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Great Science Fiction that is Out of Print?
book_reader asks: "I recently came across a set of (the alas) out of print The Phoenix Legacy by M. K. Wren. This is/was an amazingly good classic space opera trilogy. So it got me thinking...what other great sci-fi books have vanished into the ether that I don't know about?"
A whole series of fantastic short stories edited by edited by Edmund Crispin, titled "Stars and Under"... have been trying to find it for ages...
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They're not out of print, but also not widely read/known about. CS Lewis's trilogy "Out of the silent planet", "Perelandra" and "That Hideous Strength". I only came across them because I'm a fan of his non-fiction writing, which I strongly recommend.
Like all of Lewis's writing, they're fairly Christian in outlook - that is, not endlessly talking of Jesus, but rather always relating things to a greater power. But they're easy to read and interesting. They get better as the books go on.
Quick description (you'll find others online of course) bloke is taken to another planet my mad scientist (quite hackneyed, but honestly doesn't matter) and discovers a lot about mankind. Then goes to another planet, before spending a book on Earth arguing against dehumanising modernity. Yep, that about sums it up.
I enjoyed Sterling Lanier's Hiero's Journey and Unforsaken Hiero ...
Most of Harry Harrison's Bill, the Galactic Hero books are sadly out of print...
Most of the works of Clifford D. Simak seem to be unavailable...
I can never keep up with what Harlan Ellison is available from what publisher at any given time. There's some good stuff that I was hoping White Wolf would re-publish when they were putting together the Edgeworks editions, but that series seems to have imploded.
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As I've been contributing to IBList I've been digging through various bibliographies. One thing I came across that struck me as something I'd want to read was all the old short stories from the pulp science fiction magazines of the 40's and 50's. In particular, it seems that there were a couple of "house pseudonyms" used by the writers. I'd love to see the collected works of "Ivar Jorgensen" (at various times, works by Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Randall Garrett, Paul Fairman and Richard Wilson) or "E.K. Jarvis", (a pseudonym used by Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, Robert Silverberg, Henry Slesar, Paul Fairman and Robert Moore Williams).
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Daniel Keys Moran wrote an extremely well-received SF trilogy: Emerald Eyes, The Long Run and The Last Dancer. Remarkable books, but due to a lot of Real Life stuff (divorce, birth of a son, new job, etc.) and the Woes of the Publishing Industry (contract disputes with Bantam, etc.), the succeeding novel, while written, has never been published.
... *cough* painful. Fortunately, DKM doesn't have that problem. :)
Check out some of DKM's stuff, if you like. It's not hard SF--DKM doesn't hold a candle to Vernor Vinge or Robert Forward[*]--it's definitely pretty firm SF. Just not quite hard.
[*] Bob Forward is a great author of hard SF. Unfortunately, his dialog and characters are
--- Jason Olshefsky
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Without question, you should read the Witches of
Karres. It was out of print for years, but a small print
run occurred a few years ago. Amazon seems to
have a few (it costs $30). This seems to have produced a
glut of the older paperback copies (check bookfinder.com)
-- before the new print run, it was almost impossible to
find. This is fantastic old-school sci fi.
Jack Vance has written many excellent but out of print sci-fi and fantasy novels. But you can often find them at used-book stores. I recommend them highly; his mastery of the English language is astonishing, and his dialog is very witty.
It's disappointing that anybody treats the Science Fiction genre as something that goes 'out of print.' That implies shopping only at new bookstores, and that is a serious error. Much of the great SF writing out there is only obtainable through used bookstores. This seems to have almost always been the case with authors like Harlan Ellison. Some of the better SF bookstores (i.e. Dreamhaven in Minneapolis) mix out-of-print classics in with the new books on the shelf because of this. It's disappointing to think that there are SF readers out there with a 'new book only' mentality.
- adam
Mckillip's "Riddle of Stars" trilogy (Riddlemaster of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire and Harpist in the Wind) is terrific. Partly because it came out when fantasy was dominated by LOTR ripoffs (e.g. Shannara), but it holds up well after 20+ years. Or anything else by her. It's fantasy, rather than SF, but that's okay, since others have already referenced the CS Lewis trilogy.
and Creatures of Light and Darkness, both by Zelazny and both blurring the boundaries of fantasy and SF.
Another (post-Bill TGH) Harrison series. Not exactly out of print... but the first one was a hoot (I haven't read all the others, so can't personally recommend).
Have fun!
OldFart
Yes it's very very good! And no, it's not out of print!
Best quote: "No, you don't have a soul. You are a soul; you have a body."
But I must admit, I did check to see if John Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline , Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men and Star Maker and Ursula LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven and Stanislaw Lem's Imaginary Magnitude were still in print!
They are. Whew!
This is a mix of SF, Fantasy, and Horror, and includes things I think are out of print:
Novels
Rats & Gargoyles - Mary Gentle
The Werewolves of London - Brian Stableford
Blood Music - Greg Bear
Eon - Greg Bear
The Glass Hammer - K.W. Jeter
Moving Mars - Greg Bear
Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, Eight Skilled Gentlemen - Barry Hughart
The Hereafter Gang - Neal Barrett Jr.
The Light at the End - John Skipp & Craig Spector
Crucifax Autumn - Ray Garton
The Child Garden - Geoff Ryman
The Bridge - Iain Banks
Evolution's Shore (a.k.a. Chaga) - Ian McDonald
Holy Fire - Bruce Sterling
Geek Love - Katherine Dunn
Terminal Cafe (a.k.a. Necroville) - Ian McDonald
The Night Watch - Sean Stewart
Nifft the Lean - Michael Shea
Fevre Dream - George R. R. Martin
The Magic Wagon - Joe R. Lansdale
Perfume - Patrick Süskind
The Difference Engine - William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
Synners - Pat Cadigan
Lord of the Hollow Dark - Russell Kirk
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
Door Number Three - Patrick O'Leary
The Paratawa Trilogy - Christopher Hinz
The Paper Grail - James P. Blaylock
Firelord - Parke Godwin
The Shaft - David J. Schow
Empire of the East - Fred Saberhagen
Collections & Anthologies
The Hugo Winners (Volumes I & II)- Isaac Asimov, editor
Strange Things in Close Up - Howard Waldrop
Songs the Dead Men Sing (Dark Harvest version) - George R. R. Martin
Vacuum Diagrams - Stephen Baxter
San Diego Lightfoot Sue & Other Stories - Tom Reamy
Night of the Cooters - Howard Waldrop
By Bizarre Hands - Joe Lansdale
Think Like a Dinosaur - James Patrick Kelley
Dark Gods - T.E.D. Klein
The Fire When It Comes - Parke Godwin
Portraits of His Children - George R. R. Martin
Book of the Dead - John Skipp & Craig Spector, editors
Watchers at the Straight Gate - Russell Kirk
The Last Defender of Camelot - Roger Zelazny
Mirrorshades - Bruce Sterling, editor
Slow Dancing Through Time - Gardner Dozois, et al.
Seeing Red - David J. Schow
Heatseeker - John Shirley
Empire Dreams - Ian McDonald
Patterns - Pat Cadigan
Crystal Express - Bruce Sterling
Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov, Editor
Many of these are still available on the used book market. In fact I have many available at The Lame Excuse Books Web Page
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/