That looks absolutely gorgeous.
That looks absolutely gorgeous.
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
Okay, here goes!
Like I said, I ordered a copy of the Scholomance Edition on Sunday night. It was dispatched the following morning and in my hands by Tuesday afternoon. Less than forty hours from order to delivery; I know some companies that can learn a thing or two from that. *cough cough*
I bought this book to replace my copy of the Centipede Press edition. That allowed me to cover some of the cost of this edition, which is admittedly quite high. Is the book itself worth €299? Are the upgrades of the Scholomance Edition worth another €450? I don't know... It is certainly a unique book and I feel like I got my money's worth - but for me, it was not €749 for a new book, but rather around €200 for an upgrade from the CP edition.
This is the most expensive book I ever bought directly from a publisher. Even Suntup's Rosemary's Baby was cheaper. Although that book has fewer gimmicks, it does have a couple of signatures, letterpress printing and high-quality paper. I guess what I'm saying is this: this book is undeniably very expensive, but also a joy to (be)hold. Everyone thinking of buying a copy should ask themselves how much unicity is worth to them. Then again, that goes for all the books we collect. Hell, Dracula is in the public domain, which means any amount you spend on it, no matter how small, is "wasted" to some extent.
I'm rambling... On to the pictures!
Here's the book in its case:
Here's a close-up of the clasp used to close the lid. It's remarkably intricate:
The publisher's logo on the front of the box (it also appears like this elsewhere), with a bat hanging upside down. A nice touch, I think:
The plexiglass window with the dirt behind it. I was surprised to see that they didn't pack it tightly in there. I would say it's about a centimetre deep and when you move the box, the dirt shifts around. Pretty cool!
(By the way, I did some research on Google and Wikipedia. Turns out the place where this dirt is from, Bran Castle in Romania, has no real connection whatsoever with Dracula or Bram Stoker, other than tourism. The book's description of Dracula's castle does not match the design of Bran Castle and it's unclear if Stoker even knew of this place's existence. However, it is located in Transylvania, so for the stated purpose - letting Dracula rest on his native soil - it "counts," as it were.)
The material used for the cover of the book itself is incredibly soft and has a lovely vibrant colour. It's the kind of fabric you can draw on, if you know what I mean:
Endpapers:
The title page with the bloody calligraphy. This was a major selling point for me. I love the creepiness of it. I got number 6/50 (stated here on this page and engraved into the side of the box's interior):
Table of contents. The afterword contains pretty much the same information that is already available on the publisher's website. They explain their creative process clearly, which I enjoy reading about. Another nice touch: the book's text ends on page 666. That cannot be a coincidence...
Another nice touch: whenever there is an illustration, the respective piece of text is highlighted in bold, so you know what you're looking at. Small detail, but I like it.
I love the illustrations in this edition. The ones in the Centipede Press edition are nice, but I was never a fan of the faces of the human characters. They look too happy and upbeat, considering their situation. The illustrations in this edition are far more gritty.
Last batch of pictures to illustrate another nice touch. Seeing as how this is an epistolary novel, it consists entirely of diary fragments, letters, etc. They included little illustrations next to each section. There are dozens of these throughout the book:
One final point of concern: the packaging they used to ship this to me was abysmal. It was wrapped in a single layer of thin bubblewrap and placed, along with a few dozen packing peanuts, in a one-millimetre-thick box (I measured it). That was then placed in a DHL shipping bag. I contacted the publisher to congratulate them on a fine production and advised them to up their packing game for such valuable items. Otherwise, someone is bound to receive a box of wood chips sooner or later.
(Edit: Marko at AB replied to my message. He says they have already upgraded to much sturdier boxes. Those just hadn't come in yet earlier this week and they were so eager to release the book that they sent the first batch out in the inferior boxes. He even included a picture of the new boxes and he's right, they'll do just fine.)
Overall, I am very impressed with Amaranthine Books' quality of service and the book itself. I'll be keeping a close eye on what they do next.
That's all, folks!
Looks stunning !
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CLUB STEPHEN KING (french website about STEPHEN KING, since 1992) : on : Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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That's quite impressive.
Nice artwork.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Hello everyone!
This is Marko from Amaranthine Books, Munnecom was nice enough to inform me about this discussion and invite me over. I hope no one minds, I'm just here to answer if you have any questions regarding these editions.
The books have been in development about a year before we were ready to release them, so we were very eager to get them out. And the story ending on page 666 was definitely not a coincidence We like to put little design Easter Eggs in our books so people can find them when they read them.
As mentioned, the difference in the books themselves is that Scholomance Edition Dracula has a red eye (according to the story, his eyes turned from blue to red when he was angered) and there are header illustrations behind the title written in blood (the blades are not chosen randomly, yet another design Easter Egg).
