victor gollancz vgsf (78 results)

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Unknown. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Mark Harrison (illustrator). May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.25.

Paperback. Condition: Fine. A book in the Berserker series. Referenced in Barron; Anatomy of Wonder 4, 4-378. A fine and bright, unread as new copy. Book.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good.

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Steve Crisp (illustrator). 1991 Edition. © 1988: A stand-alone novel by Frederik Pohl. 1st printing of 1991 edition:- Synopsis: Knollwood Stennis (opera singer turned accountant) knew that the vast empire called Narabedla Ltd was set up to support scientific research and cultural events. He knew that Narabedla Ltd was huge. What he didn't know was that it owned a piece of just about every fast-growing company in the market. A big piece. Ford, ITT - any of the companies of Big Oil - Narabedla was right up there and could probably buy and sell some of them. When Nolly does stumble on these startling facts, an alarm bell starts to ring in the back of his nimble brain. But then two fellow performers signed to Narabedla disappear in suspicious circumstances. Some sort of investigation seems in order. Nolly expects to find there's more than charitable works going on in Narabedla. What he doesn't expect is to be kidnapped and find himself dumped on the second moon of the seventh planet of the star Aldebaran:- Review(s): "The most consistently able writer science fiction has yet produced" - Kingsley Amis / "The shrewdest thinker on the future that I have ever met" - Isaac Asimov:- (original cost £4.50).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Jim Burns (illustrator). 1987 Edition. © 1969: A stand-alone novel by Robert Silverberg. 1st printing of 1987 edition:- Synopsis: He had died on a scavenger Earth - where the living drew power from the souls of the dead. Once Paul Kaufmann had been the world's richest and most powerful man. Now he was the prize in a ruthless game of violence, sex and treachery played by those determined to succeed him. For Paul Kaufmann was dead. His soul was stored in the Scheffing Institute, waiting to be awarded to the person judged strong enough to use it. But who knew what such a fearsome mind contained - and who could imagine the results if an error of judgement were made?:- Review(s): "Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow" - Isaac Asimov / "Always funny, clever and very stylish" - Observer:- (original cost £2.95).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Adrian Chesterman (illustrator). 1995 Edition. © 1994: 2nd in the 'A Land Fit For Heroes' series of books. 1st printing of 1995 edition:- Synopsis: Britannia, 1993. In a world where the Roman Legionaries never left Britain a man can walk from the walls of York - or Eburacum - to the Southern seas without leaving the shade of the greenwood, inhabited by wildcats, wolves and bears, as well as descendants of the folk who built Stonehenge. Solar-powered air cars journey along straight roads that connect the Roman settlements - and link them to the cities of a global empire. When a jealous feud forced three young people into the forest, they discovered an older Britain, where the rules of rational Rome no longer applied. But now their sanctuary has been besieged and they are once more on the run. Their destination this time is Stand Alone Stan, a community built around an ancient standing stone high on the Yorkshire Moors. And it is here that their paths must, at last, diverge, and we begin to suspect the very different destinies that await them:- Review(s): "A superb novel of an alternate world filled with magic, wonder and a haunting sense of place" / "Strange but quite beautiful. Mann has given this book a mythic quality that augers well for the rest of the series" - New Statesman:- (original cost £5.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Michael W Kaluta & Steve Fastner (illustrator). 1992 Edition. © 1991: 4th in the 'Bill, The Galactic Hero' series of books. 1st printing of 1992 edition. Dealer's stamp to inside front page:- Synopsis: Bill - the perfect Spaceship Trooper: big, brawny and brainwashed. Bill - the perfect hero: ready to go anywhere, do anything to save his own neck, which is probably the only part of his body that is still his own. Bill - back in the Army hospital for yet another transplant and looking forward to a spot of R and R (which every Trooper translates as Rutting and Rotgut), and some respite from his troublesome adventures. Bill doesn't have a hope. The nurses are steel robots, and he seems to have acquired a goats foot - not for luck - at least, not the good kind. And the goat's foot seems to have acquired a goat-lady - of the exceedingly demanding kind. She knows all about tasteless pleasure, and she aims to teach Bill everything he never wanted to know:- Review(s):- "A hangover cure for the jaded" - The Guardian:- (original cost £3.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Michael W Kaluta & Steve Fastner (illustrator). 1992 Edition. © 1991: 5th in the 'Bill, The Galactic Hero' series of books. 1st printing of 1992 edition:- Synopsis: Bill - the perfect Starship Trooper: big, brawny, and brainwashed. Possessor of two right arms (impressive when it comes to saluting) and a foot that is threatening to turn into something more suited to being an umbrella stand than anything that could be squeezed into a size 11 sneaker. Bill - a perfect recruit for the good ship Bounty, bound for the Chinger war and carrying a cargo of as nice a company of homicidal misfits and maniacs as you could wish to meet outside of a penitentiary asylum (which is where they've just come from). Bill, The Galactic Hero - he's back, he's bad and about to meet the most hideous alien lifeform of his entire career. He'd do anything to save his skin without rocking the boat - but mutiny? On the Bounty?:- Review(s):- A hangover cure for the jaded" - The Guardian:- (original cost £3.99).

