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/lit/ - Literature

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17879676 No.17879676 [Reply] [Original]

Does it contain all the "New Sun" books? Is it worth the cash?

>> No.17879686

Looks nice. I need to reread those books.

>> No.17879713

>>17879676
>Is it worth the cash?
That's up to you, it's not like there are many good editions of Wolfe's books. If you really want a deluxe edition, buy it now or wait until it falls into the "classic" category and more publishing companies start editing it (probably in 50 years).

>> No.17879731

It doesn't have the fifth book, "Urth," but I'm of mixed opinion about its importance regardless. BotNS is easily my favorite contemporary novel, so I am seriously considering getting that edition. If you haven't read it before, I would suggest the paperbacks — you should do the imaginative work yourself. Plus, they're much cheaper.

>> No.17879806

>>17879686
>>17879713
I haven't actually read it, and I figured if this was a good opportunity to do so.
>>17879731
Oh, so it's missing the "epilogue" so to speak. That's a bummer. I'm torn, desu. I can either buy this edition, or a bunch of other books I'm eyeing. I've only started building a library in the past few months, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

>> No.17879836
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17879836

>>17879676
Why if it's been sold as a collectors set are the four books combined into two?

>>17879806
For what it's worth Wolfe only wrote the coda because his publisher/editor(?) wanted him too.

>> No.17879837

>>17879806
Since you haven't read it, I really wouldn't buy this edition, OP. BotNS is not intended to be a picture book. As for the epilogue, the author didn't want to write it (demands of his publisher) and it lacks the polished craft of BotNS. But BotNS is very much worth reading, though it's inaccessible at first for most people. If you want to build a library (and you read primarily in English), Oxford World Classics is a good imprint with cheap, attractive books and generally great translations.

>> No.17879843

>>17879806
Urth is unneeded. It isn't part of the original Botns lineup as Wolfe wanted.

>> No.17879868

>>17879836
AFAIK, even in paperbacks, must editions have two volumes, each with two books.
>>17879837
I see. I buy paperbacks to read, now I'm trying to make a hardback/collector's library.
>inb4 REEEEEEE
I know, I know, I go to shelf threads. It doesn't matter, they look good to me and I like having complete sets from certain publishers.
>>17879843
I see. Well, that's something to consider.

>> No.17879912

>>17879868
REEEEEEEEEE!

It's your money, do what you want with it. There's definitely value in a book that's a beautiful object, but only if the book itself is valuable. At the end of the day, books are meant to be read. In addition to the Folio Society (which is consistently beautiful), I also like the Franklin Library, although some of its designs can be Barnes-and-Noble-tier ugly.

>> No.17879924

>>17879868
If you're gonna buy the hardcover, you must know that it isn't bombastic or very plot dependent like other fantasy or scifi.

>> No.17879938

>>17879912
>REEEEEEE!
This place hates vanity books, and I get it, but I'm a materialist in such instances, I can't help it. I want to make enough money to have a huge collection, beyond books. Antiques, statues, first editions, everything.
>but only if the book itself is valuable
Well, I'm just now getting into it. I have some B&N Leatherbounds (really, only the Lovecraft one), some Canterbury Leatherbounds, some other random Leatherbounds, some Penguin and some Everyman's Library Hardcovers. As time goes on I'll pick and choose more High-Tier stuff like Folio, but for now it's a mishmash.
>>17879924
I don't much like Fantasy. I'm not into genre fiction specifically or anything; I don't mind its style, and I've read about its nature.

>> No.17880059

i picked up a secondhand folio for less than the price of a new oxford world classic

they're just a meme really, and pretty unwieldly

>> No.17880486

I was thinking of getting that re-release but apparently its from folios china division which is notorious for sending out scuffed copies, so I wouldn't recommend it this time anon.

>> No.17881290

Now that looks nice. The gaudiness of their books is actually a good fit here.

>> No.17881537

>>17880059
Really? I thought they were the best "high end" book colelctibles.
>>17880486
How can I rell which division the new ones come out from?
>>17881290
I don't think they're too gaudy. Maybe a bit...

>> No.17881543

>>17879676
>Intoduction by Neil Gayman
Into trash it goes

>> No.17881608

>>17881543
My thoughts exactly. It taints a great book and I don't want to give a soulless pseud a paycheck for writing something like "Gene, despite his personal beliefs, was... deep."

