things considered. G.N.S. was so born to write a novel called The Festering concerning a plague of cancerous boils that reduce the afflicted to insane sex-killers. He could have retired happy after this one knowing his work on earth was done. Already had the disgusting pleasure of The Sucking Pit, but The Son Of The Werewolf was new to me and again it is everything you would expect of a GNS novel by that title. Unspeakably recommended. The Disorientated Man aka Scream And Scream Again is another friend from way back. Kill Jason King! merges the storylines of As Easy As ABC and A Red, Red Rose Forever to not particularly devastating effect, though Mr. 'Miall' works in some neat lines and the (off page) sex romps are fun. A nice one for fans, not sure the uninitiated would get much from it. Brian McNaughton's The Poacher (courtesy of Crom) is a supremely violent men's adventure with added killer dog. As with Son Of The Werewolf, it had me gripped so that I completed it in a single sitting which is a rarity. Also bought Bryan Douglas's Mystery & Imagination anthology for the third time, after inadvertently charity-shopping both previous copies in an emergency scare-down. This one ain't going anywhere even if I have to nail it to the shelf of shame. Having heard so much good about it, am looking forward to making a start on The Bornless Keeper over coming days. Something I noticed. The previous fair was dominated by crime and sleaze but on this occasion SF made a strong comeback. Horror/ Supernatural fiction still very much bringing up the rear, though I think the success of Paperbacks From Hell will change that.
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Nov 13, 2017 2:35:09 GMT
Also made it back safely😈 . Great to see the fair revival taking off nicely and always good to see dem and vault contingent.
Some good finds, about time I listed them:
Paperbacks pulps and comics vols 2-4 (£1 each) The mushroom jungle - a history of postwar paperback publishing - Steve Holland (£1) The woman trap aka circus of immortals (volume 2 of the nikopol trilogy)- Enki Bilal (£4) 1st armada ghost book - ed. Christine Bernard (£2) Wild turkey - Roger L. Simon (£2) The Totem - David Morrell (£2)
Find of the day The Sanctuary - Glenn Chandler (signed, £2) another Hamlyn off the list.
A great day, long may the fair continue.
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Post by dem bones on Nov 13, 2017 7:21:26 GMT
Good to see you again Mr. Saucecraft; really taken with several of your horror paintings. Hope you'll share a few with the board in the not too distant.
There's a real pleasant atmosphere about the event these days, and with all the activity in the main hall, so much to see. Some dealers ask way over the odds, but H.P's price guide above should reassure that you don't need to be loaded to bag a bargain or two. The Mushroom Jungle (£1), Disorientated Man (£1), Son Of The Werewolf (£2), More Tales Of Unease (£2) and The Sucking Pit (an extravagant £3) cost me less than a packet of fags. Now try it on Am*z*n or Abe's ...
The rumour mill has it that the next fair is scheduled for April 2018. Am sure one of us will post details soon as anything is confirmed.
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Post by severance on Dec 4, 2017 14:08:28 GMT
Way past time to add something to this thread - a thoroughly enjoyable day and it was a pleasure to get reacquainted once again with Anna (with obligatory "Dracula" book to give away!), H.P. Saucecraft (who looked almost presentable in suit and tie, which is more than can be said for the rest of us), Crom (with whom I chatted about "Modesty Blaise" and book storage) and Dem (who the less said about the better - though he did give me a copy of Hank Janson's "Microkill" so perhaps I shouldn't disparage him too much!) Anyway my haul from the day was as follows: Gil Brewer - Appointment in Hell (Priory - undated) Gil Brewer - The Three-Way Split (Bridbooks - undated) Paul Daniels - The Naked Streets (Magnet - 1960) William Campbell Gault - Don't Call Tonight (Mayflower - 1962) David Goodis - Nightfall (Lion - 1956) Frank Herbert - The Santaroga Barrier (NEL - 1971) Hank Janson - Microkill (Compact - 1968) Larry Kent - Kiss of Death (Cleveland 1959?) Larry Kent - The Cyanide Girl (Cleveland - 1960?) William P. McGivern - Killer on the Turnpike (Pocket - 1961) John McPartland - The Kingdom of Johnny Cool (Eclipse - undated) John Bartlow Martin - Butcher's Dozen (Signet - 1952) Richard S. Prather - Lie Down, Killer (Gold Medal - 1961) Stephen Ransome - Hear No Evil (Panther - 1960) A.E. van Vogt - The Weapon Shops of Isher (NEL - 1970) Harry Whittington - Die, Lover (Triphammer - 1972) Harry Whittington - Web of Murder (Bridbooks - undated) The Larry Kent digests are lovely, the dealer had three altogether but I was virtually out of money by that stage so had to pick the best looking two. David Hyman had the two Bridbooks and one Priory edition mentioned above in very good condition - they are essentially pirated editions that Peter Haddock printed very cheaply in Israel and are usually the worse for wear when you can find them. These three are probably the best looking examples I've seen of his two imprints. As Dem mentioned above there was decidedly more SF this time around, but Crime still provided the majority of the books on offer - though as you can see above HP and Dem still managed to come away with impressive hauls of their own. Hopefully, if there is another in April, we can manage a few more Vault regulars to frighten the other punters.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 5, 2017 9:04:06 GMT
Hopefully, if there is another in April, we can manage a few more Vault regulars to frighten the other punters. Yeah, that would be lovely. Agree with Sev, David Hyman had a particularly appealing selection of mixed-genre titles (five for £20 if I remember?), but was skint by time we reached him. Only realised afterwards that it was Maurice 'Zardoz Books' Flannegan knocking out The Mushroom Jungle and various Zeus titles at an extraordinarily generous £1 a go, though am guessing that was a one-off. Current promo postcard is a thing of beauty, too.
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