Soft cover. Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: John Harris (illustrator). 1989 Edition. © 1988: 2nd in the 'Thistledown' series of books. 1st printing of 1989 edition:- Synopsis: First there was 'Eon'. Now, beyond 'Eon', almost beyond imagination, there is 'Eternity':- Review(s): "If 'Eon' was magnificent, which it was, then this sequel outshines it. Exciting thinking and innovative writing. I doubt if there is anyone at the moment writing much better fiction of any kind" - South Wales Argus / "The thought of going beyond the barrier-breaking 'Eon' is pretty mind-boggling. Bear does it though. It could hardly be more ambitious" - City Limits:- (original cost £5.99).

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Trade paper original first edition, with "First published in Great Britain 1991" and no other printings on its copyright page. This lovely copy appears unread, and is in near fine condition, marred only by some traces of wear on cover edges, plus a small label on its back from a US book distributor. TWO authors -- Ian McDonald and Charles Stross -- have signed this book (with no personalization) on their story title page. McDonald also wrote "LOVE -- MUNGO", as an inscription from his cat "Mungo", which is pictured on the page. This book's binding is tight and square, with no reading creases in its spine or hinges. Other than the author signatures, its covers and pages are unmarked. As with all Space Age Book purchases, I will ship this book in a moisture proof zip-loc bag, padded in bubble wrap, inside a sturdy box to assure it reaches its new owner in the same condition as my description. Signed by Author(s).

Paperback: 7" x 4¼". Condition: Very Good: Light signs of wear. Cover Art: Terry Pastor (illustrator). 1989 Edition. © 1975: 3rd in the 'Berserker' series of books. 1st printing of 1989 paperback edition:- Synopsis: Five hundred years have passed since the forces of humanity vanquished the Berserker armada, and mankind's most implacable foe no longer terrorizes the populated galaxies. Yet in that apocalyptic struggle a lone Berserker survived, and limped to secret sanctuary on a planet called Hunter's World. Over the years, it has assumed s god-like status, the death of all living organisms its only creed. But single human sacrifices will no longer satisfy the Berserker-god. it is time for the ultimate offering - the whole human race:- Review(s): "In single-minded pursuit of their pre-programmed course of destruction the Berserkers attain a kind of perverse stature that makes them worthy stand-ins for the dark side of human nature" - New York Times / "A fascinating premise and a good read" - Frank Herbert:- (original cost £3.50).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Harvey Parker (illustrator). 1st Edition. © 1995: 1st in the 'Deathstalker' series of books. 1st edition, 1st printing:- Synopsis: Owen Deathstalker, last of his line, is a quiet man, a historian, remote from the stench of corruption and intrigue surrounding the Iron Throne at the heart of the galaxy-spanning, tyrannical Empire. And then inexplicably, Deathstalker is outlawed, forced to flee from one end of the Empire to the other. And as he does so, he discovers that resistance is growing, everywhere, to the Iron Bitch on the Iron Throne. From the gladiators whose blood entertains the masses, to the clones, the espers, the artificial intelligences, even the wealthy families, the hatred is growing. The Empress is presiding over a tinder box. Only a spark is needed. It could be that outlawing Deathstalker was the Iron Bitch's biggest mistake:- (original cost £5.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Jim Burns (illustrator). 1987 Edition. © 1967: A stand-alone novel by Robert Silverberg. 1st printing of 1987 edition:- Synopsis: It was the afternoon of Christmas Day when Vornan-19 fell from the sky and landed naked on Rome's Spanish Steps. The year is 1999. The century is about to turn and the world is on the verge of mass hysteria, gripped by apocalyptic visions of Man's imminent doom. Into this explosive situation drops Vornan-19, hypnotically charismatic, claiming to be a traveller from the year 2999. The world is indeed ready for a sign, an omen. But is Vornan-19 truly the new messiah; or is he, rather, an instrument of wanton and devastating malice?:- Review(s): "Probably the most intelligent science fiction writer in America" - Ursula K Le Guin / "Always funny, clever and very stylish" - Observer:- (original cost £2.95).

Paperback: 8½" x 5½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: David Farren (illustrator). 1992 Edition. © 1992: 2nd in the 'Blue Moon Rising' series of books. 1st printing of 1992 edition:- Synopsis: In Castle Midnight, where the Real and the Unreal meet, the King lies dead - murdered - and three princes ready themselves to do battle for his throne. But one is ill, perhaps the victim of poison. His sickness must be kept secret - which is where the Great Jordan comes in. He had been a great actor; now he's a travelling player, down on his luck and ready to take on any job, even one as dangerous as impersonating a prince. He should have stayed hungry. As the Unreal gets the upper hand and whole areas of the castle become supernatural no-go areas, traitors and spies are as thick on the ground as ghosts and apparitions - and as deadly. And in the middle of it all, the Great Jordan, wondering if this might be his last act:- (original cost £7.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Very Good: Light signs of wear. Cover Art: The Image Bank (illustrator). 1990 Edition. © 1984: A collection of 11 short stories by Frederik Pohl. 1st printing of 1990 edition:- Contents: The Sweet, Sad Queen Of The Grazing Isles / The High Test / Spending A Day At The Lottery Fair / Second Coming / Enjoy, Enjoy / Growing Up In Edge City / We Purchased People / Rem The Rememberer / The Mother Trip / A Day In The Life Of Able Charlie / The Way It Was:- Synopsis: In his novels, including the award-winning 'Gateway' and 'The Years Of The City', Fred Pohl established himself as a superb craftsman. With this collection he reveals a multifaceted talent to heighten that reputation. Ranging from the light-hearted 'The High Test', in which human wit triumphs over awesome alien aggression, to the brutally grim, with the slavery depicted in 'We Purchased People', Fred Pohl brilliantly illustrates futures bizarre but all too believable:- Review(s): "For fifty years his writing has been lucid, sensitive and witty. In 'Pohlstars' he is still doing what he has always done best, fabricating absurd systems and predicaments, chilling and comic by turns, around characters observed with sympathy even if they are psychotic murderers" - Times Literary Supplement / "By the master of dystopic visions, Fred Pohl. Versatility of themes and treatments is his trade mark" - Tribune / "The touch of the master-craftsman" - The Scotsman:- (original cost £3.50).

Paperback: 7" x 4¼". Condition: Very Good: Light signs of wear. Cover Art: Angus Fieldhouse (illustrator). 1988 Edition. © 1978: A stand-alone novel by Bob Shaw. 1st printing of 1988 paperback edition:- Synopsis: Space has ways of punishing those who venture into it - and on this trip the crew of the Sarafand would get all they deserve. The Sarafand's latest mission guaranteed adventure - her task the exploration of vast uncharted regions of space. Virgin planets, brand new life-forms and aliens, hostile to intruding humans were all part of Captain Aesop's computerized brief. But on this trip there occurred a series of quite unscheduled adventures - incidents to surpass the experience of Sarafand's most space-hardened pioneers:- Review(s): "Shaw's control is immaculate and his action supercharged. Use it to addict your friends" - The Tribune / "A fast-moving yarn which ends in truly mind-boggling fashion" - Eastern Daily Press / "Intelligently entertaining" - Tablet / "Top flight space adventure" - Tribune:- (original cost £2.99).

