John F. Carr's Ace Collections
"Now, Piper's Terro-human Future History stories have been published in Federation and Empire, while the Paratime Police yarns can be found in Paratime. The Worlds of H. Beam Piper includes all the remaining stories that did not fit into either series or somehow slipped between the cracks."
— John F. Carr, Introduction to The Worlds of H. Beam Piper
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![]() John F. Carr, right, shortly before he began editing Ace's Piper collections. |
From 1981 to 1983 H. Beam Piper's shorter yarns were reissued by Ace Books in four collections edited by John F. Carr and detailed below. These collections supplemented Ace's reissue of several of Piper's sci-fi novels.
Piper works originally published before Piper's death in 1964 passed into the public domain in 1984 and most of the yarns reissued by Ace are now available online at Project Gutenberg. Beginning in 2006 many have also been reissued by publishers Wildside Press and Ægypan Press (aka "Alan Rodgers Books").
Carr's Piper-themed anthology The Rise of the Terran Federation, which includes three yarns written by Piper and new, original work by other authors, was published by Pequod Press in 2017.
![]() Cover illustration by Michael Whelan. |
Federation, John F. Carr, ed. (uncredited), New York, Ace, 1981, with cover illustration by Michael Whelan, collects five stories from the Federation-era of Piper's Terro-human Future History, and includes:
"Preface: Piper's Foundation," by Jerry Pournelle
"Introduction (and interstitial material)," by John F. Carr
"Omnilingual," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, February 1957
"Naudsonce," originally published in Analog Science Fact — Science Fiction, January 1962
"Oomphel in the Sky," originally published in Analog Science Fact — Science Fiction, November 1960
"Graveyard of Dreams," originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1958, later expanded into the novel Junkyard Planet; and
"When in the Course —," previously unpublished (introduces characters and story elements which Piper later incorporated into his Paratime novel Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen).
Ace issued Federation in both trade and mass market paperback editions, with multiple printings issued through 1986:
First printing (trade paperback edition), stated (and based upon printer's key number line), February 1981, ISBN 0-441-23188-8, $5.95 (Zarthani.net hoard)
First printing (mass market paperback edition), stated (and based upon printer's key number line and "First Mass Market Edition" cover badge), February 1982, ISBN 0-441-23189-6 (same as second mass market edition), $2.95
Second printing (mass market paperback edition), stated (no printer's key number line or "First Mass Market Edition" cover badge), January 1983, ISBN 0-441-23189-6 (same as first mass market edition), $2.95
Third printing (mass market paperback edition), stated (no printer's key number line), December 1983, ISBN 0-441-23190-X, $2.95; and
Fourth printing (mass market paperback edition), stated (no printer's key number line), May 1986, ISBN 0-441-23191-8, $3.50.
![]() Cover illustration by Michael Whelan. |
Empire, John F. Carr, ed. (uncredited), New York, Ace, 1981, with cover illustration by Michael Whelan, collects four stories from Piper's Terro-human Future History, plus the stand-alone story "The Return," co-written with Piper's occasional collaborator John J. McGuire (which Carr included to "give us a good look at what life might have been like on Terra after the [Atomic] Wars"), and includes:
"Terro-human Future History Chronology," by John F. Carr
"Introduction (and interstitial material)," by John F. Carr
"The Edge of the Knife," originally published in Amazing Stories, May 1957
"A Slave is a Slave," originally published in Analog Science Fact — Science Fiction, April 1962
"Ministry of Disturbance," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, December 1958
"The Return," with John J. McGuire, originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, January 1954; and
"The Keeper," originally published in Venture Science Fiction, July 1957.
Empire was a mass market paperback, with multiple printings issued through 1986:
First printing, stated (and based upon printer's key number line), May 1981, ISBN 0-441-20557-7 (same as second and third printings), $2.50 (Zarthani.net hoard)
Second printing, based upon printer's key number line, unknown date, ISBN 0-441-20557-7 (same as first and third printings), $2.50
Third printing, based upon printer's key number line, unknown date, ISBN 0-441-20557-7 (same as first and second printings), $2.50
Fourth printing, presumed (based upon previous and subsequent editions), unknown date, ISBN unknown, unknown price; and
Fifth printing, stated (no printer's key number line), July 1986, ISBN 0-441-20558-5, $2.95.
