The Collectible James S. A. Corey (AKA Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)

[Zaphod]

Subterranean Press has announced a limited edition of Leviathan Wakes (http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/leviathan_wakes), the first novel in The Expanse (an ongoing SF/space opera series). I thought I'd start a thread now as a heads-up for any book collectors who missed the announcement or haven't yet heard of the series.

I've been a fan of The Expanse for a while but sadly up to now there hasn't really been much to collect; the first two books in the series were released in hardcover by a US book club, I believe the third was only ever available in paperback and books four and five have been released as publisher hardbacks. I don't really collect paperbacks or book club editions so I've stuck with eBook copies of the novels so far. I've been hoping that a nice set of hardbacks would be made available at some point so I snapped up the signed limited as soon as I spotted it :)

I suspected Sub Press might pick up the series (it seems to be quite popular and SP have already published a few other works by Daniel Abraham) and it looks like the recent debut of a TV show based on the series has spurred them on. Of course only the first book has been announced but if it sells well then I imagine Sub Press will publish the rest of them too. There have been a few Expanse novellas in addition to the five novels, so there is scope for an anthology release later on.

Has anybody else here ordered a copy of Leviathan Wakes?

[becca69]

I just ordered one. I'll give it a shot - Ty was GRRMs assistant for a while. Looks like there are 19 copies left.

[Joe315]

I ordered one as well. I wish these recent offerings from SP (The Martian, RPO, and now LW) would include more artwork then just the cover.

[Zaphod]

Yeah, a lot of the SP limited editions are short on features. The absence is particularly felt on the lettered versions, which are often the same as the numbered editions apart from being bound in leather and coming with a traycase. That appears to be the case for the lettered edition of Leviathan Wakes, which was priced at $350. At that price an extra illustration or two, perhaps a gatefold, is not too much to ask.

I have to wonder how much blame the authors need to shoulder for this. Bill Shafer is in this game to make money, each extra illustration he adds increases his production costs and lowers the amount of profit per book, so he has a strong incentive to keep these editions as bare-bones as possible. It seems to work for him, at least you are almost guaranteed to get what you ordered from Sub Press in the end, which is more than can be said for some small press publishers*.

However Bill presumably has to negotiate with the authors to get the rights to publish a limited edition, when he does that I imagine he submits a proposal of what he'd like to produce and the intended selling price. I wonder if the better featured books are the ones where the author cares enough about the book they (and their fans) end up with to enter into a dialogue, and the bare-bones books are the result of the author just saying yes please and banking the cheque.

* I'm still bitter about Hill House, where the ineptitude of the founders led to the collapse of the business, taking a big chunk of my money with it. B******s.

[becca69]

This is why I won't be ordering the lettered editions for these types of books. The $75 price point is fine sans illustrations/extras but the lettered editions really do need something else in my opinion to justify the extra cost - at least one color illustration would be worth it. This is why I sold my lettered Martian.

[mkberger]

I have a copy of the numbered state coming, excusing myself from the vow to never again buy expensive reprints as it's not January 1 yet. I agree with Becca that it's hard to justify the lettered editions based on features, but there have been a few that were drop-dead beautiful and if you love a book, and don't mind the entry fee, it's worth a roll of the dice.

[Lookwhoitis]

I just ordered one. I'll give it a shot - Ty was GRRMs assistant for a while. Looks like there are 19 copies left.
It's good stuff, Becca

[herbertwest]

Syfy started releasing the tv series based on this.

[WeDealInLead]

Good points by Becca and zaphod. I don't want to bum Bill from SP out, but recent lettereds have been very underwhelming, not just the bare bones production, but the bang vs. buck ratio. $500 for a basic book in a traycase? $150 for a S/L without a slipcase? This really sucks because they publish my favourite authors. I passed on lettereds by Powers, Moore, Ellison, and Mieville. Why bother? They re identical to numbered editions.

I'll give these a try though. Or maybe I'll track down the paperback firsts. Paperbacks don't scare me and the true first is the true first.

[Zaphod]

The numbered edition has shipped. It's an oversized book like The Martian and has a fully illustrated jacket without any logos/writing. While I like the fact that the jacket art is unobscured I'm tempted to have a slipcase made with the title/author name.

Sub Press are currently allowing owners of LW to order the matching copy of the second book, Caliban's War, so it looks very likely they'll publish the whole series :thumbsup:

[becca69]

It's possible SP will do a slipcase for the set like they did with The Shattered Sea series. You might wait and see what happens.

[ValHallAwaits]

It's possible SP will do a slipcase for the set like they did with The Shattered Sea series. You might wait and see what happens.

I'm hoping they do, and the limited really is beautiful on the shelf as it is.

Looking to get into lettered before the preorder period ends on book 2. Any and all leads/PMs welcome.