Paperback. Condition: Fine. First VGSF edition. A fine, as new unread copy. Book.

Pictorial Wraps. Condition: Very Good. First Thus. Cover art by Mike Posen. Mass market paperback. Printed in Great Britain. Slight shelfwear, remainder mark to bottom edge, otherwise a nice clean tight solid softcover copy. 191pp. SB-84.

Paperback: 7" x 4¼". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Bob Layzell (illustrator). 1990 Edition. © 1975: 1st in the 'Gaean Reach' series of books. 1st printing of 1990 edition:- Synopsis: When Schaine Madduc returned to Koryphon after five years in space she found her home planet in turmoil. One of its several intelligent species, the humanoid Uldra, was plotting to overthrow the human, land-holding community of which Schaine was part. And Schaine found herself at the heart of the conflict when she realised that the Grey Prince, the Uldra's ruthless leader, was her foster-brother Muffin - upon whom she had always exerted a profound influence. As the crisis deepened, it became apparent that time had not diminished this influence; and now it was perhaps powerful enough to destroy Schaine's home, her family. Her entire way of life:- Review(s): "Excellent. Vance is a splendid storyteller" - Library Journal/ "One of the finest writers the science fiction field has ever known" - Poul Anderson:- (original cost £3.50).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Uncredited (illustrator). 1988 Edition. © 1981: A stand-alone novel by Robert Holdstock. 1st printing of 1988 edition. Second-hand bookseller's stamp to front cover page:- Review(s): "A planet where eerie time displacements, like winds, can dump alien artifacts from the past and future into now, or sweep things away from now into anywhen. A planet that attracts both scientists and fortune hunters, rummaging among the strangenesses, risking oblivion, carrying with them their own hang-ups, desperations, odd urges and searches. You won't easily forget this haunting fully-realised world" - Tribune / "A writer of unusual delicacy and imagination" - Observer / "An inspired and original author" - Michael Moorcock:- (original cost £2.95).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Near Fine: Small signs of wear. Cover Art: Michael Posen (illustrator). 1987 Edition. © 1977: A stand-alone novel by Robert Holdstock. 1st printing of 1987 edition:- Synopsis: They came to the planet to seek its ancient secret. They would be asked to pay a terrible price. What bizarre change has come over the human colonists of the planet Aeran? Why have they forgotten their origins, and allowed their society to revert to a Stone Age culture that flourished on Earth thirty-six centuries before? Perhaps some strange racial memory has been awakened. Or is there a more alien reason for the change, embodied in the symbol of their oracle, the Earthwind? Elspeth Mueller and Peter Ashka have both come to the planet to seek the truth behind the Earthwind. But they have brought with them the seeds of their own slow destruction. Their quest is a race against time: for it is Time itself that holds the key to the mystery, and Time itself that will soon destroy them:- Review(s): "A profoundly imaginative and remarkable book" - Spectator / "The best SF writers are able to let their art carry thought as well as wowee mind-blowing imaginative action. The word may be maturity. Holdstock's got it too" - Tribune / "Haunting" - Sunday Times:- (original cost £2.95).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Good: Moderate signs of wear. Cover Art: Peter Elson (illustrator). 1993 Edition. © 1992: 2nd in the 'Spiral' series of books. 1st printing of 1993 edition:- Synopsis: 'East of the sun and west of the moon' you may find a freighter carrying ivory to Hy Brasil, mammoth tusks to Tartessos and Ashkelon. Another world of strangeness and high adventure waits, never far from our own; round a corner, through a door of a harbourside inn and you may find yourself there. 'The Gates Of Noon':- Review(s): "Strong images and some great (and weird) sea battles keep the plot moving, while the concept of sailing in and out of myth remains compelling. A romping mix of contemporary fantasy, ancient myth and old-fashioned sea story, that I recommend highly" - Locus / "Intelligent and exceedingly well-written, this adventure adroitly uses the baggage of fantasy to fresh and original advantage. An enjoyable and fast-moving read" - Stan Nicholls, The Dark Side:- (original cost £4.99).

