Sphere - Latest Updates

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl (thomson books ltd.) sphere books p/b first printing, first uk edition

cover art by jim burns (signed, obscured by logo; collected in "lightship" jim burns, chtlris evans (1985) q.v.)
cover price £1.75 (check for overseas territories prices)
388 pp. (check) including titles, indicia etc, end pp.

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl (thomson books ltd) sphere books first printing, first uk p/b edition

cover art by les edwards
cover price £1.50, £1.50 malta, $4.95 australia
192pp. (check) including (i-)xii pp. titles, indicia, nf introduction by lin carter, etc, end pp. advertising

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Comment by ppint.:

the reluctant king trilogy #1:

#1: ''the goblin tower'' (1968), (this novel)
#2: "the clocks of iraz" (1971), q.v.
#3: "the unbeheaded king" (1983), q.v.

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl sphere books p/b second printing, with new

cover art unsigned, uncredited (eye in partial face with homunculus in place of iris)
cover price 30p, 7.25 (shillings) east africa, 75c south africa, 1.00c australia, 1.00c new zealand, 1.25c canada
160pp. including titles, indicia etc, end pp.

indicia adds line in publishing history:
reprinted april 1972

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl sphere books p/b third printing, with new

cover art by chris foss (signed with his ''F-in-a-box'' monogram, uncredited)
cover price 30p, 1.00c (sic) australia, 1.00c (sic) new zealand
so should be re-flagged "international" according to respected moderator's rule
- or not so re-flagged, according to equally well-respected moderator's heartfelt plea
160pp. including titles, indicia etc, end pp. advertising

indicia publishing history line adds note of date of third printing:
reprinted april 1972, reprinted november 1973

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Comment by ppint.:

serialised in amazing stories vol.43 #2, #3; 7, 9/1969
each part with one b+w illustration by dan adkins

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Comment by ppint.:

cormoran strike #3:
private eye crime and detection mysteries series

#1: "the cuckoo's calling" (2013), q.v. (eventually for series listing, and links).

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Comment by ppint.:

sphere (not "sphere books") is stated to be: an imprint of little brown books group, carmelite house, 50 victoria embankment, london ec4y 0dz an hachette uk company.

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Comment by ppint.:

hachette uk little brown books group sphere imprint b-format p/b first printing, first uk p/b edition
preceded by the sphere imprint h/cvr first printing (2015)

dedication: to séan and matthew harris, do whatever you like with this dedication,
but don't ---
don't ---
use it on your eyebrows

cover art from photograph by nico taylor (unsigned, credited on back cover but © is by the publisher)
cover price £7.99
592pp. including 8 unpaginated pages titles, indicia etc, 12 end pp: 7pp. acknowledgements including 2pp. introduction to these, 1 blank p, 1p. about the - fictional - author, 3pp. advertising

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Comment by ppint.:

contents:
weird tales (volume number issue number, month/year)

black god's kiss (vol.24 #4, 10/1934) jirel of joiry
shambleau (vol.22 #5, 11/1933) northwest smith
black god's shadow (vol.24 #6, 12/1934) jirel of joiry
black thirst (vol.23 #4, 4/1934) northwest smith
the tree of life (vol.28 #3, 10/1936) northwest smith
scarlet dream (vol.23 #5, 5/1934) northwest smith

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl (thomson books ltd.) sphere books p/b first printing, not first uk p/b edition

reprint collection of two jirel of joiry and four northwest smith novelettes

cover art unsigned, uncredited
cover price 60p, 64p eire, $1.95 australia & new zealand
176pp. (check) including titles, indicia (no table-of-contents) etc, end pp.

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Comment by 23skidoo:

@David Whitely. Library rebind, maybe? Considering this book was based on a raunchy comedy with a "naughty" photo on the cover, someone might have also made up a Penguin-style "formal" cover for it as a joke or to hide it from the kids/spouse/boss! LOL

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Comment by David Whiteley:

My copy of this book, which I bought in 1973 or 74 from a shop selling remainder books, has for some reason had its cover removed and replaced with a hard cover. Maybe someone in the book trade knows the reason why.

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Comment by 23skidoo:

@JimEss I have found multiple websites identifying Waller as the author. I will submit a correction. Thanks!

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Comment by JimEss SUBS:

When I added a book by Leslie Waller some months ago, I noticed his Wikipedia biography has this book as ghost-written by him.

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Comment by 23skidoo:

Recalling how Alan Dean Foster ghost-wrote the Star Wars A New Hope novelization for George Lucas I looked around to see if perhaps someone wrote this on behalf of Spielberg. I did see one website speculate it may have been Foster again, but otherwise I can find nothing. Of course if anyone is able to identify a writer who used Spielberg as a pen name, please correct accordingly.

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Comment by ppint.:

tbl sphere books p/b first printing, first uk edition

cover art by melvyn grant (signed melvyn, uncredited)
b+w map uncredited
cover price 75p, 82p republic of ireland, 80c malta, $2.50 australia, $2.50 new zealand
224pp. including titles, indicia, nf introduction by andrew j. offut, b+w map, etc, end pp. advertising

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Comment by ppint.:

contents:

semper fi (short story) analog vol. lviii #6, 8/1964 as "satisfaction"
the big pat boom (ss) galaxy vol.22 #2, 12/1963, a b+w illustration by h. r. van dongen
man in the jar (ss) galaxy vol.13 #6, 4/1957, strato bre #51,both: a b+w illustration by william ashman
the handler (ss) rogue 8/1960
mary (novelette) galaxy vol.22 #5, 6/1964 as "an ancient madness"; a b+w illustration by john giunta
auto-da-fe (ss) galaxy vol.19 #3, 2/1961, t&p/strato bre #84; both: a b+w illustration by bob ritter
to the pure (ss) new worlds #167, 10/1966
eripmav (ss) f&sf vol.14 #6, 6/1958; venture atlas bre #26, 10/1965 (!)
backward, o time (ss) galaxy vol.12 #4, 8/1956 as "this way to the regress", b+w illustration by wes
the night of lies (ss) f&sf vol.15 #4, 10/1958; venture atlas bre #12, 8/1964 (!)
maid to measure (ss) f&sf vol.27 #4, 10/1964
collector's item (ss) worlds of tomorrow vol.1 #2, 6/1963 as "the end of the search"
a likely story (ss) infinity vol.1 #2, 2/1956, a b+w illustration by robert engle
don't live in the past (nte) galaxy vop.2 #3, 6/1951, with six b+w illustrations by david maus

original publication details added