Amon Rudh wrote:

Still waiting for mine from Awesomebooks.com.
I fear they have forgotten to order it in.

I’m waiting for mine from Awesomebooks as well. My last pre-order from them also arrived later than other folks got their books, though I’ve never had a problem with damage and the prices are great so I will continue being patient as much as I am anxious to see them.

Great video. I've cancelled my Awesomebooks.com order. I have placed one order and the first part (new Letters book) was damaged albeit they offered a partial refund and the second bit is late. Reordered via Ebay for the same price. Fingers crossed 🤞

I note the new volume boards appear to have a rounded spine profile vs the flat profile of the POD books. This may make them more flexible than the POD. When I get mine I'll add a view on this.

Thanks for the great video as always, Trotter. I think you might just be unfortunate with the BOLT1 spine issue, as my copy is aligned properly; certainly odd that it slipped through though.

A shame the digital typesetting wasn't ready in time for these editions, but I don't expect the shade variation and slight fuzziness to affect my reading experience too adversely.

TemplePhoenix wrote:

Thanks for the great video as always, Trotter.

Thanks, but that video was not by me, but a fellow member of the site. We do have a video coming out this month which includes a brief talk on the box-set. Hopefully the fuzziness of the text can be fixed for later editions, as it is noticeable.

After seeing that video, I have become convinced that HarperCollins has stopped doing QC. The things that get through are basic. In fact, I never get these errors from other publishers.

The reduced contrast on printing was an issue with a few areas of the POD books but as mentioned is aesthetic only and does not affect reading.

Another nice video. The reason I’m buying these sets is predominantly for the John Howe covers. I’ve never had the original HoMe as separate volumes or the Howe cover paperbacks, so I’m looking forward to getting the others too. I just get by with the big three-volume set.
Now I’ve had to re-examine my new set, and fortunately I don’t appear to have the issues found with the misalignment of the lettering on the spines or the split slipcase. I think it’s a well made set in any case.

It certainly looks that way. The more I see the more I am sure I'll enjoy them even more than my POD versions. I will be reading them all over the next couple of years along with other Tolkien of course! I'm actually quite excited to receive them now.