CHROME

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1978. First printing. Near fine in very good plus jacket.. Signed first edition of the first science fiction novel marketed to a gay male audience by a major publishing house. CHROME narrates the far-future romantic awakening of Chrome, space cadet, server of sandwiches, and personal massage therapist to the imperious and magnificent Abd H'Lokk-Mond H'Zum (Vortex for short), from their first meeting at an elite desert spa to their several joyful reunions. URANIAN WORLDS, the classic reference guide to LGBTQ science fiction, acknowledges that "the entire novel sparkles with homoerotic tension rare in science fiction" but judges Nader's political awareness "limited" (Garber & Paleo). The latter is true, but beside the point: CHROME joins the campy verve of '50s space opera to the increasing sexual freedom of '70s science fiction, in a setting deliberately removed from contemporary struggles and pressures, with a passionate love story. This was Nader's only published novel, written after his retirement from a long acting career in film and television which included a close friendship with Rock Hudson and a starring role in 1953's ROBOT MONSTER. Scarce. 8.5'' x 5.5''. Original black cloth with gilt-lettered spine. In original price-clipped pictorial dust jacket by Ron Woletsky. 369, [1] pages. Signed by Nader on front free endpaper. Light edgewear and scuffing to jacket, bookstore's "Autographed" sticker on front jacket panel. Minor foxing to fore-edge.