ISFDB:Verification requests/Archive 03

This page is an archive of completed verification requests. Please do not add new requests here. If adding additional responses, please draw attention to the addition on a page more likely to be watched such as ISFDB:Community Portal

See ISFDB:Verification requests for current requests. See ISFDB:Verification requests/Archives for other archives.

Science Fiction Age January 2000
The first publication of A Place So Foreign is listed as just Foreign. Almost certainly an entry error, but bears verification? --WimLewis 01:14, 28 Mar 2007 (CDT)


 * According to Miller/Contento, the original title should also be "A Place So Foreign". I'll merge the title records. Mhhutchins 15:31, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Miscellaneous suspicious title pairs
I want somewhere to note down titles that look suspiciously like variants, misprints, or errors, but which I don't have the resources to investigate. In some cases it seems to me that someone will need to compare the actual text of the stories, but maybe there are other references that could explain these one way or the other.


 * Kelly Link, Sea Ship Mountain Sky and Ship, Sea, Mountain, Sky -WimLewis
 * Jack Vance, Sabotage on Sulfur Planet vs. Sabotage on Sulphur Planet -WimLewis
 * I believe I have these publication, so should be able to check in late April. Ahasuerus 18:44, 5 Apr 2007 (CDT)
 * This pair is still in the DB, was a check ever done? -DES Talk 23:15, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Oops, I forgot to check last year :( I'll add it to my User page, thanks! Ahasuerus 23:20, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, i found a copule of other Vance stories in a similar situation, see below. -DES Talk 23:37, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Nina Kiriki Hoffman
 * A Touch of the Old Lilith vs The Touch of the Old Lilith: clearly the same story, but what's the right title? --WimLewis 23:55, 26 Mar 2007 (CDT)
 * P. D. Cacek
 * Metlaika vs. Metalika. I think Metlaika is probably correct, but a brief web search didn't turn up a confirmation. --WimLewis 16:18, 28 Mar 2007 (CDT) Another web search makes me think Metalica is actually the story's title! --WimLewis 00:49, 29 Mar 2007 (CDT)
 * Richard Kadrey, Goodbye Houston Street, Goodbye 46477 and Good-Bye, Houston Street, Good-Bye 58472 --WimLewis
 * Poul Anderson
 * Journeys End 80266 vs. Journey's End 58296. Both have been verified twice. --WimLewis
 * Let the Spaceman Beware 5278 vs. Let the Spacemen Beware! 22218 --WimLewis
 * Three Hearts and Three Lions 1019 or with an ampersand 491781: error or variant? --WimLewis
 * The Mill of the Gods 62722 vs. The Mills of the Gods 305971: error or variant? --WimLewis
 * Delia Sherman, The Crone (1999) as a poem 110384 or as a shortfiction 487061
 * Jay Lake, 873398 and 954524: clearly the same work, but not sure which one is a variant or error. --WimLewis 23:42, 8 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Eric Brown: 60228 versus 728725; neither is verified

Anderson
I rechecked "Let the Spaceman Beware" and the UK version is actually "men" rather than "man" but definitely has no exclamation mark. (A case of British reserve? ;-) )Unfortunately we're up to THREE versions now: and my verified copy is now a duplicate of Mike Christie's, although I think his is under the wrong title. BLongley 05:49, 9 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * All have been fixed. Mhhutchins 15:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Beyond Fantasy & Science Fiction #1, April/May 1995
Would anybody happen to have a copy of Beyond Fantasy & Science Fiction #1, April/May 1995 handy? I don't have it in my collection and the data that Brin1 recently entered differs from the Locus Indes record in various subtle ways. Unfortunately, Brin1 doesn't seem to be aware of the ISFDB Wiki (has anybody had contact with him/her?), so any help would be appreciated. Ahasuerus 20:21, 31 Mar 2007 (CDT)


 * Resolved. Mhhutchins 15:47, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Nebula Award Stories 6
Could somebody please check if the original 1971 hardcover edition of Nebula Award Stories 6 includes Sturgeon's "The Stars Are the Styx" (1950)? I am 99% sure that it's an error, but would like physical verification before we nuke it. Thanks! Ahasuerus 16:16, 7 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * Also, if somebody has the 1971/1973 UK hardcover/paperback reprints of this book, could you please check whether Thomas D. Clareson's essay is called "Science Fiction and Literary Tradition" (which is the title that was used in the US editions) or just "Preface"? TIA! Ahasuerus 00:29, 8 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * 1973 paperback Panther edition says on page 11:

Foreword Science Fiction and Literary Tradition Thomas D. Clareson Professor of English, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio

Contents page just says: FOREWORD   11 Thomas D. Clareson

BLongley 18:29, 27 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Resolved. Mhhutchins 15:48, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

''Psi High and Others
Requesting physical verification of the hardcover (1967) and paperback (1968) versions of Alan E. Nourse's Psi-High and Others aka Psi High and Others. Areas of interest include whether "Mirror, Mirror" was reprinted under that title or under its original title, "The Mirror", as well as other visible discrepancies between the editions. I have the hardcover version in my collection, which I will be able to check in late April, so the paperback edition is a higher priority. TIA! Ahasuerus 00:46, 12 Apr 2007 (CDT)

Resolved issues archived. -DES Talk 07:26, 11 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Turns out that I have both the hardcover and the paperback editions in my collections, so I was able to compare them side by side. There are no hyphens anywhere that I could find, although my hardcover copy is missing the dustjacket. I wonder if that's where the hyphen came from? I have also confirmed that "The Martyr" was first published as "Martyr" in Fantastic Universe January 1957 and created a variant title relationship. I will e-mail Bill Contento witt the corrections.


 * Finally, I used Jon Warren's paperback guide to confirm that the Ace paperback was published in 1968. Now, if somebody happened to have a copy of the 1968 Faber edition (hardcover, I believe), we would be all set :) Ahasuerus 20:13, 28 Apr 2007 (CDT)

Amazing Stories, Fall 1998
Can someone identify the exact title of the James Tiptree, Jr. story in this issue of Amazing? In the ISFDB listing it's shown as "Please Don't Play With the Time Machine." It's reprinted in the collection Meet Me at Infinity with as "Please Don't Play with the Time Machine, or, I Screwed 15,924 Back Issues of Astounding for the F.B.I." I need to create a variant title if the two are actually different. Mhhutchins 16:34, 13 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * FWIW, the Locus Index lists the Amazing story as "Please Don’t Play with the Time Machine" and the Meet Me at Infinity story as "Please Don’t Play with the Time Machine, or, I Screwed 15,924 Back Issues of Astounding for the F.B.I". Ahasuerus 16:58, 13 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * It is listed as "Please Don't Play with the Time Machine" on the cover of the issue, on the index page, and at the top of the story. Interestingly enough, all three locations even agree on the capitalization :-) When Jeff Smith republished this story in Meet Me at Infinity, he had access to Tiptree's original notes, and I suspect there was something in there that led him to add that particular sub-heading. (I can ask him if you really want to know.) Chavey 14:51, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Harry Turtledove's A Different Flesh
Is their any evidence (internal or otherwise) that this edition of Turtledove's collection is different from the first edition (which I have verified)? Locus, who is usually pretty good at indicating revisions, doesn't mention it. Mhhutchins 18:11, 22 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * Checking my catalog, I see that the notion that the 1994 edition was different comes from John Wenn's bibliographies, which are usually as reliable as Locus (if not more so) when it comes to minor textual variations. I have the 1988 paperback edition in my collection, but not the 1994 reprint, so if anybody could do physical verification of the latter, it would be much appreciated. Ahasuerus 18:19, 22 Apr 2007 (CDT)
 * I have just verified of A Different Flesh. The contents, and indeed the pagination, are identical to the 1988 ed, and there is no claim of new copyright or mention of revision on the copyright page. It looks to me as if the only difference is the format, the price, and the cover art. -DES Talk 18:25, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Mainly in Moonlight by Nicholas Stuart Gray
Mainly in Moonlight by Nicholas Stuart Gray was originally subtitled "Ten Stories of Sorcery and the Supernatural" yet various online sources list 12 (!) stories. I wonder if it started out as a collection of 10 stories and then 2 more were added in a later edition? If anybody has a copy, could you please check what it has? Ahasuerus 21:13, 22 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * An update: Some online libraries suggest that the 1967 Meredith edition had only 10 stories while the 1979 reprint by Faber contained 12. Ahasuerus 21:30, 22 Apr 2007 (CDT)


 * FWIW, my 1979 Faber Fanfares edn (with 12 stories) states, on the copyright page, that it was first published 1965 by Faber & Faber. Thus, it may be that the 10 story edn has actually dropped 2 stories! (A quick skim of the 2 dropped/extra stories indicates that they might not fit a "sorcery & the supernatural" theme.) --j_clark 18:57, 29 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Thanks! Could you please Verify the edition when you get a chance? Ahasuerus 19:48, 29 Dec 2007 (CST)

Deals with the Devil ed Mike Resnick
Does anybody have this anthology or rather it's probably single publication? There's quite a mess now: the title has two publication entries, but for the same ISBN/data. The second is taken from http://www.locusmag.com/index/t284.html#A29440 and notes that "existing pub looks suspiciously bad": it contains only about 2/3 of the stories. I've submitted delete of that one, but changed my mind and didn't approve it yet. After all, there are more mysteries around: Locus1 counts (and lists) "36 stories", but the cover as well as Library Journal annotation at Amazon says 32... So I'd be more satisfied if somebody could check it physically. --JVjr 07:31, 17 May 2007 (CDT)


