The year 1980 marks a natural break in the history of science fiction. As the experimental style of New Wave Science Fiction was coming to an end and the rise of the information society was gaining in momentum, the scene was set for something new. The advent of Cyberpunk was to be that new thing, and yet, as a movement or style, Cyberpunk is also something of an anomaly in the history of science fiction since 1980, which otherwise is characterized by an opening up or fragmentation of the sf playing field. Where Golden Age Science Fiction defines the 1940s and 1950s, succeeded by New Wave Science Fiction in the 1960s and 1970s, there is as of today no common ground for categorizing science fiction since 1980.

The below inclusion (and exclusion) of works is not an attempt to impose a master narrative where there is none. From the collector’s point of view, it is an exercise in identifying the turning points, significant moments and key contributions – even when hidden in less obvious works – amongst the myriads of pocket-size styles, themes and subgenres that have come to define science fiction since 1980. With a few exceptions, authors who had their heyday in previous periods, i.e. authors who arguably produced their most significant work prior to 1980, are not to be found on the list, even if they have continued to produce high-quality work.

The following list comprise all the works Twilight of Humanity is currently collecting.

Cyberpunk

Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson (b. 1948)

Neuromancer  is a culturally significant work which solidified Cyberpunk as a subgenre and introduced a larger audience to the claustrophobic urban landscape that has since come to characterise much Cyberpunk literature and cinema. Spaced out over 16 years, the Sprawl trilogy (1984-88) explores the interstices between mind and computer. Neuromancer won the SF Chronicle Novel award (1985), the Hugo award for Best Novel (1985), the Nebula Novel award (1985) and the PKD Award (1985).

Editions

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (1984)

First SC edition (true first): published by Ace (1984)

Part of the Sprawl Trilogy:

Neuromancer (1984)

Count Zero (1986)

Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to fading

Earlier SC edition is scarcer than HC edition.

Uncorrected proof is near-impossible to come by.

Available works by William Gibson

 

Count Zero (1986) by William Gibson (b. 1948)

Count Zero is the second work in William Gibson’s culturally significant Sprawl trilogy (1984-88), which established the Cyberpunk movement and introduced a larger audience to the claustrophobic urban landscape that has since come to characterise much Cyberpunk literature and cinema.

Editions:

First HC edition: published by Gollancz (1986)

Part of the Sprawl Trilogy:

Neuromancer (1984)

Count Zero (1986)

Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by William Gibson

 

Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) by William Gibson (b. 1948)

Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final work in William Gibson’s culturally significant Sprawl trilogy (1984-88), which established the Cyberpunk movement and introduced a larger audience to the claustrophobic urban landscape that has since come to characterise much Cyberpunk literature and cinema.

Editions:

First HC edition: published by Gollancz (1988)

Part of the Sprawl Trilogy:

Neuromancer (1984)

Count Zero (1986)

Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by William Gibson

 

Mirrorshades The Cyberpunk Anthology  (1986) by Bruce Sterling (b. 1954)

As a major voice in the Cyberpunk movement, Bruce Sterling paid tribute to the movement in Mirrorshades, now an important text in the history of Cyberpunk. In the introduction Sterling emphasises the overlapping worlds of high tech and the modern pop underground.

Editions:

First HC edition: published by Arbor House (1986)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Bruce Sterling

 

True Names (1981) by Vernor Vinge (b. 1944)

Published more than a decade before the internet started to have an impact on people’s lives, True Names is a truly visionary work that paved the way for the at the time nascent Cyberpunk movement, drawing up the battle lines between technocratic surveillance and individual freedom.

Editions:

First SC edition (true first): published by Dell Publishing as a double volume Binary Star No. 5 publication (1981)

First single SC edition: published by Bluejay Books (1984), with an afterword by Marvin Minsky

Collectors notes:

Binary Star No. 5: Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Binary Star No. 5: Pages subject to toning

Bluejay edition: Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Bluejay edition: Cover subject to toning

Available works by Vernor Vinge

 

Software (1982) by Rudy Rucker (b. 1946)

Software is a pioneering proto-Cyberpunk work that envisions an absurd world of sentient machines. It is the first book in Rudy Rucker’s Ware tetralogy (1982-2000), which follows the lives of a small number of west-coast, counter-cultural families, their haphazard and often accidental relationship with rapid technological change gradually moving towards pure technological transcendence. It won the PKD Award (1983).

Editions:

First SC edition (true first): published by Ace Books (1982)

Part of the Ware tetralogy:

Software (1982)

Wetware (1988)

Freeware (1997)

Realware (2000)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Pages subject to toning

Available works by Rudy Rucker

 

Wetware (1988) by Rudy Rucker (b. 1946)

Wetware is the second book in Rudy Rucker’s hugely influential Ware tetralogy (1982-2000), which follows the lives of a small number of west-coast, counter-cultural families, their haphazard and often accidental relationship with rapid technological change gradually moving towards pure technological transcendence. Wetware won the PKD Award (1989).

