levi-person asked: I mean no disrespect, but do you think the price for the Deluxe Edition is justified? You've said books are meant to be read, and I agree, but I would be hesitant to read it for fear I'd damage it. I preordered one in March; I'm just curious.
I was very uncomfortable with the Deluxe Edition of Stardust, which was basically the normal edition with a colour illustration instead of the usual one. So I asked Harper Collins to please pull out the stops and make sure that the OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE deluxe edition was as good as any signed limited editions done by small press publishers. They gave it to Dave McKean, who made something really beautiful, in full colour throughout, with a special slipcase. There are 2000 of them only, and I’ve signed all of them.
Is the price justified? I have no idea. The equivalent Subterranean Press and Hill House editions have all sold out. I just checked on AbeBooks and the Subterranean Press Graveyard Book goes for $650-$750, the Hill House American Gods goes from between $400 and $2,600, which means I guess that it’s justified as an investment, and more to the point, it’s justified if it’s something that you want to own and hold and read and touch and have in your home. It’s justified if you want to pay the price for the object.
If you just want to read the words, and you do not care about the Dave Mckean design or images then no, of course it’s not justified. You should get the regular hardback version, and if you cannot justify spending the money on a hardback, you should wait for the paperback, or get the ebook version.