 * None of the people that have verified DAW books have this. One AbeBooks seller has a list of stories, says there are 32 and provided the following list.  I have no idea if the dealer entered this or copy/pasted from another source. I added the numbering as there are 34 stories (?) and the order of the stories is what the dealer used.  Note that there are several misspellings in this list and so it's quite likely it was hand-entered by the dealer.
 * A Later Date by Jack C. Haldeman II
 * Winter by Michelle Sagara (in dealer's subject line but not story list)
 * Pitch by Jane Yolen
 * Red Heart by Terry McGarry
 * Another Damn Deal by Dean Wesley Smith
 * Discounts by Jack Dann
 * Seminar From Hell by David Gerrold
 * Confessional by Laura Resnick
 * The Ultimate Complment by John C. Bunnell
 * For Value Recieved by Lawrence Watt-Evans
 * Jealous Gods by Kristne Kathryn Rusch
 * Bargaining Chip by Esther M. Friesner
 * The Turning Test by Anthony R. Lewis
 * Infernal Dramnation by Jack Nimersheim
 * Rent-To-Own by Mark C. Sumner
 * The Easy Way Down From Avernus by Dave Smeds
 * Small Print by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon
 * Stanley the Eighteen Percenter by Mike Resnick
 * Good Night, Duane Allman by George Alec Effinger
 * Moishe in Excelsis by Barry N Malzberg
 * Nobody wins in a deal with the Devil by Brian M Thomsen
 * Mending Souls by Judith Tarr
 * Just Do It by Nicholas A DiChario
 * A Deal is a Deal by Marie A. Parson
 * Good Intentions by Charles Von Rospach
 * Passion for the Souls Below by Barbara Delaplace
 * Not Just another Deal by Pat Cadigan
 * Devildeal by Robert Sheckley
 * Free Will Baby by Janni Lee Simner
 * Dealer's Choice, Frank M Robinson
 * Jelly Reds by John Lutz
 * A Girl for Ronald by Jeff Wallmann
 * The Hack by Loren D Estleman
 * To Walk the Earth by Thomas Sullivan
 * 22:30, 17 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Correction - I was comparing the dealer's list against ISFDB and see that it's missing Winter but... the dealer stuck that in the title of the listing meaning there are 34 stories!  In diffing this list vs. ISFDB I see that the dealer did not list these stories
 * The Party of the First Part
 * Connections
 * That gets us up to 36 stories but maybe the dealer would be willing to verify your ISFDB page. I would delete the pub listing with 21 stories as whoever entered the second one must have also recognized that the first looked bad but chose not to delete it. One final note on this is I did this Google search and it only found ISFDB ver-1 pages implying an edition with 21 stories was not published. It is a pretty random mix of missing stories though.


 * I found another TOC that also has 36 stories and enough small typographical changes that it's probably not a copy/paste.  Worldcat also lists 36 stories.  It's possible the following stories are not titled exactly as listed in ISFDB:
 * The Turing Test - several sites list this as The Turning Test
 * Stanley, the Eighteen-Percenter - several sites list this as Stanley the Eighteen-Percenter
 * 23:15, 17 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I don't have this anthology in my collection either, but I would be inclined to go with the Locus Index and WorldCat (note the spelling of Jeff Waldmann's name as per Locus). Ahasuerus 02:02, 18 May 2007 (CDT)

Okay, I deleted the incomplete publication, the rest will have to wait for the Singularity. (I suppose The Turing Test is correct and non-sf readers mistyped it as "Turning"; and a comma is an easy thing to leave out in titles). --JVjr 08:28, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * That "existing pub looks suspiciously bad" comment makes me think it was me that added the pub from Locus, but I can't for the life of me remember WHY. :-( I don't have a copy, so presumably one of the entries cropped up in something else I was looking at at the time. BLongley 13:29, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Ah, yes, the "good" data was from me. I'm not going mad after all. (Well, not madder, anyway.) BLongley 15:46, 1 Jun 2007 (CDT)

Judith Merril The Year's Best S-F 10th Annual Edition 1965
I'm looking for any and all editions except the Dell #8611 $0.75 US edition. Is the story by José Maria Gironella titled, "A Red Egg", or "The Red Egg"? CoachPaul 17:03, 8 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Book Club editon is "The Red Egg" on copyright page, TOC, and story page.--Swfritter 19:02, 8 May 2007 (CDT)
 * The db had this story as "A Red Egg". That's now two pubs that have it as "The Red Egg". If we can come up with a third "The", is that enough to officially change both that are currently listed  as "A" in the db? CoachPaul 23:59, 8 May 2007 (CDT)


 * According to WorldCat, the 1965 Delacorte edition contains "The Red Egg". That gives you three of the four editions with the same name. Chavey 01:43, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Beyond the Farthest Star
Can someone check if the Del Ray editions from 1992 pb and tp contain both Beyond the Farthest Star and Tangor Returns. The trade edition may not exist according to the notes. Dana Carson 18:41, 15 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I don't have this story. While the notes for says "Just 9 Google hits for the ISBN (often with different year), unknown to Locus, may be spurious." I believe it exists. 1) Locus often does not list later printings.  2) Bookfinder dug up 29 listings and AbeBooks has eight with some of them appearing to be for 0-441-05658-X.  One confusion is that 0-441-... is an Ace ISBN but some listings say Ballantine.   and www.amazon.ca list it as Ballantine (Nov-1992).  I believe the Ace printing history would be
 * Ace F-282	1964	1st
 * Ace 05651	1969
 * Ace 05652
 * Ace 05653	1973	Rare
 * Ace 05654	1973	Rare - $1.25 cover
 * Ace 05655 	1975	(0441056555 found on 3 pages)
 * Ace 05656	1979   (0441056563 found on 41 pages)
 * Ace 05657	Not used - 0441056571 not found either
 * Ace 05658	1979	(044105658X found on 5 pages - some sites say this is the 7th printing but I believe it's the 8th)
 * Ace 05659	Not used - 0441056598 not found either
 * 01:25, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Thanks. I can use that to fill in some more entries. According to the copy I have.
 * First Ace Printing June 1964
 * Second Ace Printing October 1969
 * Third Ace Printing December 1972
 * Fourth Ace Printing December 1973
 * Fifth Ace Printing April 1975
 * Sixth Ace Printing July 1976
 * Seventh Ace Printing January 1979
 * and the seventh entry you have matches the number SBN mine which lists seventh as its last entry Dana Carson 05:50, 16 May 2007 (CDT)

Ron Goulart's "Odd Job #101"
I was verifying this collection when I noticed that there was a variant spelling of the title story. The title "Odd Job No. 101" is already in the ISFDB but with no publications. The copyright page of the collection states the following: ©1974 by Mercury Press...from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Locus gives the first publication as simply "F&SF, 1974" (but also incorrectly gives the title of the story and collection as "Odd Job No. 101".) I physically checked every issue of F&SF from 1974 (and into 1975), but no story by Goulart appears. Thinking it may have been pseudonymously credited, I also checked the first line of every story to see if any matched the story as published in the collection. Still, to no avail. Ray Lovell's excellent bibliography of F&SF gave no further insight. Does anyone have any idea how to resolve this? Could the story have been purchased by F&SF and not published because the collection came out before Ferman could find a slot for it? I'm baffled, and because this has taken more than an hour out of my life, I can't give up now. Mhhutchins 15:37, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Sorry - I've read Odd Job #213 (also by Goulart) but don't have #101 and also recall wasting some time trying to figure out #101. As far as I could tell, he does not use pseudonyms (other than perhaps ghost writing for William Shatner) and also did not write anything for F&SF in 1974 . I see that you verified the collection Odd Job #101 And Other Future Crimes and Intrigues .  What does the copyright/acknowledgments page say for this story?  The other option is to e-mail him via something like  though my experience is that while authors are happy to get mail many don't seem to keep copies of every publication their stuff appeared in.  16:47, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Oops - I was just re-reading your original question and see you already noted what the copyright page says. This is speculation but I'm assuming F&SF agreed to publish the story but never did and somehow it fell into the cracks. What's the date of the publication?  I see references to "Scribner, 1974" in places that don't seem to be based on Amazon.com (which has 1974 though I just sent in an update on this).  Does your copy say 1974 wrt the publication itself or maybe the confusion was caused by the 1974 date for the story story? Anyway - it seems the canonical, and perhaps only name for the ss, would be whatever is used in the collection though you might as well add a title note explaining that while sources such as the copyright page of the "101" collection state the first appearance was in F&SF 1974 that it seems the story was never printed in F&SF and that you inspected all of the 1974 and some 1985 issues.  17:43, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * FWIW, I have seen books with obvious errors on the copyright page. I wonder if this is one of those errors that Contento and others later copied? Ahasuerus 18:51, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * The collection has no formal statement of publication date. Only a ©1975 by Ron Goulart.  The Library of Congress Catalog Card Number is 74-10853.  Both would indicate that the book was published either very early in 1975 or, even more likely, December of 1974.  WorldCat gives a 1974 publishing date.  I've made notes in the title data for both the story and the collection.  Mhhutchins 19:18, 16 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Checking the full Worldcat record, I see the following: "Year: 1974, ©1975; Entry: 19740603". The latter suggests that the book was entered in OCLC in June 1974, which may indicate delayed publication. I will consult Reginald-1/3 on Saturday to see what he has to say. Ahasuerus 15:18, 21 May 2007 (CDT)

World's That Weren't
There are two book with that title and one by Laura Anne Gilman that was in twice that I just merged. However she does not have it listed on her site and if you check on Amazon they have the first one listed with her as one of the authors. She is not in that book. Is the second book a mistake or was she the editor? Dana Carson 05:06, 20 May 2007 (CDT)


 * According to the Locus list of Awards, she edited the anthology, but I can't find any evidence of her involvement elsewhere. Can we send her an e-mail and ask? Ahasuerus 15:01, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * OK. I'll do that. Thanks. Dana Carson 16:58, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * We could do with clearing up the Gillman/Gilman issue too. There's still a stray reference to Gillman. BLongley 17:29, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I cleaned up her biblio a bit, but, of course, there are links that lead to other link that lead to other links... Ahasuerus 18:26, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Yeah, that's why I wander off and neglect moderating duties at times... e.g. I've spent 4 happy days so far looking at what THIS pub led me to - and I only plan on checking the relevant half! BLongley 18:37, 21 May 2007 (CDT)

The 1976 Hale edition of Nova 1
We have verified two US (1970-1971) editions of Nova 1 so far and found a few errors in the Contento record. According to Contento, the 1976 Hale hardcover reprint dropped 3 stories, so I have created a Variant Title for it, but it would be nice to have it physically verified if anybody has a copy.