The idea was to build on Transylvania Edition with special elements, not have one edition and then reduce things that should be included (i.e. illustrations, materials etc.). We like to go 'guns blazing' into the development, so to speak. This results in limited deluxe edition of the books which are higher priced, but we feel that is better way than discarding good ideas for the sake of the cost.
As for Bran Castle, they currently claim they are 'the one'. Obviously, there is no concrete proof, but since they managed to brand it that way, it made more sense for us to be connected with them than to get just any Transylvanian soil Besides, this way we had their guarantee when they signed a certificate.
Also, thank you everyone for the kind words, the whole team is very happy that the books have gathered so much praise in such a short time. Please ask away if you have any questions about Amaranthine Books or our editions.
Beautiful book, one of the best I have seen. Very tempting....
Wish List:
Any of the following flatsigned or inscribed-
It, Shining, Salem’s Lot, Mr. Mercedes, The Stand
Brother ARC, Seed ARC
I sent the publisher a link to this thread and invited them to make an account here, so they might show up later.
I know one other member who has already bought a copy, so the fever is spreading...
That is a beautiful book!
Wow. That is an incredible production
Thanks so much for posting such a great review (and pics!) of this new Dracula edition. I've been waiting for this to come out for quite awhile now, and was starting to think it was abandoned since there have been no updates for a very long time. It certainly looks interesting. There's a LOT to like about it from the pics you've posted; I especially LOVE the little icon devices for each medium of communication in the novel. That is a wonderful touch! It's such a strong element of the book, and a really neat idea they've incorporated into the text. The illustrations are unique, and the binding looks properly regal, befitting a Count.
But, boy is it expensive! Even the "regular" edition (which is the one I would be interested in) is $340. I do consider myself a fairly dedicated Dracula collector- that is just too much for me. In any case, I really appreciate your post about it, and getting a good enough look inside to get a good feel for it. Congrats on yours- which is a really cool entry to the legacy of Dracula editions.
Hi Marko, welcome to the board!
I noticed that! I have not actually read Dracula myself, bu I have a bad habit of reading the endings of books first, so I got the significance of the knives’ design.
Another thing I just found, looking over my own post: the icon for the telegrams (dot-dot-dot / dash-dash-dash / dot-dot-dot) spells “S.O.S.” in Morse code. Another “coincidence”?
Can you reveal anything about your next book at this stage?
Munnecom-
Thanks for the details and photos; it’s the next best thing to having it in my hands. Looks fantastic.
You can't be aloof until you advertise.
Hello, All!
I'm the proud owner of the number 9 copy of Amaranthine Books’ Scholomance edition of Dracula, and she’s a beauty! I’m not going to post any pics, because Munnecom has already done a bang-up job of that. I’ll just add that, in my opinion, it’s not simply the aesthetically pleasing nature of the production, but also all of the story-relevant “surprises” embedded within the production which really make it special!
As soon as I came across the Amaranthine Dracula post on here, my interest was piqued, but I was on the fence about purchasing a copy for several reasons. These included the fact that the company was situated outside of the the U.S. as well as my concerns about the proper packing of the book for shipment. So, after privately contacting a tdt.org member (who was very helpful), I contacted Amaranthine Books (last Saturday), and Marko got back to me almost immediately. What ensued was what I can only describe as the best customer service experience I’ve ever had, bar none. (This is not an exaggeration.) Marko and I spent a couple of hours emailing back and forth, the end result of which was that he readily agreed to ship my copy per my packing requests, at no extra cost to me. He also informed me that Amaranthine Books fully insures their books with DHL, on the off-chance that something should go awry during shipment. So, I bought a copy that day, and felt completely comfortable with my purchase. My copy arrived safely here, in Rhode Island, a few days later, and I’m extremely pleased with it!
Disclaimer: I’m not associated with Amaranthine Books in any way, manner or form. I purchased my copy at full price. I decided to do this review simply because I’m thrilled with my beautiful new book and with the exemplary customer service which I received.
Sincerely,
Michael
Congratulations, Michael!
Marko is having some difficulties getting his account activated. Once that is sorted, I'm sure he'll show up more often around here.
Wow! What a beautiful edition! Thank you sharing your pics and experiences, Munnecom and Michael.
Marko, thank you for joining in and providing insight into your process. Your team’s work is quite impressive!
"...that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little." ~ Ray Bradbury
Just out of curiosity, because I do not collect George R.R. Martin books, would it be considered a safe investment to purchase the upcoming Folio Society edition of GAME OF THRONES?
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Wanted: Human skin edition of The Book of the Dead. Will accept PC copy.
That's a beautiful book. I haven't read Dracula (yet), but the design on that one is great.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
Peter Townshend of the Who has a new fictional book coming out. Even if it's no good it's a nice collectible since Goldsboro is selling autographed copies.
http://goldsborobooks.com/product/th...nxiety-a-novel
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
All three states? I have the unsigned one on layaway through Camelot. It's still very limited.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...