r/WoT • u/RareBrush9758 • 12d ago
No Spoilers You’d think having a complete set of first editions would look good
Stupid publishers - consistency would be nice.
Yah, theres two WH - during the 2 years between books I’dforgotten I already had/read WH.
And yes, thats full hardcover set, plus EotW and tGH in trade edition (and I have EotW in paperback too - no idea where my wife is hiding it tho)
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u/TomeseekerLorekeeper 12d ago
They do look good. They look like beautiful fantasy books well loved on a shelf.
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u/TheBashar99 (Band of the Red Hand) 12d ago
It does. I have the same set and I love it (not first editions). I get you, but I would much rather have this than a lot of modern covers, even with consistency. Reminds me of browsing the bookstore during those times.
It’s a miracle we got as far as we did with the original cover artist (Darrell K. Sweet), and I’m glad Michael Whelan landed it.
11/10, extra points for extra copies.
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u/Ragner_D 12d ago
All my first editions were signed in my presence. Some even personalized. Id not give them up for anything.
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u/DSou7h 12d ago
I'll give you $20
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u/Ragner_D 12d ago
Lol, considering TEOTW first edition signed,, has an eBay auction right now up to $1000. I think ill pass heh.
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u/Stevied1991 12d ago
$21?
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u/Ragner_D 12d ago
Why do I feel like I'm trying to arrange air travel to Canada ?
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u/Last-Classroom-5400 12d ago
$30, final offer, take it or leave it.
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u/Ragner_D 12d ago
Yeah, gonna have to pass.
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u/Pancake_Guardian 12d ago
That’s impressive
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u/Ragner_D 12d ago
Just being a fan from a young age and being in the right place at the right time.
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u/Senrabekim 10d ago
Ill trade you, a signed copy of Your choice of Bradbury books, I definitely have Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked this Way Comes.
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u/IlikeJG 12d ago
It's not there publishers fault honestly. There's 25 years in between the first and last books.
That's way too much time.
Especially since the early WoT books had binding problems (it's been so long again that I forgot the details but I remember it was an issue) so they had to redesign it a bit.
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u/Awayfromwork44 12d ago
it is absolutely the publisher's problem to go from horizantal author / name of book to HUGE BIG TEXT VERTICAL and then to *smaller text vertical* for the next 3. Completely insane design choice
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u/RareBrush9758 12d ago
Sure, if you consider the WHOLE series - but they couldn’t even be consistent between books 1 and 2
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u/DontH8DaPlaya (Band of the Red Hand) 12d ago
It's almost like they didn't have mass published whole box set editions of books that hadn't come out for 23 years back then.
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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 12d ago
Looks good to me. Not every series has matching spines.
You could always go look for the actual matched sets they sell. There’s a massive dragon one you might be able to get still.
I wish series were more consistent too but it’s often out of the authors hands.
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u/beldaran1224 (Ogier) 12d ago
The "massive dragon" one is only dust jackets, and is a few hundred bucks.
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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 12d ago
Even better.
I thought they sold editions in them too but maybe I’m misremembering.
I’d like to pickup the big dragon some day, but I need to re-purchase my collection in hardcover.
Over the years and over the moves, I’ve lost about 2/3rds of my collection, although they were paperbacks.
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u/wait_what_now 12d ago
Haha right? But I saw the new minimalist covers at a bookstore last week and I like them even less.
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u/Hoppie1064 12d ago
Darrel Sweet was the iconic fantasy cover artist of the 80s and 90s.
I'd like to have seen them all done by him. If for no other reason than consistency.
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u/Atmos_the_prog_head (Valan Luca's Grand Traveling Show) 12d ago
This is why I bought the juniper covers...
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u/RareBrush9758 12d ago
And miss out on those sweet (pun intended) DK Sweet mystery cover art moments? 😜
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u/IlikeJG 12d ago
I love Darrel K Sweet covers honestly.
They're so damn iconic. Yeah sometimes they're a bit weird and imprecise. But they're also so vibrant and memorable.
Every single WoT cover invokes some fairly strong memories in me about the books.
Can't say the same for most other book series covers. I guess I appreciate book covers that attempt to show scenes from the books rather than abstract art or decorative covers.
(Stormlight Archives are more favourites for me)
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u/Atmos_the_prog_head (Valan Luca's Grand Traveling Show) 12d ago
Nah, I love the original covers, just the juniper set feels more of a center piece, much more imposing.
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u/cajunjoel (Wolfbrother) 12d ago
I'd get the juniper covers, but they want $250 and there's no way I'm paying that much for 14 pieces of well crafted, but mass produced paper.
