Books

Six-issue lot: January, February, March, August, October, and December 1976. April–June 1976 are not included (sold separately as the Man Plus three-part serial). Mercury Press, Inc. Digest format; cover price $1.00 per issue. Edited by Edward L. Ferman; Isaac Asimov, science editor. Covers and spines in listing photos confirm all six dates. Contents below verified against standard bibliographic references (philsp.com / ISFDB). Collectors' notes: February 1976 features Michael Bishop's novelette "The Samurai and the Willows." August 1976 opens part 1 of 2 of Algis Budrys's novel Michaelmas. October 1976 carries a "27th Anniversary" cover label (standard 164-page digest, not an oversized special issue) with fiction by Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and others. December 1976 includes John Varley's "The Funhouse Effect" (Eight Worlds) and Sterling E. Lanier's "Ghost of a Crown." Included issues and highlights: January 1976 (Vol. 50, No. 1, Whole No. 296): Novella "Doctor Rivet and Supercon Sal" by Gary K. Wolf; short fiction by Joanna Russ, Stuart Dybek, Michael G. Coney, Kit Reed, and Haskell Barkin; Isaac Asimov short story "Friday the Thirteenth" (Black Widowers) and science column "Silent Victory." Cover art by David Hardy. February 1976 (Vol. 50, No. 2, Whole No. 297): Novelette "The Samurai and the Willows" by Michael Bishop; short fiction by Jack Williamson, Jerry Sohl, Guy Owen, and Philip José Farmer; Isaac Asimov science column "Change of Air." Cover art by Ron Walotsky. March 1976 (Vol. 50, No. 3, Whole No. 298): Novella "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" by Richard Cowper; novelet "A Stillness at Sordera" by Thayer Waldo; short fiction by Janet Asimov (as J. O. Jeppson), Gordon Eklund, Charles W. Runyon, Mary-Carter Roberts, and Larry Tritten; Isaac Asimov science column "The Nightfall Effect." Cover art by Jack Gaughan. August 1976 (Vol. 51, No. 2, Whole No. 303): Michaelmas part 1 of 2 by Algis Budrys; novelet "The Cinderella Machine" by Michael G. Coney; short fiction by Richard Frede, Don Trotter, Raylyn Moore, and L. Sprague de Camp; Isaac Asimov science column "Moving Ahead." Cover art by Greg Bear. October 1976 (Vol. 51, No. 4, Whole No. 305): "27th Anniversary" cover label. Novelets "The Ladies of Beetlegoose Nine" by R. Bretnor, "Hero's Moon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and "The Barrow" by Ursula K. Le Guin; short fiction by Richard Cowper, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, and Manly Wade Wellman; verse "Out of Dickinson" by Ray Bradbury; Isaac Asimov science column "Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright." Cover art by Chesley Bonestell. December 1976 (Vol. 51, No. 6, Whole No. 307): Novelettes "Ghost of a Crown" by Sterling E. Lanier, "Aliens" by Robert Thurston, and "The Funhouse Effect" by John Varley; short fiction by Raylyn Moore, Gary Jennings, and J. R. Bourne; Isaac Asimov science column "The Sea-Green Planet"; index to Volume 51. Cover art by Ron Walotsky. Condition: Fair to good vintage digest lot — similar wear profile to the F&SF magazines in this collection, with more cosmetic damage than the Isaac Asimov's SF Magazine set. Heavy page-edge tanning throughout. Mailing labels on all six back covers (visible in photos). March: significant edge fraying and scuffing, especially along the right edge. August: spine and edge rubbing; small chip at bottom-left corner; crease at top-right. December: heavy edge fraying and chipping, especially along the bottom; cover scuffs. January, February, and October: light to moderate edge wear among the cleaner copies in the group; October is the best-preserved of the six. Stack photos show corner creases and page-edge wear on several issues. All six bindings remain intact and interiors are readable, but collectors should expect cosmetic damage as shown. Six magazines total, ships as one lot.