Anders Monsen

Lost worlds and ports of call

Page 3 of 89

Lucius Shepard’s Dragon Book

December 15, 2025 /

The first Lucius Shepard book I ever bought and read was Green Eyes, which happened to be his first novel. This was probably around 1989-1990, when I vacuumed up any and all cheap SF books I could find at the time in new and used book stores in Austin, TX. Shepard (1943-2014) wrote fantasy and science fiction, and often was linked to the Cyberpunk movement in SF. He also was noted for writing about Central America and war from a leftist perspective. I bought his novella, Kalimantan, in the Strand Bookstore in New York City, back in 1992 or 1994. Then, a pair of novellas from Golden Gryphon, a publisher whose books of whom I attempted to collect a complete set. A few years later, I bought a collection of his stories published Arkham House, called The Jaguar Hunter. Many years passed until I came across another of Shepard’s books, but between 2023 and 2025 I amassed half a dozen of his books.

Several of the books I bought are novellas set in his Dragon Griaule “universe.” This is a fantasy world centered around a dragon that’s a mile long. While it appears to be dead, it still exerts influence in the world around it (usually malign). There’s also an entire ecosystem inside the dragon. Several of the novellas have been published in book form by Subterranean Press and other small press publishers. These include “The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter,” “The Father of Stones,” “Liar’s House,” and “The Taborin Scale.” I have the first three, but as I’ve sort of picked up the books at random, have so far not seen any copies of the last one.

The Dragon Griaule, published by Subterranean Press in 2012, collects six Griaule stories, including the first one, “The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule,” as well as “Skull,” which appears to be his last story in this universe. Two years after the publication of this collection, Shepard died at the age of 70 from the complications of a stroke. “The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule” appears in his Arkham House collection, The Jaguar Hunter. I don’t know if it’s been published as a stand alone novella like some of the others. This edition also includes a section with story notes: short snippets about the origin of each of the stories. I enjoy reading these notes almost as much as the stories themselves.

Shepard led an interesting and peripatetic life, which he hints at in some of these story notes. Some of the locations and events at the time he wrote the stories influence the tales, which is inevitable.

I probably over-paid for my copy of the book, even though it’s signed by Shepard, but having read many of those Griaule stories recently, and, as it was in my hands in a book store, I could not put it down. The special signed edition states that it was limited to 300 copies, but there must have been an overlap, as mine is numbered “PC,” which means it was a presentation copy. The artwork is by J. K. Potter, a noted SF/Fantasy illustrator. Two of the stories are new to me, so I look forward to reading them. There are other Shepard books out there that I don’t have, but I expect that if I get them, they’ll be spur-of-the moment buys vs. deliberate actions.

Erika Holzer’s Vigilante Novel

December 15, 2025 /

For the cheap price of $8 I recently bought a signed copy of Erika Holzer’s An Eye for an Eye, first published back in 1993 by Tor Books. This novel also was the basis for a major motion picture of the same name, thought I’d never come across it until now. Holzer apparently was a close associate of Ayn Rand. Erika Holzer was born Phyllis Tate, received her law degree and married Mark Holzer, also a lawyer, and at some point after her marriage changed her name to “Erika.” In the 1960s the Holzers were students of Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, and Mark Holzer became Rand’s personal attorney. Erika Holzer’s first novel, Double Crossing (1984) was a finalist for the Prometheus Award in 1984 (although the publication date is 1980). She died in 2019 at the age of 83 or 84, but I’ve only found two novels under her name.

Her second novel, An Eye for an Eye (1993) is a vigilante story. Well, that’s according to the dust jacket. I’ll see how it goes, as I’ve not yet read the book. I do own Double Crossing, which I bought some time in the 1980s; my copy is battered, torn, and price clipped. I can’t remember from where I acquired it, nor much about it since I read it back then, but I recognized the name when I came across An Eye for an Eye.

My copy of An Eye for an Eye is signed by Holzer, dated May 1st, 1993. She appears to only have written two novels, with 13 years between them. If she switched careers from law to writing due to Rand’s influence, a couple of novels is not a significant result. I was disappointed to learn there were only two novels under her name, but sometimes that happens.

