Most over-hyper book(s)?

Having read through ABE's list of expensive books, and seeing many
that are truly classics, I am wanting to see what are others choices
to add to a list of over-hyped books.
Whether due to a fad for a certain author, subject or topic, what are
your picks for "The Most Over-Hyped".
I am also interested to see if anyone has any nominations that might
be still popular or valuable, with a cut off date of, say, 1950 to the
present.
I would like to start with my choice, Clive Barker's _The Books of
Blood_ . There were what, about a dozen different limited editions,
bindings, forwards and author's revisions?
To what end?
Why was he popular?
I am at a loss to explain anything about Barker's rise to fame.
Besides the fact that I don't think the books themselves were very
good.

Baffled,

Dave

Dave wrote:
Having read through ABE's list of expensive books, and seeing many
that are truly classics, I am wanting to see what are others choices
to add to a list of over-hyped books.
Whether due to a fad for a certain author, subject or topic, what are
your picks for "The Most Over-Hyped".

The Bible - hands down winner for most-owned, least-read book ever!

I would like to start with my choice, Clive Barker's _The Books of
Blood_ . There were what, about a dozen different limited editions,
bindings, forwards and author's revisions?
To what end?
Why was he popular?

1. His work was considered revolutionary in the horror field at the
time.
2. He had a wild imagination and a gift for lush, descriptive prose,
combined with an almost forensic detachment.
3. He was heavily praised by Stephen King, back when King's endorsement
still meant a lot.
4. He was at the forefront of a horror movement that came to be known
as Splatterpunk which was wildly influential in 1980s and early 1990s.
5. One reason there were so many editions of the Books of Blood was
that they first came out as PBOs, then 2 came out as a book club
hardback, then six as regular UK hardbacks, then Scream press did a
signed/limited eition, then the last three were released in hardback in
the U.S. under a different title, the last one of which (Cabal) had
additional material.That's an awful lot of "significant" editions,
depending on what your collecting vectors are. I don't think any of the
aforementioned editions of The Books of Blood lost money for their
publishers.
6. Several of the stories in The Books of Blood were made into movies.
Fairly crummy movies, by and large, but still...
7. Several of the stories in the first three Books of Blood are, in
fact, excellent. See, for example, "In the Hills, The Cities" or "The
Yattering and Jack".

I think Robert James Waller or most of the "Harry Potter Halo" authors
are better choices for overrated authors than Barker.

Lawrence Person
Lame Excuse Books
http://home.austin.rr.com/lperson/lame.html

Dave wrote:
Having read through ABE's list of expensive books, and seeing many
that are truly classics, I am wanting to see what are others choices
to add to a list of over-hyped books.
Whether due to a fad for a certain author, subject or topic, what are
your picks for "The Most Over-Hyped".
I am also interested to see if anyone has any nominations that might
be still popular or valuable, with a cut off date of, say, 1950 to the
present.
I would like to start with my choice, Clive Barker's _The Books of
Blood_ . There were what, about a dozen different limited editions,
bindings, forwards and author's revisions?
To what end?
Why was he popular?
I am at a loss to explain anything about Barker's rise to fame.
Besides the fact that I don't think the books themselves were very
good.

Baffled,

Dave


Simple. Barker's collections were a landmark in the horror genre,
completely rejuvenating what had been a moribund market for short
fiction. Several films have been made based on his work and that has
served to keep him in the public eye. Clive Barker has also been
presented with a Life Achievement Award from the International Horror
Guild and remains an avidly collected author twenty years after the BoB
appeared.

Now if you want to really over-hype them, here's how it's done:

Barler, Clive: The Books of Blood (Sphere 1985-1987) VF (as issued)
Inscribed!

An exquisite set of the true first edition of this cornerstone
collection. Warmly inscribed by author to fellow horror author John
Pelan. Some years later Mr. Pelan presented Mr. Barker with his Life
Achievement Award from the International Horror Guild, making this a
very attractive associational item. A photograph of the event will be
included with the set, along with the pocket program of the World
Horror Convention where the presentation took place. This latter item
is signed by both authors.

