I suspect Ian Watson himself would probably scoff at being described as a national treasure of British science fiction, but in four decades he has written twenty-nine novels and a dozen collections and every single one of them is worth reading. As Adam Roberts can attest, as he’s been on something of a Watson kick recently. Myself, I’ve been a fan for many years and have managed to accumulate a goodly collection of first editions, many of which are signed. My collection is not complete, but it is close. No Space Marine, for example; though I’ve been looking for a good copy for years. And at least two books, I believe – The Whores of Babylon and Converts – were only published in paperback (I have them, but they’re not pictured below).

But I do have many books by Ian Watson. As you can see…