A Chad Oliver Book

December 14, 2025 /

I don’t know much about Chad Oliver. Without looking up his information online, I simply recall this: In the 1990s, when I lived in Austin, Texas, some of the authors I knew, or knew about, or read (Bruce Sterlin, Lewis Shiner, Neal Barrett, Jr., Howard Waldrop) would name-drop Oliver. I don’t think I ever found any of his books in bookstores, although I think I saw one or two of them at SF conventions in Austin. A glance online shows that he died in 1993 (at the young age of 65), so I never met him. He was twice chairman of the department of anthropology of the University of Texas, where I got my undergrad degree (English and History) in 1995. I never took any anthropology courses, however, and I’ve never read any of his stories. An interesting tidbit that I just learned is that he “supported the Guadalupe River Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the cold water fishery downstream from Canyon Dam,” where once I fished and caught some trout. If only for that reason, I’ve become a huge fan of Chad Oliver. Then again, there are his books…

Unearthly Neighbors was first published in 1960. It was revised and published in 1984 as a “Classics of Modern Science Fiction” by Crown Publishers in New York. Recently I picked up a copy of this book at Book Gallery in Phoenix, for what seemed a high price of $20, but it’s the first Oliver book I’ve seen in forever. It has an introduction by George Zebrowski, and a foreword by Isaac Asimov, both now also dead (Asimov in 1992 and Zebrowski in 2024). The book is volume 8 in this series. I wonder if I’ll ever come across any of the other seven (or if there were additional books beyond this one).

A Trio of Dark Harvest Books

November 29, 2025 /

Between 1983 and 1993, a small press from Arlington Heights, Illinois called Dark Harvest published close to 50 books. In that decade they released nine volumes in the seminal anthology, Night Visions, along with novels and story collections by such giants in the horror and SF field such as Fritz Leiber, Isaac Asimov, George R. R. Martin, Dean R. Koontz, Ray Garton, F. Paul Wilson, Dan Simmons, Robert R. McCammon, and many more. Toward the end of Dark Harvest’s run, they made a foray into the mystery genre. An anthology called Criminal Intent 1 appears to have been the last book they published. Perhaps the limited edition market collapsed in the early 1990s, or mystery readers didn’t care for small press editions as much as SF and horror readers. Or, maybe the publishers just decided to call it quits. At any rate, it’s a shame that Dark Harvest stopped publishing books.

I think I started buying Dark Harvest books with F. Paul Wilson’s books, then some of the Night Visions books and other anthologies, plus a few others here and there. Although I’m not aiming for a complete collection of Dark Harvest books, I recently picked up three books by this publisher from various locations.

Fiends, by John Farris (1990). A horror novel by an author of whom I know next to nothing. I’ve started reading this book, and it looks intriguing.

Blue Champagne, by John Varley (1986). A collection of short stories by this master of science fiction. I still have a vivid memory of seeing this book in the shelves at Austin Books on North Lamar in the late 1980s/early 1990s. I really wanted it, but back then was unable to afford the cover price. This year I paid a little bit more than cover price for this copy, but it’s in pristine condition and well-worth the price. Dark Harvest switching to SF is almost like Arkham House releasing SF books (oh, wait — they did release a few SF books), but the first story in the collection did make me a little nervous, almost like a horror story.

The Nightrunners, by Joe R. Lansdale (1987). An interesting book, and probably the only book that I’ve seen with this warning: “WARNING: Extreme violence, language and sexual situations may offend some readers.” Of course, that’s almost every Lansdale book, but it was strange to see this from one published back in 1987. I guess those were different times. Some of the pieces that make up this novel have appeared elsewhere as short stories or vignettes. One such episode I recently read, but I cannot remember where. I’m not about to hunt through all my books with Lansdale stories to find where I read it, but I do remember it was a disturbing piece, well worth that warning from the Dark Harvest edition.

There’s now a dozen of the 50 or so Dark Harvest books that I don’t own. I’m really only interested in six of these, but I won’t be surprised if I start looking for the rest. After all, they’re all a piece of history, at least in terms of genre fiction.

Silverberg’s Nightwings

November 29, 2025 /

The first Robert Silverberg book I bought was a paperback copy of Nightwings, which I found in some bookstore in Norway in 1987 or 1988. The book I bought was a British edition published by Futura/Obit in 1987. Do I remember anything about it now, even though I still have that book? Not really. Since then I’ve picked up roughly a dozen of Silverberg’s books, mostly paperback editions published a long time ago. The top pages of my paperback ave yellowed over time

I really ought to have far many Silverberg books in my library. Silverberg is a legend in science fiction. Part of my issue is that there are few books by him in new book stores these days, and when I come across them in in used book stores, most copies are battered and broken, and I tend to put those back. I’ve found a copy or two here or there, but I’m always on the lookout for more.

