Back in 1989 I bought a paperback copy of Dan Simmon’s massive novel, Carrion Comfort. It had been published as a limited edition hardcover by Dark Harvest, and small press out of Illinois. At that time I was a poor student and couldn’t afford such luxuries, and anyway most copies of the Dark Harvest books that weren’t bought by individuals found their way into dealers’ hands who jacked up the prices.
As the years passed, I watched prices for this edition rise, and never pulled the trigger on buying a copy. Until now – 2021. I don’t frequent SF conventions any more, where I can peruse actual copies of books and look for imperfections. I have to rely on descriptions on the internet, which are suspect at best. Sure, I probably overpaid, but the person who sold it advertised a copy with the original wrapper. This usually means no spine damage, so I went ahead and bought it.
I can’t say I remember much about the novel. After all, I read it back over 30 years ago. I remember it’s about vampires, but not your usual blood-sucking kind. Since then I’ve bought almost all of Simmons’ books. There are exceptions. I don’t have the hardcover of Hyperion, which sells for $500 (if the seller is generous). I now own 24 books published by Dark Harvest, many accumulated when the prices were retail. That publisher long since has vanished, and several of their books exist that I lack; the only one I care about now is the 3rd volume of Night Visions.
So, first impressions of this book? Well, it looks good. I did read the prologue, and plan of reading the rest of the novel soon. I’m thrilled to finally have this copy, and only Hyperion in hardcover would make my Simmons collection complete (well, there are two recent books I haven’t picked up, but I’m not too thrilled with his recent work, so it can wait — sorry, Dan).
Still, this all goes back to my view of myself as a sort of haphazard collector. With books (authors) as with music, my tastes are both narrow and eclectic. I do wonder how to structure my collection once gone – to whom do I bequeath this small but moderately valuable collection? In the meantime, I do savor holding and reading these special books, produced by special publishers. If only I were more of a fanatic…Da
