ISFDB:Research Assistance
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Pirates of Venus
Anyone know ehere the cover art credit for this publication came from. It isn't stated anywhere and the PV for that edition was a transient copy. --Mavmaramis 14:21, 19 July 2020 (EDT)
- There's an attribution (and thanks) on this page under non-USA covers. ../Doug H 17:15, 19 July 2020 (EDT)
- Thanks. --Mavmaramis 03:56, 20 July 2020 (EDT)
Fritz Leiber - The Wanderer
I have something of a mystery which I'm hoping someomne may be able to shed some light on.
Someone pointed me to this TOR edition of The Wanderer - cover artist Ron Walotsky.
Adveritised for sale here wherein the ISBN is listed as 1585860492. A search for that ISBN brings up this ebook version.
The TOR edition shown isn't listed on ISFDB either and the the only TOR edition listed is a SFBC version here with a different Ron Walotsky cover. --Mavmaramis 01:57, 24 July 2020 (EDT)
- Could it be the 1986 Tor edition (the second Tor printing)? We only have data from Locus1 and no cover image. --Willem 16:38, 24 July 2020 (EDT)
- That was my guess at a later point. --Mavmaramis 15:15, 25 July 2020 (EDT)
The Turning Place
The spaceship on the cover of this book is the same spaceship that graces the cover of this book and is, thus, by Angus Mckie. Although the rest of the image isn't by him. I've notified the PV (Don Erikson) --Mavmaramis 13:34, 29 July 2020 (EDT)
Logan's Run
A posting on the LOGAN'S RUN FAN CLUB Facebook page makes reference to "the movie tie in is missing the last “0” chapter" This excision isn't mentioned on any publication record for the book although I can confirm that this edition does have it. --Mavmaramis 09:17, 30 July 2020 (EDT)
- My copy of the movie tie-in edition does not have the 0th chapter. TAWeiss 08:30, 19 August 2020 (EDT)
Author: Philip Robinson
I was gonna add my edition of Masque of a Savage Mandarin [1] when I noticed that the author Philip Bedford Robinson http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?97209 possibly have been combined with another Philip Robinson. Its pretty hard to find much information about them, the best I've found is from SFE [2], which states that the two is not to be mixed up. Masque of a Savage Mandarin seems to be a comedy, while the listed short fiction seems to be pure horror and also published 10 years after Bedfords, according to SFE, supposed death. --Spacecow 17:27, 22 September 2020 (EDT)
- Fixed. Thanks for reporting it :) We record authors by name (and not by ID) so when two of them share a name, we need to separate manually by changing the name in each title when the main one is not used. Annie 19:15, 22 September 2020 (EDT)
- Very cool. I'll go ahead and add the paperback edition then. --Spacecow 04:29, 23 September 2020 (EDT)
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?21606
I was about to add my edition of Darkness at Noon when I was greeted with "DO NOT ADD PUBLICATIONS" in the synopsis. Huh, I thought, why is that? Then I realised the book itself is classified as non-genre here at isfdb (and not having read it myself I don't feel I am in a position to argue with that), even though you for example list it for having been nominated for the Prometheus Hall Of Fame. Anyway, I took a quick look in the documentation over non-genre and got the feeling that was the reason publications were not allowed. Is that the case for all non-genre works? No. After looking at 5-10 other, random, non-genre works and all of them having listed publications, I don't think that is the reason. So, what is the reason? I am sure there have been a heated discussion over this book leading to the "DO NOT ADD PUBLICATIONS" treatment and would like to read it. Is possible to provide a link to the underlying discussion when works get special treatment like this? --Spacecow 04:13, 25 September 2020 (EDT)
- It's just that we don't index stand-alone nongenre works by authors that aren't 'above the threshold' (to be considered as genre authors), and that Koestler seems to be out of scope for this reason, see our project scope, especially the passage on works that are excluded. Hope that helps. Stonecreek 06:15, 25 September 2020 (EDT)
- Sounds fair. I'm ok with someone else taking all these decisions about genre for me. Now, is there anything on the author page that tells me the author is not considered a genre author? --Spacecow 15:24, 25 September 2020 (EDT)
- Not really but a low number of works overall is a good indication in most cases. If you are not familiar with the author, glance at Wikipedia - the genre authors will have the genres mentioned in the first paragraph more often than not. The "threshold" is very subjective so think of "Will I consider this author a genre one?" and if the answer is no, just skip any non-genre books. The rule is meant for authors like Asimov (and making sure we do not index everything by Twain) for example and the less we use it, the better we are IMO. Annie 15:49, 25 September 2020 (EDT)