Also, this is an original anthology, but the copyright page says:


 * Copyright @ 1970 Harry Harrison, "Mary and Joe" by Naomi Mitchison Copyright @1962 by Naomi Mitchison Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates, Incorporated.

Any ideas where this story may have been first published? Her biblio page at Feminist SF simply says "(1962) reprinted in Harry Harrison's Nova 1 (1970)". Ahasuerus 23:24, 27 May 2007 (CDT)


 * This is still bugging me. The Sphere 1975 paperback repeats the "'Mary and Joe' copyright Naomi Mitchison 1962" claim, and The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 4 says it's copyright Harry Harrison 1970, reprinted by permission of the author, first published in Nova 1. It's a shame she died so young, or I would have asked her. BLongley 19:00, 27 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Resolved. It's text from Memoirs of a Spacewoman first published in 1962. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

van Vogt volunteer verifiers vanted
(Sorry, had to use the German accent to keep the alliteration going... ;-) ) No particular publications in mind yet, but after the first 10 entries I've made, it seems clear this author needs some work. Anyone else want to work on this (suspected) creator of the "fix-up novel"? BLongley 19:00, 29 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I've already verified the few books of his that I have in my collection. Knowing how the ISFDB doesn't deal well with fix-ups, I pass on your request to help clean up his page.  And then to try to straighten out which stories were written, whether collaborative or only credited, by him and Hull, hell, hit's horrible! Mhhutchins 19:08, 29 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Considering current cowardice, collection completed conspirator-less. ;-) BLongley 18:24, 30 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Seriously though - I'll have to do another pass to finish off the cover-art at least, wave the Clute-Nicholls wand over it, and then do some major merges and note-making - so even if I'm going it alone some more verifications will help. BLongley 18:24, 30 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Actually, even some more NOTES will do... from my recent experiences, the notes about prior publications in my pubs may give more clues than what we have here already. If you've got a pub with a bibliography in, I'd be interested in what those say especially - scan and send if you'd rather not tackle it. BLongley 17:56, 31 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I have about 75 van Vogt volumes in my collection, which includes almost all of his fiction sans a few textual variations. I don't have The Misfit Press's "The Enchanted Village" from 1979 or his non-fiction. Unfortunately, access is still a problem :( It would probably work best if other editors finished their collections first and I would fill in any remaining lacunae later. Ahasuerus 21:14, 31 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Would be happy to help. If you have any questions about my verified publications let me know. As for Laumer could you look at the collections only and verify the ones i've done from Contento. For the unverified ones that have wrong stories just change them, i'll fix the variants as i work title by title. Once the titles in the collections are correct it should be easier to fix the variants and there order.Thanks:-)Kraang 21:29, 31 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Well, I feel thoroughly unqualified to deal with this now. I think I've improved what we have here somewhat, but in my searches I've encountered several people that already know more accurate publication dates, have more cover-art, know of more foreign editions, can put Artists to uncredited publications, etc. Only one has considered becoming an editor here so far, but I've left notes on everything I have, and provided links to several other excellent sites and established contacts with their owners. BLongley 18:02, 6 Jun 2007 (CDT)
 * I'm a bit of a butterfly that wants a new thrill, so I'm going to take a break on this and do something productive but different. There's a lot of "copy-and-paste" work still to do with the sites I found, so feel free to take that on. I'll have another look at Laumer, but Kraang and Ahasuerus seem to have that covered pretty well already. Maybe I'll just go find another set of specialist sites for another neglected author... BLongley 18:02, 6 Jun 2007 (CDT)


 * My van Vogt collection is limited and at a hard-to-reach spot at the moment. Here's the data from my db which does not map perfectly to ISFDB but should be recognizable. If one of more of these looks like a "must have" in terms of getting entered/verified I'll dig the books up. Mission to the Stars probably has a price but I must have picked up the book before I had the price column in the db.
 * {| border="1"


 * Title||Publisher||First-Print||Pr.||Print-date||Catalog #/ISBN||Barcode||Price||Binding||Pages
 * Earth Factor X||DAW Books||Aug-1976||1||Aug-1976||DAW UY1249; On Amazon at *0879972491||None||1.25||MM Paperback||174
 * The House that Stood Still||Paperback Library||Nov-1965||n.p.||n.d.||Paperback Library 52-873 50¢; On Amazon at *B000B8314I||None||0.50||MM Paperback||159
 * Mission to the Stars||Pocket Books||Oct-1977||n.p.||n.d.||0-671-81451-6||None||-||MM Paperback||174
 * Slan||Nelson Doubleday||n.d.||n.p.||n.d.||Book Club edition with no coding; On Amazon at *B000BMTXA0||None||None||Hardcover||176
 * The Weapon Shops of Isher||Ace Books||n.d.||n.p.||n.d.||SBN 441-87855-060; On Amazon at *B000ETNFTU||None||0.60||MM Paperback||155
 * }
 * 03:29, 14 Jun 2007 (CDT)
 * Slan||Nelson Doubleday||n.d.||n.p.||n.d.||Book Club edition with no coding; On Amazon at *B000BMTXA0||None||None||Hardcover||176
 * The Weapon Shops of Isher||Ace Books||n.d.||n.p.||n.d.||SBN 441-87855-060; On Amazon at *B000ETNFTU||None||0.60||MM Paperback||155
 * }
 * 03:29, 14 Jun 2007 (CDT)
 * }
 * 03:29, 14 Jun 2007 (CDT)
 * 03:29, 14 Jun 2007 (CDT)

New Worlds December 1959
Robert Silverberg story - 'Appropriations' or 'Appropriation'. A story under the second title appeared in May 1959 Satellite and Locus lists the second spelling.--swfritter 15:47, 6 Jun 2007 (CDT)
 * I have recently aquired a run of New Worlds from 1956-1966 and am looking at a copy of that issue - number 89. On the cover, contents page and on the first page of the story it is given as 'Appropriation'. --Daikiwi 15:31, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Don[ald [J.]] Pfeil
Any physical verifications welcome - I've massaged the three variations together and found a few cover pictures, but own precisely none of his works. (Unless he's got another pseudonym apart from the "William Arrow" that started it all.) BLongley 07:04, 1 Jul 2007 (CDT)
 * Well, the easy one.... I have (Ballantine, 1975). "Donald J. Pfeil" on cover, spine, title page, and copyright page.  --MartyD 15:47, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

The SFBC edition of Michael P. Kube-McDowell's Alternities
I have physically verified the SFBC edition of Michael P. Kube-McDowell's Alternities, which, naturally, doesn't state the publication date or price. The Locus Index is no help in this case since they apparently didn't see this edition. Would anybody happen to have access to the SFBC catalogs for 1988-1989 so that we could determine the date and the price? I have a few years worth of their catalogs, but nothing from the late 1980s. TIA! Ahasuerus 16:47, 30 Jul 2007 (CDT)


 * Either May or June of 1989, according to the list provided by Andrew Wheeler to the rec.arts.sf.written newsgroup. But no source for the price Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Middle 'M' Muddles
A couple of authors I've been verifying recently are in a bit of a mess. (Not entirely down to me, I assure you!) "Esther Friesner" seems to be the most common variation now but "Esther M. Friesner" is canonical so far. And a lot of "Brian M. Stablefords" were under "Brian Stableford". After noticing this, I checked "Iain M. Banks" - which is mostly OK so far, but if so then we could be a bit more definite about "Nongenre" works. Anyway, I'm not asking for sightings of Isaac M. Asimov or Robert M. Heinlein, but if anybody has some Friesner or Stableford works they can verify, please do, and hopefully we can settle on a canonical name before someone has to go do all the variant-making and fixing. Ta muchly! BLongley 17:02, 31 Jul 2007 (CDT)

(Oh, and if anyone can explain THIS attribution, feel free!) BLongley 17:02, 31 Jul 2007 (CDT)


 * Should be by John Vornholt according to OCLC. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

The Magic White Suit / The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
Rudam and I can only can only track this back to references to "The Magic White Suit, Saturday Evening Post, October 4 1958" but due to a load of internet clutter around the play and film, we're not too sure about this reference. Does anyone have a reliable SEP reference site? (Or even better, a physical copy under this title?) BLongley 14:29, 7 Oct 2007 (CDT)


 * Locus online database.--swfritter 20:20, 7 Oct 2007 (CDT)


 * I was hoping for a Non-Genre reference site e.g. it's easy enough to verify anything in Playboy at a site that has no reason to propagate SF Urban Legends, if they turn out to be such. Still, The FictionMags Index says it's been confirmed on ebay, and sure enough there's enough current listings there that I can be quite confident of this date. But if anyone does find a good online complete index to the SEP, drop me a line. I find ebay dangerous to go near. ;-) BLongley 13:29, 9 Oct 2007 (CDT)


 * Several online magazine dealers offer this issue giving the title of Bradbury's story as "The Magic White Suit". Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Jim Baen's Universe, February 2007
There are several essays in this issue which are untitled, and one is written by "Written by Barry N. Malzberg" (and that's not a Gene Wolfe recursive title!) Can anyone straighten this out? Mhhutchins 14:37, 8 Oct 2007 (CDT)


 * I entered all the Baen's Universe data. 'February 2007' is the actual title given for the articles. As for the Malzberg - that can happen when with electronic editions. A little too much of the old copy and paste. I've been waiting for them to post the downloads for the latest issue before I make a final pass through the mags I've entered in the last week. They have never-ending serials and I am still trying to decide whether to treat them as serials or short stories in a series.--swfritter 17:42, 8 Oct 2007 (CDT)


 * Thanks. I was checking on a Malzberg title and noticed that strange byline. Mhhutchins 17:59, 8 Oct 2007 (CDT)

