Despite what conclusions you might draw from the picture above, I’m actually not obsessed (that is, going by the clinical definition of the word), but I do find myself compelled to buy any copies of Chung Kuo novels I see when visiting any used bookstores. That’s led to the modest collection you see here. It’s not a creepy stalker fixation — it started with just wanting the ability to lend the book freely to friends and family without worry of getting it back (no one ever returns borrowed books; that’s a universal truth) and it just sort of grew from there. All eight books of the original series are represented here, at least once. There was a time when Marriage of the Living Dark could go used for roughly $150 on the used market, but I couldn’t bring myself to part with it. MotLD runs around $45 or so on AbeBooks these days.
Happily, I now have one more book to add to the collection… the limited edition Son of Heaven, numbered and signed, imported from England, still in shrinkwrap… how it will remain for the foreseeable future.
Anyone else have a Chung Kuo shelf collection?
PS – Yes, those are the Myst books on the left side. Where else would I put those?
Any tips on how to best import the limited editions as they come out? Any clue if the distributer has any copies of the Son of Heaven limited edition left or should I look on eBay/etc?
The Limited Edition Son of Heaven (signed and numbered in a slipcase) is distributed by Tiptree Book Services. They can be reached by phone in the UK at +44 (0)1206 255 777. Are you in the USA like me? They happily imported it to me, but not cheaply (book + shipping was about $150 US). It arrived via DHL within a few days of shipping. If you’re hesitant to call because of international rates, Skype has very reasonable rates — that’s what I used. Also, be forewarned, my bank declined the transaction at first and froze my card, thinking that the overseas transaction was fraudulent. You may want to call up your bank and clear it beforehand. I don’t know if TBS has any left in stock. Five hundred limited editions were produced. It’s definitely worth a call! Alternatively, it looks like some independent book dealers are already selling the signed copies. You may have some luck that way. Best of luck, Adam!
Yeah I’m in the US. I really want to support Corvus for doing this but I feel like $120 (minimum) for each of these is just too much for me. I guess I’ll just plan on buying the normal hardback of each.
Have you seen that Son of Heaven is $1.59 on Kindle right now? Awesome deal for getting people into the series.
A $1.59, it’s a steal, especially considering one doesn’t need an actual Kindle device to read Kindle books anymore: the Kindle app is available for free for Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, Android, the list goes on. Thanks for the tip!
Reading on Kindle now….would eventually want the paper for my own collection.