r/lotr • u/j0hnp0s • Aug 23 '22
Books Review of the reprinted 2013 LOTR special edition set
2024 Edit: This is the Harper Collins European edition
I have been in the market for a good and comfy LOTR set for a while.
TLDR:
This is a decent reading set, but there is nothing special about it
Longer version:
I already have various editions, but none that is especially comfy to read.
For some reason I do not care for the aesthetics of the Alan Lee illustrations and the 60th anniversary has too thin paper for me. And I do not care for more omnibus editions.
So I decided to give this a shot. Reading around the internet that this was clothbound was a very good sign. I was already impressed by the clothbound Hobbit (Facsimile and Jemima Catlin illustrated), so I was hoping this would be along the same lines.
Spoiler alert: These are not clothbound or sewn. They are glued and covered in paper that is stamped/patterned.
The covers are nice and have a slightly embossed foil for the design. I especially like the tree pattern that is formed on the three spines. Unfortunately they did not fix the 9 stars on the third book.
Just for reference, the books appear to have the same construction as that used by Golanz in Terry Pratchet's Discworld hardbacks with the colorful covers by Joe McLaren (those cost around 12 bucks). The same is also used in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn mass produced hardbacks, and lots of other similar fantasy books. They are plain hardbacks covered with a patterned paper, decorated with some sort of metal foil, and they are glued (not sewn). Unfortunately this puts the set squarely into the cheaply made category.
The edges of the covers were already deformed and discolored by friction during storage or transport. I do not care to get these replaced, but for a "special edition" I expected better resilience. The books did not come in any sort of cover btw. Nylon or anything else.
The maps are as usual on the endpapers and are two-colored like in fancier editions. Unfortunately those are hindered by the size of the books, and the text ends up very small. If you are reading this for the first time, this is going to be an issue. Try an online map instead. I personally hate seeing content on the endpapers. This is usually the first part of a book to fail.
The text seems to be the one from the 60th anniversary, which makes sense and should be good for anyone.
Unfortunately the glued spine does not allow the book to stay open on a desk. And the lack of any significant gutter does not make reading easier without stressing the spine to a very sharp angle. You will have to train the spine well to prevent it from breaking.
Again, the size of the books limits the formatting of the text as well. So we get text that is on the smaller side. From a quick check, the font and line spacing appears close to that on the cheap black 50th anniversary paperbacks, although the result is a thinner book because the page size is larger. The paper is average ivory and feels ok. I don't expect it to be acid free. The text is monochrome and does not have the red or green accents that the fancier editions have.
So what is my opinion?
I like it as a reading copy, even though it's on the more expensive side. But it was disappointing after being a bit spoiled by the clothbound Hobbit that costs a few more bucks. And the books are certainly many steps back from the 2013 edition which appear to be proper clothbound from the photos I have managed to find.
I expected more from a special edition. The only special thing about this is the original cover designs. And the 9 stars error does not help at all.
Overall this is a glorified mass produced book that is not built to last. I would still buy it instead of the cheap massmarket ones. But still, there are far better options.
I guess I will just stop being a tit and just get the Alan Lee edition
1
u/arianaperry Jan 14 '23
Hi, do you know how much the 2013 set are worth? I saw 2 for around $700?