"Anita Hijja"?
This is not exactly a verification request, but I am not sure where else to post it. I entered my Edmondson paperbacks over the weekend and was puzzled by the 1980 Ace edition of The Man Who Corrupted Earth, which had been previously verified by Dana Carson. Here is the note that I added to the record: "The cover art is not credited and the signature on the cover is very small and almost illegible. The artist's first name is almost certainly "Anita" and the last name looks like "Hijja"." Any ideas who that might be? Anybody have a copy and a really good magnifying glass? :) Ahasuerus 20:56, 5 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * I've run across a cover artist with a similar name "Atilla Hejja"?Kraang 22:15, 5 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * That's it, I knew it looked familiar! :) BTW, we have records for "Attila Hajji", "Attila Heja", "Attila Hejja", "Attila Hejji" and "Atila Hega". Could the verifiers please take a closer look at the signatures and see if we can standardize this poor guy's name? I'll check my verified pubs on 2007-12-29. Ahasuerus 22:41, 5 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * It looks like "Attila Hejja" on my "Space Colony", and sure enough Google seems to confirm that as the official name. And sadly, that he passed away 3 months ago. BLongley 13:30, 6 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Yes, that's what it looks like. And we need to add "Atilla Hejja" (note that Kraang's link above leads to "Attila" rather than "Atilla" Hejja) to the list of misspellings. Ahasuerus 13:49, 6 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * If anyone needs a comparison, I've uploaded a sample sig image . BLongley 14:51, 6 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * I think one of the problems with this name is it's easy to misspell. It's easy to type in one "t" when it should be two, and if copying the name from a cover the misspellings would be even worse. In conclusion what I'm getting at is that some of these variants may only be mistyping a name from a copyright page or a misinterpretation of a signature on a cover.Kraang 19:03, 6 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Oh, I am sure that the "variants" are just typos, but it's possible that some of the typos were publishers'/printers' and not our editors'. Editors are human too :)

Science Fiction Omnibus (1952) with story by Krepps/"St. Reynard"
The db shows that "Five Years in the Marmalade" was reprinted in Science Fiction Omnibus as by "Geoff St. Reynard" the pseudonym under which it was originally published. It was published as Krepps in The Best Science-Fiction 1950. Since SF Omnibus reprints this anthology, why would it change the authorship credit? Mhhutchins 13:12, 15 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Other Worlds, March 1951
Should the story in this issue by Charles Tanner (and its accompanying art) be titled "Angus MacAuliffe and the Gowden Touch" or "Angus MacAuliffe and the Gowden Tooch"? The MIT Index has the second spelling. There is also a reprint with the second spelling. Mhhutchins 10:15, 16 Dec 2007 (CST)
 * Right you are. Fixed and merged. Thanks. The Other Worlds entries were created from scratch so any and all errors are the responsibility of yours truly. No plausible deniability.--swfritter 14:01, 16 Dec 2007 (CST)

Alfred's Ar[c/k]
Could somebody with access to New Worlds SF, May 1965 please check if Jack Vance's story was "Alfred's Arc" as we currently claim or "Alfred's Ark" as the Contento Index and the Locus Index claim? TIA! Ahasuerus 19:23, 17 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Enterprise 2115
I acquired the large paperback book recently, and now I suspect that the hardcover version we record doesn't exist. Does anyone know if Merit published hardbacks, or can someone check the usual references to see if a hardcover edition was entered in error? BLongley 17:26, 21 Dec 2007 (CST)
 * It exists alright, have a look at this ,it even comes with a nice scan.. :-)Kraang 21:46, 21 Dec 2007 (CST)
 * Yep, that looks a lot harder than mine. I guess my tp was the missing edition after all - and now I've wondering if that should be 1957/58 due to the review date... BLongley 05:44, 22 Dec 2007 (CST)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Script Book Season One Vol. 1
Is Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Script Book Season One Vol. 1 really listed as having Buffy The Vampire Slayer as the author? Dana Carson 04:15, 23 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * This publication is volume 1 in a 2 volume set reprinting the following Buffy scripts:


 * Volume 1:
 * Welcome to the Hellmouth
 * The harvest
 * Witch
 * Teacher's pet
 * Never kill a boy on the first date
 * The pack


 * Volume 2:
 * Angel
 * I robot, you Jane
 * The puppet show
 * Nightmares
 * Out of mind, out of sight
 * Prophecy girl


 * OCLC (record 49011769) attributes all of them to Joss Whedon (b. 1964), but I don't know how individual scripts are credited within the book itself. The description posted by the Library of Congress is the usual publisher-provided fluff and doesn't help. However, Buffy is a very popular franchise, so I am sure there is something on the Net (Wikipedia?) about it. Ahasuerus 13:47, 23 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Yes, Wikipedia has them all. BLongley 13:58, 23 Dec 2007 (CST)

Andrew Masterson's "Last Days [etc.]"
Masterson/Masterton ... There are various places in the Internet indicating that the author is Masterton (especially of the 2000 publ.). All the research I've done (National Library of Australia, British Library, World Cat, Fantastic Fiction, covers on various amazons) seems to indicate that the 2 publs of Last Days currently on ISFDB are printed as Masterson. From my research, it seems to me that the error has come from the publisher's database or similar. (Both the Andrew Masterson titles that are in ISFDB were Masterton until today. I have a copy of the other title, which also refers to Last Days so I'm confident it's the same author. Does anyone have a copy of either publ. of Last Days to physically check, please? --j_clark 18:12, 29 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

The Pale Invaders - G. R. Kesteven or Kestavan or even Crosher!
Anyone got this by any variation? So far I've only found a Kestavan picture and a Kesteven review... BLongley 15:41, 31 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * I have a Knight Books/Hodder & Stoughton pb 1979 edn by G. R. Kesteven, copyright 1974 ("First published by Chatto & Windus"), which I'll add in due course. ISBN 034020480X.
 * In "About the Author" it says "... He ... published thirty stories under his real name, G. R. Crosher."
 * British Library has Kesteven, G.R. for the 1974 edn. --j_clark 20:23, 31 Dec 2007 (CST)


 * I have finally added my 3 G. R. Kesteven publications. (2 of Awakening Water - different publishers; 1 of Pale Invaders). All 3 say © G.R. Crosher. All use Kesteven (not Kestevan) on the cover & title pages.--j_clark 07:16, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

The two Michael Carrolls
I am not sure where to post this, but we have a single biblio for Michael Carroll, which covers two separate people who happen to share the same name. Most of our records are for Michael Carroll the artist, but we also have one or two that need to be moved to "Michael Carroll (Ireland)". The latter has been fairly prolific under his own name and as "Jaye Carroll" since turning pro in 1999 -- see his Wikipedia article and his official Web site. I am busy doing verifications this week, so if anybody has a little free time, feel free to tackle the hydra :) Ahasuerus 15:18, 1 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

"Sir Mallory's Magnitude" by S. D. Gottesman
We have two records for this pseudonymous story. One of them is a variant title pointing to C. M. Kornbluth while the other one points to Frederik Pohl. Could someone with access to His Share of Glory please check the attribution? "S. D. Gottesman" was mostly used by Kornbluth alone, but sometimes it was used when he collaborated with other people, so we will want to make sure before we merge these titles. TIA! Ahasuerus 16:08, 1 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * If nobody else answers, it's in the mail. I have been meaning to order this book for a long time.--swfritter 17:28, 1 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * The collection includes only stories that Kornbluth wrote without a co-author. Here is the listing for Into the Fourth Dimension and Other Stories at Locus online.--swfritter 22:52, 8 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Tom Deitz Worldwright/Wordwright
I just noticed that Tom Deitz' book Wordwright contains the title Worldwright. Looks like "Word" (no L) is the correct one, but can anyone verify?


 * I don't own it, but the cover looks clear to me. And the few sites with "Worldwright" seem to be using our data. Someone here seems to be half-fixing titles - correcting title but not pubs, or vice versa. :-( BLongley 14:08, 3 Jan 2008 (CST)

Would it be worth having a script check for NOVELs containing a single title whose name is not a simple prefix of the pub's name?


 * Eventually: sometimes the pub title is a subset of the title title, sometimes vice versa. Usually series names added to one or the other. There's a lot to sort out, see my script for duplicate ISBNs that tried to eliminate such similarities. BLongley 14:08, 3 Jan 2008 (CST)

The Machine-God Laughs
Could somebody with ready access to Reginald-1 please double check that The Machine-God Laughs (1949) was anonymously edited by William L. Crawford? TIA! Ahasuerus 22:07, 7 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * Reginald1 credits Crawford as the anonymous editor. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * And while we are at it, any idea who (if anyone) edited "Empire of Dust and Gifts of Asti"? I set it up (earlier tonight) as by Basil Wells and "Andrew North" (aka Andre Norton) whose stories this obscure anthology collects, but there may have been an actual editor, for all we know. Ahasuerus 00:38, 8 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * Reginald1 titles it as "Griffin Booklet One", but I'm sure it's the same pub. He also credits Crawford as the anonymous editor. I'll fix it. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Amazing Stories, July 1948
Would anyone who has this issue check to see if the story "Myatery of the Midgets" was written or "A. K. Jarvis" or "E. K. Jarvis"? Thanks. Mhhutchins 09:36, 23 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * It's "A. K. Jarvis" in TOC and on the title page. I suppose we could make it pseudonym of the house name E. K. Jarvis, --Rkihara 16:04, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1979
Alibrarian is currently MIA and I won't have access to my collection until mid-February. Could somebody please check whether Joanna Russ' review in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1979 spells Le Guin's name "LeGuin"? TIA! Ahasuerus 23:06, 30 Jan 2008 (CST)
 * I was advised, when a review in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Winter 1977 used the spelling "LeGuin" that i should nonetheless record it under "Le Guin". Or if there are several reveiwers uising this spelling do we want to recognize it? -DES Talk 10:58, 31 Jan 2008 (CST)


 * It is spelled "LeGuin" in the review.Don Erikson 13:10, 1 Feb 2008 (CST)

The Incompleat Enchanter
Reposting from Clarkmci's Talk page:

The second submission would make the 1979 The Incompleat Enchanter into a variant tile of the 1941 The Incomplete Enchanter, but they currently have different title types: one is a novel and the other is a collection. I think it would be best to first determine whether we want to consider this work a fixup novel or a collection of two novellas and then create a variant title relationship. The Notes field currently says "This story, in a somewhat different form, appeared in the May,1940, and August,1940, issues of "Unknown"", which suggests a fixup, but I vaguely recall that the differences between the magazine versions and the book publication were minimal. I can't check at the moment since I don't have access to my collection, but perhaps somebody else could. Let me post this question over on the Verification board and see if anybody may be in a position to help us. Thanks! Ahasuerus 23:16, 5 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * More detail on my 1979 Sphere pb ...
 * It does say: Copyright © 1975 by L. Sprague de Camp near the top of the copyright page. (plus a 1975 copyright for the preface)
 * In the middle of the copyright page, it says: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: THE INCOMPLEAT [sic] ENCHANTER (including The Roaring Trumpet and The Mathematics of Magic) Copyright © 1941 by Henry Holt and Company. A somewhat different form of this novel appeared in the May and August 1940 issues of Unknown, Copyright © by Street & Smith, Inc.
 * Despite the use of the word "novel" above, it has a Table of Contents which lists ...
 * Book One The Roaring Trumpet Book Two The Mathematics of Magic
 * as well as a title page before each "book" in the text. That is why I put it as a Collection. What do you think? --j_clark 20:03, 8 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * I can try to pull out my Unknowns when I (briefly) have access to my collection in mid-February and compare the texts, but my "collection time" is at a premium at the moment and comparative text analysis can be rather time consuming. Any other ISFDB editors with an Unknown collection or at least superior Google-fu skills (which may enable us to find a pre-existing analysis of the stories)? Ahasuerus 23:54, 8 Feb 2008 (CST)
 * I have read the doubleday versiuon. i never read the original Unknown versions, but I recall reading an account of the creation of thsi series. My memory is that it indicated that there was little if any change from the Unknown publication to the book versions. The book versions read like separate episodes in a continuing series of stories,m and the first one is compelte in itself as it stands, but open for the sequel. On the other hand this is sometimes true of chpters/episodes in a story never published separately. Clerly this is a "fixup", whether we cvall the result a novel or a collection. If we had "relationship support" I would be inclined to call it a novel, because it reads like a single, albiet epidodic, work in book form. As it is, i think a good case can be made for calling it either way, assumign that a check does indicate that the text changed little from the original publication. -DES Talk 10:09, 9 Feb 2008 (CST)

Keith Taylor's Bard series - Subtitle of Bard IV
Does anyone have a copy of the original 1987 Ace edition for Bard IV? If so, would you please check whether the subtitle is Raven's Gathering or Ravens' Gathering. This has come up because the 1990 Headline (UK) edition has the sub-title as Ravens' Gathering. Further, some sites have the cover for the Ace edition as being the same as the Headline cover, but list the title as Raven's .... Thanks --j_clark 01:53, 10 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Damon Knight's Orbit 11, 1972 or 1973?
There's a conflict in the publication date of this anthology. There are two OCLC records: the first one outright states the date is 1973; the second one gives the copyright date as 1972, but no publication date, leading one to suspect that the book came out in December with a January publication date. Contento gives it a 1973 date. Here's the strange part: it was the January 1973 selection of the SFBC. Strange because that's unusually close to the Putnam trade edition (if it was released in December 1972) where there's normally several months before the book club edition is made available. Even stranger, in the contents listings you'll notice that the stories are evenly split between 1972 and 1973. This was an original anthology, so they all have to have the same publication date. Can anyone shed light on the situation? Mhhutchins 16:34, 12 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Something else: the gutter code of the SFBC edition is C49, meaning it was printed (not published) the first week of December 1972. Mhhutchins 16:38, 12 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Well, I have Orbit 11 in my collection and can verify it on Saturday, but I am not sure how much that will help, especially if it's the SFBC version. Ahasuerus 17:27, 12 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Either date would be fine with me, as long as we have all stories the same date! Mhhutchins 18:10, 12 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Turns out that my copy was published by the SFBC as well and I don't even have the dust jacket :( The copyright page says "Copyright 1972" and the gutter code is the same as stated above. FWIW, Contento lists Orbit 11 as a 1973 book. I wonder if Putnam and SFBC decided to do a simultaneous publication as an experiment or due to some unusual circumstances? Ahasuerus 16:43, 17 Feb 2008 (CST)

As it happens, I have the Putnam hardback a couple of steps from my computer; the copyright page says (c) 1972 but no other details. --JVjr 09:01, 1 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Without any hard evidence since I originally asked this question, I had changed the date of the pub and all its contents to 1972. The trade edition's lack of a stated date of publication and having only a copyright date doesn't help either.  Looking at the other Orbits that had book club editions, the differences between the trade and book club edition were one, five, two, four, and five months. So there was no pattern as to how soon afterward that the book club edition would follow.  To make it worse there are three different OCLC records, two of which only show the copyright date, and the third which dates it as 1973. So there appears to be no way to reconcile all of these dates (including Contento1's date of 1973 and Reginald1's date of 1972).  I'm back to my original conclusion that the book may have been published at the end of 1972, but didn't appear in the stories and libraries until January 1973. MHHutchins 13:55, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Tyrant of Time
Anybody happen to have Lloyd Arthur Eshbach's Tyrant of Time handy? Contento lists it as The Tyrant of Time, but OCLC, all of our Review records and every online bookseller that you can find thinks that it is just Tyrant of Time. I have a copy, but I can't check it until mid-March at the earliest. Ahasuerus 00:19, 22 Feb 2008 (CST)
 * For what it's worth, Tuck lists it with the "The", and it appears that the title novella is also "The Tyrant of Time". MHHutchins 22:26, 25 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Thanks, this makes sense since much of Contento's original data came from Tuck. I'll check my copy on the 15th, although it occurs to me that there may be a discrepancy between the dust jacket and the title page and I think my copy is dj-free. Ahasuerus 00:20, 26 Feb 2008 (CST)

Ellison & Cover's anthology Best of the New Wave
I'm working on the Bluejay Books list and looking for proof that this title exists. The ISBN falls in with Bluejay's numbers, but it shows St. Martin's was the publisher of both editions. Neither the title nor the ISBN is listed in OCLC, and Locus1 shows no record as well. The ISBNs of both hc and tp return very few hits on Google. Look at the dates of publication: trade paperback in 1986 and hardcover in 1987. Strange. I'm convinced this is a phantom title. Can anybody corroborate? Thanks. MHHutchins 20:57, 25 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * It's hard to prove a negative, but a search of about 300 US and Canadian libraries returned 0 matches. Google found a grand total of 4 matches at 2 sites, including BookFinder, which is notorious for keeping vaporware titles in its database. Christopher Priest once compiled an impressive collection of anecdotes about Ellison and vaporware titles as part of his LDV investigation, but I don't recall whether Best of the New Wave was one of them. Ahasuerus 21:57, 25 Feb 2008 (CST)

SFBC ads in 1953 magazines
A big favor to ask of anyone who has issues of US magazines from early to mid-1953: Can you check to see what books were being offered to inaugurate the Science Fiction Book Club? There was a list of twelve selections on a rec.arts.sf.written posting that I used to create the 1953 SFBC selection list, all but one verified by Tuck: L. Sprague de Camp's Rogue Queen. Not only does Tuck have no record of it, OCLC shows no record, and there are no dealers on abebooks.com offering a book club edition of this title. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. MHHutchins 20:04, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Just happen to have my Astoundings handy.


 * June, 1953: Sands of Mars, Needle, The Stars Like Dust, Double Jeopardy, Takeoff, The Puppet Masters.
 * July, 1953: Takeoff, Omnibus of SF, Sands of Mars, The Currents of Space, West of the Sun, Double Jeopardy.
 * August, 1953: West of the Sun, Astounding SF Anthology, Omnibus of SF, The Mixed Men, Player Piano, The Long Loud Silence.
 * September, 1953: Astounding SF Anthology, The Puppet Masters, Sands of Mars, The Martian Chronicles, The Mixed Men, Omnibus of SF, The Long Loud Silence, Player Piano, Currents of Space.
 * October, 1953: Long Loud Silence, Omnibus, Player Piano, Takeoff, West of the Sun, World Out of Mind.
 * November, 1953: World Out of Mind, Astounding, Omnibus, Long Loud Silence, Player Piano, West of the Sun.
 * December, 1953: Puppet Masters, Omnibus, Astounding, This Island Earth, The Second Foundation, Ring Around the Sun.--swfritter 20:31, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Galaxy: First ad is in September 1953. Same titles until February, 1954 when Costigan's Needle, Lights in Sky Are Stars, and The Syndic show up.--swfritter 20:43, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Great! They seem to be following the list with a few exceptions: The Stars Like Dust, The Illustrated Man, and The Day of the Triffids are missing.  There's one that wasn't on my list: Conklin's Omnibus (which I will add.)  Does the first ads appear in June?  I know that March was the official launch month, but I assumed that they had some selections already in the pipeline to create a catalog.  And they'd have to advertise before March as well.  Can you check some of the early 1953 issues?  MHHutchins 20:48, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Looked earlier, even inside. Of Course, the June issue would have been on sale in the first part of May and I would imagine the deadline for ads probably would have been earlier than that in order to meet production deadlines. The first ad for Amazing was in the August issue and F&SF. which sucked because the prior two issues they reprinted the cover art on the back cover without any text. No new titles in those mags.--swfritter 20:55, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * Yeah, those ads on the backs of the digests of the 70s (when I started reading the mags) were ubiquitous (and cheesy as hell!) I overlooked your listing of The Stars Like Dust, which leaves Illustrated Man, Triffids and Rogue Queen not being offered in the ads.  Tuck lists Triffids as a 1953 selection but not the other two. MHHutchins 21:17, 29 Feb 2008 (CST)


 * My current longterm reading project includes reading all of about 180 magazines published in 1953. With other reading that will probably take a couple of years. I will make a mental note to keep on eye on all the SFBC ads once I get that far. 1953 - what a year - probably the greatest output of any year, the SFBC, and the beginning of the end for the pulps.--swfritter 17:23, 1 Mar 2008 (CST)

