Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Showing 37–72 of 101 results

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Čapek (Karel) Krakatit.

£750


Translated by Lawrence Hyde.
London, Bles, 1925.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

A great first edition in English of Čapek's novel about a secret explosive formulation and the trouble it causes, not least for its inventor, the chemist Prokop: "a rich and wildly imagined work, unusual in its almost orgiastic baroque exploration of power, sexuality, and guilt." (Bleiler). The wonderful art deco jacket artwork sets the mood perfectly! The original Czech edition was published the previous year.

£150



London, Gollancz, 1961.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Yellow printed dust-jacket, priced 16/-.

Classic sci-fi by one of the undisputed masters of the genre, in the striking Gollancz jacket.

£975



London, John Hamilton, [1927].

First UK edition, a "Sundial Edition". Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original dark blue cloth lettered and with publisher's device in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

A rare jacketed edition of this sci-fi classic, originally published in serial and book form in Melbourne, Australia. The tale recounts the discovery of the last-but-one revenant of a lost civilisation, discovered in Australia's outback by a homesteader; the 'wonder-woman' discovered preserved underground is from an ancient race with a vastly superior technology than our own, but also a rather unfortunate penchant for eugenics and racism, putting humanity itself in terrible peril. The author has signed & inscribed the front endpaper in 1934, thanking the reader to help "bring water to a thirsty land". There is a small clipped portrait of the author tipped-in next to the inscription.

£195



London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1959.

First edition. 8vo. Original green boards lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 12s6d

A very nice first edition of this sinister sci-fi novel, by ex Merchant Seaman Frank Crisp.

£120



London, W.H. Allen, 1978.

First edition. Ex-Library. 8vo. Original blue boards lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced £3.25.

An uncommon first edition from the Tom Baker era 'Doctor Who', by one of the authors most famously associated with the series; it is probable many copies went into the public library system.

£195



London, Ward Lock, 1935

First edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket price clipped. Three digits at base of spine indicates this is an early reprint.

Hubin listed title with strong sci-fi overtones in which an Oriental cadre of secret masters aspire to immortality through imbibing an elixir of unknown provenance, and by using advanced technology to preserve themselves. They threaten the world, but are defeated in the end (Blieler p61, the only title by this author listed).

£95



London, Nelson, 1926.

First edition. 8vo. Original yellow cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.

African adventure revolving around the hunting for ivory. Featured in Reginald's Science fiction and fantasy literature.

£125


The Story of Adams and Eva
London, Duckworth, [1928].

First edition. 8vo. Original purple cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

A rather wonderful oddity, both in terms of the jacket artwork and the contents. Bleiler in his Science-fiction, the early years found it particularly worthy of attention, calling it a 'glib and frothy account of doings among the British upper crust', before outlining the strange plot that involves a disintegrating universe and part of the Italian Tyrol being blasted off into space to form a new Eden. He finishes noting, 'The scientific nonsense might cause a reader to wonder whether the book is an elaborate exercise in irony and paradox, but author's purpose seems to be societal. In any case, the book is almost unreadable. One marvels that it has been perpetually reprinted.' One to step back and admire more then, perhaps.

£595



London, Allen & Unwin, 1932.

First edition. Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, with price-sticker 4/6.

The author's first published novel, a compelling sci-fi work reminiscent of the best works of H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon (a friend of Gloag). The story is of a race of cat people who harness the power of time-travel to visit our planet on multiple occasions, including the 'beginning of the great war of 1999, and the results of that war 400 and 10,000 years later', as well as Jerusalem a few days after the crucifixion. A rare work in the jacket, let alone inscribed; the author has inscribed this copy on the front free endpaper, 'John Gloag October 4th 1932. (Publication night at the Read's).'

£120



London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1956.

First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12s6d.

An intriguing combination of authors: "Each of the three 'tales of imagination' in this book is by a master of the art, and there is enough incident and invention in each of them to surpass most full-length novels." (jacket blurb). The Peake tale Boy in Darkness features Titus, from the Gormenghast books.

£150



London, Heinemann, 1956.

First edition. 8vo. Original dark pink boards. Dust-jacket, pried 13s 6d.

The first edition of this keystone sci-fi work, fascinating on numerous levels, not least for the 'space-folding' capabilities of the indigenous 'dominant beings'.

£395



London, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1919.

First edition. 8vo. Advertisements. Original blue cloth ruled in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7s.

A very good early dust-jacket, uncommon thus. This collection of tale comes from the pen of Scottish author Gerald Grogan, author of the sci-fi novel A Drop in Infinity (1915); the author was killed in the First World War, in 1918.

£150



London, Jonathan Cape, 1930.

First edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

Lovely jacket artwork graces this intriguing tale of drastically accelerated evolution; winner of a £1000 literary prize at the time.

£325



London, Jarrold, 1896.

First edition. 8vo. Original gilt-stamped dark green cloth.

A tantalising tango with Sci-Fi elements by the insanely prolific author of Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886). A really nice copy, to boot.

£150



London, Duckworth, 1939

First edition. Large 8vo. Publisher's white cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6 on front flap, overprinted with 4/6.

The first novel by the writer described by Ronald Bryden as "the most exasperatingly gifted writer in England". Hyams was a translator and author, active in various genres, fiction and non-fiction, from before World War Two. Although not widely known for his speculative work, he published several novels of Sci-Fi interest. The Wings of the Morning is a discussion novel in the style of the scientific romance set as a future war novel whose description does not very accurately anticipate the reality to come. This was his first novel written when he was 28 years old. Rare. No copies of any kind for sale at time of listing.

