Bret Easton Ellis: American Psycho, LE (03.ii.26)

Folio's first teaser for Ellis' American Psycho has been released, w. the date set as the February LE.

Illustrated by David Hughes.

Oh Boy…

>1 FitzJames: Let's hope it has a tasteful thickness to it.

To me, that illustrator would be an excellent reason for not buying it.

For me, it's the reverse. I'm still trying to get One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at anything like a reasonable price, and this (maybe not as an LE, but we'll see) is catnip.

>4 SF-72: I think Hughes' style might suit this very well. Looking forward to seeing more.

>5 red_guy:

I got the Suntup edition of that one, it works a lot better for me visually. But to each their own.

>4 SF-72: Yeah I'm not digging the style at all, though I can absolutely see why he's popular. I've always regretted not getting the edition Centipede Press published a few years ago.

>3 A.Godhelm: Well done that man! Hopefully the paper has a watermark.

Need to see more details but this is superb news.

'Twas churlish of me not to provide the email's link, it is q. nicely done:

https://clickom.email.foliosociety.com/f/a/VEZF3sRglyovN76oskwAlw~~/AAAAARA~/sEg...

For what it's worth, I read American Psycho years ago and it was okay. I haven't seen the movie (which I know is famous) and while the book did have some interesting moments, overall I have no desire to read it again. Perhaps a minor spoiler here
(***don't read beyond this if you don't want any potential spoilers****)
-the book is deliberately ambiguous. I saw no need for that. I read an interview with the author where he talks about this, and basically my reaction was that he seemed to kinda shrug his shoulders and say something like "well you know, life is ambiguous" -- anyway, I was not impressed. My personal suggestion, read the original Psycho by Robert Bloch.

>11 FitzJames: That is slick. I signed up for the news letter for this edition but haven't received anything cool like this yet.

"Fully bound in leather and housed in a blood-red slipcase, this Limited Edition features darkly funny illustrations by David Hughes, who brings even the most ghastly scenes to life with a wink and a scalpel-sharp eye for satire.

Limited to 750 copies, inside the pinstripe-lined box, you’ll find a pocket containing Patrick Bateman’s business card and blood-spattered page edges."

>14 FitzJames: The 750 limitation seems high - should be interesting to watch!

>14 FitzJames: The binding looks wonderful, and the tray case with the pin stripe interior is very cool, but I'm having trouble getting around the illustration style. However, if the Bateman business card can have me monologuing my perceiption of life in my head while starring blankly at the random person across from me then I might just have to get it anyways.

>15 HonorWulf: I thought the same, 500 seems safer.

>16 Goran: The pinstripes I approved of! It looks like a paper, but my word, if they had gone for a flannel...

Further details:
£450 | $640
10 illos, 5 of which are double-page spreads
Original introduction by Irvine Welsh, and original afterword by Ellis
512 pages

"We at Folio have had great success with modern cult novels, and they hardly come more culty than this. One of the most controversial and talked-about novels of all time, American Psycho has become more prophetic than ever as it charts the rise of narcissistic sociopaths in 1980s Wall Street—the sort of people that we're now seeing going to the top of US politics. Artist David Hughes is brave enough to tackle some of the more ghastly scenes, but always with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour and a keen eye on the novel's satire. By marrying Bret Easton Ellis' divisive and dangerous text with David Hughes' funny and disturbing illustrations, this will be the perfect edition of the iconic and brilliant satire."

(Article states printed letterpress... Assume limitation insert personally until proved otherwise)









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Source:
https://www.fangoria.com/exclusive-american-psycho-folio-society/

>17 FitzJames: Thank you for this! I don't think i saw it mentioned that he's signed these? Also, I agreed about the letterpress piece. Very likely just the limitation page considering the cost.

That's a lovely binding, but those illustrations totally miss the aesthetics of the book. It lacks the glamour of the social context and the style of the author. It also seems to dismiss the characters as unrealistic grotesques.