Editions:

First SC edition (true first): published by Avon (1988)

Part of the Ware tetralogy:

Software (1982)

Wetware (1988)

Freeware (1997)

Realware (2000)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Pages subject to toning.

Watch out for later prints.

Available works by Rudy Rucker

 

Freeware (1997) by Rudy Rucker (b. 1946)

Freeware is the third book in Rudy Rucker’s hugely influential Ware tetralogy (1982-2000), which follows the lives of a small number of west-coast, counter-cultural families, their haphazard and often accidental relationship with rapid technological change gradually moving towards pure technological transcendence.

Editions:

First HC edition: published by Avon (1997)

First SC edition: published by Avon (1997)

Part of the Ware tetralogy:

Software (1982)

Wetware (1988)

Freeware (1997)

Realware (2000)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine HC copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by Rudy Rucker

 

Realware (2000) by Rudy Rucker (b. 1946)

Realware is the final book in Rudy Rucker’s hugely influential Ware tetralogy (1982-2000), which follows the lives of a small number of west-coast, counter-cultural families, their haphazard and often accidental relationship with rapid technological change gradually moving towards pure technological transcendence.

Editions:

First SC edition (true first): published by Eos / HarperCollins (2000)

Part of the Ware tetralogy:

Software (1982)

Wetware (1988)

Freeware (1997)

Realware (2000)

Available works by Rudy Rucker

 

Synners (1991) by Pat Cadigan (b. 1953)

Pat Cadigan’s Synners is a landmark Cyberpunk work that not only shatters Cyberpunk’s male cowboy archetype, but also disrupts Cyberpunk’s idealised, typically masculine disembodiment of technological transcendence. Cadigan’s thoughts on gender fluidity and hybridity form a bridge to second-wave feminist Cyberpunk of the 1990s. Synners won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1992).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Harper Collins (1991)

First SC edition (true first): published by Bantam Spectra (1991)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine HC copies currently available on the market.

Less than 5 Fine SC copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Pat Cadigan

 

Mindplayers (1987) by Pat Cadigan (b. 1953)

Mindplayers is an essential Cyberpunk work that interrogates the psychology of existence between mind and machine. Set in the near future where an entire ecosystem of businesses, careers and government bodies has developed around manipulating people’s minds, Mindplayers centres on a category of people know as ‘mindplayers’, trained in and particularly adept at accessing, interacting with and manipulating other people’s minds via neural interface devices.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Harper Collins (1988)

First SC edition (true first): Published by Bantam Spectra (1987)

Collectors notes:

Less than 20 Fine HC copies currently available on the market.

Less than 5 Fine SC copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Pat Cadigan

 

Vacuum Flowers (1987) by Michael Swanwick (b. 1950)

Michael Swanwick’s work is hard to categorise as it often mixes different sf subgenres. Still, his truly imaginative tales have had a huge influence on a new generation of sf writers, not least New Weird fiction. Vacuum Flowers is a conflation of cyberpunk and space opera that interrogates the psychology of existence between mind and machine, envisioning a society where the recorded minds of the deceased can be commoditised and sold for entertainment purposes.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Arbor House (1987)

Collectors notes:

Less than 20 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Michael Swanwick

 

Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson (b. 1959)

Highly versatile Neal Stephenson has made several significant contributions to sf since the early 1990s, Snow Crash being the most important. Snow Crash is a vertiginous tale of corporate greed which pushes many of the traditional Cyberpunk tropes to their extreme. Famous for introducing the concept of the ‘Metaverse’, his hugely influential post Cyberpunk work enjoys a cult following in Silicon Valley and directly inspired the first generation of virtual world video games.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Bantam Spectra (1992)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available Works by Neal Stephenson

 

Gene Wolfe

The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)

Gene Wolfe is generally considered one of the greatest sf writers of all time, and with a huge online fanbase devoted to discussing his esoteric texts, it is difficult to underestimate his influence on the sf canon since 1980. His Book of the New Sun (1980-87) series – essentially a single work – is a genre-bending masterpiece of estrangement that deconstructs assumptions of narrative closure. Wolfe’s work strikes a fine balance between fantasy and science fiction, a format that underpins not only the work’s major spiritual and materialist themes, but also its method of estrangement. The first book in the series, The Shadow of the Torturer won the British Science Fiction Award (1981) and the World Fantasy Award (1981).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Simon & Schuster (1980)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Boards subject to toning.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Several copies in circulation which have had remainder mark filed down.

