Customer Reviews

Instant Expert: Science Fiction (Instant Expert (National Book Network))

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in collecting sci-fi books. The author does a good job of summarizing the history of science fiction, notable titles, publishers, authors, and illustrators. If you're new to book collecting, the book tells you how to start a collection, how to grade a book's condition, or determine if a book is "collectible." The author focuses mostly on collecting paperback editions. While the book does give a few prices on some select books, this is not a "pricing guide" (a book that lists titles and gives their prices). My only negative comment is that the book is a little pricey given it's size.

First of all, I have a problem with the notion of becoming an "instant expert" in *any* field, merely by reading a single, rather slender book. And, since this volume is tall and narrow (presumably to fit in one's inside coat pocket), its 136 pages really equal only about 70 pages -- less than that if you discount the large amount of space consumed by b/w reproductions of color book covers, which don't add much value, either. Second of all, the opening chapter is devoted to cover art rather than the contents of the books, which seems odd. I personally own quite a few large-format volumes of the work of sf artists whom I admire, but I'm a reader first -- and some of the best novels have had terrible cover art, including those of Asimov and Le Guin, and the hardcover edition of Harlan Ellison's _Dangerous Visions._ Next, the author's list of "15 top collectible authors" does not include founders of the genre like Hugo Gernsback, but does include folks like Joe Lansdale. My inherited copy of _Ralph 124C41+_ had a lot to do with my discovery of science fiction as a kid, and I expect other old-timers could say the same -- and while I like Joe's stuff, his popularity is based primarily on his Elmore-Leonard-like East Texas crime novels, not on his small early output of science fiction. Then Lovisi refers to "about a thousand other fine writers who are also very collectible," with the implication that collecting should be a function of market value, not of one's personal fannish interests -- an attitude with which most serious book collectors would strongly disagree. The author does have some useful things to say about the budgeting of one's collection purchases, and about standards of condition, and he provides a short list of terminology, but these apply to collecting in *any* field. I already know all those things; I picked up this book to see what it had to say about collecting science fiction and fantasy specifically. The most useful section of the book -- it takes up more than one-third of it -- is the "Brief History of Collecting Paperback SF/F/H," which gives a very good overview of a highly idiosyncratic field. (Hence, the two stars.) Throughout the book, Lovisi seems to equate "science fiction" with "paperback" (not even "original paperback"), but nowhere on the cover or the back copy is this limitation specified -- even though authors like Lovecraft and Leinster are far more valuable in hardcover. Finally, the author's quoted market prices are way off the mark: He claims a price of $165, for instance, for _Neuromancer_ but a quick online check shows several fine paperbacks for half that, while the first hardcover edition goes for $1,000 and up. Maybe we could get someone like Barry Levin to write a *proper* book on collecting science fiction. . . .

The prices in it are not realistic but the book will help you understand the relative value of some old scifi books. If you collect I would recommend it. It is a shame that it didn't cover pulps and magazines. That is another very interesting area. ...