Dean Koontz
This is just something I noticed during my audiobook onslaught today, rather than a pressing issue. But after checking a few samples via Amazon "Look-Inside", it seems Dean has lost his "R." in recent years. Not just on covers, but on copyright pages and title pages too. If anyone is actively reading his recent books, can they please comment? There might be some over-regularization going on. BLongley 17:55, 2 Mar 2008 (CST)

Interzone #28
In Interzone #28, Mar/Apr 1989, there is a review of Agent of Byzantium by Turtledove. I would like to know if this ia a review of the expanded edition (which would have been fresh out when the review was published? I have recently created a varient title for the expanded edition, and want the reviews to link correctly. User:Brin1, who verified this publication, has not been active for several months. -DES Talk 19:04, 4 Mar 2008 (CST)


 * This have to be a review of the first edition. The expanded one didn't come out until 1994. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Science Fiction Review, Spring 1990
In the Science Fiction Review, Spring 1990 there is a review of Heinlein's The Puppet Masters. Can anyone verify if this is a review of the revised/expanded/restored version which was first released in that year as far as i know? The fist pubs that i know of were later in the year, but an advance copy might have been sent to the reveiweres. I would like the review to link to the varient title for the restored edition if the review is actually of the restored text. -DES Talk 07:13, 19 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * Review of the expanded edition. Link moved. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Past Lives, Present Tense ed. by Scarborough
In Past Lives, Present Tense "Forever Free" is listed as being by Rod Garcia y Robertson. I presume with reasoanbl certianty that this is the same author as R. Garcia y Robertson. But I would like to know if the story was actually attributed to this form of the author's name, in which case we need to make it a pesud, or if the entry is in error, and the two author records should be merged. -DES Talk 09:56, 20 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * Correctly entered as "Rod". Pseudonym and variant created. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Analog, February 1964 - page count issue
When someone has a chance: in Analog, February 1964, was there something (subscription card?) bound between pages 80 & 83? This issue, like some others I've seen, has a count of numbered pages running two numbers higher than usual; & in my copy, there is a gap at that point. (Probably not coincidentally: in my copy one of the staples only clutched through p. 80, & this is where paper changes from pulp to slick; & the rest of the issue is held together at the top with scotch tape.) Thanks -- Dave Dave (davecat) 14:13, 27 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * My issue is also missing the page but there are remnants left of something that was red on one side and blue on the other.--swfritter 14:53, 27 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * My issue has the card still bound in which is why I entered the page count to include it as it matched the actual page numbering. Thx, rbh (Bob) 15:52, 27 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * At least we know it wasn't a photo spread of Campbell in a swimsuit.--swfritter 16:20, 27 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * Are you thinking of the same issue, Bob? This one apparently has only contents imported from some source, & for the page count shows only the 98 (not including covers), & there was a question on your talk page about a similar card in the September 1963 issue.  I've seen a couple of other issues with cards bound in myself, which is why I was guessing that it was a subscription card.  I guess I'll enter it with a note saying there's an insert there.  Thanks. -- Dave (davecat) 10:18, 28 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * September 1963 was the issue I was addressing, although I suspect this is a repeat of that. Thx rbh (Bob) 15:55, 28 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * And just to make sure it's clear - non-paginated inserts that are not significant do not have to be included in the page count. In the current case - if you don't account for the insert you could have content on page 102 of a publication that purports to be 100 pages - if you don't count the insert. The opposite case is the situation where pages with significant data are not paginated - often illustrations - as happened to me recently in this case.--swfritter 14:51, 28 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * Um. I'm sorry, but that made things less clear for me.  "Non-paginated" meaning that there aren't actual numbers printed on the page?  or (what I'd assumed you meant) pages that the page numbers don't take account of?  I don't see what you mean.  I'd assume that something stapled in the magazine, which does not affect the numeration, can be ignored unless there's content (that we care about).  I think I see that (in the issue you cited) you counted the illustrations - on unnumbered pages which were not accounted for in the numbering - as being on the preceding or following pages (because the artwork went with content on those pages? not sure why here).  But I'm not sure what "a publication that purports to be 100 pages" means - that the numbered pages run to 100? that we've said there are 100 pages?  I'm really confused here, not trying to be difficult. -- Dave (davecat) 18:56, 28 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * All of your interpretations are correct. If we list the number of pages as 100 (by not counting the paginated inserts in the page count) and then list content that has an actual page number of 102 that might confuse somebody.--swfritter 19:32, 28 Mar 2008 (CDT)


 * Thank you. So I'll continue what I've been doing, if I meet others, namely including such cards in the count if the numbering treats them that way, but putting in a note to explain.  Interestingly, the issue I'm looking at right now (November 1963) has a card (actually an envelope with form on flap), between pages 80 & 81, so not counted in the numbering.  (And the glued flap has stuck firmly to p. 80.  I remember the story ending on p. 80 moderately well, but it plainly wasn't from this copy that I read it.)  Again, thanks. -- Dave (davecat) 14:17, 2 Apr 2008 (CDT)

Link/Grant short in Altair and Best Fantasy/Horror 14
and had two collaborative stories listed: "Sea Ship Mountain Sky (2000)" and "Ship, Sea, Mountain, Sky (2000)"; the former in Altair 6/7, the latter in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourteenth Annual Collection (35333). I merged them to 98934 after some perfunctory googling - but then it started to seem that it wasn't so good an idea. http://locusmag.com/index/yr2000/s30.htm#A1181 (and elsewhere in the bibliography) has "Sea, Ship..." but http://locusmag.com/index/yr2001/s35.htm#A1226 (etc) gives "Ship, Sea, ..." without any mention of the name change. http://kellylink.net/biblio.htm or http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/grant3/grant3_biblio.html also favour "Sea, Ship". So, could anybody check at least the anth? (There are a few other sources for "Ship, Sea" being in it, while I haven't been able to find details about the magazine.) I guess I'll have to fix the mess again.
 * Most of the St. Martin's Year's Bests are in Google Books. YBF&H 14 has "Ship, Sea, Mountain, Sky" (p. 149): . (I have no idea how stable links for the page views in Google Books are, so if that link doesn't work, try this one for the main page, and then search for Kelly Link: .)

Also, why doesn't Grant's entry show any issue of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, which ARE in the system? My ISFDB-fu is getting rusty... Thanks --JVjr 06:46, 3 Apr 2008 (CDT)
 * I can answer the second part - Missing EDITOR pub_content records. Fixed now. BLongley 12:52, 3 Apr 2008 (CDT)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Van Vogt's Weapon Shops
To quote Mike Schilling's recent Usenet post:


 * Icshi's story source (an incredible Van Vogt resource, found at http://icshi.bingodisk.com/public/vanvogt/StorysourceV4.pdf) shows _The Weapon Shops_ as being a fixup of three short stories:


 * The Seesaw -- Astounding 7/41
 * The Weapon Shop -- Astounding 12/42
 * The Weapon Shops of Isher -- Thrilling Wonder 2/49


 * I've read the first two. The first is about the 20th century reporter who does not witness, but aids in, the formation of the planets. The second is about Fara Clark and how the weapon shops save his repair business from the greedy so-and-sos who were going to cheat him out of it.  The third would, by elimination, have to be the story of Fara's son Cayle, though  I've never seen it.  ISFDB lists it as a reprint of the 1942 story (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?TWONSFEB1949), which seems implausible to me.


 * Does anyone know what's going on here?

Would anybody happen to have Thrilling Wonder Stories 2/49 handy? If not, I can check my copy on the 19th. TIA! Ahasuerus 19:22, 7 Apr 2008 (CDT)


 * And it looks like we have our answer :) Ahasuerus 20:32, 7 Apr 2008 (CDT)

Reversing pseudonym relationships and "H. Nearing, Jr."
Earlier tonight I merged "H. Nearing, Jr." and "H. Nearing" since all of his stories appeared as by "H. Nearing, Jr." and there was no point in having them listed pseudonymously. I then merged all of the Variant Title records and [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?H.%20Nearing,%20Jr. his biblio page] seems to look OK now. Well, except for the fact that the "Used These Alternate Names:" line at the top is blank because the "H. Nearing" record is now gone. I guess it's a minor display issue that we can live with. The good news is that a similar approach may work in other "pseudonym reversal" cases, although it requires a lot of manual merges and may not be efficient when the author in question in prolific. Hopefully, we will have a real "pseudonym reversal" tool some day.

In the meantime, could somebody please check whether Nearing's 3 supposedly non-series stories -- "The Embarrassing Dimension", "The Gastronomical Error" and "The Neurotic Rose" -- may be a part of the "C. P. Ransom" series? They remain uncollected, so they are not in Contento's online Index to collections/anthologies and we'll need to excavate the original magazines to check. Also, are the prologue and the afterword in The Sinister Researches of C. P. Ransom ("The Award" and "The Dilemma" respectively) really essays or are they fiction pieces? TIA! Ahasuerus 01:24, 10 Apr 2008 (CDT)


 * SF Site says The Embarrassing Dimension and The Gastronomical Error are number 3 and number 11 in the series but doesn't mention the Neurotic Rose: Noosfere does and includes it as a C. P. Ransom story. BLongley 13:09, 10 Apr 2008 (CDT)


 * Ah, yes, that makes sense since "The Neurotic Rose" was published in Fantastic Universe, April 1956, so it may not be mentioned in an F&SF-specific index. Thanks! Ahasuerus 23:45, 10 Apr 2008 (CDT)