[Zaphod]

It's possible SP will do a slipcase for the set like they did with The Shattered Sea series. You might wait and see what happens.

I think that is unlikely. There are already five books in the series, with a sixth due out this year and another three planned. That'd be one large slipcase!

I understand it is expensive to get the hot foil plates made up though, so maybe it'd be worth creating a generic "Expanse by James S. A. Corey" design and then reusing it for all the books in the series, with different colours for each slipcase.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

Resurrecting an old thread here, does anyone have a SP hardcover copy of Leviathan wakes they would consider parting with? Or know of any other hardcover editions that are more readily available? I've seen the $2k set on Abe Books (https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30034073746&searchurl=bi%3Dh%26tn%3Dleviathan%2Bwakes%26sortby %3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1), but really would just like a hardcover for the shelves - doesn't need to be signed, or truly limited.

[Joe315]

There is a hardcover book club edition of LW and Calibans War. Not sure what they run though.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

There is a hardcover book club edition of LW and Calibans War. Not sure what they run though.

I keep reading that but can't seem to find them online. Nothing on eBay or Abe's

[Lurker]

Try Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-The-Expanse-1/dp/B008QPS69I/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547603583&sr=8-1

[Joe315]

There is a hardcover book club edition of LW and Calibans War. Not sure what they run though.

I keep reading that but can't seem to find them online. Nothing on eBay or Abe's


Try Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-The-Expanse-1/dp/B008QPS69I/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547603583&sr=8-1

That’s the one. I have copy and have been thinking of selling since I have the limited set.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

There is a hardcover book club edition of LW and Calibans War. Not sure what they run though.

I keep reading that but can't seem to find them online. Nothing on eBay or Abe's


Try Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-The-Expanse-1/dp/B008QPS69I/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547603583&sr=8-1

That’s the one. I have copy and have been thinking of selling since I have the limited set.

$200 for a BCE feels quite steep. If you're interested in selling yours I would be interested to know your asking price.

[Joe315]

There is a hardcover book club edition of LW and Calibans War. Not sure what they run though.

I keep reading that but can't seem to find them online. Nothing on eBay or Abe's


Try Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-The-Expanse-1/dp/B008QPS69I/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1547603583&sr=8-1

That’s the one. I have copy and have been thinking of selling since I have the limited set.

$200 for a BCE feels quite steep. If you're interested in selling yours I would be interested to know your asking price.

There’s a cheap one on eBay. Pretty rough though.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F37 2571050719

[SystemCrashOverRide]

I did not see that listing and missed it. Would have bought that. Crap.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

It looks like the same copy (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hardback-Rare-Leviathan-Wakes-Corey-James-S-A-HB-SFBC-Limited-Production/292948811209?epid=99548999&hash=item44351c1dc9:g:HzAAAOSwPVFcWbP8:rk:1:pf:0) (complete with unclipped pages) is being re-listed on eBay for $500 US BIN - which is, patently absurd.
If anyone else has found another copy for sale online, or has one, I would love to know. I keep searching various Amazon's (.ca, .com, .co.uk) , abe books and ebay, but to no avail.

[Scoogs]

Barnes and Noble is taking preorders for signed copies of the 10th Anniversary edition of Leviathan Wakes.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leviathan-wakes-james-s-a-corey/1139320490?ean=9780316382250

Preorders are also up for signed copies of Leviathan Falls.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leviathan-falls-james-s-a-corey/1138980340?ean=9780316379366

[Scoogs]

Looks like special editions of Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate to match the 10th Anniversary edition of Leviathan Wakes are due for release on December 12th.
Glad to see they are continuing with these. I'm hoping that means they will do the full series.

"A reversible cover that features the full, uncropped artwork of the original cover art" is also a nice addition.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/calibans-war-james-s-a-corey/1105733641?ean=9780316573337

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abaddons-gate-james-sa-corey/1113742209?ean=9780316573528

[TacomaDiver]

Thanks for the heads up on those two new releases!

[Scoogs]

The Mercy of the Gods, the first book in a new trilogy (not connected to The Expanse), is coming out on August 6, 2024.

Cover art and announcement (https://www.jamessacorey.com/announcing-the-mercy-of-gods-by-james-s-a-corey/)

Space.com article (https://www.space.com/the-expanse-authors-to-launch-epic-new-space-opera-the-mercy-of-gods-in-aug-2024)

[Joe315]

Any one here interested in the hard cover book club editions of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's war?

Both are in VG/VG shape I would say. Caliban has some browning of the paper. LW is clean but has a couple pages that were cut a little long so there is some crimping (can't think of a better term). No fading to the jackets.

Quality isn't great because they are book club copies but they are the first appearance of these 2 in hard cover format.