The Crystal World, J.G. Ballard
First edition, first printing of Ballard's classic fourth novel, the story of a physician who travels up a river in West Africa to find his former mistress, only to discover the jungle is undergoing a mysterious, expanding crystallization, turning everything—plants, animals, and people—into beautiful but lifeless crystal.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1966. Publisher's original off-white cloth, spine lettered in gilt; pp. 221. A near fine copy in a near fine, price-intact dust jacket. Binding remains tight, sturdy and square, seemingly unread with minimal wear to boards and the slightest hint of offsetting to endpapers. Jacket shows traces of shelfwear with a small price sticker removed from front flap. A very presentable copy, protected in archival mylar.