Steve, when you say, "I'll think you agree" 99% of the time I do agree with you! A great video with lots of your keen insights and me scribbling down titles and authors like a madman!

Love the channel. I love good Sci Fi. I loathe bad Sci Fi. Your channel has pointed me to some great books. Your conceptual breakthrough video describes what I love about the genre. Keep up the great work.

The Midnight Folk... one if my fav books. Pat bought the very sane edition that I owned and which I re-bought a few years back. Had a more modern version but loved the graphics and cover design of the one you sooo much more. A really good yarn and some great characters in there especially Nibbens the cat!

I've got 2 copies of Triffids myself but I love the cover art on that one you picked up. I've never been too bothered to try and collect Daw books but somehow I have accumulated about 50 of them over time.

Yes, you do want to expand on Tanith Lee. I am a huge fan and I have around 20 of them. Such originality!

Nothing deep to day, I just really enjoy your posts. I'm a longtime SF reader who enjoys 60s and 70s SF, finds it so much more adventurous than today's boring Correct b.s. (I'm not talking politics, btw.) Keep doing what you do.

I find these very soothing to watch while I'm "working" from home. Thanks! Very true about blurbs being inaccurate: this would be a fun subject for a video. I could spend all day in those disorganised bookshops with huge stacks of cheap paperbacks. We need more of those. I think the problem is that rents are just too high in most places.

As with Tanith Lee, I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Tuttle at a number of Fantasycons plus the World Horror and World Fantasy cons held in Brighton over a decade ago. I have the Sphere edition of _A Nest of Nightmares,_ although it's in reading-copy only condition - and even then it wasn't cheap when I bought it 15 or so years ago! 😱 However, I did get Lisa Tuttle to sign it, along with her second and third short story collections, both of which were also paperback originals (B formats this time). I've got a number of her later collections, although those were only ever issued as signed limited edition hardbacks. Many of my favourite short story writers are female. I've read one Anne McCaffrey ( _The Ship Who Sang_ ) and one Marion Zimmer Bradley ( _The Mists of Avalon_ ) both of which I enjoyed... However, I have felt no urge to read any more of their work. When you've got - in your library - the likes of Le Guin, Russ, Sheldon, Wilhelm, Moore, Brackett... well, why bother? 😉

Your energy level, being sick as you are, is commendable, OB! Your riffing on the Strugatsky brothers and especially, your perspective on the Russian SF authors have piqued my interest in them. Admittedly I have many large gaps in my knowledge of the world of SF and its myriad authors and you really nailed the Russian angle for me. Thanks for that. When you mentioned "Whetted Bronze" in your dissertation of Norvil, I immediately thought of the last time I'd heard the word used (albeit in another form) and it was in the lyrics of King Crimson's "In The Wake Of Poseidon" to wit; "To whet the scaling knife...". As always sir, it's a pleasure to watch your episodes. Cheers.

My favorite book reviewer! Most articulate and deeply insightful specimen you are

always a pleasure to listen to one of your video. you, my friend, are a fount of knowledge!

Thanks Steve, some lovely DAW additions and that M. John NEL is beautiful.

I would pick up something like the Coney just for the fine Kelly Freas cover.

Another interesting episode. I've gotten quite enamored of your channel. A shout out to Book Pillage who turned me on to your channel about a year ago. Cheers!

Thanks for all your insight!

I completely understand, there's absolutely no way I could resist a book called "Whetted Bronze" either! Those were the days, between the fall of Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Thatcher, when the shelves were ruled by the likes of John Jakes' Brak the Barbarian, Gardner Fox's Kothar and Kyrik, Lin Carter's Thongor and their many fur-underpanted bretheren.

The Berserker series is a historical reincarnation fantasy, with a twist. Personally, I would describe it as anything but "routine". The BULL CHIEF especially is excellent. I like Holdstock a lot, but do prefer his pre MW output. The Raven series he wrote under the Kirk name with Angus Wells is similarly entertaining. And boasts those unforgettable Achilleos covers into the bargain. Hope you're soon feeling better.

Manning Norvil, I thought was Kenneth Bulmer? Nice DAWs...I envy your Holdstock Berserker books.

Appreciate these videos, hope you are better soon. My book collection is growing fast from your great reviews.

A charming phrase from a charming man, I think you'll agree..

Of the three Strugatsky novels I’ve read, Monday Starts on Saturday is my least favorite, but I’d probably buy it again if I could get the DAW for a steal. I recently read Tanith Lee’s Electric Forest, enjoyed it and will likely read more by her.

Great video as always Steve, I need to start finding some Daw yellow spines. I picked up your 100 must-read SF and I'm ticking all my wants, it could end up being an expensive book!

