The next time I’m in a used book store are there any authors I should look for who were once successful (or good) but whose books have now gone out of print? I’m especially looking for science fiction.
Leslie Charteris wrote a slew of novels about Simon Templar aka The Saint. They’re a good read if you can locate them used or at the library. Simon Templar is one of those lovable rogue-type protagonists. The movies and TV series bear about the same resemblance to the books as the what you see in the James Bond franchise.
If you like “hard” science fiction, you’ll probably enjoy Hal Clement (pseudonym of Harry Clement Stubbs). Some of his lesser-known works are now out of print. An example: The Ranger Boys in Space, aimed at the juvenile market, is one of the best SF books ever written for youngsters. Some of the science is now obsolete, but everything I’ve ever read by Hal Clement was worth reading.
A lot of CJ Cherryh’s older works – like the Chanur series – doesn’t seem to be in-print. Although they just re-issued Serpent’s Reach, so maybe they’ll be back out too, soon.
Gordon R. Dickson’s Dorsai series is mostly out-of-print.
SP Somtow had a long OoP series published under the name Somtow Sucharitkul – the Inquest quartet – that I quite liked.
Evan Hunter has written many books, but most are out of print. His alter ego, Ed McBain, is easier to find.
A lot of Jack Kerouac’s books are no longer in print.
Have you read Paul Park? I remember reading his starbridge chronicles quite soon after they came out in the early 90s and being knocked out - thought for sure he would be a major player in sf/fantasy for a long time to come. This doesn’t seem to have happened - in fact I read a fairly disillusioned interview with him where he was saying what a struggle the writing game was. He is a fantastic writer though, the first two of these books - 'soldiers of paradise’ and ‘sugar rain’ are exceptional. Also read a straight -ahead sf novel called ‘coelestis’ that was very good. Well worth picking any of his stuff up IMHO.
I was going to suggest Edgar Pangborn but it looks like a small press is reissuing some of his books. Good thing too, because those paperbacks from the 60’s don’t hold up very well. My copy of Davy is held together with a rubber band.
Late 80’s/early 90’s- a horror novelist named Jeffrey Sackett wrote about a half-dozen novels, all OOP. I have two that I’m never getting rid of - BLOOD OF THE IMPALER, a prequel/sequel to DRACULA, and MARK OF THE WEREWOLF, set in the modern day, in which lycanthropy is a penalty for a disciple’s betrayal of a religious master- a traitor to Zarathustra and also Claudia Procula Pilate are characters, of all people. MARK is good. BLOOD is great.
And, alas, Kim Newman’s three ANNO DRACULA novels are OOP.
Large numbers of genre titles, including science fiction and mystery, are outr of print. Quite a few classics are out of print, while a lot of awful stuff is still in print.
Aside from specialty presses, like NESFA (New England Science Fiction Association), an awful lot of writers are out of print. I don’t think you’ll find Cordwainer Smith or the aforementioned Hal Clement, or Eric Frank Russell or Fredric Brown in print outside of NESFA.
Even very famous writers, like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke and Jules Verne are out of print, except for a few select books. (Heinlein, interestingly, is still pretty much in print) And forget about finding most of Jack Williamson (who just died) or Raymond Z. Gallun, or James Blish, or Henry Kuttner or Catherine L. Moore or… I could go on at considerable length.
Mysteries are just as bad. I imagine Westerns are, too.
It surprises me how hard it is to find some of Asimov’s books. Why is Robots and Empire out of print? It links the Robots and Foundation series together. The End of Eternity is another that needs to be rereleased.
It’s rare to find a person who has even heard of Vardis Fisher, much less read one of his many books. A perfect example.
I’ve read just one of Fisher’s books – the one he wrote on the Donner party, I don’t recall the title. It’s been a long time, but I remember thinking the writing was pretty good, and being surprised at how graphic it was.