Available works by Gene Wolfe

 

The Claw of the Conciliator (1981) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)

Gene Wolfe is generally considered one of the greatest sf writers of all time, and with a huge online fanbase devoted to discussing his esoteric texts, it is difficult to underestimate his influence on the sf canon since 1980. His Book of the New Sun (1980-87) series – essentially a single work – is a genre-bending masterpiece of estrangement that deconstructs assumptions of narrative closure. Wolfe’s work strikes a fine balance between fantasy and science fiction, a format that underpins not only the work’s major spiritual and materialist themes, but also its method of estrangement. The second book in the series, The Claw of the Conciliator (1981) won the SF Chronicle Novel award (1982), the Locus award for Best Fantasy Novel (1982), and Nebula Novel award (1982).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Timescape Books (1981)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Gene Wolfe

 

The Sword of the Lictor (1982) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)

Gene Wolfe is generally considered one of the greatest sf writers of all time, and with a huge online fanbase devoted to discussing his esoteric texts, it is difficult to underestimate his influence on the sf canon since 1980. His Book of the New Sun (1980-87) series – essentially a single work – is a genre-bending masterpiece of estrangement that deconstructs assumptions of narrative closure. Wolfe’s work strikes a fine balance between fantasy and science fiction, a format that underpins not only the work’s major spiritual and materialist themes, but also its method of estrangement. The third book in the series, The Sword of the Lictor (1982) won the SF Chronicle Novel award (1983), and the Locus award for Best Fantasy Novel (1982).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Timescape Books (1982)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Gene Wolfe

 

The Citadel of the Autarch (1983) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)

Gene Wolfe is generally considered one of the greatest sf writers of all time, and with a huge online fanbase devoted to discussing his esoteric texts, it is difficult to underestimate his influence on the sf canon since 1980. His Book of the New Sun (1980-87) series – essentially a single work – is a genre-bending masterpiece of estrangement that deconstructs assumptions of narrative closure. Wolfe’s work strikes a fine balance between fantasy and science fiction, a format that underpins not only the work’s major spiritual and materialist themes, but also its method of estrangement. The fourth book in the series, The Citadel of the Autarch (1983) won the Campbell Memorial award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1984).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Timescape Books (1983)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Gene Wolfe

 

The Urth of the New Sun (1987) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)

The Urth of the New Sun is a continuation of Severian’s log which he started in the series, Book of the New Sun (1980-1987). Unlike the prequel, the narrative takes place largely away from Urth, on board a spaceship and on the strange planet of Yesod, bringing to conclusion Severian’s endeavour to rejuvenate Urth’s dying sun. The Urth of the New Sun won the SF Chronicle Novel award (1988).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (1987)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Gene Wolfe

 

Technological Transcendence

Permutation City (1994) by Greg Egan (b. 1961)

Permutation City is a masterpiece of technological transcendence, and no one really comes close to Greg Egan’s magisterial grasp, clearly informed by his background in mathematics. In Permutation City Egan fleshes out the early stages of simulated life, and by leaving the body behind – moving beyond the trope of  ‘jacking in’ – the novel is a natural successor to Cyberpunk’s enquiries into the mind/body split. Permutation City won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1995).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Millennium (1994)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by Greg Egan

 

Diaspora (1997) by Greg Egan (b. 1961)

Diaspora is in many ways the natural successor to Greg Egan’s earlier novel, Permutation City (1994), envisioning a late-stage space faring society of simulated life. Egan’s expert accounts of technological transcendence make the perfect guide to where society (might) be heading.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Millennium / Orion (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Greg Egan

 

Apocalyptic Fiction

Riddley Walker (1980) by Russell Hoban (1925-2011)

Set in a quasi-medieval world that can be traced to the County of Kent, United Kingdom, long after a nuclear holocaust has wiped out most of humanity, the tragicomedy Riddley Walker  is a high point in nuclear post-apocalyptic fiction. Written in a phonetically corrupted version of English which has come to be known as Riddleyspeak, the novel is a masterpiece in of estrangement. It won the Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1982).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Jonathan Cape (1980)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Russell Hoban

 

Marooned in Realtime (1986) by Vernor Vinge (b. 1944)

The second work in Vernor Vinge’s Realtime (1984-86) series, Marooned in Realtime is an post-singularity work that is instrumental to the history of sf and the history of ideas. Vinge not only helped pave the way for the Cyberpunk movement but he also left a big mark on postmodern space opera. Vinge’s writing has played a pivotal role in the development of singularity literature as well – having first introduced the concept in True Names (1981) – and Marooned in Realtime, which further fleshes out the concept, remains an important work in the history of sf as well as in the history of ideas.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Bluejay Books (1986)

Part of the Realtime series:

The Peace War (1984)

Marooned in Realtime (1986)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Vernor Vinge

 

Oryx & Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)

Oryx & Crake is the first work in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013). Taking place within living memory of an undefined plague that has wiped most of humanity, a few survivors are left to fend for themselves and make sense of a radically changed ecology. Atwood’s postapocalyptic work is a satirical, yet cautionary tale of what can happen when large corporations are left unsupervised.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by McClelland & Stewart (2003)