- Sounds fair. I'm ok with someone else taking all these decisions about genre for me. Now, is there anything on the author page that tells me the author is not considered a genre author? --Spacecow 15:24, 25 September 2020 (EDT)
- It just seems so random. Couldn't you flag an author as non-genre once a moderator has made the decision and display that decision and motivation (with place for discussion?) to your users? And once an author is made non-genre, it would be an easy step to disable uploads of publications to non-genre works altogether. I'm sitting with this book in my hand [3] and can't find an entry for it on Capek's page, which seems weird. I am just going to assume it has been rejected at some point, cause I hate to spend 30 min digging up information on it just to have it rejected. Additional idea: a section with rejected works (with motivation) for these on-the-border genre-authors I think would be really interesting. --Spacecow 05:32, 26 September 2020 (EDT)
- It is the other way around really - we add non-genre books from above threshold authors as opposed to just ignoring them for non-genre authors. So if you are a genre author with 3 books that does not mean that your first non-genre book will be eligible - unless whoever adds and moderates interprets the rule that way. So it is usually a safe bet not to add any non-genre books. The problem with adding a marker is that everyone has their own interpretation of the threshold. If you are not sure, post on the Moderator board before posting the book and you will get some opinions... Annie 17:53, 27 September 2020 (EDT)
- It just seems so random. Couldn't you flag an author as non-genre once a moderator has made the decision and display that decision and motivation (with place for discussion?) to your users? And once an author is made non-genre, it would be an easy step to disable uploads of publications to non-genre works altogether. I'm sitting with this book in my hand [3] and can't find an entry for it on Capek's page, which seems weird. I am just going to assume it has been rejected at some point, cause I hate to spend 30 min digging up information on it just to have it rejected. Additional idea: a section with rejected works (with motivation) for these on-the-border genre-authors I think would be really interesting. --Spacecow 05:32, 26 September 2020 (EDT)
- We have repeatedly tried to come up with an exact definition of the "certain threshold" mentioned by ISFDB:Policy and we have repeatedly failed :-( A number of different criteria have been proposed, but each one led to exceptions and exceptions to exceptions. For example, if we use e.g. "ratio of genre to non-genre works" as the decisive criterion, should we assign equal weight to novels, short stories and poems?
W. Scott Peacock & Wilbur S. Peacock
We have W. Scott Peacock who is an editor and Wilbur S. Peacock who is an author. Both records have the same legal name (Peacock, Wilbur Scott) and year of death, but different years of birth. However, in SFE3's entry on Planet Stories, they list the author's birth year as 1915 (vs. the 1911 we have) which would match the editor's record. These would seem to be the same person. The only wrinkle is the PS's Feature Flash article in the Planet Stories, Fall 1942 issue states "Wilbur S. Peacock came into the office the other day, to discuss a new novelette he has slated for the Planet. Since it was the first time we had met him personally...". W. Scott Peacock is credited as the editor of this issue. The implication being they are different people. But this is also the first issue edited by Peacock so the uncredited article writer could actually have been the managing editor or the prior editor and this conversation was from before Peacock took over. Does anyone have more information this? Like what the source was for the editor's biographical information? Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 12:19, 3 October 2020 (EDT)
Gene Wolf - Peace
I spotted that this edition has cover art credited to Gahan Wilson however this edition with the same cover art has it credited to Tony Roberts. Surely the 2nd credit can't be right. --Mavmaramis 01:57, 10 October 2020 (EDT)
- Thanks for bringing this to our attention; I merged the two titles - but if you state something about the problem in the note to the moderator, you are allowed to submit a merger on your own :-). Stonecreek 07:15, 5 November 2020 (EST)
The Dancer from Atlantis
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?37820
I made an inquiry to Bluesman about this one, but no response there, so I'll try here instead.
