Campbell Jr., John W.

Cloak of Aesir

Chicago, IL: Shasta Publishers, 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by John W. Campbell Jr. " "Don A. Stuart" is the pseudonym Mr. Campbell has used in writing stories which are unusual even by the standards of science-fiction. Set in the far future, amid technologies fabulously more advanced than our own, these tales dramatize some of the perils Man is inevitably exposed to in a universe indifferent to his life, his progress, or his extinction. Here is a vast panorama, splashed across aeons of time, alternately triumphant and despairing, but constantly stretching the imagination to its limits. The reader becomes a fascinated witness to the rule of the Machine, to the logic of futuristic love, to the interstellar (Tharoo) invaders, to mankind's inexplicable loss of memory. He sees humans bred for specific characteristics, watches their flight for freedom against the Sarn, thrills at the means by which they regain self-mastery." (from front flap) A collection of classic science fiction stories by John W. Campbell Jr. (1910-1971), the acclaimed & prolific author who was the editor of the legendary pulp journal Astounding Science-Fiction from the 1930s onward. As Campbell notes in his introduction, these stories first appeared in AS-F under his pseudonym, & this volume was preceded by an earlier collection, (The Moon is Hell!, 1950). As further noted on front flap, these stories "For the connoisseurs of remote destiny" "...are dark wine among the vintages of science-fiction. They sink into the mind like clear, heady draughts of outer space. All who savour the far-fantastic will find this book a memorable excursion." Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $3.00 price printed on front flap), first edition as stated on copyright page. On the blank front endpaper, Campbell has hand-written his bold signature in what appears to be darkish-silver ink. An essential collectible in the Campbell canon, in its rarest original form & with his dynamic signature. Book in relatively exceptionally very fine condition with only a touch of rubbing, faint scratching to black cloth front, back covers & spine (silver-gilt lettering at spine completely bright & intact); a bit of wear, fading at edges & corners of same; light browning & a few short, shallow scratches to side & lower edges of text block; moderate fading, light scratching to black (or grey?)- dyed upper edge of same. Interior very fine with only mild browning to paste-downs, endpapers & page leaves (the latter chiefly at blank margins/edges). Unrestored dust jacket relatively quite fine with mild-to-moderate rubbing, light scratching & occasional light browning, spotting to front, back covers, spine & flaps; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; slight chipping at upper spine-edge, corners with minor loss of paper; $3.00 price near upper right corner of front flap has been marked across with a thin line in pencil (probably removable but we dare not fiddle with it), not substantially effecting its visibility. Very Fine / Fine. [Item #5564]

Price: $200.00 save 10% $180.00