Part of the MaddAddam series:

Oryx & Crake (2003)

The Year of the Flood (2009)

MaddAddam (2013)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Margaret Atwood

 

The Year of the Flood (2009) by Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)

The Year of the Flood is the second work in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013). Taking place within living memory of an undefined plague that has wiped most of humanity, a few survivors are left to fend for themselves and make sense of a radically changed ecology. Atwood’s postapocalyptic work is a satirical, yet cautionary tale of what can happen when large corporations are left unsupervised.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by McClelland & Stewart (2009)

Part of the MaddAddam series:

Oryx & Crake (2003)

The Year of the Flood (2009)

MaddAddam (2013)

Collectors notes:

Less than 20 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Margaret Atwood

 

MaddAddam (2013) by Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)

MaddAddam is the final work in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013). Taking place within living memory of an undefined plague that has wiped most of humanity, a few survivors are left to fend for themselves and make sense of a radically changed ecology. Atwood’s postapocalyptic work is a satirical, yet cautionary tale of what can happen when large corporations are left unsupervised.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by McClelland & Stewart (2013)

Part of the MaddAddam series:

Oryx & Crake (2003)

The Year of the Flood (2009)

MaddAddam (2013)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Margaret Atwood

 

Feminist Fiction

The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)

A landmark work of feminist dystopian fiction, The Handmaid’s Tale explores the living conditions in a totalitarian and religiously conservative patriarchy where reproduction as a result of a drop in fertility rates has become the centre of government policy. Despite the fact that Margaret Atwood has argued that The Handmaid’s Tale is a work of speculative fiction, not science fiction, it won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1987) and was nominated for the Locus and Nebula awards.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by McClelland & Stewart (1985)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Margaret Atwood

 

Escape Plans (1986) by Gwyneth Jones (b. 1952)

Gwyneth Jones is one of the leading voices in 1980s feminist science fiction. Escape Plans is an important Cyberpunk infused, dystopian work, which envisions an Orwellian matriarchy that has resorted to  enslaving large swathes of the population, entirely marginalising the male part. Escape Plan was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clark Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1987).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by George Allen & Unwin (1986)

First SC edition (true first): published by Unwin Paperbacks (1986)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine HC copies currently available on the market.

Less than 5 Fine SC copies currently available on the market.

HC edition: Dustcover and text block subject to toning.

Available works by Gwyneth Jones

 

White Queen (1991) by Gwyneth Jones (b. 1952)

Gwyneth Jones is one of the leading voices in 1980s feminist science fiction. White Queen is the first work in Jones’ The Aleutian Trilogy (1991-97), and similar to Octavia E. Butler, Jones employs the trope of an alien invasion to investigate issues of gender, hybridity and gender fluidity. It won the Tiptree award for Gender-bending SF (1991) and was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1992).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (1991)

Part of The Aleutian Trilogy:

White Queen (1991)

North Wind (1994)

Phoenix Café (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Gwyneth Jones

 

North Wind (1994) by Gwyneth Jones (b. 1952)

Gwyneth Jones is one of the leading voices in 1980s feminist science fiction. North Wind is the second work in Jones’ The Aleutian Trilogy (1991-97), and similar to Octavia E. Butler, Jones employs the trope of an alien invasion to investigate issues of gender, hybridity and gender fluidity. It was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke award for best Science Fiction Novel (1995).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (1994)

Part of The Aleutian Trilogy:

White Queen (1991)

North Wind (1994)

Phoenix Café (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Gwyneth Jones

 

Phoenix Café (1997) by Gwyneth Jones (b. 1952)

Gwyneth Jones is one of the leading voices in 1980s feminist science fiction. Phoenix Café is the final work in Jones’ The Aleutian Trilogy (1991-97), and similar to Octavia E. Butler, Jones employs the trope of an alien invasion to investigate issues of gender, hybridity and gender fluidity.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (1997)

Part of The Aleutian Trilogy:

White Queen (1991)

North Wind (1994)

Phoenix Café (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Gwyneth Jones

 

Dawn (1987) by Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006)

As a major voice in social criticism, writing on issues such as race, gender and power, Octavia E. Butler has made a series of significant contributions to the sf canon. Dawn is the first work in Butler’s Xenogenesis series (1987-1989). An alien invasion, in the wake of a global nuclear war, becomes the starting point for an investigation into male aggression, fear of the unknown, as well as gender fluidity and hybridity.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Warner Books (1987)

Part of the Xenogenesis series:

Dawn (1987)

Adulthood Rites (1988)

Imago (1989)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Octavia E. Butler

 

Adulthood Rites (1988) by Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006)

