Ace Doubles Collection
Science Fiction
# D-400 ~ D-599
D-403 ~ $0.35 ~ (1959) ~ Murray Leinster (aka: Will F. Jenkins) - The Mutant Weapon (expanded from "Med Service" published in Astounding, August 1957. This is the second (written) of the "Calhoun/Murgatroyd/Med Service" series, which ran to several story collections and short novels which have appeared in various combinations) (cover states "Complete Novel") 93pg ~ {&} ~ The Pirates of Zan (reprinted as ACE 66525, 1971) (serialized in Astounding, February to April 1959 as "The Pirates of Ersatz.") (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 163pg
D-407 ~ $0.35 ~ (1959) ~ Poul Anderson - We Claim These Stars! (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete Novel") 125pg ~ {&} ~ Robert Silverberg - The Planet Killers (cover states "First Book Publication") 131pg
D-413 ~ $0.35 ~ (1959) ~ Harlan Ellison - The Man With Nine Lives (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 133pg ~ {&} ~ A Touch of Infinity (includes: Run For the Stars; Back To the Drawing Boards; Life Hutch; The Sky Is Burning; Final Trophy; & Blind Lightning) (cover-art by Ed Valigursky) 123pg
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction, and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, described Ellison as "the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water". His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Some of his best-known work includes the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", his A Boy and His Dog cycle, and his short stories "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman". He was also editor and anthologist for Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison won numerous awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and Edgars. Pen names include Lee Archer, Cordwainer Bird, Cortwainer Bird, C. Bird, Wallace Edmondson, H. Ellison, Ellis Hart, E. K. Jarvis, Ivar Jorgensen, Paul Merchant, Clyde Mitchell, Nalrah Nosille & Pat Roeder.
Alternate preliminary cover-art (shown below - left) by Ed Emshwiller for The Man With Nine Lives (originally titled as The Sound of the Scythe).
Original cover-art (shown below - right) by Ed Valigursky for A Touch of Infinity.
D-421 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Philip K. Dick - Dr. Futurity (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 138pg ~ {&} ~ John Brunner - Slavers of Space (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 118pg
Original cover-art preliminary (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for Slavers of Space. Note the "no blood" and "add to bottom" notations when examining the final version on the ACE Double.
D-427 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Robert Moore Williams - World of the Masterminds (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete Novel") 148pg ~ {&} ~ To the Edge of Time and Other Stories (includes: To the End of Time; Where Tall Towers Gleam; Homeward Bound; When the Spoilers Came; and Like Alarm Bells Ringing) (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 148pg
D-431 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ A. E. van Vogt - Earth's Last Fortress (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 114pg ~ {&} ~ George O. Smith - Lost in Space (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete and Unabridged") 142pg
D-437 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Andre Norton - The Sioux Spaceman (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 133pg ~ {&} ~ Richard Wilson - And Then the Town Took Off (cover states "Complete Novel") 123pg
Richard Wilson (23 September 1920 – 29 March 1987) was an American science fiction writer and fan. He was a member of the Futurians, and was married at one time to Leslie Perri. His books included the novels The Girls from Planet 5 (1955); 30-Day Wonder (1960); and And Then the Town Took Off (1960); and the collections Those Idiots from Earth (1957)[1] and Time Out for Tomorrow (1962). His short stories included "The Eight Billion" (nominated for a Nebula Award as Best Short Story in 1965); "Mother to the World" (nominated for the Hugo for Best Novelette in 1969 and winner of the Nebula in 1968); and "The Story Writer" (nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1979).
And Then the Town Took Off was previously published in a pulp (Infinity Science Fiction) in January and February 1958 (two-part serial).
Original preliminary cover-art (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for And Then the Town Took Off.
D-443 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Manly Wade Wellman - The Dark Destroyers (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Abridged") 111pg ~ {&} ~ Brian W. Aldiss - Bow Down to Nul (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 145pg
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Unknown and Strange Stories, Wellman is best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary Weird Tales, and for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, which draw on the native folklore of that region. Karl Edward Wagner referred to him as "the dean of fantasy writers."[1] Wellman also wrote in a wide variety of other genres, including historical fiction, detective fiction, western fiction, juvenile fiction, and non-fiction. Wellman was a long-time resident of North Carolina. He received many awards, including the World Fantasy Award and Edgar Allan Poe Award. In 2013, the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation inaugurated an award named after him to honor other North Carolina authors of science fiction and fantasy.
D-449 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Gordon R. Dickson - The Genetic General (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 159pg ~ {&} ~ Time to Teleport (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 96pg
Original preliminary cover-art (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for Time to Teleport. Note the ACE Letter-Number series on top margin.
