Classic Returns: Reprints, Updates, and Bargains
Michael Rogers Jun 2, 2010Alright, book geeks, another eclectic mix on today’s menu. We’ll start with some solid genre fiction bargains from top names in the field. For your nonfiction dining pleasure, tonight we have an Italian Renaissance autobiography/ action adventure and some juicy tales of murder.
FICTION
Block, Lawrence and Donald E. Westlake. Hellcats and Honeygirls: The Collected Collaborative Novels of Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake. Subteranean Pr. C.400p. Oct. 2010. ISBN 978-1-59606-303-7. $30. MYST
After a chance meeting in 1957, Larry Block and the late Don Westlake became lifelong friends and individually became top guns in the mystery trade. This beauty combines their three joint compositions: A Girl Called Honey, So Willing, and Sin Hellcat along with an intro by Block. The titles alone should make you want to put it on your shelves. Both writers have huge fan followings and alone could generate solid circulation, but together, forgetaboutit, this one will be a revolving door. Three novels in a hardcover for only 30 fazools! Gangbusters, baby, jump on it! I might be pulling an all-nighter in a comfy chair and a bottle of bourbon for this one myself.
Verne, Jules. Amazing Journeys. Excelsior Editions. 2010. 668p. tr. from French by Frederick Paul Walter. illus. ISBN 978-1-4384-3238-0. pap. $24.95. SF
This bruiser collects five of Verne’s pioneering sci-fi novels, some well known, others not so much. They are: Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Circling the Moon, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in 80 Days. Not too shabby. The text, which are all brand new translations, is presented in the old book style of two columns per page and there are a handful of monochrome illustrations. This might not generate the numbers that the Block/Weslake will, but it’s a safe bet that sci-fi heads, especially those just getting into it, eventually will gravitate towards these novels. When it comes to vintage SF, Jules rules, so pop for this one too. Another solid bargain.
NONFICTION
Cellini, Benvenuto. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. Knopf: Everyman’s Library. 2010. tr. from Italian by Anne Macdonell. index. ISBN 978-0-307-59274-3. $30. AUTOBIOG
Cellini was a noted 16th century artist based in Florence, Italy, who had the rich and powerful—including popes and kings—as patrons. He was also friends with Michelangelo and other noted artists of the time. Along with his artistic endeavors, he was equally known for his violent temper, which lead to fighting, thievery, and even murder. Cellini was politically active and helped defend Rome’s Castel Sant’ Angelo. He was imprisoned, but escaped only to be recaptured and thrown back into the slam. His life was as adventurous as any work of fiction, and he recalls it all in this volume. The book also serves as a detailed portrait of daily life in Renaissance Italy. Sporting an index and scholarly notes, this is a good one for art fans as well as history buffs and adventure readers.
Tales from the Terrific Register: The Book of Murder. IPG: History Pr. Sep. 2010. illus. ISBN 9780752452661. $16.95. TRUE CRIME
The Terrific Register was a weekly rag that was the forerunner of today’s trashy tabloids. It was wildly popular, and was read by everyone in possession of the skill. Its many fans included a young Charles Dickens, who consumed it faithfully, and who later recalled that it “frightened my very wits out of my head.” This collection offers a bevy of brutal, grissly, and ghastly murders, hideous tortures, and executions that run the gamut of starving children to death to a killer that turned his victims into pies—yuck! The stories also are illustrated with the original woodcuts. Great ghoulish fun for true crime fans.
