Monday 14 June 2010

Westlake Score #5: Dancing Aztecs

So then, to the third of my Donald Westlake eBay scores... Wait, hold up: if this is the third Westlake Score, I hear you cry, how come it's number five in the post header? Ah, well, see, I've decided to re-think these Westlake Score posts and turn them into a series, a la my Parker Progress Reports. And seeing as I already had two Westlake first editions – Killy (a 1964 UK Boardman hardback) and Pity Him Afterwards (a 1964 US Random House hardback) – when I acquired my other two eBay scores – Somebody Owes Me Money and Levine – that makes this latest addition Westlake Score #5. Exciting Times! Ahem. And here is Score #5:













A 1976 US first edition of Dancing Aztecs, published in hardback by M. Evans and Company, with a dustjacket by Joel Schick. This one was a great score: I don't think it's ever been published in the UK, and there don't seem to be any copies online from the UK at all. It's also in fantastic condition. One thing that struck me was the extent of the book: it's well over 350 pages (Helpfully, Westlake provides a guide to the cast of characters at the start of the book). I'm used to Westlake – or rather Richard Stark – books being less than 200 pages. I don't know how many of the books he wrote under his own name are as lengthy as this, but I guess I'll find out if and when (or more likely as and when) I acquire them...

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