California Sorcery

Cemetery Dance Pubns, 1999. First edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. 285 pp. Signed and limited to 1500 copies. California Sorcery: A Group Celebrationedited By William F. Nolan & William SchaferHere is a long-awaited, landmark anthology, the first book to showcase what has come to be known in literary circles as "The Group" -- a dozen supremely talented writers who, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, established the roots of today's quality SF and fantasy. Rebels and non-conformists, their now-classic works continue to amaze and delight in books, magazines, television, and theatrical films around the world.Such legendary individuals as Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Charles Beaumont, and Robert Bloch have all been part of what critics dubbed "the California School." They gave us Something Wicked This Way Comes, Logan's Run, I Am Legend, Deathbird Stories, and Psycho. They broke the rules, stretched the limits, and trailblazed new paths in imaginative literature.Now these stellar talents have been gathered between the covers of this book. Nine of the twelve stories presented here are originals, backed by classic reprints (the Robert Bloch contribution has been out-of-print for over 50 years: Harlan Ellison's story is a modern classic to which the author has added slightly.) The range is extraordinary -- from science fiction to fantasy, from crime to horror, from the Wild West to small town America.Christopher Conlon has contributed a revealing, historically comprehensive "Group portrait," and each story is prefaced by a personal headnote relating to the author.California Sorcery is truly a book to savor, offering readers a magic blend of untethered imagination and dazzling skill -- a book of wondrous surprise and rare pleasure provided by some of the century's finest storytellers.Here, then, The Group.Celebrate them.This Cemetery Dance exclusive publication also features a special Photo Section in all copies, plus stunning exterior and interior artwork by Mark Nelson. The Limited edition is signed by both editors -- William F. Nolan and William Schafer!