If you’re like me, you enjoy vintage science fiction and fantasy, and tracking down old paperbacks to add to your collection. But nothing beats the convenience of having those fragile old books available in a modern reprint. Unless it’s having multiple books in a single omnibus volume, under a great new cover, for the price of a single paperback. When that happens, we like to make some noise about it here — especially when the books involved are true classics of the genre.

That’s why we end up talking about Baen so much. Last week it was the trio of Baen’s Murray Leinster omnibus volumes; before that it was their seven volumes featuring James H. Schmitz. Today, I’d like to take a look at three of the many omnibus volumes collecting some of the best work of Andre Norton, published by Baen last decade.

First up is Darkness and Dawn, which collects perhaps the first Andre Norton book I ever laid eyes on, in my elementary school library in Kentville, Nova Scotia: Daybreak—2250 A.D.

[Click on the images for bigger versions.]

I still remember seeing that paperback in the spinner rack in grade four, circa 1973, and wondering how that guy on the raft kept that cat from eating his ankles.

Daybreak—2250 A.D. was originally published as Star Man’s Son, 2250 A.D. in 1952. It first appeared under the title Daybreak—2250 A.D. as part of an Ace Double in 1954, with the above cover. The cover artist is unknown. It saw nearly half a dozen editions between 1954 and 1969.

In 1977 it finally received a new cover, but one so close to the 1954 edition that you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the same at first glance:

Darkness and Dawn also contains No Night Without Stars, first published in paperback by Fawcett in 1975, with a cover by M. Kane.

Here’s the complete publishing details:

Darkness and Dawn (Baen, June 2004, 482 pages, $7.99, cover by Bob Eggleton)

1. No Night Without Stars (Fawcett, 1975, 223 pages, $1.75, cover by M. Kane)
2. Daybreak—2250 A.D. (Ace Books, 1954, 182 pages, $0.35; cover artist unknown; also published as Star Man’s Son, in 1952)

Next up is Star Soldiers, which collects the two Central Control novels, Star Guard and Star Rangers. It was published by Baen in August 2002, with a cover by Stephen Hickman.

Here’s the 1978 Fawcett edition of Star Guard, with a nifty cover by Ken Barr.

And here’s the August 1979 Fawcett edition of Star Rangers, also with a Ken Barr cover.

Star Rangers was also published as an Ace Double under the title The Last Planet, which we covered as part of our look at the Ace Double line last February.

Here’s the publishing deets:

Star Soldiers (Baen, August 2002, 471 pages, $6.99, cover by Stephen Hickman)

1. Star Guard (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1955, 247 pages in hardcover, $3, cover artist unknown)
2. Star Rangers (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1953, 280 pages in hardcover, cover by Richard Powers; also published as The Last Planet in 1955)

Last up is Star Flight, an omnibus collection of the two Pax / Astra novels: The Stars Are Ours! (1954) and Star Born (1957). Star Flight was published by Baen in October 2007, with a cover by Stephen Hickman.

The Stars Are Ours! was originally published in hardcover in August 1954 by World Publishing Co, with a cover by Virgil Finlay. Here’s the 1972 Ace paperback, with a Victor Kalin cover that looks a lot like a gothic romance in space.

Star Flight also contained Star Born, also published in hardcover by World Publishing Co. in March 1957, with Virgil Finlay cover art. Here’s the 1963 Ace paperback edition, with a terrific cover by the great Ed Emshwiller.

Here’s the publishing details for Star Flight:

Star Flight (Baen, June 2009, 503 pages, $7.99, cover by Stephen Hickman)

1. The Stars Are Ours! (World Publishing Co, August 1954, 237 pages in hardcover, $2.75, cover by Virgil Finlay)
2. Star Born (World Publishing Co, March 1957, 212 pages in hardcover, $2.75, cover by Virgil Finlay)

Our recent coverage of Andre Norton includes:

The Sioux Spaceman
Secret of the Lost Race
Sargasso of Space
Grand Masters’ Choice, edited by Andre Norton
The Beast Master and Lord of Thunder
Everything’s Coming up Aces: All the Covers of Galactic Derelict
Galactic Derelict
The Last Planet 
Velvet Shadows
Return to the Witch World: The Crystal Gryphon by Fletcher Vredenburgh
The End of the Story: Sorceress of the Witch World by Fletcher Vredenburgh
To The Dark Tower He Came: Warlock of the Witch World by Fletcher Vredenburgh
Year of the Unicorn by Fletcher Vredenburgh
Three Against the Witch World by Fletcher Vredenburgh
Kirkus Looks at Andre Norton’s Young Adult Novels
A Point of Transition: Andre Norton’s Witch World by Matthew David Surridge
Andre Norton, Michael Moorcock and Appendix N: Advanced Readings in D&D
Star Soldiers and Other Free Kindle Books at Amazon.com
To the King a Daughter by Andre Norton and Sasha Miller

We’ve covered several omnibus collections of interest to fantasy fans recently:

The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
Planets of Adventure by Murray Leinster
The Book of Skaith: The Adventures of Eric John Stark by Leigh Brackett
Starwolf by Edmond Hamilton
Assassin’s Dawn: The Complete Hoorka Trilogy, by Stephen Leigh
Hooded Man by Paul Kane
The Order of Deacons by Philippa Ballantine
The Bookman Histories by Lavie Tidhar
Enter The Wolf: Vampire Earth Volume 1 by E.E. Knight
Introducing Garrett, P.I. by Glen Cook
Obsidian & Blood by Aliette de Bodard
The Nekropolis Archives by Tim Waggoner
The Castle Omnibus by Steph Swainston

See all our recent Vintage Treasures here.