The Faces of Fantasy
New York: Tor, 1996. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover boards. Book in Fine condition / Complete dust jacket in Fine condition. Item #5326
ISBN: 0312861826
Compiled by photographer Patti Perret in 1984 through BlueJay Press as a photo-essay collection of 100 modern fantasy authors, with each author given a 2 page spread for a personally penned essay and a photo taken by Perret.
First Edition, First Printing (with complete number line), signed by 14 of the writers. In collectible condition with seemingly no signs of wear to either the complete dust jacket (save for a touch of shelf wear to the head of the DJ) or the book itself. Even the cream-colored hardcover boards appear new and without any smudging or discoloration; a feat for a book this many decades old and handled by so many hands for signatures. The only “flaws” would be the signature impressions that transferred through the pages from some of the heavier-handed signatories and most notably with Jack Williamson’s signature, whose signature has stained the page opposite his portrait, however the transfer does not impair the reading of his essay contribution.
Signed by: Joyce Carol Oates (p. 35), Charles de Lint (p. 92), George R. R. Martin (p. 106), Peter David (p. 111), Neil Gaiman (p. 131), Elizabeth Moon (p. 134), Suzy McKee Charnas (p. 164, whose fans include director Guillermo del Toro, and whose interesting publishing history includes the controversial title “Motherlines”), Jack Williamson (p. 180, nicknamed one of the Deans of Science Fiction and rumored to be one of the first sci fi writers to use the terms “terraforming,” “psionics,” and “genetic engineering”), Fred Saberhagen (p. 188, who made Dracula himself the protagonist in his vampire series), Tracy Hickman (p. 197, of "Dragon Lance" fame), Diana Paxton (p. 205, also known as Countess Diana Listmaker and founder of the Society of Creative Anachronism), Katherine Kurtz (p. 214), Barbara Hambly (p. 225), Dennis L. McKiernan (p. 226, who intended to write a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”).
The book opens with an introduction written by writer Terri Windling (of Bumblehill Press and Mythic Imagination Institute), who explores the historical evolution of myth, archetypes and fantasy story telling, from “Gilgamesh” to modern times, and what treasured fantasy stories transmit to society at large through the ages.
This edition was released by BlueJay Books, a small specialty publishing house the operated for a brief period in the mid 80s and competed against larger, traditional distributors. BlueJay Books ceased printing operations in 1986, but published many titles, including Dan Simmons’ first novel, “The Song of Kali” in 1995, Greg Bear’s “Eon” in 1985, along with works by Andre Norton (the first woman to be awarded the position of Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, among many other awards), and Hugo winners Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge and Frederik Pohl.
It is rumored that many of the names in this collection are absolutely wild about cats.
Price: $675.00 other currencies