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Koontz, Dean R.
THE CRIMSON WITCH
book-date: 1971
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GRADING:
Curtis Books
1971
1st
Paperback
photography/art
.75
VG-
ex-ChUSFA: stamp on first inside page, page 85. MORE INFO

2" non-yellowing library tape reinforcing spine; glue trace at bottom end of spine tells me this has been repaired. The book looks reasonable: tight with mild tilt; moderate overall wear. Age tanning is mild and uniform: average or slightly better. Curtis books of this vintage (and Berkley and Lancer Books) are notorious for having the glue fail - and then either the cover comes off or the pages fall out of the book. Careful repair with epoxy cures this, and I haven't seen a book so repaired lose pages (in the 25 years or more since I did such repairs for the SF lending library - in the early Eighties.)

Magazine version (novella with same title) appeared in Fantastic October 1970. Years ago, I compared the text - the magazine version is definitely shorter. This is apparently the hardest to find of early Koontz titles (which is why the price is so high for its condition.) I'm not surprised since anything from Curtis Books is obscure/scarce.

Koontz started out as a Science Fiction writer, but didn't find much recognition until he worked out the kind of tale he does best - a mix of thriller, horror, and science fiction. Then he became a best-selling author, and his early novels (the first dozen under his own name and early ones under pseudonym) - are now rarities because they have not been reprinted.