Keith Laumer “The Big Show” Vintage Paperback 1972

📖 The Big Show by Keith Laumer (1972, Ace Books) — a collection of six short stories and novelettes spanning military science fiction, alien contact, and the birth of the Bolo universe. This copy is in VG+/NF condition with a bright, uncreased cover and clean text block.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Keith Laumer (1925–1993), U.S. Air Force captain and diplomat turned SF writer
• Publisher: Ace Books, New York — Ace Book No. 06177
• Year: 1972 (First Ace Edition, as stated on copyright page)
• Format: Mass-market paperback, original 75¢ cover price
• Pages: ~192 | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era for Ace mass-market)
• Condition: Very Good+ (VG+)/Near Fine (NF) — full report below

THE STORIES

Keith Laumer served as a U.S. Air Force officer and Foreign Service diplomat before turning to science fiction full-time. His writing drew heavily on military experience and diplomatic encounters, producing some of the genre’s most beloved military SF and satirical alien-contact stories.

This collection gathers six tales, most of them otherwise uncollected at the time of publication:

• “In the Queue” (Orbit 7, 1970) — a darkly comic story of bureaucratic alien encounters
• “A Relic of War” (Analog, 1969) — the emotional Bolo story featuring a derelict Mark XXV super-tank named Bobby, left as a town mascot who reactivates for one final battle
• “The Big Show” (Galaxy, 1968) — the title story, a military SF novelette
• “Message to an Alien” (Analog, 1970) — a first-contact scenario with Laumer’s trademark wit
• “The Plague” (Analog, 1970) — an alien infiltration tale with high-stakes tension
• “Test to Destruction” (Dangerous Visions, 1967) — originally published in Harlan Ellison’s landmark Dangerous Visions anthology, one of the defining collections of the New Wave SF movement

THIS EDITION

Ace Book No. 06177, First Ace Edition with the original 75¢ cover price printed on the front. The spine carries the Ace logo with catalog number 441-06177-075. The copyright page confirms “First Ace Edition” and includes a detailed acknowledgments section listing original publication credits for each story. This was one of several Laumer collections Ace published in the early 1970s, and it gathers stories that had previously appeared only in magazines and the Ellison anthology.

COVER ART

The front cover features a dramatic painting of a massive, derelict Bolo war machine — rusted, overgrown with vegetation, bristling with dormant weaponry — looming over a peaceful hillside with children playing in the foreground. The tagline reads: “The old war machine was a relic, but it still had guns, fuel—and the habit of killing!” The back cover promotes another Laumer collection, “The Man Who Invented Retief.” The spine displays the title in bold orange lettering with the Ace Book SF logo at the base.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Bolo universe significance: “A Relic of War” is one of the key early Bolo stories, featuring the Mark XXV unit Bobby — a poignant tale of a war machine outliving its purpose. The Bolo series would grow into one of military SF’s most enduring franchises
• Collectible Ace edition: Ace Book No. 06177, First Ace Edition with original 75¢ price — a standard collectible number for Laumer completists
• New Wave connection: “Test to Destruction” appeared in Dangerous Visions (1967), Harlan Ellison’s ground-breaking anthology that helped define the New Wave SF movement

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First Ace Edition, 1972. Ace Book No. 06177. The copyright page confirms “First Ace Edition” with original 75¢ cover price.

What condition is it in? Very Good+ (VG+)/Near Fine (NF) — bright, glossy cover with uncreased spine. Full report below.

Does it have an ISBN? No. This is a pre-ISBN-era Ace mass-market paperback identified by catalog number 06177.

FOR COLLECTORS

This is a clean, possibly unread copy of the First Ace Edition — the cover art remains bright and glossy, the spine is square and uncreased, and the text block retains its original yellow/orange publisher stain on the page edges with “10” stamped on the top edge. A strong example for any Keith Laumer or Bolo collection.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Very Good+ (VG+)/Near Fine (NF)

Cover & Spine: Cover art remains incredibly bright and glossy. The spine is uncreased, square, and tight, with only tiny pinpoints of shelf-wear at the head and tail.

Dust Jacket: N/A

Text Block & Pages: Pages are clean with some light tanning along edges. The edge block features its original yellow/orange publisher stain, still vibrant and uniform, with “10” stamped on top edge.

Binding: Excellent; tight and appears possibly unread. Certainly an above average copy!

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-08-03

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