John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller Archives - Rare Book Insider

John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller

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ROGUE MOON

ROGUE MOON

Budrys, Algis Octavo, illustrations by A. C. Farley, full leather, a.e.g. New introduction by Willis E. McNelly. "A matter transmitter is used to send men to the Moon. There they encounter a terrifying alien 'maze.' This powerful psychological thriller deals with the human urge to transcend death. A minor SF classic." - Pringle, The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, second edition, p. 310. " . now widely regarded as an SF classic. A good deal has been written about the highly integrated symbolic structure of this story, whose perfectly competent surface narration deals with a hard-SF solution to the problem of an alien labyrinth, discovered on the Moon, which kills anyone who tries to pass through it without obeying various arbitrary and incomprehensible rules. At one level, the novel's description of attempts to thread the labyrinth from Earth via matter transmission (which is also matter duplication) makes for excellent traditional SF; at another, it is a sustained rite de passage, a doppelganger conundrum about the mind-body split, a death-paean. There is no doubt that Budrys intends that both levels of reading should register, however any interpretation might run; in this novel the two levels interact fruitfully." - SFE (online). 1961 Hugo nominee. Collector's notes laid in. Part of the Easton Press "Masterpieces of Science Fiction" series. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-181. Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels 32. Survey of Science Fiction Literature IV, pp. 1821-26.
  • $45
book (2)

DUNE

Octavo, four plates with eight color illustrations and numerous black and white illustrations by John Schoeneer, full leather, a.e.g. Easton Press "Memorial Edition." Includes remembrances by Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Ray Bradbury, Charles N. Brown, F. M. Busby, Harlan Ellison, Philip Jose Farmer, James Gunn, Joe Haldeman, David Hartwell, Peter Israel, Willis E. McNelly, Fred Pohl, and Jack Vance. First novel in the Dune series, an immensely popular work which led to many sequels. "Politics and metaphysics are tightly bound into a remarkably detailed and coherent pattern; an imaginative tour de force . The series demonstrates how a good SF writer's ability to build a coherent and convincing hypothetical world can serve the purpose of making philosophical and sociological questions concrete; the series thus becomes a massive thought experiment in social philosophy ." - Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-524. "What, in its entirety, does the Dune saga represent? Nearly 2300 pages -- more than a million words. A saga covering some six thousand or so years. A cast of hundreds. Dune is, undoubtedly, an epic. In its own way it achieves what earlier models failed at. It is not merely the present retold as the future. It is much more than a power fantasy. Unlike E. E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensman universe, or Asimov's Foundation universe, it has depth as well as breadth. Unlike those earlier models it grasped the concept that the future would have different modes of behavior, different motivations to our own. For all its seemingly mediaeval setting, DUNE is a thoroughly futuristic novel. It transcends its ANALOG origins. The Dune sequence is not, in its totality, easy reading. Like the best of anything, it requires and rewards attention. It is not wholly successful, and the later volumes are, perhaps, over-cerebral, yet in its ambitious design the sequence does not fall short of its target. Its existence has influenced younger writers to attempt more complex schemes than they might otherwise have ventured upon. Bruce Sterling and Greg Bear are writers who can been seen to have benefitted from Herbert's trailblazing efforts. Many others would admit that Herbert's influence has added rigor to their work." - Aldiss and Wingrove, Trillion Year Spree, pp. 399-400. Winner of the 1965 Nebula and 1966 Hugo awards for best novel. Filmed several times, as a feature film in 1984 and a TV mini-series in 2000. In post-production for a new theatrical release. Collector's notes laid in. Issued as part of the Easton Press "Masterpieces of Science Fiction" series. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-524. Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Books 48. Survey of Science Fiction Literature II, pp. 647-58.
book (2)

THE GODS THEMSELVES

Octavo, illustrations by Richard Powers, full leather, a.e.g. New introduction by James Gunn. "In the twenty-second century, Earth and men of a para-universe establish an ideal energy exchange. Through Earthmen's electron pump and the para-men's position pump, the energy needs of both worlds are satisfied without energy loss to either. A few probing skeptics, men and para-men, learn that in time the exchange will explode our Sun, but both scientific establishments ignore their alarm. The 'fathers' of the energy pumps, puffed with pride and selfishness, will not allow their reputation, doctrine, and achievement to be jeopardized . The blind egotism and leaden conscience of his [Asimov's] scientific establishments offer no promise that a world ruled by scientists rather than politicians would be more free of it." - Berger, Science Fiction and the New Dark Age, p. 130. THE GODS THEMSELVES . which was only the second genuine singleton of his career and which won both Hugo and Nebula awards, proved to be his finest single creation, a complex tale involving potentially catastrophic energy transfers between alternate universes and -- rarely for him -- intriguing alien beings (they are considerably more interesting than the humans in the cast)." - John Clute / Malcolm J. Edwards, SFE (online). Written with a verve and economy that are missing from Asimov's later novels." - Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-48. Winner of the 1972 Nebula award and 1973 Hugo award for best novel. Collector's notes laid in. Issued as part of the Easton Press "Masterpieces of Science Fiction" series. Survey of Science Fiction Literature II, pp. 909-14.