Collecting and dealing in fantasy, science fiction and horror books, is our passion - this site is where we showcase some of our hardcover range and share some new arrivals or general information. See our Contact Us page for ordering online purchases or directions to our Wentworth Falls shop on 'The Blue Mountains Bookshop Trail', where we have a wide range of books from pre-loved/new paperbacks through to limited editions.
Unless otherwise specified, all books in this site are first edition hardcovers.
What we're reading:
We hope everyone had a great holiday season and wish all a bountiful New Year. Thanks to those who visited us over the holidays, it was wonderful to catch up with you all, looking forward to seeing you soon.
2023 was our first full year of trading and we had a lot of fun along the way, thank you for all the support, it continues to amaze us how much good will there is out there. But it's about the books right?, well looking at the list, last year would be the most books we've read since 2016, so a good year for reading but strangely enough we cannot point to a best book among them, or nothing to compare to previous year's 'Best Reads', if we were forced to name a standout then 'Nettle and Bone' certainly left a mark.
Into the new year and we start with a shout out to the team at Grim Oak Press, the second volume in 'The Broken Empire' 10th anniversary limited edition series was sent to us but mislaid six months back, the book was returned and they reached out sending the two missing volumes together - and with the Jason Chan art they are just stunning..
That's all for now, please check out the New Arrivals page for more books uploaded!
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The Traitor by Anthony Ryan
Covenant of Steel #3
Alwyn must make a difficult decide between his heart and his morals as he prepares for his final battle.
It’s been a long journey for Alwyn Scribe. Born a bastard and raised an outlaw, he’s now a knight and the most trusted advisor to Lady Evadine Courlain. Together they’ve won countless battles and helped to bring order to a fractured kingdom.
Yet Evadine is not the woman Alwyn once knew. As puritanical fury increasingly replaces her benevolent faith, Alwyn begins to question what her true motives really are.
As the kingdom braces itself for one final battle, Alwyn’s conscience fights its own war with his heart. Now, more than ever, he must decide whose side he’s really on.
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The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Subterranean Press limited edition is just wonderful, our scan does the dust jacket no justice folks, believe me the dust jacket, endsheets, and interior illustrations by Marcela Bolivar are haunting.
Carlota Moreau cannot imagine a more idyllic life than the one she lives on the nineteenth century ranch in Yaxaktun, Mexico, where her beloved father conducts his scientific research. Her friends, the human and animal “hybrids” he creates, surround her, and she has little interest in what lies beyond their estate’s borders. Hints of political upheaval in the Yucatán peninsula leak in from time to time, but Yaxaktun feels safe to Carlota--even under the shadow of the possibility that Doctor Moreau’s patron Hernando Lizalde’s largesse might one day end.
Montgomery is another man in Lizalde’s debt, a British expat with a drinking problem who becomes Doctor Moreau’s assistant and develops a fascination with the innocent, sincere Carlota. When Lizalde’s son Eduardo arrives and he takes an interest in wooing Carlota, encouraged by Doctor Moreau, it is Montgomery and the hybrids who seek to protect her…and the dark secrets of Yaxaktun.
But when passions ignite and Carlota finally begins to ask questions about both the painful existences of the hybrids and her father’s research, the answers may endanger her and her home forever. With The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, New York Times’ bestselling author of Mexican Gothic Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written another instant classic, a sumptuous, unforgettable reimagining of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau.
We received a brace of Centipede Press editions recently and the included Jeffrey Sackett's 'Blood of the Impaler' is certainly eye catching..
Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
December 12th, 2019, Jade returns to the rural lake town of Proofrock the same day as convicted Indigenous serial killer Dark Mill South escapes into town to complete his revenge killings, in this riveting sequel to My Heart Is a Chainsaw from New York Times bestselling author, Stephen Graham Jones.
Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted Serial Killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.
Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12th, 2019, a Thursday.
Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.
Our last reference to SST Publications (The Hunger) called out their impressive Stephen Graham Jones editions and this is the latest:
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We'll finish the first update of the year with the latest from Martha Wells, like everyone else we're huge Murderbot fans (a little apprehensive about the TV series) and we've read some of her earlier fantasy which wasn't as impactful as Murderbot, but we have high hopes for this after all check out the blurb:
Witch King by Martha Wells
Dust jacket and interior illustrations by Rovina Cai
"I didn't know you were a... demon."
"You idiot. I'm the demon."
Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' Witch King...
After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.
But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?
Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.
He’s not going to like the answers.
Subterranean Press limited edition
Prince of Thorns:
When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king...
It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose.
But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?
One we highly recommend.
We have collected all of PS Publishing's Stephen King limited editions to date and we just got in #14 - Different Seasons, which is a very striking edition of one of my favourite books, and since we are catching up we've added #13 - Needful Things.
THE BLOOD REMEMBERS...
Malcolm Harker is heir to the family fortune - and he is about to discover the family curse. Sunlight burns his eyes, consecrated wine sears his throat, and dark memories fill his dreams. The answer rests in his name, his ancient blood, and a terrifying legend that is much, much more than legend. It is fact
THE BLOOD CALLS...
Malcolm Harker is an educated man.To unmask the lie that his family has accepted as truth, Harker must find the crypt of Vlad of Wallachia, the man once known as the Impaler. He must prove that the vampire prince has no power over the blood coursing through his veins. But when the century-old princess of the Undead arises, the blood calls - and Malcolm will answer.
Pulsating throughout with the sweet nectar of a midnight snack, Blood of the Impaler finds Jeffrey Sackett drawing upon the romantic mysticism of Bram Stoker’s Dracula to create a sequel unparalleled in the world of vampire mania. It’s a novel truly committed to the lore set forth by the grandmaster himself. There’s no shortage of wooden stakes, crucifixes, garlic cloves, or puncture wounds. And of course, it features the man thought to have inspired it all: Vlad the Impaler. However, his inclusion means this story isn’t for the faint of heart.
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Where They Wait by Scott Carson
Recently laid-off from his newspaper and desperate for work, war correspondent Nick Bishop takes a humbling job: writing a profile of a new mindfulness app called Clarity. It’s easy money, and a chance to return to his hometown for the first time in years.
The app itself seems like a retread of old ideas—relaxing white noise and guided meditations. But then there are the “Sleep Songs.” A woman’s hauntingly beautiful voice sings a ballad that is anything but soothing—it’s disturbing, and more of a warning than a relaxation—but it works. Deep, refreshing sleep follows.
So do the nightmares. Vivid and chilling, they feature a dead woman who calls Nick by name and whispers guidance—or are they threats? And her voice follows him long after the song is done. As the effects of the nightmares begin to permeate his waking life, Nick makes a terrifying discovery: no one involved with Clarity has any interest in his article. Their interest is in him.
Lividian Publications limited edition