£165



London, Sampson Low, Marston, [1937].

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

The only work of sci-fi from an author normally associated with more sedentary works on transport; this Lost Race tale set in the Yukon Territory, 'within a caldera heated by volcanic action, a technologically advanced but priest-ridden civilization of "white Indians", originally from ancient Egypt, uses its helicopter-like airships and strange Weapons to attempt to protect its gold from the outer world.' (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction).

£975


Comprising: A Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore
London, Gollancz, 1971-73.

3 vol. First UK editions. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jackets, all correctly priced.

One of the great fantasy fiction series, by the inimitable and prolific Le Guin. The original trilogy, although the author did add to the series with subsequent stories and books, including a work which attempted to bring more focus and heft to female characters. Uncommon in such condition.

£295



London, John Hamilton, 1936.

First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

A rare dust-jacket. One of this author's less common and more interesting titles, a Mad Scientist's attempts to block off the sun's rays and cause the end of the world. Produced for Hamilton's Sundial Mystery Library series.

£300



London, Digby, Long, 1910.

First edition. 8vo. 3pp. advertisements. Original blue cloth lettered in gilt.

An uncommon book by Richard Marsh, author of gothic horror classic The Beetle (1897), the title tale here reflecting his talent for anticipating the impact of new technology. Only a handful of copies recorded in institutional holdings.

£125



London, Charles Griffin, [1930s].

8vo. Original pale blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.

A lovely copy of this sci-fi collection in the Verne vein; uncommon imprint.

£165

First edition, first issue binding.
London. Charles Griffin & Co, [1909]
Early Sci-Fi with a fin de siècle perspective on interplanetary voyaging across the solar system. A companion volume to his The Stolen Planet novel. In Bleiler.

£750



London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1960.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.

Famous post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel by American author Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. A Catholic monastery preserves the remnants of humanities scientific knowledge following a nuclear holocaust. Scarce.

£550



London, Sheed & Ward, 1935.

First edition. Inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.

"In 1935, Mitchell's book Traveller in Time, set in Ireland in 1942, explores a fantastic development of the age of television in the context of Irish history. Colm MacColgan, her traveller, uses his invention of "Tempevision" to tune in to events at different times and places in the past, observing the impacts of the Irish around Europe and beyond." (Wikipedia)

£195


First edition.
London, Burke, 1962.

Uncommon in jacket.

£225



London, Faber, 1932.

First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

A very good first edition of an intriguing sci-fi title with Christian apologetical overtones.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Nisbet (Hume) Ashes:

£875


A Tale of Two Spheres
London, Authors' Co-operative Publishing, 1892.

First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.

Classic Victorian sci-fi, the story of a young man transported to another planet, where he meets and fall in love with a beautiful woman only to have their relationship threatened by an evil sorcerer. The spheres, Earth is a world of war and poverty, while the other Aethasia is a world of peace and prosperity.

£295



London, Macmillan, 1928

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly price of 7/6 on front flap.

Satirical science fantasy of a visit to another planet and the second volume of Eimar O'Duffy's Cuanduine (Spectrum of Fantasy p168)

Uncommon in a jacket. No copies for sale online currently.

£350



London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1969.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, price sticker 25/-.

The first UK edition of the author's first novel, a standout work in his canon; rites-of-passage+generation ships.

£395



London, Heath Cranton, [1932].

First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

Distinctly uncommon book about a cure for cancer by Hubin-listed author Hipshon, in great dust-jacket artwork.

£95



London, Vawser & Viles, 1947

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

Four stories for children, two fantasy: 'Death Swamp' (impregnated with radium) and The Lake under London (subterranean lake filled with monsters)

Uncommon in jacket.

£250



New York, Frederick A. Stokes, February, 1910.

Second edition. 8vo. Original red pictorial cloth.

The second edition of this weird sci-fi tale of Egyptologists and suspended animation, published within one month of the first edition. Scarce.

£1,750


Comprising: The Northern Lights; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass
London, Point/Scholastic, 1995-2000.

3 vol. First editions, first impressions, vol.I first issue. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jackets, correctly priced, vol.I with Carnegie prize sticker as normal.

The first trilogy by Pullman following the adventures of Lyra Silvertongue, one of most significant works of fantasy fiction since Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The author has built on the phenomenal success of this trilogy with numerous spin-offs and extensions, and is working on the next trilogy, The Books of Dust.

£350



London, Duckworth, 1937.

First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket.

Of some sci-fi & fantasy interest, featuring in Bleiler's Checklist of science-fiction and supernatural fiction and Reginald's Science fiction and fantasy literature.

£225



London, Hutchinson, [1929].

First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

A curious thriller revolving around a mysterious death ray - one of only three books published by this author.

£350



London, Gollancz, 1939.

First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

Published in 1939 as the world was teetering on the brink of global war, the novel describes how the nations of the world, previously bent on destroying each other, band together to meet a common catastrophe. The story takes place in West London where the main character, Edgar Hopkins, writes his own narrative about a lunar catastrophe in which the moon collides with the Earth.

£225



London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1972.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue board lettered in silver. Dust-jacket, priced £1.60.

Classic weird science fiction from Clifford D. Simak, featuring telepathic robots and a familiarly named Friar.