Highlights of Our Signed First Edition Programs


Mysterious Galaxy is pleased to offer two special programs for our customers interested in signed first editions.

Our Signed First Mystery program and our Signed First Speculative Fiction program are designed to help readers add books we feel offer special merit to their collections. The emphasis of the Signed First Mystery program is on debut mystery titles. The Signed First Speculative Fiction program spotlights speculative fiction titles of interest, not always by debut authors.

Our most recent Signed First Edition picks are listed on this page, as well as a sampling of some of our past picks. Please check with the staff to confirm signed quantities are still on hand.

 

Make sure you indicate you are interested in these programs in your subscription to The Virtual Plot. You can update your profile at any time by clicking the "Update Profile / Email Address" link at the bottom of each electronic newsletter.


Galileo's Dream (Hardcover)

By Kim Stanley Robinson
$26.00
ISBN-13: 9780553806595
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Spectra, 12/01/2009

In Stan Robinson’s dream, Galileo was visited by far-future humans, inhabitants of the Jovian moons, who occasionally guided him in his experiments and sometimes brought him forward to their time to visit his discoveries. The question is with all of this meddling; will the time-line be altered? And will Galileo allow himself to be used as a pawn in their future machinations?

In addition to trips forward in time, we are also treated to Galileo’s life and times, and his battles against the dogmas of his day. Seek truth and face the consequences ... and the inquisition ... or be safe and accept the status quo?

Stan’s writing is such that I often doubted what I remembered from my history of science courses, and I often found myself wanting to consult those texts. What is real and what is Stan? Only an author of Stan’s ability can write history and make it his own, and make it this believable. 

--PMH

Signed copies available, while they last.


The Bricklayer (Hardcover)

By Noah Boyd
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780061827013
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow, 02/01/2010

Fans of FBI thrillers have a new protagonist / team to cheer for. Steve Vail was an FBI agent who took a semi-involuntary early retirement after being caught in an untenable situation. Now he’s a self-employed bricklayer, finding satisfaction in a job well done where he’s his own boss. But when the FBI is targeted by extortionists, making the investigators the victims, and it appears that there’s a leak inside the organization, Vail is brought out of retirement to provide his expertise in an under-the-radar, mostly off-the-books capacity. The apparent insider knowledge of operations makes the Rubaco Pentad a wily intelligent opponent, and it’s to Boyd’s credit that while Vail’s sometimes “cowboy” methodology is important to the solution, it’s not at the expense of the other FBI agents, including his main contact, deputy assistant director Kate Bannon. Vail is a loner, but not a borderline sociopath, like some of his contemporaries. A fast-paced and engaging start to a new series – recommended to fans of Lee Child, P.J. Tracy, or John Sandford. Signed copies available in Feb.
-- MeH & sd


The Magicians (Hardcover)

By Lev Grossman
$26.95
ISBN-13: 9780670020553
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Viking Adult, 08/01/2009
Signed First Edition Fantasy for August! Like Stephen King, Lev Grossman makes the fantastic elements in his story -- about a deeply unhappy young man who discovers that magic is real and he qualifies to enter the secret world of the magicians -- work by grounding them with the solid elements of everyday life. Quentin Coldwater evokes the heroes of books by Nesbitt, Lewis, Rowling, and others before him, many of whom receive warm nods in the fantastic world he enters when he starts his education at Brakebills, a magical academy. Quentin, a magic geek among geeks, meets the challenges of academics and coming of age with a competitive bitter spirit, always seeming to quest for an ephemeral happiness he has only experienced while reading about Fillory, a fictional magical world -- or is it?

-- MeH


The Law of Nines (Hardcover)

By Terry Goodkind
$27.95
ISBN-13: 9780399156045
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Putnam Adult, 08/01/2009
On his 27th birthday, Alex meets the girl of his dreams, almost gets killed, and gets a special birthday present -- an inheritance really -- from his grandfather. Then the really interesting stuff starts to happen. I'd love to tell you more, but to do so might ruin it for you. Trouble will find you.
How do we categorize this? It's not exactly fantasy or sf; it's not exactly a thriller either. Hell, it's not exactly anything ... except good. The "other world" Goodkind writes about will seem quite familiar to anyone who's ever read a Goodkind novel, but this is the beginning of a completely new series and perfect for someone looking for something fresh. Having read it, however, you Goodkind newbies may find you have an irresistible urge to read his previous works while you wait for this series to continue. Enjoy. Signed first editions available in September, while supplies last.

-- PMH


Black Water Rising (Hardcover)

By Attica Locke
$25.99
ISBN-13: 9780061735868
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper, 06/01/2009
Signed First Mystery Pick for June!