Galaxy Magazine, February 1963 and Astounding Science Fiction, March 1953
Galaxy Magazine, February 1963 was verified by Alibrarian last July, but unfortunately he never found the Wiki, so we can't ask him about it. Could somebody with access to the issue please check whether Floyd C. Gale's review of The Mathematical Magpie really omits the leading article? Similarly, is Wallace West's 17 page "Five Billion Dollar Magpie" in Alibrarian-verified Astounding Science Fiction, March 1953 really an essay? TIA! Ahasuerus 05:34, 13 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Both are correct. Mathematical Magpie only without the "The". The West article is about scrap and recycling.--swfritter 00:37, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks! Ahasuerus 01:07, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * With potential changes to book review linking I am not sure what is now the best way to document variant book review titles. Rather than changing the book review title to match lexically perhaps we should should just make an entry in the notes stating the correct title of the book. That might create less work in the future when we can actually link the titles.--swfritter 00:37, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure what Al intends for the future, but making them match lexically for now will make it easier to find and change the links later: there's quite good support from title to reviews, if they match. (Not so good the other way where reviews link to authors only.) Leaving them unmatched just means we have to repeat the work to find the missing links later. BLongley 18:54, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I concur with Bill that we probably want to continue using the current standard. Then, when Al adds support for linking reviews and Titles, we can do a mass change. Ahasuerus 01:07, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Are you saying that I can go back to entering reviewzines without having to worry about broken links between reviews and titles? Or should I hold off until Al has made the changes?  Thanks. MHHutchins 02:02, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, if we follow the current convention (which is what Bill and I are suggesting), we still have to worry about getting the "real" title match the "review" title. If you have a bunch of reviewzine that are waiting to be entered, waiting for Al to enhance review support may be the easiest thing to do. That way you won't have to go back and change things again. Ahasuerus 02:34, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I'll take your advice and hold off entering the remaining 'zines (at least 100 issues!) MHHutchins 02:42, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Blackmask.com Doc Savage reprints
Blackmask.com reprinted some of the Doc Savage books. According the some of the ones entered the author was Robeson and Dent. Dent was the main writer to use the Robeson house name. Do the copyright pages actually list both names? See Robeson bibliography for a list of which are entered. Dana Carson 09:39, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Street & Smith sued Blackmask for copyright infringement and won. That's why the Shadow and Doc Savage books are no longer available there. I am not sure how much credence we should give to the information found in bootleg editions.--swfritter 14:54, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * True but we are recording what is in the books. So if they did something strange like listing Dent and Robeson we should record it and add a note. Dana Carson 19:25, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Yup, we do record these peculiar self-collaborations the way they appeared, e.g. see The Outward Urge by John Wyndham "and Lucas Parkes". I am not sure what Blackmask put on the title page(s), but I would imagine that there should be used copies still available. Heck, you can still find semi-bootleg-semi-plagiarized Tarzan copies some 45 years later! Ahasuerus 23:22, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * If I remember correctly the Burroughs family neglected to renew a number of copyrights and it took a lot of negotiations to convince Ace that it would be to their advantage to fork over some money. The Ace editions had much more interesting covers by Frazetta. Because of loopholes in the copyright laws Ace also released a shoddy one volume edition of Lord of the Rings with a microscopic typeface.--swfritter 18:16, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * True, ERB's heirs did a lousy job of taking care of the estate's intellectual property after his death (see Dick Lupoff's book about ERB), but the "semi-bootleg-semi-plagiarized Tarzan" books that I mentioned were the 5 "Barton Werper" novels (1964-1965) which boldly crossed the line between "shady" and "illegal". The estate sued, won and the remaining copies were destroyed. Ahasuerus 18:37, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Story or Novel in Conklin's Best of SF
In the anthology Best of Science Fiction edited by Groff Conklin, the story "The Great War Syndicate" by Frank R. Stockton is given as a novelette. However, the Project Gutenberg ebook contains 35,750 words (as measured by MS-Word) and I have entered it as a novel, although perhaps it ought to be called a chapterbook publication of a Novella. Can anyone verify if the version included in the Conklin anthology is the same as the one published by PG? or at least is of roughly the same size? 35k words is rather long for a novelette, as I understand our standards, indeed it is in the upper end of the novella range. Is it possible that the Conklin contains a shorter version, or an excerpt? -DES Talk 15:43, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I have a first edition of this and will edit it as several titles are mis-classified, including the one above. Even the title of the book is wrong: should be The Best of Science Fiction. Indeed the Stockton title is only 9 pages in length. All the page numbers are correct.--Bluesman 05:57, 12 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Based on our rules (aka the Hugo/Nebula rules), 36,750 words would be a novella, but according to Contento's record, "The Great War Syndicate" occupies 9 pages in the Conklin anthology and was "abridged". 9 pages is too short to be a novelette, though, so I'll e-mail Bill Contento and point it out to him. Always something :) Ahasuerus 16:03, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I notice that our record does not include page numbers, and Contento's does. (I always think it odd that a major source on the contents of things is named "Contento" :) Such is life.) Should those page numbers be copied from his record to ours? -DES Talk 16:09, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Sure, we'll want the page numbers eventually. At some point we will need to go over Contento's data and compare it with what we have, one line at a time -- just like we will want to do it with Reginald, Tuck, etc -- but that can be very time consuming as well as more than a little mind numbing. Michael is currently working on Tuck (in his plentiful spare time) and one of these days we'll get to Contento's data... Ahasuerus 18:42, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Tuck only gives contents, but not page numbers. Contento only provides page numbers on selected items in his Anthology and Collection Index, more often in his Locus Index. Another shortcoming of Tuck is his abbreviation of authors' names when the author in question is popular, e.g. "A. MacDonald", "L. Padgett", "C. D. Simak" in this particular anthology.  Thus this source cannot be used to verify variants in authorship (though he does supply credits as published even if the attribution of the pseudonym is widely known, as the "MacDonald" and "Padgett" above indicates.) And I'm up to Page 59 of the 474 in Tuck's first two volumes.  That's more then 10 percent.  Whoopee! MHHutchins 04:23, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

'Travelers' or 'Travellers' of Space
Martin Greenberg anthology circa 1952. We have the latter as do Contento and Tuck. Wikipedia (from Chalker), Worldcat, abebooks and three verified ISFDb reviews say 'Travelers'. I would suspect that the 'Traveller' listings are probably in error and orginated with Tuck.--swfritter 19:51, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Little Fuzzy, 1st ed
The isn't very high priority, but. . . Does anyone have the original publication (first edition (Avon, if our listing is complete))? If so, would you check the sixth paragraph of the book, & see whether it starts like this:
 * Some fifty million years ago, when the planet that had been called Zarathustra (for the last twenty-five million) was young . ..

I ask because I know the Ace edition has this obviously wrong "million" there; and I find that the Project Gutenberg edition, which doesn't give a source for the transcription at all AFAICS, also does. So I'm wondering whether that's a clue, or whether it slipped in at the beginning & everyone's been faithfully reproducing it ever since. As I said, low priority; just my ill-regulated mind wandering. Or merely wondering. -- Dave (davecat) 21:14, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * That quote is as it appears in the 1962 Avon edition. Don Erikson 01:00, 25 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Thank you very much! Dave (davecat) 14:16, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * That's odd. I remember that paragraph, and i don't recall the extra "million". I read it in an SFBC edition, I wonder if they made the correction. I'll have to check when i get a chance. -DES Talk 15:31, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Bizarre Mystery Magazine
I have created a Wiki page for Magazine:Bizarre Mystery Magazine (which published primarily SF even though the title may suggest otherwise) and entered the first issue. I also have the second issue in my collection, which I should be able to enter in early May. However, I don't have the third (and final) issue published in 1966, so if anybody happens to own a copy and can enter its contents, we could wrap this magazine up. TIA! Ahasuerus 02:59, 25 April 2008 (UTC)


 * If no one has immediate access to an actual copy, I can enter the contents from the NESFA Index, as a placeholder until one can be found. MHHutchins 04:28, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Charles Davidson a Pseudonym for Charles Stross?
is listed as a pesud of, but I find no mention of this on Stross's web site, nor in any of the online sources for Pseudonyms from Sources of Bibliographic Information (aka, fictionMags, Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database, Scifan, SF Hub, CyberSpace Spinner, Locus) nor in his Wikipedia article, nor in anything that a google search on "Charles Stross" returns. Locus lists 857854 attributed to Charles Davidson, and lists other stories by Stross in the same year, but does not list Davidson as a pesud for Stross, and they do list such relationships as a general rule. Can anyone provide a source for this? -DES Talk 01:52, 3 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I see it (with a bunch of other pseudonyms) in Vector (mag. apparently connected to the British Science Fiction Association, text apparently written by Stephen Baxter). --Roglo 17:39, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you, that fills the bill. It's funny, Vector is also the name of the journal of the British APL association, of which I am a member. Must be something in the air over there. :) -DES Talk 19:13, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I would suggest leaving a note in the Bibliographic Comments of at least one of the authors or perhaps at story level since only one story is involved. We should be thinking of a standard for documenting our pseudonym sources.--swfritter 00:50, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I left a note in the Bibliographic Comments of each author, and in the title-level note to the story. redundancy is good. -DES Talk 01:52, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Well hopefully that is one question that hopefully won't have to be answered in the future. Now if I can remember to do the same.--swfritter 20:00, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The story is not listed in the of Charles Stross; the author's name is set to 'Charles Stross.' with a dot . Is it done on purpose (still some doubts?) or by accident? --Roglo 19:49, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure that was a simple mistake, probably mine. I have corrected it. -DES Talk 20:58, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

"Remember the Alamo!" author
The only work attributed to "R. R. Fehrenbach" is "Remember the Alamo!". We list 6 publications of 36048 which contain this story. Three are verified, and all three attribute the story to "T. R. Fehrenbach" (the cannonical name). Two are Tuck-verified, and list "R. R. Fehrenbach" as the author. One is unverified, and lists "T. R. Fehrenbach". Also,, which is Tuck-verified, lists "R. R. Fehrenbach". In addition,  (which is verified) and (which is primary and Contento-verified) both list "R. R. Fehrenbach". It appears that "R. R. Fehrenbach" was initally an error, possibly by Analog magazine. Can people check the unverified pubs with this form of the authors name, and perhaps even re-check the original Dec 1961 Analog or The Great SF Stories #23 to confirm where this form actually appears as the author's name? -DES Talk 01:59, 3 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Analog 12/61 - R. R. Fehrenbach both TOC and title page. The other thing that should be double-checked is whether or not all reprints have an exclamation point. It has one on the story title page of Analog but not on the TOC entry.--swfritter 23:26, 3 May 2008 (UTC)