My edition looks like it could be this one already listed by Bluesman, with this cover[4], however, price is $3.50 - not $2.95 as stated by Locus.
Additional info:
![[4]](http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/6/6c/BKTG01105.jpg){kind=link}
- Copyright @ 1972 by Poul Anderson
- First printing, January, 1972
- 6th printing as by number line, no date of publication
- It lists The Dark Side (earliest publishing 1987-12 by isfdb) by Zach Hughes for purchase by order, on page just before title page
- Catalog no: AE5354
- 10 digit ISBN on spline and back cover
- Prices: U.S. $3.50, Canada $4.50
--Spacecow 06:48, 5 November 2020 (EST)
- The top of Bluesman's page states that he is no longer actively participating and is unlikely to respond to messages left here.
- Anyhow, it really seems that yours is the publication in question: Bluesman only verified from secondary sources, and it happens from time to time that those do err, even if Locus is generally more dependable than many others. Stonecreek 07:12, 5 November 2020 (EST)
Harlan Ellison's Watching
Does anyone know if this publication comes in a slipcase (as pictured) or not. Book dealer listings don't mention one. The PV for this version was transient. Notes don't emntion one either. --Mavmaramis 02:58, 5 December 2020 (EST)
- It's listed in Chalker/Owings. They list 3 states: 26 copies, lettered A-Z, signed by Ellison and handbound in calfskin with matching slipcase, $125.00 (second state, limited & trade are first); 350 copies, numbered and signed by the author in slipcase, $60.00; 3500 copies trade, $29.95. There is a further point that 33 copies of the limitation sheet for the leatherbound edition were accidentally bound into regular copies of the book. All those copies were caught and sent to Ellison, who scratched out the letters and wrote in "Author's Variant" by hand. Most of these were given and a few sold, by Ellison. They also note that there was a reprint edition in 1989 of an additional 3500 copies which is so marked. That photo appears to appropriate only for the numbered edition which we have listed as 600 copies disagreeing with C/O. We only mention the lettered edition in the notes of the numbered. We don't have the reprint, or the "Author's Variant", though I'm not sure it the latter deserves a separate publication record. --Ron ~ RtraceTalk 07:18, 5 December 2020 (EST)
- Alright thanks so liiks like the trade edition at $29.95 did not come with a slipcase. --Mavmaramis 12:44, 5 December 2020 (EST)
Princeps' Fury / Butcher
I'm cloning [5] for a later printing, and noticed the format given doesn't match my copy. Taweis and Holmesd PVed as 'pb', but my copy of later printing, but same price, is a premium/tall rack format. --GlennMcG 17:57, 26 December 2020 (EST)
- As both Taweis and Holmesd area active, please post the question to their talk pages. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 19:23, 26 December 2020 (EST)
Was hoping to kill two birds... --GlennMcG 21:16, 26 December 2020 (EST)
- It's best to leave direct messages in such cases as there is no guarantee they will be watching this or other community pages. I will typically post at one person's talk page and then on the other's, leave a link a link to the first with a note asking them to check out that conversation. -- JLaTondre (talk) 08:18, 27 December 2020 (EST)
John Wyndham
The John Wyndham story Pawley's Peepholes aka Operation Peep would appear to have a further variant title in that it was published in Argosy (UK) August 1954 as A New Kind Of Pink Elephant. Could this be verified and the record updated please?
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