Then there’s Centipede Press… This is a publisher whose books are nearly works of art. Almost always sold out shortly after publication, Centipede Press books are usually quite pricey. They also fetch a premium on the second hand market (I recently saw a set of Gene Wolfe books listed for $45,000!!!!! Their Frank Herbert books start at $600 or more each, while their series of Masters of Science Fiction and Library of Weird Fiction books ratchet up quickly on the second-hand market). I do own a few of their books, usually because I focus on buying specific authors; my edition of a Michael Shea collection, bought for $65 or so, now I see is listed for $1,400 or so online, which is insane.

A couple of years ago I bought the Centipede Press edition of Dying Inside. This was a book I never could find in paperback. My copy is one of 500 signed books (some actual, some facsimile). I don’t care too much about that, but as I wanted this book, I paid the list price. This edition does not disappoint.

Then, in 2025, Centipede Press published a hardcover edition of Nightwings. Must, must have, I thought, and so I bought the book, also signed. As is almost always the case, the cover is beyond gorgeous, the binding superb. This book is a masterpiece to behold.

It’s a slim book; my paperback copy is 192 pages with no extra material, but the Centipede Press book adds an introduction and interview. The wrap-around cover by Joe Wilson is beautiful. Silverberg’s introduction gives some insight into when and why he wrote the book, which he originally did in three parts. This book embodies exactly what a limited edition should look and feel like.

Books added: Pohl and Turner

November 3, 2025 /

When I’m in Half Price Books I glance through the SF section. I rarely find books that I want these days, as I tend to focus on specific authors. I usually already have almost all their books, with rare exceptions. I know that I won’t find those rare exceptions in a used book store, not in the age of the internet, anyway. Still, if I find some nice editions of books from the 1980s and early 1990s, I’ll reconsider. This time, I did see a few books that must have been offloaded from someone’s collection, possibly an estate sale. I honed in on two of these.

Frederick Pohl’s The Years of the City (Timescape Books, 1984). This is the first edition hardback of a book I’d bought in a paperback edition many years ago. The book was in pristine condition, had a nice mylar cover, and was irresistible, especially as my 1995 BAEN paperback pages were already yellowing. The cover is sort of bland, with Pohl’s name and the title of the book dominating a small image. Curiously, some of the fonts in the paperback mirror the hardcover, but it’s nice to read crisp white pages vs. brittle yellowing ones.

George Turner’s The Destiny Makers (AvoNova/Morrow, 1993). Years ago, a friend of mine—who coincidentally shares the same last name as this Australian author—gave me a couple of George Turner paperbacks. I can’t remember if I’ve read them, but when I come across hardcover editions of his books I feel compelled to buy them, as I rarely see books by this author in my area. Turner died a few years ago. His stories are focused on eco-disasters, but I’ll probably try to read this one some day, and maybe I’ll find his other books at some point.

Hiking in Arizona

November 3, 2025 /

Arizona is an interesting state when it comes to geography. From its southern border with Mexico to north of Phoenix it’s a desert environment. An hour north of Phoenix you climb into the “high desert.” An hour or so past that point you reach even higher elevations. Flagstaff, Sedona, and the elephant in the state—the Grand Canyon itself—mark a different environment entirely.

In early October I hiked a few miles in three locations near and in the Grand Canyon. The first foray was along a trail north of Flagstaff, a trail that intersected with and followed the Arizona trail, a trail that runs the length of the state from north to south, or south to north. This well-marked trail seemed more popular with mountain bikers than hikers, at least when I was there. It’s a place I’d like to spend more time exploring, but that day I only had time for a few miles out and back.

Along the trail we saw tall junipers, aspen, and a few alligator junipers. At least, that’s what I think they’re called. It’s a dry trail, despite following a riverbed, so bring lots of water. Flagstaff has a fair amount of nearby trails, and I picked a couple at random, then went for the northern one.

The following day I drove from Flagstaff to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The federal shut-down was in full swing. I showed the ranger at the entrance gate my America the Beautiful card, and she waved me through. I picked up a map, though, and found a parking lot close to the Bright Angel trailhead. This was my second trip to GC, although the first one was a short traipse along the south rim in February. Snow littered the ground, and we stuck close to the visitor center that day.

Not today. Loaded up with water and food, albeit with a late start of 9:45am, the trail down Bright Angel beckoned. I figured on a trip of around two hours down, and three hours up, enough time to make it back to the car in order to get on the road and reach the next hotel before dark. Having hiked Mount Whitney two months prior, and many other hikes where you go up first, and then return down, hiking Grand Canyon is a different experience. The switchbacks aren’t too bad. Passed many hikers going only a mile and a half, or three miles. Still heading down. Then, near the fifth mile you reach Havasupai Gardens, a lush a watery respite from the desert and constant downhill. Several people were there, resting or just hanging out. Went past the gardens another half mile, into a canyon with steep walls on one side and a creek on the other. Really wanted to keep going to the river, but turned around at noon.