 * As a side note, T. R. Fehrenbach is alive and still writes occasional editorials for the San Antonio Express News (Sunday editions only). As I understand it (rumor), the "R. R." is for his fictional works with "T. R." being used for his non-fiction. He's an historian by trade.--Dsorgen 02:26, 5 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I am aware of his writings as a historian. I note that more recent reprints of this story, and of other fictional works (not SF) are credited to "T. R.". (In fact, i can't find any other work of his, or anyone's, credited to "R. R. Fehrenbach".) One of the reprints was in the Pournelle "There will be War" series, where "Proud Legions" (an excerpt from his history of the Korean War) was also printed. The interview at http://www.ereads.com/2007/11/t-r-fehrenbach-interview.html mentions his fiction at some length, but never mentions an alternate byline. I can't say for sure, but I think this runor is mistaken. -DES Talk 02:53, 5 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Since he is alive and still active, maybe someone should email him and ask him directly. Would this be appropriate? -DES Talk 02:54, 5 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I just fired off an email to mr. fehrenbach. In it I asked him to clear up the confusion. I don't know when I'll get a reply, but it shouldn't be too long. I used the Express News address for the email. Someone there will see that we get an answer of some sort....--Dsorgen 20:05, 5 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you, I look forward to hearing what the response is. -DES Talk 20:25, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Sheri S. Tepper's essays/poems in Galaxy
According to Wikipedia, Sheri S. Tepper published two articles in Galaxy in December 1960 and August 1961 as "Sheri S. Eberhart". The title of the first article, "Extraterrestrial Trilogue", was reportedly re-used on the second article. We currently list the first one, "Extraterrrestrial Trilogue on Terran Self-Destruction" (with 3 "r"s), as a poem and the second one as a pub-less essay. Could somebody please double check these issues of Galaxy so that we could straighten these (currently pub-less) Titles out and update the Wikipedia article? TIA! Ahasuerus 15:26, 6 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Nothing by her in December 1960 - nothing in the TOC and nothing found when flipping through every page. Not listed in Locus/Contento either. Should be 2 "r"s and is definitely a poem for in August 1961 entry - will fix spelling. TOC for that issue lists only "Extraterrestrial Trilogue" which is probably how the title was originally entered. I imagine that title was removed and the pseudonym connection was not reapplied. Just in case I am missing something I will not remove the orphan duo or make the pseudonym assignment for right now.--swfritter 18:35, 6 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Robert J. vs. S. Martin?
In the database, author of Beyond Pandora was listed as Robert S. Martin". The magazine consistently (heading & contents) shows it as Robert J. Martin.  I'm changing the entry to match.  The pub was previously verified from Contento2 (zine).  That's a CD not available on line, right?  Can someone who has it see if that's where the "S" came from?  If so, I'll include a note.  Or if anyone has any other info indicating that "S" really is correct, of course, let me know & I'll change it back & add a note.  Thanks -- Dave (davecat) 15:40, 7 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Resolved Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

"Aunt Hester" by Lumley
is listed as having written 520513 (1994), 346081 (1975), and 849569 (1975). These appeared in, , , , and. Can anyone check is see whether a) these are in fact the same story or not, and b) was the story really printed with these three different but similar titles. Then we we can do a merge, create variants, or do nothing, as may be proper. -DES Talk 15:55, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Brian's Web site thinks it should be "Aunt Hester" and doesn't list any variant titles. OCLC concurs to the extent that it has contents level data. Unapersson will have the definitive answer, but it may take him a day or two to check the Wiki. Ahasuerus 21:00, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Fixed Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Conscience Interplanetary by Joseph Green
Don Erikson has added the following note to the 1974 DAW edition of this Collection Title:


 * From the copyright page: "The following stories, in a rewritten form, have been incorporated in this novel."

In other words, this book appears to be a fixup, so we probably want to convert it from a Collection to a Novel and perhaps create a Series for the four stories + the fixup. Could the verifiers (Michael and Bill) and/or anyone else who owns copies of the other editions please check if this would work? TIA! Ahasuerus 21:35, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * In the absence of any other form of database linking for such, hyperlinks at title level work for me, and the pub can be converted to a novel. The short stories were important enough to be noted in my edition as well, but there's no obvious separation within the book itself and I can't compare with any of the other sources. Series entries might be appropriate, although I can't say there's any indication of ORDER. BLongley 22:08, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I have updated all affected Publication records, left Michael a note, moved the (plain text) Notes text to the Title level and created a couple of series for Green's Titles. I suspect that a Series record that includes the original stories as well as the subsequent fixup novel is the best way to ensure that casual users will notice the relationship. I doesn't work too well for van Vogt, who would often rewrite unrelated stories and stuff them, kicking and screaming, into a fixup, but outside of van Vogt's oeuvre it's rarely an issue. Thankfully :) Ahasuerus 23:54, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Resolved Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

The Day the Martians Came by Frederik Pohl
This is either a 11823 or a. We should make a decision, and change all refs to one or the other. Please comment on which this should be treated as. Note that several of the works in the collection were published separately in magazines. -DES Talk 22:02, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I spent ages on my version :-(. "COLLECTION" I'd say. When you CAN link chapters/sections to other publications, I prefer to keep the links. When they're mashed-up beyond all recognition, let it go as a fix-up novel and move the links to constituent titles up to the title level (support for such "contains these bits" links are low down Al's list I think, but we're working around that quite well for now IMO.) Titles for the interstitial material are arguable but present. I can go check how different the Stories are in this case against other publications I own though: although I'm sure I did SOME of that before I went to all that effort. BLongley 22:37, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Resolved. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Vance story titles

 * Are 96184 (in the collection 37707) and 57659 (in and 34598) the same story? If so, are these true variants or entry errors?


 * Are 96384 (in ) and 57666 (In several collections, most recently ) the same story? If so, are these true variants or entry errors?


 * Are 96183 (in 37707) and 80094 (in ) the same story? If so, are these true variants or entry errors?

In all three cases the stories are currently listed as being published in the same year. -DES Talk 23:34, 9 May 2008 (UTC)


 * On further checking the Vance Integral Edition's "All Title Index" states that each of these pairs is a single story (revised in the case of "Dream Castle") and that the preferred titles are "Dream Castle", "Sabotage on Sulfur Planet", and "The Ten Books".


 * Which reminds me that at some point we will need to go over all Integral Edition records carefully and incorporate the relevant bits in the ISFDB... Ahasuerus 00:24, 10 May 2008 (UTC)


 * And maybe we can determine whether some of those Ace double 'novels' are really novels. They give word counts for every story. What an accomplishment. Now there's a standard to strive for.--swfritter 01:28, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Phillipa / Philippa [C.] Maddern, especially in Lee Harding's Rooms of Paradise
Hi, I'm trying to tidy Ms Maddern's data. As far as I can determine, she is Philippa (1 L, 2 Ps). In ISFDB, there are 2 instances of stories "by" Phillipa Maddern. (2 Ls, 1P)


 * - the 1979 Ed of Lee Harding's Rooms of Paradise, the story "Ignorant of Magic" is listed as by Phillipa Maddern (2 Ls, 1P), in ISFDB. My 1978 edn has Philippa C. Maddern (1 L, 2 Ps)(page 100).


 * - the story "The Subconscious Computer" - in Eidolon, Winter 1990 - is listed as by Phillipa Maddern (2 Ls, 1P), in ISFDB.

Would someone with either of these pubs please confirm the spelling in those pubs. Thanks j_clark 03:40, 26 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Resolved. Mhhutchins 17:38, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

The Sioux Spaceman by Andre Norton
User:Rhschu reports that his copy of what appears to be has no evidence of the date beyond the copyright. Specifically, he says "What is the source for the date 1974? My copy shows only the copyright 1960 by Ace Books, Inc." Can anyone confirm the source of this date? -DES Talk 16:00, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * There is an abebooks entry with that date. Where they got their data from and how valid I don't know. It might be best just to note something like "The original source for the date of this publication is unknown." Since it was obviously printed after Ace #76801 this would be somewhat more accurate than 0000-00-00.--swfritter 17:03, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * See OCLC: 9163530 which gives that date and that Stock Number. The notes confirm the Stock Number again, and also pagination for the Lin Carter essay. OCLC: 162142055 also shows the missing #76803 edition. BLongley 17:35, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The Ace Double guide lists subsequent standalone editions as well. I'll check it tonight. Ahasuerus 22:53, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


 * 1974 confirmed by Double Your Pleasure and Notes updated. Ahasuerus 02:52, 28 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I never knew about 'Double Your Pleasure' - shouldn't it be on Sources of Bibliographic Information? And is there not enough confidence in all these sources to create #76803 yet? BLongley 18:49, 28 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I vote "yes" and "yes" :) Ahasuerus 01:02, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Astounding, November 1944 Killdozer!
this copy of Astounding lists the NOvelette by Sturgeon, along with Interior Artwork by Orban, and shortfiction by Orban. Is this magazine in anybodies collection so they can check on it and see just what this shortfiction by Orban is?CoachPaul 13:49, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I'll take care of it.--Rkihara 15:35, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Done--Rkihara 16:09, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I didn't want to remove it in case there was actually something there, although for the life of me, I couldn't even to begin to guess what it might have been.CoachPaul 20:59, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If there's really nothing there, the title record needs to go to. BLongley 21:47, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * To answer Paul's question, illustrators have been known to add so much text to their pics that they can be arguably treated as essays. For example, as I noted in the Notes field of Thrilling Science Fiction Adventures No. 14, Fall 1969, "The illustrated essay "Riddles of Science: Mystery of the Sunspots" is signed by Joe Sewell and it is assumed that he is responsible for both the text (7 sentences) and the art." Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often, otherwise we might need a new policy to define the cutoff point :) Ahasuerus 22:43, 31 May 2008 (UTC)