As a major voice in social criticism, writing on issues such as race, gender and power, Octavia E. Butler has made a series of significant contributions to the sf canon. Adulthood Rites is the second work in Butler’s Xenogenesis series (1987-1989). An alien invasion, in the wake of a global nuclear war, becomes the starting point for an investigation into male aggression, fear of the unknown, as well as gender fluidity and hybridity.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Warner Books (1988)

Part of the Xenogenesis series:

Dawn (1987)

Adulthood Rites (1988)

Imago (1989)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Octavia E. Butler

 

Imago (1989) by Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006)

As a major voice in social criticism, writing on issues such as race, gender and power, Octavia E. Butler has made a series of significant contributions to the sf canon. Imago is the final work in Butler’s Xenogenesis series (1987-1989). An alien invasion, in the wake of a global nuclear war, becomes the starting point for an investigation into male aggression, fear of the unknown, as well as gender fluidity and hybridity.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Warner Books (1989)

Part of the Xenogenesis series:

Dawn (1987)

Adulthood Rites (1988)

Imago (1989)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Octavia E. Butler

 

Space Opera

Schismatrix (1985) by Bruce Sterling (b. 1954)

Schismatrix is an early and very influential work of postmodern space opera, developing many of the tropes that have since come to characterise much critically acclaimed space opera. Schismatrix is the only book in Bruce Sterling’s Shaper/Mechanist series (1982-1985) which consists largely of several short stories. The series revolves around a conflict between two ideologically divided factions: the Shapers who dream of a transhumanist utopia via biogenetic engineering, and the Mechanists who strive for perfection through machine implants and computer circuits.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Arbor House (1985)

Collectors notes:

Less than 20 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Bruce Sterling

 

Hyperion (1989) by Dan Simmons (b. 1948)

Hyperion is the first work in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos (1989-97) series, generally considered the most important work of postmodern space opera. Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and David Zindell, Simmons belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. With its playful, self-conscious and appropriating style, Hyperion represents a high point in literary sf. Hyperion won the Hugo Best Novel award (1990) and the Locus Best SF Novel award (1990).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Doubleday Foundation (1989)

Part of Hyperion Cantos series:

Hyperion (1989)

Fall of Hyperion (1990)

Endymion (1996)

The Rise of Endymion (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Dan Simmons

 

The Fall of Hyperion (1990) by Dan Simmons (b. 1948)

The Fall of Hyperion, which is the second work Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos (1989-1997) series, finishes the ‘unfinished’ narrative of the first novel in the series, Hyperion (1989). The two works represent a high point in postmodern space opera and together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and David Zindell, Simmons belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. The Fall of Hyperion won the BSFA Best Novel award (1991), the Locus Best SF Novel award (1991) and the SF Chronicle Novel award (1991).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Doubleday Foundation (1990)

Part of Hyperion Cantos series:

Hyperion (1989)

Fall of Hyperion (1990)

Endymion (1996)

The Rise of Endymion (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Dan Simmons

 

Endymion (1996) by Dan Simmons

Endymion is the third novel in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos series (1989-1997), which collectively represent a high point in postmodern space opera with its playful, self-conscious style and appropriation of past literary genres. Set 274 years after the events of Hyperion (1989), the interstellar civilisation of the Hegemony of Man has been replaced by the administrative body of the Pax, enforced by the Roman Catholic Church. Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and David Zindell, Simmons belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. Endymion came second place for the the Locus Best SF Novel award (1997).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Bantam Spectra (1996)

Part of Hyperion Cantos series:

Hyperion (1989)

Fall of Hyperion (1990)

Endymion (1996)

The Rise of Endymion (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Dan Simmons

 

The Rise of Endymion (1997) by Dan Simmons (b. 1948)

Set four years after the immediate prequel, The Rise of Endymion brings the whole of the Hyperion Cantos series (1989-1997) series to a ‘traditional’ satisfying conclusion. Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and David Zindell, Simmons belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. The Rise of Endymion won the Locus Best SF Novel award (1998) and the SF Chronicle Novel award (1998).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Bantam Spectra (1997)

Part of Hyperion Cantos series:

Hyperion (1989)

Fall of Hyperion (1990)

Endymion (1996)

The Rise of Endymion (1997)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Dan Simmons

 

Neverness (1988) by David Zindell (b. 1952)

Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and Dan Simmons, David Zindell belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. Neverness is the first work in Zindell’s Neverness Universe series (1988-98), an epic space opera that engages in profound metaphysical meditation on what it means to be human, envisioning a galaxy teeming with different lifeforms, from engineered primitivist tribes to planet-size machine intelligences.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Donald I. Fine (1988)

Part of the Neverness Universe series:

Neverness (1988)

The Broken God (1993)

The Wild (1995)

War in Heaven (1998)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Advanced Proof subject to toning.

