Antiquarian bookseller Henry Wessels published a book in 2018 titled A Conversation Larger than the Universe: Readings in Science Fiction and the Fantastic. In this book, he traces the history of the science-fiction genre in his personal library and examines them to find out why science-fiction book-buying has become so popular. Wessels refers to stories from other planets, analyzes fantasy utopias, writes about Gothic and anti-utopian cities, which are found in the works of writers such as H. J. Wells, Philip K. Dick, Joanna Ross, James Tiptree Jr. and William Gibson are found. Wessels has pointed out how the science-fiction genre is able to predict the wonderful and somewhat frightening future of humanity.

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Maybe that’s why, as our times get weirder and scarier, collecting and reading science-fiction books has become popular; An activity that was not widespread until now. Anna Middleton, an active specialist in Peter Harrington Rare Books, says: “Science fiction is an attractive genre for collectors. We have the works of writers who were able to maintain their favorable status over time.”

The first book of the “Civilization” series (Consider Phlebas) by Ian Banks has been sold at the price of one thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds; This version of the book, which is in the space opera genre, was engraved. “Drowned World” by J. J. Ballard is valued at about three thousand pounds. The first edition of the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is worth about two thousand pounds. The prices of the first edition of science-fiction books will increase from here. Engraved versions of “I, Robot” and the complete “Foundation” series by Isaac Asimov are considered to be the most expensive books with a value of about twenty thousand pounds. Other prominent writers include Ursula K. Leguin, William Gibson, and Dan Simmons also noted that first editions of their books are valuable.

It is not surprising that the value of science-fiction books is affected by movie adaptations. The first editions of the book “Neuromancer” by William Gibson went up in price after the release of the movie “The Matrix”, while the Matrix is ​​not even a direct adaptation of this book and only inspired the makers of the movie. First editions of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” were rising in price thanks to his new film adaptations, and one of the storyboards sold for £350,000. Of course, a bad adaptation may also negatively affect the popularity of the original work; Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials suffered due to a poor film adaptation.

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If, as science fiction writers predict the future, collectors should look to the trilogy of Broken Earth. What time. The series was published between 2016 and 2018 and became the first writer to receive the Hugo Award three years in a row. Jamisin is at the forefront of growing sci-fi writers and has attracted audiences to his work. Another popular writer is Octavia Butler, the first black woman to receive the prestigious Nebula Award and Hugo. Butler was also the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur fellowship. The first edition of Fledgling, published by Butler in 2005, sold for £950.