>> No.17881661

>>17881543
I will never understand the appeal behind getting a current author to write the foreword to an older author's work; they got fucking Brett Easton Ellis to write a foreword to Blood Meridian, just why

>> No.17881705

>>17881661
>they got fucking Brett Easton Ellis to write a foreword to Blood Meridian, just why
Wtf? Is that recent? I only remember an edition wih Harold Bloom's foreword.

>> No.17881716

>>17881661
>BEE
Which edition? I have the picador classic with Meyer's foreword which is pretty kino.

>> No.17881726
File: 160 KB, 1536x983, BloodMeridianTitlePage_rev.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17881726

>>17881705
They announced the Suntup edition a week ago

>https://suntup.press/blood-meridian

>The limited edition of Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is presented in two states: Lettered and Numbered. The editions measure 6” x 9” and feature six watercolor paintings by Rob Wood as well as a new exclusive introduction by Bret Easton Ellis. Both editions are signed by Bret Easton Ellis and Rob Wood. This is the first limited edition of the novel.

>> No.17881746

>>17879676
>195.00 USD for two books
Why though? You could just get the same book in paperback for like $20.

>> No.17881756

>>17881726
What a fucking waste of space. Bret Easton Ellis, a shock jockey in book form writing the foreword to one of the highest aesthetic achievements in American literature, fucking lol

>> No.17881765

>>17881726
Do they ask writers to do it or do the writers ask for it themselves? Writing foreword basically means the work meant a lot to you, so it must be the 2nd one or do publisher's have some other way?

>> No.17881780

>>17881756
BEE is clearly very talented. Try reading him.

>> No.17881783

>>17881765
I mean, if BEE asked to do it because the novel means a lot to him then fine, I guess, but the fact that they had him fucking sign the book itself is just too far

>> No.17881800

>>17881780
>very talented
That's an exaggeration. Very talented is someone like Don DeLillo.

>> No.17881823

>>17881726
>If any copies of the Lettered edition are available when it opens up for public pre-order, those will be sold through a lottery only.

>Demand for our Numbered editions has been far greater than the available supply. Please be aware that there is a chance that this edition may only be available for purchase through a lottery when it opens up for public pre-order.
Fuck! Both editions looked kino.

>> No.17881845

>>17881783
BEE isn't exactly a small time writer, it's probably for prestige given all that handsewn cover and lottery hokum.

>> No.17881921
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17881921

>>17881726

>> No.17881950

>>17881726
>as well as a new exclusive introduction by Bret Easton Ellis. Both editions are signed by Bret Easton Ellis
That's so gross.

>> No.17881968

>>17881921
>the talented hack's talentless hack
that perfectly describes BEE

>> No.17881969

>>17881921
That Lee Iacocca tweet slays.
Well, the two are at least united in their liking for Mccarthy's works.

>> No.17882061

They look tacky as fuck.

>> No.17882114

>>17879837
What makes it inaccessible?

>> No.17882135

Folio are generally good releases but I'd never pay what they ask for them.

Have got loads of their stuff from next to nothing off ebay. Their older editions tend to be a bit less gaudy than the new stuff too.

>> No.17882181

>>17882114
A lot of the things are only hinted at and since it is Severian narrating the entire story, we see everything from his perspective. It's inaccessible for a genre work, but if you read literary fiction you'll feel right at home.

>> No.17882533
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17882533

>>17879676
Don't spend $195 on a set of books you've never read before. If you want to spend the big bucks on a collectible edition of BotNS, try tracking down a set of the original cheap hardcovers with the cool cover art. The illustrations in this one are kind of weird, is pic related supposed to be Valeria in the Atrium of Time? That's not how I pictured it at all.
Also, OP, you should read Urth even if it wasn't originally meant to be part of the series. It's a good book in its own right, and while the beginning is kind of rough the ending adds a lot to the original story. I don't know about the Long Sun and Short Sun books, they're set in the same universe but I get the impression they're their own things.
One other piece of advice I feel like I have to give to anyone interested in reading BotNS is that the books are nowhere near as complicated as some people make them out to be. There are certainly many parts of the story that might take more than one read to figure out, but the overall message/moral is very clear. Severian's unreliability as a narrator is also overrated.