Carroll, Jonathan. THE LAND OF LAUGHS. NY: Viking, 1980. 1st edition. With no mention of edition or printing and no number line printed on the copyright page, which indicates that this is the correct 1st edition, 1st printing for Viking books published in the 1980’s. This is NOT a book club book. This is NOT an ex-library book. Buyer beware: there were no later printings of THE LAND OF LAUGHS that were published in this hardcover format, but there may have been some hardcover book club editions. This is the real deal: the true 1st edition, 1st printing. SCROLL DOWN THIS PAGE TO IMMEDIATELY SEE THE CONDITION OF THIS BOOK AND THIS DUST JACKET.
Jonathan Carroll is one of the best and most famous fantasy and dark fantasy authors in the world. He is the author of such great and famous books as THE LAND OF LAUGHS (Carroll’s 1st book; offered here), VOICE OF OUR SHADOW (Carroll’s 2nd book), BONES OF THE MOON, SLEEPING IN FLAME, A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY, BLACK COCKTAIL, OUTSIDE THE DOG MUSEUM, AFTER SILENCE, FROM THE TEETH OF ANGELS, and several more.
Some of the awards and award nominations that Jonathan Carroll has been honored with:
1987: “Friend’s Best Man.” Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. 1988: BONES OF THE MOON. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 1988: “Friend’s Best Man.” Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Short Story. 1988: “Friend’s Best Man.” World Fantasy Award winner for Best Short Fiction. 1989: LE PAYS DU FOU RIRE (THE LAND OF LAUGHS). Prix Apollo Award winner for Best Novel. 1989: A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY. British Science Fiction Award nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel. 1989: SLEEPING IN FLAME. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 1989: SLEEPING IN FLAME. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1990: A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY. Arthur C. Clarke Award runner-up for Best Novel. 1990: A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 1990: A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1990: “Mr. Fiddlehead.” World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Short Fiction. 1991: “The Sadness of Detail.” Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Short Story. 1991: BLACK COCKTAIL. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novella. 1992: OUTSIDE THE DOG MUSEUM. British Fantasy Award (August Derleth Fantasy Award) winner for Best Novel. 1992: OUTSIDE THE DOG MUSEUM. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 1992: OUTSIDE THE DOG MUSEUM. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1993: “Uh-Oh City.” Hugo Award nominee for Best Novella. 1993: “Uh-Oh City.” Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Novella. 1993: “Uh-Oh City.” World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novella. 1994: FROM THE TEETH OF ANGELS. Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in a Novel. 1995: FROM THE TEETH OF ANGELS. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel. 1995: THE PANIC HAND. Bram Stoker Award winner for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. 1995: FROM THE TEETH OF ANGELS. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1996: THE PANIC HAND. British Fantasy Award nominee for Best Anthology/ Collection. 1996: THE PANIC HAND. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Collection. 1996: THE PANIC HAND. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Collection. 1999: KISSING THE BEHIVE. British Fantasy Award, August Derleth Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1999: THE MARRIAGE OF STICKS. Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in a Novel. 2000: THE MARRIAGE OF STICKS. British Fantasy Award, August Derleth Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 2000: “Fish in a Barrel.” British Fantasy Award nominee for Best Short Fiction. 2000: THE MARRIAGE OF STICKS. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 2000: “Fish in a Barrel.” Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Short Story. 2000: “The Heidelberg Cylinder.” Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction. 2002: THE WOODEN SEA. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 2002: THE WOODEN SEA. Nebula Award nominee for Best Novel. 2002: THE WOODEN SEA. World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 2003: WHITE APPLES. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Novel. 2006: GLASS SOUP. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. 2009: THE GHOST IN LOVE. Locus Poll Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel. Jonathan Carroll is widely regarded (and justly so) as one of the best, most famous, and most collectible fantasy and horror writers in the world.
From the dust jacket: “ . . . ‘THE LAND OF LAUGHS was lit by eyes that saw the lights that no one’s seen.’ . . . to Thomas Abbey, lonely child of a famous movie actor, grown into a restive prep school teacher, this is one of the most memorable lines every written. It is by Marshall France, the legendary author of children’s books who wrote THE LAND OF LAUGHS, POOL OF STARS, GREEN DOG’S SORROW, and other haunting classics, hid himself away in tiny Galen, Missouri, and died of a heart attack at age 44 . . . This brilliantly imaginative and frightening novel is set in motion when Tom Abbey and his spirited girlfriend, Saxony Gardner, determine to write France’s biography. They arrive in Galen on a slow, cloud-still summer day, both of them expectant and delighted and also a little scared of what they will find. France’s enigmatic and reclusive shadow lingers on, and his lovely and mysterious daughter Anna is known to act as a fiercely protective keeper of the flame . . . But to their deep surprise, Anna and Galen had been waiting for them -- almost too eagerly. Slowly they begin to apprehend not only that this idyllic small Midwestern town and its inhabitants, human and animal, are not what they seem, but that the magic of Marshall France had extended far beyond the printed page . . . Chilling possibilities begin to dawn on Tom and Saxony, and on the reader, who will at once revel in the grand tradition of horror stories and in the discovery of a wholly new talent . . . “
From the rear flap of the dust jacket: “ . . . JONATHAN CARROLL, who grew up near New York City, lives and teaches school in Vienna, Austria . . . “
From the rear panel of the dust jacket: “ . . . I was wholly intrigued by these characters and their story from the beginning. By the time they were immersed in Galen, I was mesmerized. From the discovery of France’s sorcery on, I constantly asked myself how the magic could be sustained for one more page. The epilogue is a masterpiece of surprise. And the whole book is not only a hair-raising tale but is about fathers and sons, about magic and the real world, about our illusions and their necessity in establishing the real, and about how important writing and books are to people. I loved the way it started off as a romantic, dreamy yarn and ended by trapping the reader with steel jaws . . . “ -- Diane Wakoski.
