The 4-Dimensional Nightmare

Published in 1963 by Gollancz, The 4-Dimensional Nightmare is J. G. Ballard’s first hardcover collection released in the United Kingdom and one of his scarcest titles. The volume gathers eight stories, including “The Voices of Time” (1960), a landmark work of cosmic despair centered on a narcoleptic scientist carving a mandala into a drained swimming pool, and “The Watch-Towers” (1962), a chilling study of a society living under the silent surveillance of observers in the sky.

Includes: “The Voices of Time” (1960), “The Sound-Sweep” (1960), “Prima Belladonna” (1956), “Studio 5, The Stars” (1961), “The Garden of Time” (1962), “The Cage of Sand” (1962), “The Watch-Towers” (1962), and “Chronopolis” (1960).

Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, red paper covered boards with gilt lettering on spine. London: Gollancz, 1963. #10721.
Except for a few minor dings to the edges of the boards, a fine copy in a nearly fine first-printing dust jacket (code "X24" at the bottom right corner of the rear flap; price "16/- net" on the front flap). There is a faint trace of soiling at the crown of the jacket spine, along with two very light blue horizontal lines on the verso of the jacket, offset from a previous owner’s jacket protector, with slight bleed-through. Otherwise, the dust jacket is fine.