"Currently Unavailable" - Pre-Orders on Amazon UK

Last I spoke with HarperCollins (last week), they were moving to work-from-home mode for all but a skeleton staff, and hoped that everything would stay on schedule.

Obviously the situation is fluid - hopefully a global solution is found and life can return to normal, but I agree with you - life and health over entertainment, certainly!

Good to know, thanks. I had a feeling that was an Amazon thing. Which sort of makes sense - eliminate the number of pre-orders (and backlog etc( on their end.

Give my regards to HarperCollins' - sure, there's been a few hiccups on and off since about 2012 with various releases, though I think they've handled publishing Tolkien quite well.

Here's hoping things get better, not worse. The social distancing APPEARS to be working, but it was implemented a little too late.

insurrbution wrote:
I hope that this ordeal calms down and settles soon: I, of course, don't want anyone sick or dying over a book; but the upheaval in day-to-day life it's causing is getting quite tiresome.

Honestly, if the worst you have to cope with is a book delay, that's pretty good. Remember that many thousands of people are losing their jobs and have uncertainty about even putting food on the table for their families. By most estimates, this will be over in a year to eighteen months, probably not before. By the end of next week, we essentially won't even have passenger flights in/out of NZ at all. Australia will be the same. This is the most major event we will probably ever see in our lifetimes.

And we were 1-2 weeks too late to act on it. Imagine if we put the policies in place that we have now, but 1-2 weeks ago, or more. If we did earlier, and did the whole social distancing thing, it would probably half the virus' life. The virus apparantly lasts for 14 days. So, if everyone that has it (and knows about it) is in isolation, then I can see it lasting in each city - as in major cases, major numbers - for 1-2 months. Following that, I believe that the numbers will drop. Of course, there will be the odd person here and there that gets it closer to when it's over.

It will take a while for it settle down or go away globally; but I think it lasts in each city for 1-2 months. But there's many factors. One day at a time, and we'll what happens between now and early April.

Might me a rumour but I heard Amazon was also prioritising its own supplied items over those it's supplies on-behalf of private sellers. Haven't actually read that anywhere, but it makes sense. Particularly in light of the fact that Amazon do currently stock & supply home items e.g. cleaning products, toilet roll, and food. Think they just want to make sure they're able keep their own supply chain as streamlined & functional as possible. Supermarkets doing similar things; like they're cutting lines (i.e. that caviar you wanted for your salmon & blinis dish...) just to make sure the essential are going to continue to flow.

Probably going to see a lot more of this.

I hasten to add that nothing, absolutely nothing, would stop me taking the law into my own hands in respect to acquiring that special Silmarillion that I don't have...

We need to always keep things in perspective, folks.

Khamûl wrote:
I hasten to add that nothing, absolutely nothing, would stop me taking the law into my own hands in respect to acquiring that special Silmarillion that I don't have...

We need to always keep things in perspective, folks.

Exactly. Of course, there are much things to worry about (if affected) than a possible delayed book release; though I was asking due to the great upheaval this thing is causing.

Going back to Tolkien: I also look forward to the cover art images being released for the upcoming Unfinished Tales illustrated (standard and deluxe) editions. If I were to bet money, I'd say it would be Nasmith's "The Blue Wizards Journeying East." Reason? TYPICALLY, next year's calendar is 'themed' around the flagship (big, popular..) Tolkien book from the previous year. With previous calendars, the book cover and the calendar cover images were the exact same. (2008, 2018, 2019, 2020, for example)

As Stu has pointed out, this will be something that our time will never forget. We will be a changed people once we are through this.

Books can frankly fall away and if we ever get them then so be it. While I don't want to hijack this into a political rant at anybody, I want to thank all the people who are making the gut wrenching decisions to leave their own children and families to care for ours and keep our essential services running. Without them we are in serious trouble so do what you can to help them. Firstly by not taking all the resources that they need. Take only what we need.

And as for Amazon and online retailers in general, they all should be working 24/7 to help supply the essential products needed to fight this war.

*UPDATE*

Tolkien titles (as well as ANY upcoming titles....?) can now be pre-ordered again! Seems like it was something on Amazon's side.

Here's hoping all here are doing well, and that things get well enough that any release dates (books, movies, etc) won't be affected.