The Children of Húrin out today!

[smc100]

This sucks! I finally get my deluxe copy today and the cover is on upsidedown and backwards and there is no fold-out map in it.
Does anyone else have this issue? Its the Houghton Mifflin edition.

 

[goliath]

This sucks! I finally get my deluxe copy today and the cover is on upsidedown and backwards and there is no fold-out map in it.
Does anyone else have this issue? Its the Houghton Mifflin edition.

Well, that does suck. I received mine yesterday, but haven't unwrapped it yet. Will do today to check and see...

 

[noelleon69]

Yes.... pics please!

 

[goliath]

Mmmhh...

So, that's what the picture looks on amazon.co.uk:

and on amazon.com

I ordered mine on amazon.com and it looks like this:

, not like any of the two...?

And where are the maps supposed to be?

there is no fold-out map in it.

Does anybody have a source saying that there are supposed to be fold-out maps?

 

[goliath]

Edit to above:

It even says on the slip of paper that came with it:

A brand-new red-and-black Map of Beleriand, drawn by Christopher Tolkien, appears as a fold-out sheet.

So WTF?

 

[gtb]

You mean it doesn't comes in shrinked-wrapped? anyway, there was a delay in the delivery, so perhaps the design which includes the fold out map is taken out last minute??

Is there any other special "features" about the US version?

 

[Wetanut]

It wasn't until you mentioned it that I went back to my copy and checked it out. Sure enough...it's backwards and upside down as well. The map IS there....in the back.

Dunno what to do.....return it and get a correct replacement or keep this as a printing anomalie and mebbe will it to my kids so they can watch it go up in value (like upside down stamps) in 20-30 years' time.

 

[goliath]

You mean it doesn't comes in shrinked-wrapped? anyway, there was a delay in the delivery, so perhaps the design which includes the fold out map is taken out last minute??

Mine was shrink-wrapped and the slip of paper mentioning the map was inside of the shrink-wrap.

It wasn't until you mentioned it that I went back to my copy and checked it out. Sure enough...it's backwards and upside down as well. The map IS there....in the back.

I guesss I must be misunderstanding the "upside down" issue. Couldn't you just turn the slipcase and it wouldn't be upside down anymore? I mean, there is no "left" or "right" side of the slipcase.

I could take the book out of my slipcase, turn it 180 degrees and slip my book back in - now the imprint on my slipcase would also be "upside down", still looking "backwards" (away from the book's spine) as it was before.

Or am I missing the point?

 

[lcummins]

It wasn't until you mentioned it that I went back to my copy and checked it out. Sure enough...it's backwards and upside down as well. The map IS there....in the back.

Dunno what to do.....return it and get a correct replacement or keep this as a printing anomalie and mebbe will it to my kids so they can watch it go up in value (like upside down stamps) in 20-30 years' time.

Yeah, but if all are like this, then it wouldn't mean much!

I need to check mine when I get home tonight!


And speaking of sucky things... I ordered the regular hardback from Amazon way back in Nov 2006 (I think the first day they listed it) along with the Deluxe edition. Because of the delay with the Deluxe edition, my regular hardback didn't ship when everyone else's did, so I was looking at it a couple of nights ago and realized it is a bloody 2nd printing!!! What gives??? I thought I read that they were going to a 2nd printing only a couple of weeks ago... how could Amazon have shipped me a 2nd printing already??? And why should I pre-order months in advance if I'm not guaranteed a 1st printing!!! I'm calling them tonight to see what they can do, which is probably nothing because of course, it never says anywhere on their site that they guarantee a 1st printing!!! Good thing I secured one of the signed ones from NY; it is a 1st printing!

 

[Wetanut]

Mine was shrink-wrapped and the slip of paper mentioning the map was inside of the shrink-wrap.



I guesss I must be misunderstanding the "upside down" issue. Couldn't you just turn the slipcase and it wouldn't be upside down anymore? I mean, there is no "left" or "right" side of the slipcase.

I could take the book out of my slipcase, turn it 180 degrees and slip my book back in - now the imprint on my slipcase would also be "upside down", still looking "backwards" (away from the book's spine) as it was before.

Or am I missing the point?

The slipcase isn't the issue. It's the actual book. They've bound the covers upside down and backwards. In other words, the front cover is on the back and it's upside down to boot.

And Lonnie...you're right about the value of this if bajillion copies of the deluxe was printed bound and sent out this way. While you're on the phone with them, couldja ask about this as well?

 

[goliath]

I see the "upside-down issue now".

again, I've just checked my book again, and it does have the fold-out map in the back. I guess by "a brand-new red-and-black Map of Beleriand", I was expecting a bit more.

Sooo, everything seems to be fine with my copy, just that it doesn't look like any of the pics on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

 

[Darth Caedus]

My last final's tomorrow and then I can actually have time to read the book. Question: Can I pick it up at the local Borders [will they have any?], or do you have to order it online?

