A Song of Ice and Fire [Slipcase Editions]

[Buster]

Please take pictures when you get them... extensive.

It looks like Amazon are going to wait until the 4th to post mine, so PLEASE post lots of pictures! Very irritated about this because I order it so early!!!

[jellydonut]

Dear Customer,

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,

We are writing to let you know that the following item has been sent using Royal Mail.

Squeeeeee.

Also:

Please be advised that we have a revised delivery date for the items you ordered on July 08 2011.

George R. R. Martin "A Game of Thrones: Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire"

Estimated arrival date: August 10 2011 - August 11 2011

[stu-stu]

Got my copy from Amazon earlier today. Just taken a cople of quick snaps. Its...ok, I guess. Not the brilliant quality I was expecting, and, in my opinion, not worth the £30, nevermind the £40RRP! I think around £15-20 would have been fairer. Its not bad though, dont get me wrong, I guess I was just expecting a bit more.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6150/6002264428_8dd5f2c8a2_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6016/6001713977_8811d135f5_b.jpg

As you can see the designs also a little different than expected. There is a wolf on the side, and the one on the front is a bit smaller. The text is also different. Oh, and the book is blue. :-/

[ArtDayne]

Hmm. I like the style, but the product itself doesn't seem to demonstrate amazing quality. Well, mine already shipped, so once I have it in hand I'll decide whether to continue or cancel my orders for future books and resell. Also, there are possibly American editions forthcoming, so those might affect my decision.

[Condesln]

What about the binding? From the pictures, it kind of looks just like the hard-cover version with a slipcase... nothing special. Not sure if it's worth picking up.

I wish GRRM would allow Easton Press to get ahold of the series. Wow, now those are nice.

[Geddon]

Got my copy from Amazon earlier today. Just taken a cople of quick snaps.

Can you tell us what material has been used for the cover and slipcase? Also does the page with the copyright details mention whether the paper is acid free?

Finally, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd be grateful if you could post a picture of the top of the book looking down. I'd like to see how the pages have been bound into the book.

[Condesln]

Better have sewn binding. Hate when publishers stick on that little skunk-tail ribbon to make people think it's sewn.

[Buster]

That book doesn't even look close to the one that Harper Collins have been advertising.

Edit: Could we have a look inside? :P

[Justinian]

I wish GRRM would allow Easton Press to get ahold of the series. Wow, now those are nice.

Some of the Easton Press books are nice, and its good to get an archival copy of some of the books, but the leather Easton uses isn't always the greatest. It's a lot nicer than a crappy super acid glued-binding edition, obviously.

[Cookyperm]

I'd never pre-ordered off amazon before I saw these books, but is this a normal practice for the book you recieve to look completely different from the advertised image?

(bad first post i know)

[Justinian]

No, it isn't normal. The picture on Amazon is obviously some sort of artist mock-up rather than any kind of photograph. Bad, bad form from Harper Collins.

[Barnes]

That's pretty nasty, don't think I would have ordered it had I seen those pictures. :(

Could one be the US & UK editions?

[ArtDayne]

That's pretty nasty, don't think I would have ordered it had I seen those pictures. :(

Could one be the US & UK editions?

You mean the same version just with a different publication info page? Doubtful. First, the U.S. version isn't even confirmed, nor that the full series will follow. Second, all the other books have been different in terms of materials. The only thing they share (so far as I'm aware) is cover art, which is probably through a licensing agreement. It is also a relatively new trend, starting with the new paperbacks when the TV series launched and new Hardcovers when Dance launched. But completely separate publisher's otherwise.

[Eärendil]

I won't receive mine for another week, but I looked over the images posted above. To me, at least, this looks nice. For $60 USD / £30 GBP, I never expected it to have a leather cover, though I had hoped it might be quarterbound in a faux-leather or similarly nice material. I still plan on getting the whole matching set. Next to the SP/MM editions, these appear to be the nicest versions available. And they have a more classic look than the hard covers that have been available since the inception of the series. I'll reserve final judgement until I have them in hand, but they aren't too off from what I expected. Keep in mind, had these been $150 / £60, I would have been furious. But as it stands, I had expected these to be like the current Harper Collins non-limited Tolkien special editions, and that's exactly what they seem to be in quality. You pay for what you're getting here. I disagree with the gentleman who said this should have been £15. That's probably close to what HC has invested in cost.

[Eärendil]

argh..double post.

[Condesln]

I can't wait for Random House's versions... of all the publishing houses, they are the only ones I've seen that ever do a sewn binding. Tor has probably the worst quality books.

[Adventu]

I had ordered this from Amazon UK just two days ago in high hopes, but those pictures above that the user took, made me cancel my order.

I was expecting it to be of a bit higher quality, and that looks nothing like the picture Amazon/Harper Collins has on their websites. It's quite odd to have a different looking product, it's blue first of all lol.

But the quality isn't by any stretch bad (can we get more binding info?), not worth the $57 CDN + Customs from the UK though. Maybe if they come into Canada I'll get em.

Please post more pictures! I still may change my mind depending on what users what the quality is like.

Thanks.

@Xephyrius - when does their version come out? And do you know the materials used?

[Condesln]

I had ordered this from Amazon UK just two days ago in high hopes, but those pictures above that the user took, made me cancel my order.

I was expecting it to be of a bit higher quality, and that looks nothing like the picture Amazon/Harper Collins has on their websites. It's quite odd to have a different looking product, it's blue first of all lol.

But the quality isn't by any stretch bad (can we get more binding info?), not worth the $57 CDN + Customs from the UK though. Maybe if they come into Canada I'll get em.

Please post more pictures! I still may change my mind depending on what users what the quality is like.

Thanks.

@Xephyrius - when does their version come out? And do you know the materials used?

Some time in October, supposedly. No other information as of yet. Retail $50, Online $25

[Barnes]

Has anyone emailed any of these online bookshops to mention there selling a false product, I see that same stock photo on each site I look at?

[Eärendil]

In my earlier post, I had just glanced over those images and noticed the color, but I didn't really focus in the on the detail of the sigil and spine lettering. After looking at the image again, I see what all the fuss is about. The lettering on the spine, not just the color, looks dramatically different. The sigil on the slipcase is much smaller too. Granted, the color is the biggest thing, but it look is different enough to warrant an explanation from Harper Collins. I think it is crummy that their product page for this item is such a misrepresentation of the actual product that was sold. They could have done a lot better job at this--I would consider it false advertising. I still think this book looks nicer compared to the standard hard covers. But I will be voicing my opinion to Harper Collins about this crummy business.