A pearl among the junk, I found this compact stack of Guy N. Smith paperbacks in a charity shop shuffle across Shipley the other day. Bingo!
A great new haul this, as I collect Guy N. Smith paperbacks as part of my big horror novel collection.
Shelling out just three pounds, the stack included three of the well-known Crabs outbreaks, which Smith made his name with.
Despite the author having been very prolific, these 1980's horror paperbacks are now increasingly hard to find, as many will have been simply read and binned back in the day.
Although my favourite novel by the late great Guy N. Smith has to be the folk-trash, The Sucking Pit, the first one I ever read was Killer Crabs, so I'm really looking forward to a scuffle through its pages again.
Smith died aged 81 in 2020, very unwell and infected with COVID. Sadly gone but not forgotten, his many works live on and no doubt like the unknown Shipley reader who donated these paperbacks, I'm very excited about reading them.
Have you read any Guy N. Smith?
Do you collect books?
I think you have mentioned the Crabs books before, but I have never read any. I just looked up Mr. Smith on Wikipedia. He was a busy boy, with a dozen books in the Crabs series alone. Some of the books also have very nice covers.
ReplyDeleteYes, very prolific. Guy N. Smith wrote books about country life as well. Not sure I'll ever find all his paperbacks Paul.
DeleteI have only read Origin of the Crabs and Crabs' Moon.I hope to find the other ones.I also read his original short story about the Crabs in a short story compilation called Monstrous
ReplyDeleteGlad you read them Brian and hope you find more. Where do you find old books?
DeleteFlea markets and a few vintage shops in my area
DeleteBack in Shipley, my old home town, again eh, Woodsy ?
ReplyDeleteWas the charity shop in the underground market, below Shipleys 'famous' Clock Tower ?
It was indeed Mish! There's another 7 or 8 too! The clock tower appears on local art cards now too. We got our daughter one for her birthday!
DeleteYou lucky duck you! Those Crab books are like pulp gold! SFZ
ReplyDeleteHaha! Iis been a good couple of months for getting 80s Horror pulp SF!
DeleteDon't know that author, but I definitely collect books!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you collect Baron?
DeleteI mostly collect science fiction and fantasy, plus gaming books. When I was a kid my parents would let me pick out one book a week. Then I got an allowance and spent most of it on books. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Tolkien of course. I have the complete run of EC Tubb's Dumarest of Terra. A whole box full of Star Trek novels (based on the original series). Doubleday had the Science Fiction Book Club, so I got new hardcovers every month. Harlan Ellison, Andre Norton, Tanith Lee and so forth, then on to CJ Cherryh and William Gibson. Nowadays I don't buy too many books, first because the cost is ridiculous and second because I have no more room! But I'm definitely a fan of older authors. I do some book reviewing if anyone's interested: https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/category/reviews/
DeleteOr if you're looking for recommendations you could check me out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/295653-baron-greystone?shelf=read&sort=rating
DeleteThose crabs get around. I think I had the first one 'Night of the Crabs'? Quite good and very entertaining. Can't see where he took the multiple sequels tho!
ReplyDeleteLots of miffed crustaceans in the sequels!
DeleteThere used to be a toy shop under the Shipley Clock Tower called 'Ellis Briggs'.
ReplyDeleteI bought most of my childhood Dinky toys from there in the 60s and 70s Woodsy.
It was a thriving underground market then.
Visiting recently, Ellis Briggs is now a comic book shop, and the rest of the market seemed almost deserted.
How did it seem to you ?
I have to say Mish that the town centre has seen better days. We had a great breakfast in the market hall cafe though! And our Granddaughter loved feeding the pigeons!
DeleteWhat a great horror haul, Woodsy. Love these old paperbacks.
ReplyDeleteCheers Tone. I'm spoilt for choice now!
DeleteThat Market Hall cafe has been there for decades Woodsy. I've eaten there many times myself, over the years.
ReplyDeleteMy best friends mum worked there in the 80s and 90s.
They've always provided decent cafe food at a reasonable price.
I had a fabulous sausage sarni there Mish! I think the clock tower might be listed now!
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