![]() Cover illustration (from "Police Operation") by Michael Whelan. |
Paratime, John F. Carr, ed. (uncredited), New York, Ace, 1981, with cover illustration by Michael Whelan (illustrating a scene from "Police Operation"), collects five of Piper's Paratime stories (all featuring the parallel-world-policing Paratime Police except, "He Walked Around the Horses"), and includes:
"Introduction (and interstitial material)," by John F. Carr
"He Walked Around the Horses," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1948 (inspired by the Nineteenth Century disappearance of a British diplomat traveling in Prussia—the events of "He Walked Around the Horses" are mentioned tangentially in "Police Operation")
"Police Operation," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, July 1948
"Last Enemy," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, August 1950
"Time Crime," originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction, February 1955, and Astounding Science Fiction, March 1955; and
"Temple Trouble," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1951.
Paratime was a mass market paperback, with multiple printings issued through 1986:
First printing, stated (and based upon printer's key number line), August 1981, ISBN 0-441-65169-0, $2.75
Second printing, presumed (based upon previous and subsequent editions), unknown date, ISBN unknown, unknown price
Third printing, stated, December 1982, ISBN 0-441-65170-4 (same as fourth printing), $2.95
Fourth printing, stated, May 1983, ISBN 0-441-65170-4 (same as third printing), $2.95; and
Fifth printing, stated, September 1986, ISBN 0-441-65171-2, $2.95.
![]() Uncredited cover illustration. |
The Worlds of H. Beam Piper, John F. Carr, ed. (uncredited), New York, Ace, 1983, with uncredited — and unrelated — cover illustration (based upon a still photograph from the 1968 film The Green Slime — hat-tip to Piper fan Doug Brown), collects ten stories, including the shared-universe "Hartley yarns" and two other stories which are likely part of the Paratime series (though the Paratime Police do not appear in either story), and includes:
"Introduction (and interstitial material)," by John F. Carr
"Time and Time Again," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1947 (a "Hartley yarn" and Piper's first published story)
"The Mercenaries," originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, March 1950 (a "Hartley yarn")
"Dearest," originally published in Weird Tales, March 1951
"Hunter Patrol," with John J. McGuire, originally published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, May 1959
"Flight from Tomorrow," originally published in Future (combined with Science Fiction Stories), September / October 1950
"Operation R.S.V.P.," originally published in Amazing Stories, January 1951
"Genesis," originally published in Future (combined with Science Fiction Stories), September 1951 (possibly a Paratime yarn)
"The Answer," originally published in Fantastic Universe, December 1959
"Crossroads of Destiny," originally published in Fantastic Universe Science Fiction, July 1959 (possibly a Paratime yarn); and
"Day of the Moron, "originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, September 1951 (a "Hartley yarn").
The Worlds of H. Beam Piper was a mass market paperback, with a reprinting in 1986:
First printing, stated (no printer's key number line), February 1983, ISBN 0-441-91052-1, $2.75 (Zarthani.net hoard); and
Second printing, stated, December 1986, ISBN 0-441-91053-X, $2.75.
Cover illustration by Dave Dorman (image served by Penguin Random House). |
More than a decade after reissuing most of Piper's work, Ace issued an omnibus edition of his Paratime yarns, adding the novel Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen to Carr's original Paratime collection.
The Complete Paratime, H. Beam Piper (John F. Carr, ed., uncredited), New York: Ace, 2001, with cover (and dust jacket) illustration by Dave Dorman, was originally issued both in trade paperback and Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) hard cover editions:
First printing (trade paperback edition), stated (and based upon printer's key number line), March 2001, ISBN 0-441-00801-1, $15.00 (Zarthani.net hoard)
Second printing (hard cover edition), presumed (no printer's key number line), no date (presumed June 2001), ISBN 0-739-41803-3 (SFBC #37430), no price (presumed $11.98) (Zarthani.net hoard).
Michael Sauers's guide "Editions and Printings, How to Tell the Difference" has been very helpful in compiling information on reprints of Ace's H. Beam Piper collections edited by John F. Carr.
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