Available works by David Zindell

 

The Broken God (1993) by David Zindell (b. 1952)

Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and Dan Simmons, David Zindell belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. The Broken God is the first work in David Zindell’s A Requiem for Homo Sapiens series (1993-1998), the sequel to Neverness (1988). Similar to Neverness (1988), the follow-up series continues to interrogate the pressures placed on what it means to be human in the face of ever advancing technology.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by HarperCollins (1993)

Part of the Neverness Universe series:

Neverness (1988)

The Broken God (1993)

The Wild (1995)

War in Heaven (1998)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by David Zindell

 

The Wild (1995) by David Zindell (b. 1952)

Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and Dan Simmons, David Zindell belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. The Wild is the second work in David Zindell’s A Requiem for Homo Sapiens series (1993-1998), the sequel to Neverness (1988). Similar to Neverness (1988), the follow-up series continues to interrogate the pressures placed on what it means to be human in the face of ever advancing technology.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by HarperCollins (1995)

Part of the Neverness Universe series:

Neverness (1988)

The Broken God (1993)

The Wild (1995)

War in Heaven (1998)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by David Zindell

 

War in Heaven (1998) by David Zindell (b. 1952)

Together with Bruce Sterling, Iain M. Banks and Dan Simmons, David Zindell belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. War in heaven is the final work in David Zindell’s A Requiem for Homo Sapiens series (1993-1998), the sequel to Neverness (1988). Similar to Neverness (1988), the follow-up series continues to interrogate the pressures placed on what it means to be human in the face of ever advancing technology.

Editions:

First SC edition: Published by Bantam Spectra (1998)

(An HC edition was never published)

Part of the Neverness Universe series:

Neverness (1988)

The Broken God (1993)

The Wild (1995)

War in Heaven (1998)

Available works by David Zindell

 

Consider Phlebas (1987) by Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)

Together with Bruce Sterling, David Zindell and Dan Simmons, Iain M. Banks belongs to the generation of critically acclaimed sf writers who from the mid-1980s onwards brought space opera back on the map. Consider Phlebas is the first work in Bank’s Culture series (1987-2012) which to date count a total of ten novels. While a certain level of utopianism define the whole series, Consider Phlebas nevertheless paints a bleak outlook for humanity, with human agency in structural decline as a result of all-powerful machine intelligence.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Macmillan (1987)

First HC signed and boxed limited edition (176 copies): Published by Macmillan (1987)

Part of the Culture series

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Less than 5 Fine Limited Boxed and Signed copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Iain M. Banks

 

Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card (b. 1951)

Ender’s Game is the first work in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Wiggin series (1985-2021), itself part of his wider Ender’s Universe series. Ender’s Game follows young cadet Ender Wiggin as he is trained in virtual warfare with the one purpose of defeating an alien enemy. Part military sf and part a coming-of-age story, Ender’s Game is a hugely popular book which has achieved brand status. It won the SF Chronicle Novel award for Novel (1986), the Hugo award for Best Novel (1986) and the Nebula award for Novel (1986).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Tor (1985)

Part of the Ender's Universe series

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Orson Scott Card

 

A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) by Vernor Vinge (b. 1944)

A Fire Upon the Deep is the first book in Vernor Vinge’s Zones of Thought series (1992-2011). Similar to the sf writers who brought space opera to the critics’ attention from the mid-1980s onwards, Vinge’s galactic tale revolves around humanity’s struggles with all-powerful machine intelligences. A Fire Upon the Deep won the Hugo Best Novel award (1993) and the SF Chronicle Novel award (1993).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Tor (1992)

Part of the Zones of Thought series:

A Fire Upon the Deep (1992)

A Deepness in the Sky (1999)

The Children of the Sky (2011)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Vernor Vinge

 

Revelation Space (2000) by Alastair Reynolds (b. 1966)

Alastair Reynolds belongs to a new generation of critically acclaimed authors who will  still engage with space opera but who have tended to take down a notch the epic scope that characterised the resurgence of space opera in the 1980s. Revelation Space is the first book in Reynold’s Revelation Space series (2000-2003). It chronicles humanity’s colonisation of space, a precarious and disparate effort that is threatened by a space plague known as the Melding Plague as well as a mysterious, advanced machine civilisation. Reynolds’ dark realism lends itself particularly well to the long periods of claustrophobic space travel that has become something of a trademark of his. Revelation Space came second place for the Locus Best First Novel award (2001) and was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2001).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz / Orion (2000)

Part of the Revelation Space series:

Revelation Space (2000)

Chasm City (2001)

Redemption Ark (2002)

Absolution Gap (2003)

Inhibitor Phase (2021)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Alastair Reynolds

 

Chasm City (2001) by Alastair Reynolds (b. 1966)

Alastair Reynolds belongs to a new generation of critically acclaimed authors who will  still engage with space opera but who have tended to take down a notch the epic scope that characterised the resurgence of space opera in the 1980s. Set in the 26th Century, Chasm City, the second book in Alastair Reynold’s Revelation Space series (2000-2003), but taking place before the the events of Revelation Space (2000), adopts the Cyberpunk trope of mind uploads to explore shifting layers of identity. The series chronicles humanity’s disparate effort to colonise space, threatened by the Melding Plague and a mysterious, advanced machine civilisation known as the Inhibitors. It won the British Science Fiction Award for best novel (2001).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz / Orion (2001)

Part of the Revelation Space series:

Revelation Space (2000)

Chasm City (2001)

Redemption Ark (2002)

Absolution Gap (2003)

Inhibitor Phase (2021)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Alastair Reynolds

 

Light (2002) by M John Harrison (b. 1945)

Known for his literary ability, M John Harrison has made several significant contributions to the space opera subgenre. Set between the present day and the far future, Light, the first work in M. John Harrison’s Kefanuchi Tract Trilogy (2002-2012), interrogates a future (and present) where the weird conundrums of quantum mechanics such as superposition, entanglement and tunnelling bleed into the macroworld. Harrison builds a world where time, space, narrative and lives are suspended in different states of uncertainty, ultimately collapsing in on themselves.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (2002)

Part of the Kefanuchi Tract series:

Light (2002)

Nova Swing (2006)

Empty Space (2012)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by M John Harrison

 

Nova Swing (2006) by M John Harrison (b. 1945)

Known for his literary ability, M John Harrison has made several significant contributions to the space opera subgenre. Set between the present day and the far future, Nova Swing, the second work in M. John Harrison’s Kefanuchi Tract Trilogy (2002-2012), interrogates a future (and present) where the weird conundrums of quantum mechanics such as superposition, entanglement and tunnelling bleed into the macroworld. Harrison builds a world where time, space, narrative and lives are suspended in different states of uncertainty, ultimately collapsing in on themselves. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2007) and the PKD Award (2008).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz / Orion (2006)

Part of the Kefanuchi Tract series:

Light (2002)

Nova Swing (2006)

Empty Space (2012)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by M John Harrison

 

Empty Space (2012) by M John Harrison (b. 1945)

Known for his literary ability, M John Harrison has made several significant contributions to the space opera subgenre. Set between the present day and the far future, Empty Space, the final work in M. John Harrison’s Kefanuchi Tract Trilogy (2002-2012), interrogates a future (and present) where the weird conundrums of quantum mechanics such as superposition, entanglement and tunnelling bleed into the macroworld. Harrison builds a world where time, space, narrative and lives are suspended in different states of uncertainty, ultimately collapsing in on themselves.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Gollancz (2012)

Part of the Kefanuchi Tract series:

Light (2002)

Nova Swing (2006)

Empty Space (2012)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by M John Harrison

 

Natural History (2003) by Justina Robson (b. 1968)

Justina Robson is representative of a new generation of sf writers who will often blend sf with fantasy, subjecting the familiar to imaginative settings. Set in the middle of the third millennium, Natural History is the first work in Justina Robson’s still evolving series, Natural History (2003-2005?). Machine intelligence is on the verge of supplanting unevolved humans and by interrogating machine consciousness from the point of view of engineered lifeforms, Robson turns the table on the traditional sf trope of man-machine consciousness.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Macmillan (2003)

Part of the Natural History series:

Natural History (2003)

Living Next Door to the God of Love (2005)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Justina Robson

 

Accellerando (2005) by Charles Stross (b. 1964)

Belonging to a new generation of sf authors which came to prominence post-2000, Charles Stross captures perhaps better than anybody else the dizzying times of rapid technological development we live in. Accellerando is deliriously fast-paced space opera that fleshes out the lives of one family caught in the take-off phase of a technological singularity. It won the Locus award for Best SF Novel (2006), and came second for the Hugo award for Best Novel (2006).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Ace Books (2005)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Available works by Charles Stross

 

Singularity Sky (2003) by Charles Stross (b. 1964)

Belonging to a new generation of sf authors which came to prominence post-2000, Charles Stross captures perhaps better than anybody else the dizzying times of rapid technological development we live in. Where Accellerando (2005) fleshes out the lives of one family caught in the take-off phase of a technological singularity, Singularity Sky delivers an equally absurd tale of a society that all of a sudden is granted access to matter replication devices.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Ace Books (2003)

Part of the Singularity Sky series:

Singularity Sky (2003)

Iron Sunrise (2004)

Collectors notes:

Less than 20 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Watch out for remaindered copies.

Available works by Charles Stross

 

Blindsight (2006) by Peter Watts (b. 1958)

Blindsight is set in 2082 onboard the spaceship Theseus, heading for the Solar System’s outer regions, chasing down radio transmissions from what is thought to be of extraterrestrial origin. The first book in Peter Watts’ ongoing Blindsight series (2006-2014?), it investigates the nature and evolutionary purpose of consciousness, both human and alien.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Tor (2006)

Part of the Blindsight series:

Blindsight (2006)

Echopraxia (2014)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Watch out for later prints.