The trail uphill isn’t too bad, until you get to the last mile. Then you start to feel the elevation and the fatigue in the legs. Still, made it out in good time, and on the road again. Drove down a canyon on the way to and through Sedona. Might have been the best part of the trip, aside from the Bright Angel hike. Past Sedona and into another small town. Checked into the hotel, and drove to dinner. Lots of rain, which I didn’t expect. That week there were lots of floods in that part of Arizona, all the way down to Phoenix.

The next day, drove up into the mountains, past the town of Jerome, which is perched on the side of the mountain. Another place I’d like to explore or visit. This time had to keep going. A few miles later, pulled into a recreational area. A short hike in Mingus Mountain, where a group of turkeys trotted ahead. I didn’t make it all the way to the end of this trail, as rain clouds threatened. Still, a neat experience.

On the way back, fog rolled in. I’d already driven partially in the clouds, but now it seemed more real being above the clouds. In Flagstaff I bought a book on hikes in northern Arizona. This book left out the Grand Canyon, as there are plenty of other trails in this place. One could spend many, many days trying to hike all those trails. What an awesome place. Nothing like the area south of Phoenix. Nothing like the area around Phoenix. Then again, I’ve not seen much to the west of Phoenix, so maybe there’s more to the state than the northern part.

Phoenix Book Haul

October 14, 2025 /

Phoenix, Arizona apparently has quite a few used book stores. On a recent visit I hit up a trio of these stores. If I’m ever back I hope to visit more. On this trip I went to a Bookmans, a Half Price Books, and one of the Book Gallery locations. Along with a handful of nice-to-haves, I came away with some neat books.

Winterwood and other hauntings, by Keith Roberts, Morrigan (1989). Bought for the reduced price of $15 (down from $30) from Half Price Books. A collection of short stories, with a neat introduction by Robert Holdstock. I had no idea that Roberts used to live in Henley, a small town near Reading. I’m sure Henley’s changed a great deal since his time there, although the regatta still runs every year along the Thames. Then again, in the introduction to his 1988 collection, Anita, his location was Amesbury, Wiltshire, so maybe he moved around a bit. Roberts died in 2000.

Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos, edited by Robert M Price, Fedogan & Bremer (1992). An anthology of tales set in Lovecraft’s fictional world, many from Lovecraft’s contemporaries. Only my fifth books by this publisher, and third acquired this year. I’m not usually a fan of Lovecraft’s works, but some of the authors in this book are of interest.

Not Less Than Gods, by Kage Baker, Subterranean Press (2010). A limited edition of only 474 copies, signed by Baker. Illustrated by J. K. Potter. Bought for almost half the $60 cover price. I passed on quite a few books that I wanted, as the prices seemed random in many cases and higher than I wanted to spend at times. I’ve read Baker’s stories in the Golden Gryphon edition, Black Projects, White Knights. Baker died in 2010 from cancer.

Earthquake Weather, by Tim Powers, Subterranean Press (2008). The deluxe limited edition, signed by Powers and the illustrator, J. K. Potter. Bought for a bit less than the cover price of $75. I’d read the Tor Books edition years ago; my copy is inscribed to me by Powers with the message, “This love-letter to wine.” I won’t give up that edition. Meeting Powers meant a lot to me, as I’m a huge fan. I debated whether or not to get the Sub Press edition of book, but after some indecision, I decided I had to have it. The store also had the NESFA edition of An Epitaph in Rust, but I skipped it for now. However, I do know that finding Sub Press editions of Expiration Date and Last Call, both set in the same universe as Earthquake Weather, will be pricy at best. So, call this an impulse buy.

Second Chance, by Chet Williamson, Cemetery Dance (1994). I almost put this one back on the shelf, as there are three nasty tears in the dust jacket. Still, it’s a limited edition, signed by Williamson, and limited to 400 copies. Given the state of the dust jacket, or some obscure reason, it was priced at $11.24, a strange and almost random figure. Maybe one day I’ll be able to find a nice cover to replace this one. Williamson is still writing fiction, and I’ve read a couple of his books. They’re hard to find, at least in person, but worth it.

Muse and Reverie, by Charles de Lint, Tor Books (2009). A collection of stories set in de Lint’s fictional town of Newford. Despite having 33 of his books, I still lack a fair amount of de Lint’s nearly 60 published books, so I was happy to find this one.

The Trade of Queens, by Charles Stross, Tor Books (2010). This is book six in Stross’ Merchant Princes series. I don’t really read SF any more, nor really buy any new Stross books, but as I have the first five, I supposed I had to get this one. I think I’ve only read the first two, or maybe three, books in the series.