From the rear panel of the dust jacket of Jonathan Carroll’s second novel, VOICE OF OUR SHADOW: Comments on Jonathan Carroll’s THE LAND OF LAUGHS:
“It is a skillfully constructed 1980-Gothic -- horrid hints, sinister suspense, cataclysmic climax and all.” -- Brian Taylor, St. Louis Globe Democrat.
“The situation itself is fantasy . . . Carroll’s characters, all of them lovingly and skillfully established as real people, react to it just as anyone would, making the horror more horrible for dwelling side by side with such realism.” -- Ellen Kushner, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“The sort of book an inveterate fiction reader hopes to escape with on a rainy day.” -- Pat Hilton, Los Angeles Times.
“It doesn’t fit neatly into any category: it’s a little bit of a mystery, a little bit of a fantasy, and, by the time it’s over, a whole lot of horror story. Rarely have I read such a graceful blending of whimsy and chills. I couldn’t put down Jonathan Carroll’s THE LAND OF LAUGHS until after I finished it, and after I did, I couldn’t forget it.” -- Michele Slung, National Public Radio.
I grade books and dust jackets: fine, near fine, very good, good, fair, and poor. I describe all faults. If you sell books on EBAY (or anywhere else), it is de rigueur not to list 1st printings of book club books as 1st editions (unless they ARE the 1st edition, which occurs only occasionally); also, a 1st edition, 7th printing, is not a 1st edition. Ex-library books must be noted as such since generally they are of little value to the collector of 1st editions. Condition is also very important to those collectors. Books and dust jackets must be described in detail. In other words, it is incumbent upon the SELLER to know what is and is not a 1st edition. Mistakes can be made (and corrected), of course, but if you DON'T KNOW, don't try to sell a book as a 1st edition.
A VERY GOOD book in an outwardly NEAR FINE dust jacket. The book is tight and square in its blue quarter-cloth and brick-colored boards binding with gilt lettering on the spine of the book. There is no writing in the book; no bookplates; no remainder marks. The book shows a surface (probably water) stain at the top of the rear board that is about a half inch wide and about two inches long; it isn’t too bad, but it is there. The dust jacket is NOT price-clipped and shows the correct 1st issue price of $10.95 on the flap of the dust jacket. There are no chips or tears or wrinkles to the dust jacket. The dust jacket shows the same stain on the inside of the jacket with no show through to the outside of the dust jacket, so the dust jacket outwardly still looks nice. Famous dust jacket artwork by Mel Brofman.
Overall this is still a nice copy of this important and collectible Jonathan Carroll novel.
I
use the EBAY shipping system to send out the majority of the books that
I sell. Insurance is included in the shipping charges for this book
that the buyer will be paying. One would assume that the buyer would
want to insure this book for its correct value.
A MUST FOR THE COLLECTOR OF IMPORTANT MODERN FANTASY FICTION 1st EDITIONS AND/OR THE COLLECTOR OF JONATHAN CARROLL 1st EDITIONS! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Additional photos are available upon request.
I am continuing to list some of my best books (especially science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions) on EBAY not so much as auctions (due to the fact that EBAY charges quite a bit to list items for reserve auctions), but more along the lines of listing my "catalogue" of books that I have for sale. I'm not going to "give" these books away, but my opening bids and Buy-It-Now prices are usually a fair amount below market value. Furthermore, however, for certain scarce books in great condition, I do expect to get close to what they're worth. Stay with me; I always have a number of important, collectible, cornerstone science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions listed. Many thanks! All items are being offered for sale elsewhere; I reserve the right to end this listing early if this item sells elsewhere.
I would like to round out this set by acquiring the #2/500 copy of ANCILLARY SWORD. If anyone has this copy and is willing to sell it on EBAY, I would be highly interested in obtaining it so that all my copies would have matching numbers. Many thanks. __________________________________________________________________________________
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