A few buys from the 2nd-hand stores - they really are the best thing around.
The Shuttered Room and other Tales of Terror by HP Lovecraft and Augst Derleth.
Even though the cover bears HPL's name, it's clear to see he has little to do with the writing of these derivative, formulaic tales. Derleth would often take a sentence or two from HPL's published and unpublished works, maybe a quote fromthe Necronomicon, and spin out a tale which could then have the HPL tag affixed to it. The stories themselves rarely even reach the heights of supercharged melodrama HPL is both loved and reviled for - Derleth is really at his best only when describing scenery, but at such times he achieves an evocative lucidity far superior to similar passages by HPL. All in all, a very minor collection of little interest to anyone but a confirmed Mythos buff.
Space by the Tale - Jerome Bixby
Bixby was a minor sf writer in the 50s and 60s. He's best known for the chilling tale, 'It's a
good life', which was also made into a Twilight Zone episode. That story isn't included in this collection. Bixby was a competent writer, and a fan of the Saki-esque twist in the tale. Minor stuff, again, but entertaining and made even more worthwhile by the distinctive Richard Powers cover art:
