Out of the Mouth of the Dragon — Geston — Ace 1969

Out of the Mouth of the Dragon by Mark S. Geston (1969, Ace Books) — A haunting, elegiac work of post-apocalyptic science fiction set in a decaying world of ancient warfare and lost technology, following a young protagonist swept into a final, tragic crusade. This is a first paperback edition of Geston’s rare second novel, part of the “Books of the Wars” cycle.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Mark S. Geston (b. 1946)
• Publisher: Ace Books (Ace #64460), New York
• Year: 1969 (First Paperback Edition)
• Format: Mass market paperback, original pictorial wrappers
• Pages: 156 | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN mass market paperback era)
• Cover Art: John Schoenherr
• Condition: Very Good (VG) — full report below

THE STORY

Set in the same devastated world as Geston’s debut Lords of the Starship (1967), Out of the Mouth of the Dragon follows Amon VanRoark, a young man who hears the prophet Timonias speaking in a decaying city marketplace and answers the call to a final Armageddon. The novel explores whether Creation will be renewed or allowed to finally end, as its protagonist journeys through a landscape of ruined technologies, dying cultures, and warped sunlight toward an apocalyptic confrontation. Geston wrote the novel while completing his history degree at Kenyon College, and the dedication page names Kenyon College alongside a reprint of Rupert Brooke’s poem “Failure.”

THIS EDITION

Published by Ace Books in 1969 as Ace #64460 with a cover price of 60¢, this is the first and only paperback edition of Geston’s second novel. It was later collected in the omnibus The Books of the Wars (Baen, 2009), which Geston described as a thematic cycle spanning his first three novels. This edition retains the original cover art by John Schoenherr, one of science fiction’s most celebrated illustrators and a Hugo Award winner for Best Professional Artist.

COVER ART & DESIGN

The cover, painted by John Schoenherr in his signature naturalistic style, depicts a desolate orange-brown landscape of ruins and fire. A rugged wheeled vehicle or armored transport sits in the foreground amid scattered structures and banners. In the distance, the skeletal remains of a once-great city burn — tall spires and towers engulfed in smoke and flame. The muted orange, brown, and red palette conveys heat, dust, and decay. The spine is red-brown with the Ace Books logo and price code, showing typical reading wear. The back cover carries the plot blurb describing Amon VanRoark’s journey, and the copyright page confirms the 1969 copyright to Geston.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Second novel by Mark S. Geston, one of the 1960s most underrated SF prose stylists — known for an elegiac, literary voice compared to Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe
• Part of the “Books of the Wars” cycle alongside Lords of the Starship and The Siege of Wonder, collected in a 2009 Baen omnibus
• Cover art by John Schoenherr, the Hugo Award-winning artist whose work defined SF illustration in the 1960s–70s (known for Dune illustrations, Analog covers)
• Written when Geston was 22 and a student at Kenyon College — his first novel, Lords of the Starship, was published when he was 20
• Scarce in the mass market format — Geston’s work has a devoted collector following and the 2009 omnibus reprint introduced a new generation of readers

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First paperback edition, 1969, Ace Books #64460. Cover price 60¢. Cover art by John Schoenherr.

What condition is it in? Very Good (VG) — full report below. The cover shows minor rubbing to extremities, light scuffing, and faint reading creases. The spine is square with faint vertical reading lines. Pages are clean and off-white with uniform yellow publisher-stained edges.

Is it part of a series? Yes — it is the second novel in Geston’s “Books of the Wars” cycle, following Lords of the Starship (1967) and preceding The Siege of Wonder (1976).

FOR COLLECTORS

Geston published only five novels between 1967 and 1992 before retiring from writing to practice law full-time. His early work — written in his late teens and early twenties at Kenyon College — represents a remarkable debut for a young author and has maintained a devoted readership among connoisseurs of literary, melancholic science fiction. This copy presents well with a bright, clean cover and tight binding, making it a solid addition to any collection of 1960s Ace SF paperbacks.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Very Good (VG)

Cover & Spine: Vibrant orange-hued cover showing minor rubbing to extremities. Spine is square and clean with faint vertical reading lines.

Dust Jacket: Not applicable.

Text Block & Pages: Yellow publisher-stained edges are uniform and bright. Interior pages are clean and off-white/cream.

Binding: Tight and secure, no loose, torn or folded pages.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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