ACE SF K-Series Singles Image Library

There are few ACE K-series singles that I have found that fall into the genre of Science Fiction or Fantasy. However, the few that exist are quite interesting.


K-110 HANS HELLMUT KIRST The Seventh Day (c. 1957 Germany; 1959 English translation; 1st thus; ACE star edition; listed as "complete and unabridged")

Alternate cover for The Seventh Day (probably a later printing, but no copyright data) with the snipe (block overprint material placed on cover art)

"Berlin - The Crisis That Sets Off World War III"

A novel concerning the week prior to World War III.

K-154 GEORGE R. STEWART Earth Abides (c.1949; 1962; 1st ACE printing and PBO)

K-154 (back cover)

ORIGINAL ACE painting for the ACE paperback (K-154) version of the 1949 book EARTH ABIDES by GEORGE R. STEWART. Close-up of main figures and close-up of figures in background.

The painting is by ROBERT ABBETT who is well known for his BALLANTINE BOOK covers including the first editions of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS Mars series. He was also a major artist at ACE and other publishers of 1950's genre paperbacks. The art is painted on illustration board and is framed in a black metal frame to the size of 26.25 X 19.25". The mat opening is just over 18.5 X 10.5". The painting is not signed but is credited to ABBETT in the book SCIENCE FICTION OF THE 20th CENTURY by FRANK W. ROBINSON (see quote below).

An alternative preliminary version done for the art director at ACE BOOKS. This additional painting is painted on a 8.5 X 5 & 3/8" of illustration board which is double matted to a size of 10 X 8".

The ACE paperback version of the book carries the date of 1949 on the copyright page but the paperback price guide dates it as being published in 1962. The original hardback release of the book was in 1949.

Much has been written about this particular novel and its importance. From SCIENCE FICTION OF THE 20th CENTURY, AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY by FRANK M. ROBINSON published in 1999 by Collector's Press. On page 166 there is a quotethat is directly under a reproduction of the cover of ACE K-154. The caption reads: GEORGE R. STEWART 1949 ROBERT ABBETT under which is the quote "One of the earliest post holocaust novels. In this case, most of America has been depopulated by by a plague - Earth Abides concerns the attempts to rebuild civilization."

From SCIENCE FICTION ENCYCLOPEDIA edited by Peter Nicholls: On page 291 in the "Holocaust and After" section -- "In mature versions of the post holocaust story there is usually an emotional resonance developed from a tension between loss and gain. With the simplicities of the new order not wholly compensating for the half-remembered glories and comforts of the past. This is the case with GEORGE STEWART's EARTH ABIDES (1949), and may explain why, despite its occasionally fulsome prose, it has attained a classic status with 2 generations of readers."

From the SCI-FI ENCYCLOPEDIA in the section on GEORGE R. STEWART on page 874 it reads "..he is best known among Science Fiction readers for EARTH ABIDES (1949), which tells of the struggle to survive and rebuild after a virus plague has wiped out most of humanity; one of the finest of all disaster novels in SF, it is generally acknowledged to be a classic of the genre. It was the first winner of the International Fantasy Award."

From the ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION by DAVID PRINGLE on page 100: "EARTH ABIDES, 1949 - Novel by GEORGE R. STEWART (USA). A plague wipes out most of humanity. In California, a man tries to rebuild society meeting with both success and failure. Wonderfully described and ecologically aware, this is one of the best of all 'disaster stories.' Profoundly moving. International Fantasy Award Winner."

 

Last update 17 November 2021

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