I wonder if they will learn from the poor reproduction of the illustrations in Rings and offer them on proper paper this time...

Mr. Underhill wrote:

This release puzzles me, seems like overkill, a money grab, with the release of the Nasmith edition just last year...I'll probably buy it though.

May have something to do with a TV show.

Trotter wrote:

Mr. Underhill wrote:

This release puzzles me, seems like overkill, a money grab, with the release of the Nasmith edition just last year...I'll probably buy it though.

May have something to do with a TV show.

It may

Just thought they might market the releases of UT and S from last year as they chose 2nd Age cover art.

*buyer fatigue intensifies*

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… at this point this is collecting HC rather than Tolkien. Far be it for me to gatekeep the hobby of course, but a stunning edition of the Silm just came out. How many ents and huorns had to die for this blatant cash grab?

/negativity

Moo?
I agree with Caudimordax. And I'd like to add - you're not being negative but rather realistic.

Seems like they're trying to create four sets of hardbacks simultaneously:

1) the illustrated (by other artists) standard hardbacks;
2) the illustrated (by other artists) deluxe hardbacks (so far just The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The Complete Guide to Middle-earth) - personal favorite so far;
3) the illustrated (by Tolkien) standard hardbacks (albeit more expensive than most hardbacks) (so far just The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion); and
4) the illustrated (by Tolkien) deluxe hardbacks (so far just The Lord of the Rings).

I suppose HarperCollins is trying to develop products for different types of readers/consumers in light of anticipated demand from the Amazon series. However, for collectors, it has made keeping up rather pricey.

Gloinson wrote:

Seems like they're trying to create four sets of hardbacks simultaneously:

1) the illustrated (by other artists) standard hardbacks;
2) the illustrated (by other artists) deluxe hardbacks (so far just The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The Complete Guide to Middle-earth) - personal favorite so far;
3) the illustrated (by Tolkien) standard hardbacks (albeit more expensive than most hardbacks) (so far just The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion); and
4) the illustrated (by Tolkien) deluxe hardbacks (so far just The Lord of the Rings).

I suppose HarperCollins is trying to develop products for different types of readers/consumers in light of anticipated demand from the Amazon series. However, for collectors, it has made keeping up rather pricey.

It's an interesting way to organize them.

There's also The Hobbit illustrated by Tolkien standard HB which would go into your category 3 there. https://www.tolkienguide.com/store/978-0261103283

gobbledygook wrote:

Moo?
I agree with Caudimordax. And I'd like to add - you're not being negative but rather realistic.

I'm somewhat relieved people are seeing through this. I think it helps that it clearly isn't actually possible to produce a "Silmarillion Illustrated by the Author" that isn't a cash grab. The content simply does not exist to do this properly. And if the publisher is doing something they can't do properly, then...

This one is a surprise to me as well... It seems very likely that HarperCollins is going above and beyond to try and keep Tolkien (the author) in front of as many eyeballs as possible while Amazon is bringing so much attention. I think that, a decade from now, most of what is released this year will be looked back upon in a similar fashion to how the Bakshi (or Peter Jackson actor) covered books are today - with nostalgia and love for those who got them as first or early copies, but not all that popular to many.

I do hope that last year's quality issues are addressed in this particular volume - image reproductions, paper quality, and manufacturing QA.

I don't expect there will be any surprises in the artwork included here that isn't already published, and placement/integration to the text will be a challenge for the HC design team.

The blue is nice, if the book actually ends up being that shade, and it's a nice homage to the 1st edition. The giant signature is not good and looks out of place. Just feels like an unnecessary release for this year, but I understand the logic of trying to both cash in on the Amz craziness and keep Tolkien the author in the foreground.

The reaction in most social media spaces about this release today has been mostly, "I love it and I will buy it, whatever it costs. Please give me more."