Fahrenheit 451, 1969 ed, Ray Bradbury
Submitted by Jeffrey Morris
“This was one of the first books I’d bought from the Scholastic Books people with my own money, way back in third grade. I still have it, and had Bradbury autograph it a while back. It still astonishes me how in far too many ways it mirrors today’s world.”
City, 1952, Clifford D. Simak
Submitted by Scott Slemmons
“A *brief* statement about the book would really be kinda hard to put together. It’s basically the myths and legends that robots and dogs tell each other about the vanished mythological creature called Man, how the species disappeared, and how Earth survived without them. I’ve had chances to get nicer editions of this book, but I’ve stuck with the old one ’cause I love the way it screams “Classic Science Fiction.””
Cat’s Cradle, 1970 ed, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
Submitted by Brandon Bragg
“According to the blurb, this book “deals with atomic scientists, ugly Americans, gorgeous sex queens, vengeful midgets, Caribbean dictators, undertakers, Hoosiers, a new way of making love, ice-none, Bokononism, the end of the world…”
This is all true.
Plus, it has a chapter entitled “Vice-president in Charge of Volcanoes,” which is awesome.”
Dark Future: Comeback Tour, 1991, Jack Yeovil
Submitted by Bob Temuka
“Dark Future was the best pulp fiction series of the 1990s, especially those written by Jack Yeovil, who is the hard-drinkin’ alter-ego of Kim Newman, the best movie critic in the UK.
Comeback Tour featured Elvis Presley defeating dark Lovecraftian gods through the power of rock and roll and heavy artillery. A career soldier who has gone freelance in an apocalyptic USA, the big E ends up fighting people turned into lethal Barbie dolls named Donny and Marie in the swamped ruins of Cape Canaveral, as the spirits of Gus Grissom and Dave Bowman watch on.
Sadly, it was the last in the series, although further books were promised 17 years ago. Newman certainly intended to have one big blow-out, where all that is good in America finally defeats the forces of darkness, but it never happened.”
Armada, 1981, Michael Jahn
Submitted by Mike Sterling
“In the near future of 1995, a ten-mile long spaceship parks in Earth’s orbit and soon, it becomes apparent that the alien critters aboard the ship are coming planetside to feed…on humans. Our hero, the incredibly-named space shuttle captain Nathaniel Broadsword, finds himself at the forefront of the battle against this terrifying menace.
I think I must have read this book about a thousand times as a kid, first repeatedly checking out the library copy, then finally scoring a copy of my own. It’s a very surface-level alien invasion story — no subtlety whatsoever — but maintains a nice mix of creepiness regarding the mostly-faceless and unknowable aliens, and just plain ol’ sci-fi military spaceship shoot-em-ups. A lot of attention is paid to number of available ships for battle, how many of the enemy are taken out, who has how many rocket missiles left to shoot at the enemy, and so on…sounds like a lot of bean-counting, I realize, but the logistics involved in the extremely-outmatched humans trying to take on the nearly-invulnerable aliens kept me fascinated. Plus there’s lots of swearing and sex, and thus perfect for a 12-year-old to read.”
The Rest Must Die, 1959, Richard Foster
Submitted by Andrew Weiss
“The lurid pulp packaging masks a surprisingly effective tale about a group of New Yorkers trapped under Penn Station after a nuclear attack. It’s no ON THE BEACH, but it is vastly superior to the overpraised silliness of Pat Frank’s ALAS, BABYLON.”
A Feast Unknown, 1969, Philip Jose Farmer
Submitted by Dave Campbell
“This book is mostly about the penises of Tarzan and Doc Savage. Sure, Philip Jose Farmer doesn’t identify his main characters as Tarzan or Savage – instead they are “Lord Grandrith” and “Doc Caliban,” but they clearly are. This gory, erotic, over-the-top adventure serves up a psycho-sexual clash between these pulp titans, who have two things in common: Their dad was Jack the Ripper, and they can only ejaculate after committing acts of violence! Featuring a memorable “sword fight” over a bottomless chasm, a Feast Unknown gloriously smears the line between sex and violence.. with a penis.”
Uncle Dynamite, 1950 ed, P.G. Wodehouse
Submitted by Bully
“Congrats on hitting your century of Paperback Book Club, Mister Dorian! You mighta have guessed that my choice would be a P. G. Wodehouse novel. This one’s Uncle Dynamite, originally published in 1948, and the edition I have here is a 1950 Dell paperback. It’s one of the favorite in my collection, not only for the sensationalistic cover art which features a leggy blonde (ah-oo-gah!) but also one of the best-loved characters in Wodehouse, Uncle Fred, the Lord of Ickenham, getting into the usual mischief and hijinks appropriate for a Wodehouse rogue.
Great cover, huh? But flip the book over to the back…
This is a Dell Mapback, so called because the reverse of the paperback series each featured a map (or, more cartographically technically correct, a “view”) of the ongoings and settings of the book. I love collecting this series for the wonderful back cover art. More modern books ought to revive this trend, doncha think? Wouldn’t you want to see a map of the dull grey woods of Forks, Washington on the back of a copy of Twilight, or of Washington DC outlining the events of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol? Oh, wait, no, never mind. Those we don’t need. Never mind then. Happy hundredth anyway, Dorian!”
Venus on the Half-Shell, 1975, “Kilgore Trout” (Philip Jose Farmer)
Submitted by Dr. K
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Damn, I knew I forgot to do something this week… Doubt I could have topped these though.
I couldn’t have topped these either, but it’s good to see the Scholastic Book Club get some loving. I still have my copies ’70s era copies of The Two Towers and Return of the King from the book fair, my Fellowship of the Ring having fallen apart.
Jeepers, I’ve had that Dark Future book in the bookcase by my bed for over ten years, now, and still not read it. I’ll get around to it.
I used to love the game – although, as with much of the Games Workshop stuff, I enjoyed the worlds more than playing the actual games. I did make good use of all the Corgi/Matchbox/Dinky cars that I had left over from childhood, though.
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