Prices of Reggie Oliver's Collections Explode!

If you're looking for copies of Reggie Oliver's first two short story collections, both of which were printed in extremely limited numbers and attracted strong praise, then you're going to have to pay a little more. Volumes of The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini and The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler do crop up online in sporadic appearances, and each time with seemingly heftier price tags. Now, there are two copies of Hitler Symphonies available via Bookfinder.com, and each retails for more than a piggy bank busting $750. This represents quite an inflationary explosion for Oliver's second short story collection, especially considering copies of this book sold for less than half their current price on Ebay throughout late 2008 and early 2009. Cardinal Vittorini previously hovered in this price range in recent history, though it has mostly vanished from recent online markets, and may command a truly towering cost when it materializes again.

One conclusion becomes clear from all this: the value of Reggie Oliver's highly regarded early works hasn't yet peaked, incredible as it may be. If anything, the appearance of his newer and considerably cheaper collections of ghostly stories--Masques of Satan and Madder Mysteries--have only whetted the appetite for Oliver's work while increasing his name recognition among connoisseurs of weird horror. It's also possible the rare copies of Oliver's first two books have fallen victim to a small, but crafty sect of book hustlers who are willing to hoard the books and then release them at double the price (or more) they were purchased for. Unfortunately, this would not be the first time select editions of weird fiction from rising writers have fallen victim to money mongers.

Fortunately, the rising demand for Reggie Oliver's writings and his brisk output of new strange tales suggests the pieces hidden in the almost mythic tomes of his early career will not remain occult forever. All signs from the writer in the last couple years point to an energetic community of Oliver lovers emerging in concert with new story collections. Moreover, widening world-of-mouth acclaim for Oliver's horrors means sales of his newer material ought to rise as well, making the latest two books as rare as their predecessors before two long. Luckily, this also raises the possibility of a Reggie Oliver omnibus one day, containing stories from The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini and The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler. Until then, aficionados of the modern weird will have only their dreams of a day when admission to Mr. Oliver's aged frights is easily affordable.

-Grim Blogger