Bagging is for people who want to keep their nice stuff nice. It allows you to hand it to someone; whom may be all thumbs to appreciate the art. Great covers all around. . . . I think we are also all tired of the fantasy titles that are "The Blank of Noun and Verb" or "Blank and Blanks" or "Blanks of Blanks"

I also owned the Lisa Tuttle back in the day, and of course, sold it on years ago. I bought the Valencourt reissue a year or so ago. I really enjoyed reading it again, she is an interesting writer. As for Christopher Evans, being a fellow Taffy, i need to check out his stuff for sure. (And me being from Ebbw Vale and my Dad's family from Tredegar also helps!)

I do agree

A good book haul, Steve! A long time ago I used to by every DAW book, I'll refrain from saying I adawed them, until I realised two things. The first was that I was buying a lot, and I mean a LOT, of crap I would never read; the second thing was that I was beginning to worry about numbers I didn't have. The upshot was that I stopped buying DAW books simply because they were DAW books, I put all the crap on "for sale" piles, and just kept the ones I was interested in. My mantra became "never collect publishef series by number", and I apologise to Jules Burt for saying that.

Don Wollheim stayed loyal to many of his Ace authors, notably Philip Dick, John Brunner, A. Bertram Chandler, Philip Jose Farmer, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Gordon Dickson etc and also published promising newcomers like Suzette Haden Elgin (Coyote Jones), Thomas Burnett Swann, Michael Coney, Brian Stableford in the early days at DAW. The line declined after his death, when his daughter took over.

We just got a dashing of snow again this morning. Regular March crap here in Sweden lol! Got some used editions in the mail this week, among them The Dancer From Atlantis, The Star Fox , Fire Time and The Wind Whales of Ishmael. Expecting a couple more bundles I bidded on for very reasonable prices. I found there is lots to be found over here, very exciting. Have a great weekend!

Finished Forever War (and Mishima’s Spring Snow.) Going to read Forever Peace / Free before moving on in the list. Forever War was exactly what you said. It’s rare to read a book that pulls you along so rapidly as that. 3 things stood out to me over the rest (though I suppose even 20 years ago the conversation around homosexuality would have been more iconoclastic, possibly again in the regressive era we’re dealing with.) 1. A single paragraph on the discussion of personal pronouns. 2. A single use of the word “wormhole” (which was mostly replaced by “collapsar” in the book.) This came out in 1974, and the term “traversable wormhole” was published in 1973, so either the term had existed longer, or he was really on top of things. 3. The digital combat training, predating Neuromancer even by 10 years, let alone The Matrix. I almost hate to read Forever Free (as Peace is not a direct sequel) because this book had about the best ending it could have. The name of their planet seems less of an in-book joke and more aimed at a real world organization, considering. Cheers from Dallas.

An enjoyable browse as ever.

Well, this tallies with my mood!

Came across Tanith Lee's Birthgrave once but didn't buy it. Been meaning to check out her works, too. The Flat Earth stories seem interesting.

I'm loving this vid- especially the unusually good cover art 😉 . Taking a quick pause to say I sent Bob an email, never heard back - I assume this means I have in some way proceeded incorrectly. Or he'd rather wait till after the show to deal with me.

Thanks steve

8:44 phlegm(ing)....a pun😮 😂 Ah the Daw spines and covers .The " naughty" book shops are all gone on my end also .Yes they had much Daw and the Ace doubles .Fantasy seems to be the seller . More so the ..." naughty ? " .Never saw that Strugatski . Yes ,They remind me a bit of Lem with a bit of madness . I have Picnic . Hey you cant go wrong with the Daw tittles . " Whetted Bronze " what does that conjour up in the mind ? Love Lee , her language and all . And she can write action scenes. In " Heart Beast " she has mayhaps the best action warewolf stalking scene . Thats another thing about blurbs they love to compare so its " like Dune or Lord of The Rings " . Ian Watson. He is an idea guy, for patient readers who wants a deep challange . Some times he seems a bit too smug and smart for his own good . ( my bias opinion) . He has been compared to Micheal Bishop . I am not too sure about that . Yes, about names i am still a bit miffed by the Christopher Priest comic book error . I have spoken too much . Thanks for the video , i hope it cheered you up a bit . Cheers.

You're supposed to be resting.. E.E. Doc Smith's orders. OK, go on then. 👍

I hope you are reading something good. Best wishes.

The bomb 💣 as per . .

Hello Steve, thank you for another great video. So, I've looked at the "Monday..." translations. You have the old one, and there are a dozen footnotes in it. The new one has none. I was born in the USSR eight years after "Monday..." had been first published in Russian. I am not sure that I get all the cultural references, everything that is related to the old Russian and Soviet reality. I think that "Monday..." in translation must be a very confusing read at times.

Manning Norvil is Kenneth Bulmer. (As is a legion of other names.)