Earlier this month, it once again was time for the local library's biannual book sale. On a crisp October afternoon, I set out in search of some worthy paperbacks. It was a weekday, so it was mainly older folks like myself perusing the tables and shelves.
The science fiction and fantasy section had the usual Dealers patrolling the inventory, regularly consulting their phone-based scanners.
For my part, I wound up with an eclectic selection of items. Somebody had dropped off a bunch of Paperbacks from Hell from the mid- to-late 1990s and early 2000s. Generally, I'm not overly impressed with the titles in that era, but for a couple of bucks each, well, why not pick them up. The Ronald Kelly novel 'Fear' apparently has gotten good reviews, as has 'Fireworks' by James A. Moore, 'Fatalis' by Jeff Rovin, and Thomas Tessier's 'Finishing Touches.'
I also found a vintage copy of the sci-fi novel 'Nightmare Blue'; a trade paperback anthology of Brian Lumley novellas; an old Sword and Sorcery paperback edited by Sprague De Camp; a vintage Alfred Hitchcock anthology; an entry in Damon Knight's 'Orbit' franchise; and, believe it or not, Stephen King's 'Carrie' ! I've never read 'Carrie' and I figure I am overdue to sit down with a Signet copy so I can recapture that groovy, far-out 1970s vibe.
Then, there's Harlan Ellison. With each passing year I find it harder to access his writings, knowing what an utter asshole Harlan was. But maybe it's all about respecting the writing, not the writer. Or something like that.........?
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