Considering the condition of these volumes (unimprovable) and the
provenance of this particular set, it is our opinion that a more
desirable set does not exist. For the discerning collector, we offer
this unique set of The Books of Blood at a mere $999.99

No, this isn't really an ad, because I'm going to keep them... ;-)

Cheers,

John

On 9 Oct 2006 12:24:58 -0700, wrote:


Dave wrote:
ALL MY STUFF SNIPPED


Simple. Barker's collections were a landmark in the horror genre,
completely rejuvenating what had been a moribund market for short
fiction. Several films have been made based on his work and that has
served to keep him in the public eye. Clive Barker has also been
presented with a Life Achievement Award from the International Horror
Guild and remains an avidly collected author twenty years after the BoB
appeared.

Now if you want to really over-hype them, here's how it's done:

Barler, Clive: The Books of Blood (Sphere 1985-1987) VF (as issued)
Inscribed!

An exquisite set of the true first edition of this cornerstone
collection. Warmly inscribed by author to fellow horror author John
Pelan. Some years later Mr. Pelan presented Mr. Barker with his Life
Achievement Award from the International Horror Guild, making this a
very attractive associational item. A photograph of the event will be
included with the set, along with the pocket program of the World
Horror Convention where the presentation took place. This latter item
is signed by both authors.

Considering the condition of these volumes (unimprovable) and the
provenance of this particular set, it is our opinion that a more
desirable set does not exist. For the discerning collector, we offer
this unique set of The Books of Blood at a mere $999.99

No, this isn't really an ad, because I'm going to keep them... ;-)

Cheers,

John

John,

Yeah, I know what he did, this is just my sour grape-flavored moaning
about how difficult I found to get these books, and (partly) my
complaints about Horror collecting in general. The general Horror
field seemed to be filled with King and Straub, with not much else at
that time. As you said, these books struck a nerve (artery?) and
became so popular so quickly, that several people I knew had extreme
difficulty even getting info on how to purchase the limiteds.
As for the movies based on the books, if awards were given for poor
adaptations, the Barker-based films would only be middle of the pack.
Not good, but far from the worst.

And about your copies, I think the (theoretical) selling price might
be too low.

Baffled AND Impressed,

Dave

On 6 Oct 2006 22:22:50 -0700, wrote:

I would like to start with my choice, Clive Barker's _The Books of
Blood_ . There were what, about a dozen different limited editions,
bindings, forwards and author's revisions?
To what end?
Why was he popular?

1. His work was considered revolutionary in the horror field at the
time.
Given
2. He had a wild imagination and a gift for lush, descriptive prose,
combined with an almost forensic detachment.
Given
3. He was heavily praised by Stephen King, back when King's endorsement
still meant a lot.
That was what first got my attention.
4. He was at the forefront of a horror movement that came to be known
as Splatterpunk which was wildly influential in 1980s and early 1990s.
Which I did fairly well on, at the time.
5. One reason there were so many editions of the Books of Blood was
that they first came out as PBOs, then 2 came out as a book club
hardback, then six as regular UK hardbacks, then Scream press did a
signed/limited eition, then the last three were released in hardback in
the U.S. under a different title, the last one of which (Cabal) had
additional material.That's an awful lot of "significant" editions,
depending on what your collecting vectors are. I don't think any of the
aforementioned editions of The Books of Blood lost money for their
publishers.
This is where my frustration lay. (See first post's answer to John
Pelan).
6. Several of the stories in The Books of Blood were made into movies.
Fairly crummy movies, by and large, but still...
See Pelan ....
7. Several of the stories in the first three Books of Blood are, in
fact, excellent. See, for example, "In the Hills, The Cities" or "The
Yattering and Jack".
'In the Hills', oh yes.

I think Robert James Waller or most of the "Harry Potter Halo" authors
are better choices for overrated authors than Barker.

Waller, ok, and any of the fairie magik and Potter-esque stuff,
absolutely.

Lawrence Person
Lame Excuse Books
http://home.austin.rr.com/lperson/lame.html

Thanks, Lawrence, for the clearly stated and thoughtful reply to my
whiney post.

Dave