D-453 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Kenneth Bulmer - The Earth Gods Are Coming (from the story "Of Earth Foretold" first published by Kenneth Bulmer in the British continuation of Science Fiction Adventures in May 1960) (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete Novel") 107pg ~ {&} ~ Margaret St. Clair - The Games of Neith (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication")
D-457 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Philip K. Dick - Vulcan's Hammer (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 139pg ~ {&} ~ John Brunner - The Skynappers (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete Novel") 117pg
Preliminary cover-art (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for Vulcan's Hammer. Story title and ACE Letter-Number series at top. Art editor comment on right margin (in pencil; "show light coming from eyes of hammers"). Note the similarity of this preliminary art with the final cover art.
D-465 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ John Brunner - The Atlantic Abomination (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 128pg ~ {&} ~ Donald A. Wollheim (as David Grinnell) - The Martian Missile (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete and Unabridged") 127pg
D-471 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ John Brunner - Sanctuary in the Sky (cover-art by Basil Gogos; cover states "Complete Novel") 122pg ~ {&} ~ Jack Sharkey - The Secret Martians (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 132pg
D-479 ~ $0.35 ~ (1960) ~ Wilson Tucker - To the Tombaugh Station (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 145pg ~ {&} ~ Poul Anderson - Earthman, Go Home! (Originally published as A Plague of Masters in Fantastic Stories of Imagination December 1960 and January 1961).(cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 110pg
Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker (November 23, 1914 – October 6, 2006) was an American theater technician who became well known as a writer of mystery, action adventure, and science fiction under the name Wilson Tucker. Tucker was also a prominent member of science fiction fandom, who wrote extensively for fanzines under the name Bob Tucker, a family nickname bestowed in childhood (his own mispronunciation of the nickname "Bub"). He became a prominent analyst and critic of the field, as well as the coiner of such terms as "space opera".
D-485 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ Robert A. W. Lowndes - The Puzzle Planet (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 119pg ~ {&} ~ Lloyd Biggle, Jr. - The Angry Espers (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Complete Novel") 136pg
Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes (September 4, 1916 – July 14, 1998) was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of Future Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Quarterly, among many other crime-fiction, western, sports-fiction, and other pulp and digest sized magazines for Columbia Publications. Among the most famous writers he was first to publish at Columbia was mystery writer Edward D. Hoch, who in turn would contribute to Lowndes's fiction magazines as long as he was editing them. Lowndes was a principal member of the Futurians. His first story, "The Outpost at Altark" for Super Science in 1940, was written in collaboration with fellow Futurian Donald A. Wollheim, uncredited.
D-491 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ Fritz Leiber - The Big Time (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 129pg ~ {&} ~ The Mind-Spider and Other Stories (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller) 127pg
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. (December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright and chess expert. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword and sorcery fantasy, having coined the term.
Preliminary cover-art (shown below - left) by Ed Emshwiller for The Big Time. Art editor comment on left margin and sizing comment at bottom margin (in black grease pencil). Art editor also appears to have marked his change on the image in black grease pencil. Note the similarity of this preliminary art with the final cover-art.
Preliminary cover-art by (shown below - right) Ed Emshwiller for The Mind Spider and Other Stories. Note that the final cover art is much different than this sketch, even though it has elements of the final cover-art.
D-497 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ John Brunner (as Keith Woodcott) - I Speak for Earth (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 120pg ~ {&} ~ Ray Cummings - Wandl the Invader (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 135pg
Original preliminary cover-art (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for I Speak For Earth.
D-507 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ Kenneth Bulmer - Beyond the Silver Sky (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "Complete Novel") 100pg ~ {&} ~ John Brunner - Meeting At Infinity (cover-art by John Schoenherr; cover states "First Book Publication") 155pg
John C. Schoenherr (b. 1935) attended the Pratt Institute (Brooklyn) and studied with Stanley Meltzoff. Biology was always an interest, but he preferred to draw the dissections, rather than perform them. Thus, as a freelance illustrator, he was prolific in science fiction genre as well as in wildlife paintings and illustrations for young adult and children books. His interior illustrations have brought to life many a story in Astounding Science Fiction (and later Analog) and influenced many other artists. He won the Hugo Award for Best Artist (1965) for his illustrations of Frank Herbert's Dune, and received numerous awards (Caldecott Medal, 1988) and accolades for his work in children's literature and wildlife portrayal.
Meeting At Infinity is John Schoenherr's first cover for ACE doubles.
Original preliminary cover-art (shown below) by Ed Emshwiller for Beyond the Silver Sky.
D-509 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ Andre Norton - The Beast Master (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "Abridged") 159pg ~ {&} ~ Star Hunter (cover-art by Ed Emshwiller; cover states "First Book Publication") 96pg
D-517 ~ $0.35 ~ (1961) ~ Clifford Simak - The Trouble With Tycho (cover-art by John Schoenherr; cover states "Complete Novel") 82pg ~ {&} ~ A. Bertram Chandler - Bring Back Yesterday (cover-art by Ed Valigursky; cover states "First Book Publication") 173pg
Clifford Donald Simak (August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.