Tor Doubles: Wrap Up: Other Doubles series
Now that I’ve looked at all of the official Tor Doubles, plus the proto-version and the unpublished version, where to next if you like the double format. Obviously, there are the Ace Doubles, which ran from 1952 until 1978. That series provides the reader with at least 261 additional volumes of science fiction, plus a similar number of westerns and numerous mystery novels. You can read Black Gate publisher John O’Neill’s thoughts about collecting and selling Ace Doubles in this article from 2017.
In 1979, Dell Books introduced the Binary Stars series, which ran for five volumes, although they were not published in the dos-a-dos format. Each volume included two original novella, along with introductions. They included works by Fritz Leiber, Gordon Eklund, F. Paul Wilson, Ron Goulart, Isidore Haiblum, Joan D. Vinge, Steven G. Spruill, Jack Vance, and George R.R. Martin. Norman Spinrad’s Riding the Torch appeared in the first volume and was later reprinted in the Tor Double series, the only work to be printed in both.
More recently, Arc Manor published the Stellar Guild series, which paired an established author with a newer author. The newer author would write a sequel or companion story to the established author’s original work for the series. For instance, Wishing on a Star included the novella Best Wishes, by Jody Lynn Nye and the story Homecoming by Angelina Adams. The series included ten volumes published between 2011 and 2017. The established authors included Eric Flint, Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Harry Turtledove, Robert Silverberg, Nancy Kress, Larry Niven, and Mike Resnick. The newer authors included Steven Savile, Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, Charles E. Gannon, Brad R. Torgerson, and Lezli Robyn, among others.
More recently, Saga Press began publishing Saga Doubles in July of this year. The volumes in this series are significantly longer than the earlier doubles, which generally published novellas. The three volumes published so far run from 352 pages to 416 pages. The first volume contains two horror novels by Stephen Graham Jones. The second contains two horror anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow. The most recent volume, containing the novel Apprehension, by Mark Robinette Kowal, and Red Star Hustle, by Sam J. Miller, was released in October and included a joint book tour by the two authors. As with the Ace and Tor Double series, the Saga Doubles are published dos-a-dos.
Steven H Silver is a twenty-one-time Hugo Award nominee and was the publisher of the Hugo-nominated fanzine Argentus as well as the editor and publisher of ISFiC Press for eight years. He has also edited books for DAW, NESFA Press, and ZNB. His most recent anthology is Alternate Peace and his novel After Hastings was published in 2020. Steven has chaired the first Midwest Construction, Windycon three times, and the SFWA Nebula Conference numerous times. He was programming chair for Chicon 2000 and Vice Chair of Chicon 7.
Thanks for the great series, Steven. While I have only read 1 Tor Double (#17), I have read a number of the stories that were used for the Doubles. I have about a dozen Ace Doubles, purchased for $1 or so, but have yet to read any. Thanks again.
My suggestions Steven, based on them being older and also perhaps exposing some forgotten authors. I haven’t done much research into how many or how long any of these ran for. Also none of them are in tête-bêche format.
1. Belmont Tower published a few. One I have is #50244 featuring Doomsman by Harlan Ellison and The Thief of Thoth by Lin Carter.
2. Manor Books Inc also published doubles. I only have one – #19180 featuring The Grey Ones and A Sword Above the Night, both stories by John Lymington.
3. Signet Books. I don’t own any but have seen #451.AE1940 with two Poul Anderson stories. The Winter of the World/ The Queen of Air and Darkness (and other stories).
The Belmont Double series ran from May 1967 – May 1969, with 8 volumes published, including volumes by Lin Carter/Kris Neville, Harlan Ellison/Lee Hoffman, Neville/Dave Van Arnam, Carter/Frank Belknap Long, William Tenn/Van Arnam, Robert Bloch, John Brunner/Bruce Duncan, and Brunner/Carter. It seems Doomsman and Thief of Thoth were in separate volumes (Doomsman with Hoffman’s Telepower and Thief of Thoth with Long’s And Others Shall Be Born.
It seems like Manor puiblished two doubles, the Lymington you mentioned (in 1978) and Bob Foreman’s and Robin Moore’s “Two Saturday Yankees” in 1976, but not a specific series of doubles.
The Signet Double series ran from May 1981 through March 1983 and included 7 volumes, each with two stories by the same author. There were two volumes of Poul Anderson stories, and one each of Philip Jose Farmer, Roger Zelazny, John Jakes, and James Blish.
And next Friday, I’ll be starting a series looking at Forgotten authors.
There are two Belmont Tower doubles one with the Doomsman/Thief of Thoth and the other you mentioned. I own both. I can supply pictures if you have access to upload in comments Steven?
Pity the pickings here are so slim, although makes for easier collecting I guess.
There was an earlier Belmont double book, not part of the formal Belmont Double series: A Pair from Space, which included “Giants in the Earth” by James Blish (a novella which Blish also expanded into the novel Titan’s Daughter) and “We, the Marauders”, by Robert Silverberg, a novella cut from Silverberg’s novel Invaders from Earth (which was published, ironically, as half an Ace Double.) “We, the Marauders” first appeared in Science Fiction Quarterly, February 1958, and “Giants in the Earth” first appeared, under the title “Beanstalk”, in a Kendal Foster Crossen anthology called Future Tense.
I discuss that book here: https://rrhorton.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-quasi-belmont-double-pair-from-space.html
I have well over 100 Ace Doubles, most of which I have reviewed at some time or anohter.
Thanks for the share Rich. I love finding out about these niche publications. Also thanks to you , John etc al I also now own a similar number of Ace Doubles, even started an Ace Double Collector FB page.