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Differences between SoIaF box sets?


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I'm trying to decide which box set to buy, choosing between the US Mass Market box, the gold UK Harper Voyager box or the blue UK Harper Voyager box(coming out tomorrow).

However, local bookstores never seem to have those in stock, so I don't really have the chance to investigate them myself. I know the UK edition has Storm of Swords split in two parts.

I'm mostly wondering about the binding - Some reviews on the US version said the books fell apart after taking them out the box. Also, how does the typoghraphy of US and UK versions compare? I heard the problem with this series is the words are always crammed on the page, which doesn't exactly enhance the reading experience.

The difference between the gold and the blue UK edition isn't clear to me at all. I asked the Voyager customer service but still have to recieve an answer. Someone on Amazon posted a comment that said the blue version would have bonus content and has been reedited?

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  • 4 months later...

the size is alright, nicely fits into my bag... the font and spacing is great, clear to read :)... I also like the cover art... taking the spacing and font and such into consideration, I kinda like the decision to split ASOS into two volumes, will be easier to carry it with me to read after work when travelling home

right now at AGOT, the immersion is just woah :)

I got the box for like 24 €, which is like... brutal bargain, 5 books, each like 600-800 pages, for that price... it is just brutal value, for how much all those books give you :)

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I have the first box you linked to. My first reaction was that the books were a bit smaller than I thought they were going to be, but that was a big advantage really. Thinner pages make thinner books(obviously). I have compared them to the other paperbacks and there is such a big difference! Overall I love them and I always carry at least one book with me wherever I go.

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I have both the UK blue and US one, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on each. First of all, the US ones are small pocket sized books (I think maybe they're the same as the gold UK?) and as brittle as can be; the sides split if open them not even a quarter of the way, AGoT's pages feels like they're made from newspaper like quality material, and there's some strange inconsistencies between books (font size, differing paper quality). Then again, it's pretty cheap so you get what you pay for I suppose.

The UK blue is overall much better quality (the covers and pages all feel better and aren't nearly as cheap feeling), and I suggest if you actually want to read the books without ruining them spend a bit extra and get these. It's not all better, however. While the books themselves are better quality there's numerous grammar errors throughout (spelling, punctuation) and sometimes there's whole words missing and words added where they shouldn't be ('a' were it should say 'the', or random words appearing in the middle of a sentence where it shouldn't be there at all). I've even come across a few instances where dialogue was changed for no good reason (the US edition has none of these problems). These things pop of just enough to be annoying but it's not like it happens every page. Still, it may be a deal breaker for some and it certainly got on my nerves.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have the AFFC volume of the UK gold box (I know that because it is A-format (110mm x 178mm or 4.33" x 7.01"). This volume's ISBN is 978-0-00-648612-1.

I have had opportunity to compare it at some length with its corresponding US version. The US edition is noticeably smaller in all dimensions (thinner, too) and seems to be more fragile as well. However, I found the US edition easier on the eye despite its size. Maybe I would think differently if I had to actually turn those fragile pages one by one, I don't know.

Also, AFFC is thick enough to be somewhat unconfortable in this format already. I can definitely understand why the UK mass market paperback editions of ASOS were divided in two volumes. It just wouldn't do to have this kind of paper used in a book that has 50% more pages than AFFC.

As it stands now, I would attempt to get the US edition if I wanted compact size above all other considerations, and the new (blue box, B-format (130mm x 198mm or 5.12" x 7.8")) UK edition if I wanted inexpensive yet fairly durable books (which I probably would if I were buying them for the first time).

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