When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hard to Find, Easy to Own
First editions, lost classics & hidden gems — honestly described, carefully shipped. Solar Lottery — Philip K. Dick Ace Books • 1959 Second Printing • Vintage Paperback • Philip K. Dick\'s First Novel Condition: Good About the Book
Solar Lottery is the first novel Philip K. Dick ever published — the beginning of the career that produced The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik, and a body of work that has shaped more films than any other writer in the genre.
In 2203, power is allocated by the bottle: a randomising machine periodically selects a new Quizmaster to rule the solar system, and the displaced incumbent is fair game for a legally sanctioned assassin. Ted Benteley has just sworn loyalty to a man who is about to lose the bottle, which makes him the servant of a target. Around this runs a search for a possibly mythical tenth planet and a religious movement built on faith in it — and already, in 1955, all of Dick\'s preoccupations are visible: the unreliability of authority, the ordinary man caught in systems he cannot see the edges of, and the suspicion that the rules governing reality may be arbitrary.
For anyone reading Dick seriously, this is where it starts — and vintage Ace printings of his earliest work are increasingly difficult to find.
This Copy
This is the 1959 Ace Books second printing — a genuinely vintage paperback of Dick\'s debut, offered as an honest reading copy and graded conservatively below.
Condition: Good
- The exterior presents beautifully — covers are clean, bright, and attractive with no significant wear
- Please note: the cover and the first few pages have begun to loosen at the binding. They remain attached and the book is complete, but the glue has aged and the front of the text block is no longer firm
- This copy should be handled gently; it will be packed with care, but a buyer should expect a fragile vintage binding rather than a sturdy one
- Pages are clean throughout, with no writing, foxing, stamps, or markings of any kind
- All pages present and fully readable
- An honest reading or display copy of a genuinely uncommon early Dick printing
Please refer to all photos for a complete picture of condition. I\'ll gladly provide more photos upon request.
Feel free to message with any questions before purchasing.
Will be packed carefully and shipped promptly.
📦 Add multiple items to your cart to see combined shipping price before buying!
Returns accepted within 30 days — buyer pays return shipping.