Available works by Peter Watts

 

Echopraxia (2014) by Peter Watts (b. 1958)

Set in 2096, some 15 years after the events of Blindsight (2006), Echopraxia  is the second book in Peter Watts’ ongoing Blindsight series (2006-2014?). It paints a bleak picture of humanity on the verge of falling apart from under the pressures of posthumanist experiments, and it continues to investigate the nature and evolutionary purpose of consciousness, both human and alien.

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Tor (2014)

Part of the Blindsight series:

Blindsight (2006)

Echopraxia (2014)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by Peter Watts

 

New Weird Fiction

Stations of the Tide (1991) by Michael Swanwick (b. 1950)

Set in the far future on Miranda, a planet that is subject to bicentennial cataclysmic ice cap melts, and under the control of a colonial-style orbital data system, Stations of the Tide presents a nightmarishly surreal vision of humanity caught in a dance macabre with monstrous, sentient technology. Swanwick’s hard-to-categorise, post-singularity work helped pave the way for New Weird science fiction. It won the Nebula Novel award (1992) and the SF Chronicle Novel award (1992).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by William Morrow (1991)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Dustcover subject to toning.

Available works by Michael Swanwick

 

Perdido Street Station (2000) by China Mieville (b. 1972)

Perdido Street Station is a genre-bending masterpiece of New Weird fiction that helped establish the Steampunk sub-genre. Set in the hallucinatory city of New Crobuzon, on what may or may not be Earth, Perdido Street Station is the first work in China Mieville’s New Crobuzon series (2000-2004). It offers a multi-layered meditation on hybridity and fluidity, straddling the genres of sf, fantasy and horror in equal measure. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2001) and the British Fantasy Award (2001).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Macmillan (2000)

Part of the New Crobuzon series:

Perdido Street Station (2000)

The Scar (2002)

Iron Council (2004)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Available works by China Mieville

 

The City & The City (2009) by China Mieville (b. 1972)

Much acclaimed China Mieville has in recent years been instrumental in establishing the Steampunk subgenre and the New Weird literary style. The City & the City , which takes place in the fictional Eastern European twin cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma, two cities superimposed on one another, is a dystopian masterpiece based on truly imaginative perversions of ‘the other’. It won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel (2009), the Hugo award for Best Novel (2010), the Arthur C. Clarke award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2010), and the Locus award for Best Fantasy Novel (2010).

Editions:

First HC edition: Published by Macmillan (2009)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Advanced Proof copy limited to 156 copies.

Available works by China Mieville

 

Annihilation (2014) by Jeff VanderMeer (b. 1968)

Annihilation is the first work in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy (2014), the books published in quick succession of one another. Events take place on a fictional coastal stretch along what may be the US East Coast, in a military quarantined zone known as Area X. Tapping into contemporary eco-anxiety, VanderMeer mixes sf with horror and turns the subject of an alien invasion into an epistemological black hole, investigating institutional inertia and paranoia in the process. Annihilation won the Nebula Novel award (2015).

Editions:

First HC edition (no dustcover as issued): Published by Fourth Estate (2014)

Part of the Southern Reach Trilogy:

Annihilation (2014)

Authority (2014)

Acceptance (2014)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Watch out for later prints.

Available works by Jeff VanderMeer

 

Authority (2014) by Jeff VanderMeer (b. 1968)

Authority is the second work in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy (2014), the books published in quick succession of one another. Events take place on a fictional coastal stretch along what may be the US East Coast, in a military quarantined zone known as Area X. Tapping into contemporary eco-anxiety, VanderMeer mixes sf with horror and turns the subject of an alien invasion into an epistemological black hole, investigating institutional inertia and paranoia in the process.

Editions:

First HC edition (no dustcover as issued): Published by Fourth Estate (2014)

Part of the Southern Reach Trilogy:

Annihilation (2014)

Authority (2014)

Acceptance (2014)

Collectors notes:

Less than 5 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Watch out for later prints.

Available works by Jeff VanderMeer

 

Acceptance (2014) by Jeff VanderMeer  (b. 1968)

Acceptance is the final work in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy (2014), the books published in quick succession of one another. Events take place on a fictional coastal stretch along what may be the US East Coast, in a military quarantined zone known as Area X. Tapping into contemporary eco-anxiety, VanderMeer mixes sf with horror and turns the subject of an alien invasion into an epistemological black hole, investigating institutional inertia and paranoia in the process.

Editions:

First HC edition (no dustcover as issued): Published by Fourth Estate (2014)

Part of the Southern Reach Trilogy:

Annihilation (2014)

Authority (2014)

Acceptance (2014)

Collectors notes:

Less than 10 Fine copies currently available on the market.

Text block subject to toning.

Watch out for later prints.

Available works by Jeff VanderMeer