Earthsea

September 25, 2025 /

I dimly remember that I read the first three of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books in my pre-teen years. I’m fairly certain that I came across them in the library of The International School of Lusaka, possibly in sixth or seventh grade. Maybe I got them in a bookstore in Lusaka, but that seems unlikely, as I think that I would have kept the copies (or not, as I had to give up quite a few of my books from that time when leaving Zambia and beyond).

The content of those three books, The Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore, are lost in the mists of my memories. Occasionally I come across battered paperback copies of one or another of these books, but I’ve never bought them, not once in the intervening 40+ years since I first read them.

Then, by chance, I came across a pristine omnibus edition of the three books, as well as a fourth one, which I’d never read. It’s sub-titled “The first four books”; apparently there are two more set in this world. I think that I only read The Dispossessed by Le Guin. This is a UK edition, which somehow ended up in the USA.

The word “Earthsea” is a brilliant combination of two disparate words by Le Guin. There’s no preface, no introduction, no afterword. You simply dive into the book, into her world. The design from Penguin Books is brilliant. It even smells like a book is supposed to smell. I wonder, as I start the hourney to re-read these books, will they resonate the same way that they did those four plus decades ago? Likely not, but we shall see what happens.

*Brief note: The cover image here has a quote from Telegraph. My copy has a quote from Neil Gaiman, who I guess has been canceled these days.

Adding a quartet of Arkham House books

September 25, 2025 /

Between 2015 and 2023 I didn’t buy a single Arkham House book. In 2023 I bought just one AH book, Lucius Shepard’s second collection published by Arkham House, The Ends of the Earth. Then, in 2025 an explosion of interest on my part suddenly resulted in me acquiring many more books from this publisher. With these four books, my collection reached a round 50 in number (I’ve since added one more). I’ve probably hit my peak (or close to it) when it comes to books from Arkham House. It’s just going to get harder and harder if I want to try to find the other 80+ books that I don’t have, without spending an excessive amount of money per book.

I bought my first Arkham House book in 1990: Michael Shea’s collection, Polyphemus. I bought this book from Austin Books (in Austin, Texas), back when they sold actual books, and not just graphic novels and comics. Between 1990 and 2015, I slowly picked up more Arkham House books, either from brick and mortar book stores or at SF conventions. Back then you still could buy AH books for between $7.50 to $15, at least the most recently published ones. After 2015, I pretty much stopped going to SF conventions. Also, local book stores didn’t really carry any Arkham House books, as they’d by now ceased to publish anything new. Fast forward a few years. The online world exists far more than the brick and mortar world. Occasionally I’ll search online for Arkham House titles, and occasionally I’ll end up with a few books like these ones:

Charles L. Grant, Tales from the Nightside (1984). A collection of short stories. Bought for $50, which is to me the upper limit of what I’ll pay at the moment. Grant, who passed away in 2006, was a prolific author and editor of horror fiction. I only have a couple of his books, as opportunity never presented itself to me to find others, at least in person. This book includes an introduction by Stephen King, another prolific horror writer.

Phyllis Eisenstein, Born to Exile (1978). According to Wikipedia, she died on December 7, 2020 in Chicago from COVID-19 and a stroke at the age of 74.
For some weird and unknown reason, Arkham House slapped a label of “SF” on the spine. Based on the first couple of pages, I’d consider it more in the vein of fantasy than SF.

Donald Sydney-Fryer, Songs & Sonnets Atlantean (1971). A collection of poems. Fryer, born September 8, 1934, compiled a bibliography of Clark Ashton Smith’s works, published by Donald M. Grant in 1978. From another entry in Wikipedia, I learned that “in May 2025, 91-year-old Sidney-Fryer suffered a stroke which necessitated his move to a nursing home.” I briefly corresponded with him in the 1990s, when he lived near Corpus Christi (if I recall correctly, as those emails have long since vanished). Soon he will be gone from this world, and I regret never driving down to visit him.

Gary Myers, The House of the Worm (1975). A slim book in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft. At 70-odd pages long, the text reads more like a poem in prose, than fiction. Peppered throughout are black and white sketches, almost as gloomy as the text. According to the note of the author, Myers went on to get his BA after this book, so maybe he wrote it while young. I don’t recall seeing other books by Myers, but not all Arkham House writers went on to publish a slew of books or reach fame.

To me, owning these books is like owning fragments of history, especially given the fate of several of the authors. In time, these books that I’ve acquired, either from bookstores or other owners, will move on to further owners. Hopefully they’ll appreciate them, take care of them, read them.

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