 

[carbo-fation]

My last final's tomorrow and then I can actually have time to read the book. Question: Can I pick it up at the local Borders [will they have any?], or do you have to order it online?

It depends, mines still had some left as of Monday.

 

[smc100]

I found the map, it was stuck to another page in the back and I missed it. I e-mailed Amazon and they are going to ship me a replacement but I just got an automatic reply and it didn't say if this is on all of them or not.
First they delay it a month and still screw it up. If the replacement is the same I think I'll just get the regular edition.

 

[lcummins]

The slipcase isn't the issue. It's the actual book. They've bound the covers upside down and backwards. In other words, the front cover is on the back and it's upside down to boot.

And Lonnie...you're right about the value of this if bajillion copies of the deluxe was printed bound and sent out this way. While you're on the phone with them, couldja ask about this as well?

Will do! Especially if they will send a replacement.

 

[noelleon69]

goliath, it's all a misunderstanding. you were wondering why the book that you received did not look like either of the 2 pictures from Amazon. look carefully and it actually IS the same as the UK Harper Collins edition. the picture just didn't show the other side of the slipcase where the helmet print is printed just like yours. i guess you were all jumpy because you didn't see how the UK version looks like. here you go....

thanks for the pictures goliath, it confirmed what i thought all along. that the slip case should be of the same design for both publishers and the picture on amazon for the US version is not accurate.

 

[goliath]

goliath, it's all a misunderstanding. you were wondering why the book that you received did not look like either of the 2 pictures from Amazon. look carefully and it actually IS the same as the UK Harper Collins edition. the picture just didn't show the other side of the slipcase where the helmet print is printed just like yours.

Thanks for your pics Noelleon, but I have to insist: my book (Houghton Mifflin US edition) does not look like any of the two pics on amazon.com / amazon.co.uk.

The slipcase and the front of my book have the helmet logo in the same place as the amazon.co.uk picture, but the book's spine is different: The book title is printed vertically on my book, not horizontally as in both pictures.

So, to sum it up, the amazon.co.uk is 100% correct for what you get as the Harper Collins UK edition, the amazon.com picture is incorrect about the book as well as the slipcase for what you get as the Houghton Mifflin US edition.


I was hoping for some consistency within the Houghton Mifflin JRRT editions, but nah, neither size nor style nor layout are the same...:

 

[Vader AL]

Thanks for your pics Noelleon, but I have to insist: my book (Houghton Mifflin US edition) does not look like any of the two pics on amazon.com / amazon.co.uk.

The slipcase and the front of my book have the helmet logo in the same place as the amazon.co.uk picture, but the book's spine is different: The book title is printed vertically on my book, not horizontally as in both pictures.

So, to sum it up, the amazon.co.uk is 100% correct for what you get as the Harper Collins UK edition, the amazon.com picture is incorrect about the book as well as the slipcase for what you get as the Houghton Mifflin US edition.


I was hoping for some consistency within the Houghton Mifflin JRRT editions, but nah, neither size nor style nor layout are the same...:

thanks for these pics because i have the hobbit that you have shown and have been trying to decide which version of the other two to get. i think instead of the one you have shown i'm going to get the red "leather" collector's edition(link below) version of LOTR because it seems to look better with the green version Hobbit book. i think i'll wait for another version of COH that goes better with the other 2.

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-C...0380137?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179964164&sr=8-6

 

[lcummins]

Ok, no problems with my Deluxe version; that is, the pages aren't upside down, so I don't know how widespread that problem will turn out to be.


Just got off the phone with Amazon customer service. First off, the lady was very nice, but didn't seem to have a clue about book printings and I had to explain the difference between a 1st and 2nd printing! You would think a company that was founded on book sales would train their employees about books!

So here's the deal... she is going to check with the warehouse to see if they have a 1st printing available to replace my 2nd printing (fat chance!). Not much I can do, because no where on their site does it guarantee you will get a 1st printing even if you ordered the first day it was available. But on the positive side, from what I can find online, the 1st printing was 200,000 copies in the US, and the 2nd printing is only 100,000 copies, so it is actually rarer. I can't complain since I was fortunate enough to get one of the signed 1st printings.

Now, for you guys that got the upside-down Deluxe copies, I asked about this as well. They could not guarantee that a replacement would be a 1st printing. She said they would either replace it for you, or offer an approximate 20% refund of $9.00. Sucks! But then again, looking on the bright side of life, you might have a rarity that will be worth something in the future. You might want to go to eBay and get a 1st printing there while they can still be found at a reasonable price. I almost wish I had gotten one of the "error" copies. Anybody want to sell theirs?

Good luck guys! You will probably receive a different answer if you call about your upside-down copies, so it will interesting to see all the ways Amazon handle this. Post your results if you do try for a replacement!

 

[tomandshell]

Here's my dumb question: So how can you tell if it's a first printing?