Got an email in from a viewer. I'm not going to post the listings (I'm guessing the URL's will get taken down soon anyway), but I will put up a couple screenshots. The Long Walk is very easy to spot because it doesn't have the yellow paper edges, but the Running Man may not be quite as easy. Of course, no one who's spent 30 seconds googling would sell either book for $36 BUT newer collectors may not know what to look for so I promised to post it here.
I found something that the community may want to know. I found a copy of The Running Man – “brand new” for sale on Etsy. It was only $36 so I thought it worth a chance. It arrived today. My immediate comment is that it is obviously a newly printed book.
- The pages are bright white (impossible for a 45 year old paperback).
- The ISBN and AE numbers are right on the spine but the font is slightly off, the covers, etc look identical - almost.
- The copyright page shows first printing and the correct number line.
- The trim size is slightly wrong.
- The “new” book matches the width and thickness of the original but the height (top to bottom) of the new book is about 4 mm shorter than the original.
- The new book has a 1 mm wide border over light blue across the top and down the side of the front and back covers.
- The text block looks like a print but the pagination looks different.
- And in the original “Richard Bachman” is printed across the top of the even page numbers and “The Running Man” is printed at the top of the odd numbered pages. Neither are in the new book.
- The last page in the orginal is a list of signet publications from the time. Not present in this new book.
- Finally on the back cover above the bar code, the original book notes 11508. The new book notes 11508 8.
Despite being advertised as a first printing it is clearly not. This same seller is offering the long walk with a similar but not identical description