I have a list of 10-15 works without accessible nice editions that I would like to have, and American Psycho has been on it for years (as far as I know, there's only the Centipede Press edition, which is extremely expensive due to rarity and not really all that nice of an object). I can't see myself getting this LE though, because of the illustrations.

>19 abysswalker: Something about making the grotesque explicit in the illustrations makes this a difficult one for me as well. In thinking about what an LE could look like I had some ideas about soulless product photography, 80s menswear modelling and condo interiors that hide something more sinister in the background.
"who brings even the most ghastly scenes to life with a wink and a scalpel-sharp eye for satire." seems precisely what his illustrations aren't.

I like the rest of the choices, the gimmicky nature of the business card is actually appropriate here.

Feel like FS are stepping up their game recently.

I won't be purchasing as I've not read this, and it doesn't really appeal to me, but I like the binding and the pinstripe interior of the clamshell

>21 foliolibrary: Agreed! Not for me, but it is a good looking package.

I've been a big Folio Society fan ever since the release of their Suriname album. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on the Suriname album where the solander's presence became more apparent.

I think Beowulf was the Society's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on cryptozoology. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding limited editions. Listen to the brilliant ensemble composition of Heaney, Hicks-Jenkins, and Ramirez. You can practically hear every nuance of every syllable.

In terms of binding craftsmanship, the sheer typography, this edition hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the introduction. In this writing, Janina Ramirez addresses the problems of source authority. The Grendel's mother episode is the highlight of the 980s, about parenthood and commitment. The fight is extremely uplifting. Their poetry is as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in Old English.

>23 InVitrio:

Ha-Ha. I do believe that American Psycho was to be originally typeset in Phil Collins (created specifically for the edition).

>23 InVitrio: It took me a second read to realize what you were doing. The first time I wondered if you'd hit the Christmas cheer a little too hard, a little too early.

Well played!

Some teased illos from the upcoming American Psycho:







---
Source:

https://dailydead.com/exclusive-look-at-interior-artwork-from-the-folio-societys...

Ordinarily I would be interested. But the illustrations look completely, totally, and utterly rancid.

Ghastly.

Agreed. Those look terrible.

I don't know why they keep using this illustrator. I remember previous discussions on here where people didn't buy a book because of his illustrations. That book then went on sale because that was the only way they could get rid of it at last. I wouldn't touch this one with a pole.

I was excited when I saw that the FS would publish a LE of American Psycho, but having seen what the illustrations are like, it’s a total NO go…

And the title page to American Psycho:



---
Source:

https://entertainment-focus.com/2026/01/10/the-folio-society-announces-two-strik...

I'm into the weird art for this book (as someone who knows nothing about American Psycho but is excited to experience it for the first time).

>26 FitzJames: This is some monkey's paw level material for those of us who wished for a fine edition of the book. What the hell is Friday even supposed to be illustrating?

>34 A.Godhelm: Some NSFW badness with a coat-hanger and ladies of the night.

Friday suggests that at 11.45am with a mid-day deadline he was one drawing short.

I imagine a twig and my left toes, could produce more favourable illustrations.

Utter modernist tripe.

>37 LesMiserables: Even if the illustrations weren't 'Utter modernist claptrap', would you be thinking of buying this one? It doesn't seem the sort of thing you normally read.

I don't think Folio are 'lunatic' here; my bet is it will sell well although I don't know if the book or artist are popular enough to break any records.

I want a copy, personally, because I like Hughes's work. It's not exactly beautiful but he's got a sense of humour that I find appealing.

He doesn't seem right for this at all though. You need someone with a level of high quality sophistication, or someone who is the 1%'s idea of a great artist, who gradually loses it.

Thinking about it, Damien Hirst would have been perfect - he's exactly the sort of artist that the Batemans of this world would claim to be "into" to make themselves appear to be on the cutting edge of what's tasteful.

>39 InVitrio: Just curious: Has Hirst ever done a book illustration project?