Houston lawyer Jay Porter was a man of passionate principles in his youth -- so much so that he made some questionable decisions in his college days. Now, in the early 1980's, he lives a quieter life, his main purpose to provide for his expectant wife and himself by taking cases of no political significance. However, an unexpected encounter with a damsel in distress while celebrating his wife's birthday stirs up all sorts of trouble bubbling just under the surface like the crude that created the Texas boom town. Atmospheric and thoughtful, Black Water Rising makes an impressive debut, and marks Attica Locke as a writer to watch. Particularly recommended for fans of James Lee Burke and Barbara Hambly.

-- MeH


Longeye (Hardcover)

By Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
$24.00
ISBN-13: 9781416591535
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Baen, 04/01/2009
Finally, the sequel to Duainfey has arrived to answer all of our questions. Rebecca has escaped her fey Master but is now bound to the fey Queen. She still struggles to escape, wanting nothing more than total freedom. Meanwhile, Meripen Vanglelauf has come to the aid of some newmen, humans who have found themselves across the barrier and settled in the fey world. Naturally, after his horrible experiences in the past, he doesn't want to have anything to do with humans but must obey his queen. He realizes that something is happening to the trees that makes them almost dead to him. Rebecca is brought to stay with the newman family and ends up on a quest with Meripen to try to find the source of the damage to the trees. Their discovery could mean the end to both fey and human worlds if the problem is not fixed. What an adventure!

-- lre


Lamentation (Hardcover)

By Ken Scholes
$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780765321275
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Tor Books, 02/01/2009
Signed First Edition Speculative Fiction for February!

Ken Scholes' first novel, Lamentation, is probably the best book I have read in quite a while. I never would have guessed this was a first novel. The book reads like a well seasoned author starting a new series. The opening of Lamentation starts with the seven deadly plagues destroying the greatest city in the land. The worst part is that the greatest library ever created is destroyed. Why, you may ask? Well, simply because of a mad Lord who wants to take over the world. The story follows several characters in their journeys to find what happened to the city. The fisherman who was once a great leader who faked his own death is just an example of the characters Ken Scholes created. There is a mad Lord, a young orphan, a mistress, the greatest spy, a nomadic ruler, and mechanical men. Lamentation reads like a fantasy yet has enough technology to make it a science fiction novel as well. I loved this book so much, I have read it twice now. Ken Scholes is definitely an author to watch. The first book in the five-volume Psalms of Isaak series.

-- LF


By Jedediah Berry
$25.95
ISBN-13: 9781594202117
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Press HC, The, 03/01/2009
Signed First Edition SF AND Mystery for February!

Charles Unwin, clerk for Detective Travis Sivert in a large, unnamed agency, is promoted to detective and has to leave his desk of twenty years on the 14th floor. Convinced the promotion is a mistake, he takes an elevator trip to see Lemich, Watcher, floor 36. Instead of receiving an explanation for his promotion, Unwin is faced with a dead man. Unwin not only fails to report his discovery, he removes a disc from Lemich's office then proceeds to check out his new detective's class office on the 29th floor. Charles decides to find Sivert and force the detective to return to his job which will enable Charles to return to his previous position as clerk. With the assistance of his copy of the "Manual of Detection," and some very odd allies, Unwin begins to investigate. After seeing Colonel Baker alive, Unwin suspects Sivert's solution to The Three Deaths of Colonel Baker is problematic. And the recovered body of The Oldest Murdered Man has a gold tooth in his mouth which did not exist before he went missing. Did the mastermind who committed the crimes also control the solution to the crimes? Did he control Sivert's actions? Is this master criminal responsible for Sivert's vanishing? Joining forces with a lady on the wrong side of the law and suspected of murdering Lemich, Unwin finds himself hunted by people who want to eliminate him. Where are all the alarm clocks? Why are so many people functioning while asleep? Is someone controlling their thoughts and actions? Caught between the agency and the criminals, Unwin must find and save Sivert in order to save himself and his sleeping city. I was asked to review this book by Maryelizabeth and Linda T.. At the beginning of the book, I was not certain of my opinion. This book could be classified as imaginative fiction and I could not decide if I was reading fantasy or mystery. Then I found myself staying awake to read the book. I became attached to the mysterious clerk who, with bicycle and umbrella, investigated using a book with a missing chapter. I keep turning pages because I needed to know where the investigation would lead Charles Unwin and what the conclusion would be. A Debut to Watch -- signed first editions available in late February. -- Guest Reviewer Sandra Hale