Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

This monstrous volume, admits author/compiler Spignesi, "is for the King reader who literally wants to know everything they possibly can about the World of King." That aptly sums up Spignesi's book, grandiose aims, careless grammar, and all. Besides indexing King's published and unpublished works (a job that takes up about half the book's length), Spignesi provides brief primary and secondary bibliographies, a publishing history and table of contents for the King newsletter Castle Rock , and detailed discussions of recordings and film adaptations. There are interviews with King's secretary, brother, critics, admirers, collectors, and others, stories and (very bad) poems by many of these same individuals, and even bibliographies of the works of these peripheral players. Finally, there are more than a dozen pieces that Spignesi himself finds unclassifiable, including an embarrassing dissection of "The Three Levels of Stephen King Fandom." In short, this is a volume whose coverage and organization makes it of marginal reference value, but it is also of enormous potential interest to King's readers. Libraries that already own such basic volumes as The Stephen King Companion (LJ 11/15/84) will need to decide whether this new work's cur rency and level of detail justify its stiff price. The publisher notes that this is a collector's edition, with only 3000 copies being printed, thus the cost.--Ed.
-Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

=LIMITED SIGNED/NUMBERED/ SLIPCASED EDITION - This edition (artwork from the Stephen Bissette endpapers featured here) contains 27 signatures on a special light red text --acid free paper, with a border of skulls with red eyes and horns - creepy buds let me tell you. Signatures include those mentioned above as well as Steve Spignesi, Rick Hautala, Stanley Wiater, Tyson Blue, Chris Chesley, J.N. Williamson, George Beahm, Kenny Ray Linkous (Eyes of the Dragon illustrator), (complet list below)et el... Featured in a blue alligator like slipcase with silver foil imprinting. Original endpaper and special fold-out frontispiece artwork by Stephen R. Bissette. Also includes Spignesi's "Downstairs" a signed/# pamphlet by Stephen Spignesi and hand colored cover by Katherine Flickinger (numbered to correspond with the limited). --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

This book, coming in at over 800 pages (and six pounds!) contains Everything KING! Interviews, 18,000 entries of People, Places and Things (this took the author five years to produce!). I am very proud to have had the oppurtunity to publish this book, and as a limited it features so many more extras than the trade editions. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

ORIGINAL COVER ART: Front and back features over fifty rare Stephen King collectibles. ORIGINAL INSERT: Created by Stephen Spignesi and trade edition artist Katherine Flickenger. This folded insert features an original piece by Spignesi, and art by Flickenger. Each insert is hand colored by the artist. SLIPCASE Specially made slipcase has been designed to hold the limited edition. Dark blue, alligator-like skin embossing, slipcase with silver foil stamping on the spine. All this to bring a very unique and special book on, about, and around Stephen King. Stephen Spignesi has spent over four years preparing this special book, and I thought it was special enough to bring you a very personal limited edition. Working the whole way with the author on this book, a lot of time and energy has been spent to bring this to fruition. I hope you have as much fun with it as it was for us to bring it to you! --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.