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Any good sci-fi finds? Saw some posts on Masto saying it was pretty dry.
Yeah I was really disappointed in the sci-fi and fantasy section. It was only one row, and even then had significant blank space on the tables.
I went there looking for either my white whale of a book (Brimstone Angels by Erin M Evans—which is literally unavailable to buy new, and seems to go for hundreds of dollars second hand online) or the Wheel of Time prequel novella by Robert Jordan, which is the only book in that series I haven't already found but which I could easily buy new if I wanted. I was not at all surprised not to find any Evans books, but to find absolutely no Robert Jordan—apart from one book that someone had obviously accidentally placed in the rare books section by someone browsing—was quite surprising.
Other than a whole lot of GRRM and some franchise tie-ins like Star Wars, I actually can't recall anything "big name" in the sci-fi and fantasy section.
Is it possible they're grabbing those hard to find books and putting them on private markets before they even get to the floor? Surely wouldn't miss a trick to make a bit more cash and I'm guessing anything sci fi probably makes more money than generic fiction.
What did you get? Living vicariously through you tbh, I live in the UK now but used to love the bookfest.
It's definitely possible, but Brimstone Angels is rare enough that I think it's unlikely they would have ever received a copy to begin with.
I'm not sure what's up with New Spring, the WoT prequel. I went to a regular secondhand bookstore a few weeks ago and they had every book in the WoT series apart from New Spring, and other secondhand bookstores I've gone to (a fair few, but not a huge number) have had a few WoT books but never New Spring, so it might be a little rare too.
Anyway, this year I didn't pick up anything. I had only just recently picked up a bunch of books at another store so I really only went there looking for my specific white whales.
The sci-fi/fantasy section is always disappointing at bookfest. One table at most, and there's rarely anything worthwhile. It's the main reason I rarely bother going anymore.
I wonder if it's largely due to sci-fi/fantasy fans not getting rid of their books the way readers of other genres do. That, plus the rarity of finding good SF/F books in second hand shops means that we tend to snap them up whenever we find them. I know I'll reflexively grab any Pratchett I find without bothering to check whether I already have it.
The sci-fi/fantasy section is always disappointing at bookfest. One table at most, and there’s rarely anything worthwhile.
Huh, I've had a great time in the past. When I went in...I think it was 2018 or 2019, the selection was awesome. I didn't find my White Whale that year either (though I have been searching for it that long), but I did find a few other things that I wanted. I, Strahd, the D&D novel that serves as a prequel to its popular vampire-themed adventure. There were multiple copies of The Lord of the Rings that year, but in particular I managed to grab a well-kept copy of the exact same edition that I grew up with, and which had been shredded to bits by the family cat. And Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire.
I saw a few copies of The Vampire Lestat there this year, but not a lot of Anne Rice besides that. And none of the other stuff from authors or IPs I mentioned.
Fair enough. Maybe I've just always been unlucky. There's never been anything much. I've grabbed a book here and there, but mostly it's five minutes of scanning the sci-fi table and a couple of hours of walking up and down the other tables looking for anything I'm interested in.
I've had far better finds in random op shops than anything I've ever found at bookfest. I found a box set of LotR still in shrink wrap (and I'm fairly certain it was the original wrap too.) It wasn't the exact edition I remember from my childhood, but it was published in '89, so it's right around that time. I think I paid 7.50 for it, and it's immaculate.