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. Cover Art: Image Bank (illustrator). © 1985: 9th in the 'Berserker' series of books. 1st printing of 1990 paperback edition. 1st UK publication:- Synopsis: The great blue berserker's destruction of the human colony Shubra was swift and merciless. And when it was over, Niles Domingo's daughter lay among the dead. Now Niles Domingo is a man with a mission: Vengeance. At any cost. With one small ship Niles sets out against the great berserker called Leviathan, tracking it through the interstellar mists of the Milkpail Nebula. He is sure he is ready for anything - but nothing can prepare him for the astonishing discoveries that lie between him and his vengeance:- Review(s): "In single-minded pursuit of their pre-programmed course of destruction (the Berserkers) attain a kind of perverse stature that makes them worthy stand-ins for the dark side of human nature" - The New York Times:- (original cost £3.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Very Good: Light signs of wear. Cover Art: Danny Flynn (illustrator). 1990 Edition. © 1950: A stand alone novel by Robert A Heinlein. 1st printing of 1990 edition. Originally serialised in 4 parts in 'Boy's Life' - August, September, October & November 1950:- Synopsis: The Mayflower, a ship carrying pilgrims once more, but this time not just to a new world, but to a new planet - Ganymede, one of Jupiter's many moons. Ganymede has its compensations - the beauty of its sky not being the least of them - but even the strongest pilgrim's resolve is shaken after the Great Disaster:- Review(s): "One of the best. Sensible and engaging" - Brian Aldiss / "Heinlein is one of the very best: he's concerned with human beings and the kind of life they may well be leading less than fifty years from now. His imagination is boundless but his notions are never quite impossible and his scientific facts are always strictly accurate. A fascinating, always accelerating story" - Robert MacDermot, BBC / "Mr Heinlein's backgrounds are always based on attitudes of probability. Convincing technological action. The story carries conviction and Bill, the hero, is splendidly realized. The book can be strongly recommended" - Times Literary Supplement / "Satisfying and thrilling. Heinlein is a master of his subject" - Manchester Evening News / "A story in the real Jules Verne tradition. The descriptions of travel and of the scenes on the new planet seem to have the authenticity, almost, of first-hand accounts. One even feels that, like the Jules Verne stories, this book may prove near prophetic" - Good Housekeeping:- (original cost £3.99).

Paperback: 7" x 4½". Condition: Near Fine: Small signs of wear. Cover Art: Ian Miller (illustrator). 1995 Edition. © 1994: A stand-alone novel by Michael Scott Rohan. 1st printing of 1995 edition:- Synopsis: From the wilds of the Borders to the enchanting and terrifying lands of Faerie. When young Walter encounters his kinsman Michael Scot his life is changed for ever. Even in the turbulent Borderlands of thirteenth-century Scotland, Michael had a fearsome reputation as a magician and master of forbidden arts, trafficking with the demons of middle air. Now he has returned from years of exile with the Pope's pardon and the favour of the Emperor, a peaceful man of God - and yet strange events still follow him. When his father is ambushed and killed, and his lands and his very life threatened by a necromancer, Michael appears to offer Walter the aid he desperately needs. Soon he is transported to another world, ensnaring, enchanting, seductive. There he finds a new life, new heroism and a new, all-consuming love. But there is a terrible price he must pay:- Review(s): "Based on the Border legends surrounding the real Michael Scot, and written by his namesake and descendant, 'The Lord Of Middle Air' is a superb evocation of the medieval world and the dramatic and dangerous realm of black magic, by one of Britain's foremost fantasy novelists" / "Genuinely superb. A classic as both fantasy and adventure" - Locus:- (original cost £5.99).