Genre Fiction March Madness

No kidding. Great Cthulhu v. Philip Pullman's Lyra; Elric v. Roland Deschain; George R.R. Martin's Jaimie Lannister v. Hermione Granger, & etc.

(Some wag writes: "Honestly? Jaime vs. Hermione? I'm not perturbed about the matchup, but for the love of God, the TV version was just greenlit, and you flat out expose one of the best twists in the story? How the hell do you justify that?")

Massive SF Paperback Collection in @ Main Street

We just bought a 700 piece science fiction paperback collection, which includes 30+ vintage Philip K. Dick titles, c. 1968-1984, about a dozen H.P. Lovecraft Ballantine reprints, many Harlan Ellisons, a number of scarce Glen Cook mass market paperback originals, & etc. All of the books are in immaculate, as new, unread condition. If you collect high-grade vintage SF/fantasy, or are just looking for a particularly scarce title, now might be a good time to stop by.

(Update, 4pm: 16 linear feet of science fiction pocket books!)

George R.R. Martin's A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Coming Soon! (Maybe)

Cover art from the eagerly-awaited next volume in Mr. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire sequence. Random House now claims the book will be published on September 29th. We have our doubts, having heard this story a few times since 2006, the year the manuscript was supposed to have been completed, but have gone ahead and ordered copies anyway. If you'd like one held for you when -- if -- it arrives in the fall, please call or email.

Edgar Rice Burroughs: Mars, Venus, Westerns & More

We just bought a nice collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs titles, including some uncommon Westerns and some old Ace Books F-series mass market paperbacks from the early 1960s. About 30 titles in all, many with Frank Frazetta cover art. Burroughs' Tarzan titles seem to have had their day, but his John Carter of Mars series still sells well, perhaps because its characters make cameo appearances in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Andrew Stanton, writer/director of Wall-E, is also apparently working on an animated John Carter movie. A related Burroughs series, Carson Napier of Venus, also sells well; again, many of the early Ace Venus books sport beautiful pastel-colored painted covers.

There are some pretty ugly print-on-demand versions of Burroughs' work available at the moment, so it's unsurprising that most readers prefer the classier old Ace editions.