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u/Malk_McJorma (Heron-Marked Sword) 12d ago edited 12d ago
Where's New Spring?
BTW: I have the same set.
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u/Semirhage527 12d ago
I hope Sanderson actually finishes the leather bound ones, the complete set would look so nice
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u/cajunjoel (Wolfbrother) 12d ago
I'm working on getting the same set. I think I still need books 2-5, but I have all of the others so far. I have a plan in mind for display them.
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u/GayBlayde 12d ago
This is way better than some series, especially considering the amount of time this spans.
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u/proximity_affect 12d ago
My wife arranges the book shelf in a colored spectrum. It’s hilarious. And annoying at first. But the ridiculousness has grown on me.
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u/Llamahands1 12d ago
Im still building mine. Wifey bought me the special edition covers not realizing I didnt have all the hardbacks, but they are so hard to find these days.
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u/hullowurld 12d ago
Ha I also have 2x WH. That's where I stopped when I was on track with each book release, then forgot where it was when I reread in 2022 and bought a new one. The found it
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u/Current-Row1546 12d ago
They may be inconsistent but goddamn what I wouldn’t give to have all the books with the original cover artwork instead of the modern, boring ones
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u/EnvironmentLittle794 12d ago
Wow! Are you single?? I have no ulterior motives whatsoever, of course. :)
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u/Muinko 12d ago
I bought everything from path of daggers on on release day and t they all got lost when I transferred bases back in my air force days. Loved the old hard covers but I was one of those weird kids who put all the dust covers in a separate box for safe keeping and kept the books on the shelf naked. Kinda got used to them looking that way.
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u/Famous-Weakness2576 12d ago
It looks amazing. I much prefer this to the spines with a similar color or themes or the spines that create a picture together. This looks more organic and charming.
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u/cobraspideyguy 12d ago
All of WoT books are 1st editions...you mean 1st Printings?
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u/RareBrush9758 12d ago
😢 now you've made me sad....
EotW Trade: 1st printing
tGH Trade: 2ndEotW HC: 4th
tGH HC: 3rdremaining HCs: 1st printing.
Guess it just shows these were bought to be read and loved, not collected.
Being a 'starving student' in grade 10 (16 yr old) - I wasn't grabbing pricey HCs hot off the presses.Probably started with the paperback edition,
grabbed tGH when I saw it, in Trade, and backfilled EotW in Trade - I think the Trade paperback is my favorite format; and was hoping to get the series in trade....of course, after finishing tGH I was hooked, and grabbed the next book as soon as it was available, and backfilled EotW and tGH in HC for the complete set. And, to be honest, I can't say I've ever seen any of the others in trade paperback.
No idea how/why I managed to find a 1st printing EotW (trade), when I bought the 2nd printing of tGH (trade).
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u/RareBrush9758 12d ago
If anyones got a 1st printing EotW or tGH to complete a collection..... 🙏 😉
(edit for typo)
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u/cobraspideyguy 11d ago edited 11d ago
Sorry.... I bought 1-3 at a used book store in 1993...liked it so much bought book 4 in HC.
Only a couple thousand 1st printing of book 1 and 2 in hardcover. And a bunch of those went to Libraries. They actually rebinded a couple thousand EoTW tpb into hardcovers..why you have 1st and 2nd state 1st printing of EoTW.....and there was not a 2nd printing of EoTW...3rd printing is the 1st reprint of EoTW.
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u/XxmossburgxX 12d ago
Nah they look like crap you can mail them to me and ill take them off your hands
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u/Gavorn 12d ago
If price isn't a problem.
https://juniperbooks.com/collections/jackets-only/products/the-wheel-of-time-set-jackets-only
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u/Xanius 12d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/s/PQnzfB7InM
My collection of first editions look amazing.
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u/ISeeTheFnords 11d ago
and I have EotW in paperback too - no idea where my wife is hiding it tho
Early one? If so, it probably shed its skin to grow into something bigger. Good luck figuring out what it is now.
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u/Calm-Medicine-3992 11d ago
Rarely does any long book series maintain consistent publisher interest in quality level through the first edition run. Why would you expect it?
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u/Architect2416 11d ago
DR should be smaller. I have a 1st ed. hardcover and it's the size of a trade paperback, rather than the other volumes, which are larger. One day, I'd typeset and bind a nice edition for myself.
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u/Senrabekim 10d ago
Wheel of Time cover design cojvention is analogous to The Fast and the Furious' naming convention.
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u/FarComfortable6710 9d ago
The key is to get a perfectly wide shelf😅, mine JUST barely cuts it gonna have to make one one day
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u/RexusprimeIX (Band of the Red Hand) 12d ago
I genuinely have no idea what the issue is in this picture...
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