AbeBooks' Reading Copy

If you’ve never heard the name Frank Frazetta, that doesn’t mean you’ve never seen his work. In the latter 20th century, Frazetta was a prolific artist in the fields of fantasy, science fiction and comic art. As comfortable with swords, sorcery and unnaturally curvaceous space heroines as he was with caricature and parody, his work [...]

Fans of George R.R. Martin love the author for his amazing attention to detail within his vast storylines; what they don’t love, is having to wait several years between books.  This isn’t to say his fans are unappreciative – I assume most understand that quality craftsmanship takes time.  It’s more that they’ve been accustomed to [...]

Happy birthday to Jules Verne, born 185 years ago today, on February 8th, 1828. Verne was a French science fiction author, most famous for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. His imagination ran just as deep, and throughout his career he contributed immeasurably to the genre of science fiction. He is often called the father [...]

Is there a creature more fantastical than the dragon? From fierce, fire-breathing serpents to wise telepathic companions, literature has told tales of these mythical beasts for generations. Some of the best fantasy, science fiction and myth revolve around them. Fierce or friendly, wise or goofy, winged and scaly, literature is full of remarkable dragons to [...]

While putting together a piece on the best science fiction books (stay tuned…) I came across these two great non-English-language covers for the sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells – the first is a Spanish language edition of the book, the second is a Danish program for the play. Gorgeous.

People have often commented on the genius of J.R.R. Tolkien, frequently citing the elaborate depths he went to when creating Middle-earth. Maps, languages, political systems, races – Tolkien’s level of detail allowed readers a deeper immersion into a fantasy world than any author before him. An excellent example – here is a rare recording of [...]

Interesting news – according to science-fiction and fantasy site Tor.com, a graphic novel adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is going to be available soon. In fact, it’s slated for publication on October 2nd, just shy of three weeks from the writing of this post. How did I not hear of it [...]

Nasa announced yesterday that The Mars Curiosity landing site has been named Bradbury after literary legend Ray Bradbury who passed away in June of this year. Henceforth known as Bradbury landing, the site unnamed until its official dedication and naming yesterday, which would have been Bradbury’s 92nd birthday. All of this points, to me, to [...]

Some gems in here – what might The Lord of the Rings have been like if it were written not by J.R.R. Tolkien, but by… …Ernest Hemingway? Frodo Baggins looked at the ring. The ring was round. It was a good ring. The hole at the heart of the ring was also round. The hole [...]

We love Amazing Stories Magazine and were sad to learn of its demise in 2006. Fortunately, with some fresh blood, new passion and a revitalized approach, it looks like it may just have been a long hiatus. And it sounds mysterious and potentially exciting: “To make a long story short and to simultaneously avoid having [...]