There's an edition of Origin of Species with one of his paintings on the cover.

>34 A.Godhelm: Actually both "Friday" and the coat hanger are very relevant to the book. Having read the book years ago, I actually think the illustrations are quite appropriate -- typically these are not my cup of tea, but again, very much in line with the book. I will also add, personally I did not enjoy the book. I have this bad habit of finishing books I start, and so I finished reading American Psycho but have no desire to re-read it ever again.

A bit of a spoiler (*** don't read further if you don't want anything spoiled ***)
but the book is purposely ambiguous about many "things". There is somewhat a "consensus" that much of what he (Bateman) did was real, but again, the author has never been willing to clarify. Yeah, the book focuses on societal detachment, the normalization of cruelty, etc. but it was (my opinion) just not a fun read even though it had a few parts I thought were well done. Overall, this ambiguity (arguably because of Bateman's abuse of drugs) does again make the illustrations apropos. Years later I read the "original" Psycho by Robert Bloch and thought that was much better, much more believable, and none of this "well, I'll leave it to the reader to decide what is really happening".

I think the illustrations are great-- appropriate for the material. Kind of reminds me of artists like Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe, etc. frenetic and grotesque. Not something I necessarily need, but given the original cover by Marshall Arisman, this off-putting look really fits.

That art is absolutely crap. Shame, as the binding is nice.

>35 PartTimeBookAddict: >42 astropi: Haha, thanks guys, but I meant I can't tell why Bateman (presumably) looks like a slug or maybe a drawing on a finger. I have actually read the book.
>43 UltansLibrary: I like Steadman's drawings (the FS Fear and Loathing is one of my favourites currently in print), so I'm not opposed to the "modernist claptrap". This just does nothing for me. I'm sure it'll sell though, there's a huge fanbase and other parts of the production are nice.
>42 astropi: As to the ambiguousness I disagree with that consensus and the over the top nature of the book steers it beyond horror into a comedic tone for me, cemented by an ending that's almost too on the nose, yup yup yup. But then I also thought The Sopranos ending was telegraphed very clearly and people insist it's ambiguous as well. So it goes with art I suppose.

I'm at the stage where a new LE that's a definite 'no' is something of a relief.

I really like the colours (there's just something about white leather) and the blood-spattered page edges, and I actually quite like the business card (even though I know it's cheesy). But I find the illustrations and title text absolutely hideous. About the best that can be said on that front is that the relatively sober cover probably makes it the least horrible Hughes edition from the outside. (I hope they never release anything pushing A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court off the top spot on that list.)

It takes all sorts though: glad to see that some like it. And there must be enough in that camp for FS to keep commissioning Hughes.

>45 A.Godhelm: "there's a huge fanbase"

Absolutely, but my sense is that 95% of the fanbase will hate these illustrations (myself included).

The 5 fans who work for the New Yorker might bite.

More seriously, I will be curious to see how quickly it sells.

Not everyone is in it for either the title or the art, so there will be a cluster of FOMO buyers, it's terrible but no other options buyers, LE for LE's sake buyers, etc. And the tiny sliver of fans who actually like the super blunt turbo irony.

An off the wall choice that would have been excellent: find the most glamorous over the top luxury magazine ads from the 1980s illustrating the product placements that regularly occur throughout the story. It would be the perfect mix of aesthetic elevation (the beautiful photography) with sordid soullessness.

>45 A.Godhelm: I'm due for a reread this year. I've read all of his books except for Lunar Park and Glamorama. I think I'll finish off his oeuvre this year along with American Psycho, although I'm not actually anticipating it. I only really like The Rules of Attraction which is also a pretty good movie.

I'm suddenly reminded, comparatively speaking, of how stunningly beautiful the Rob Roy LE illustrations actually were.

>50 LesMiserables: Ha! The ultimate dagger-thrust.

>51 Shotcaller: Or dirk even.

>52 LesMiserables: Or sgian dhubh?

Do not like the contents or the illustrations. One of the few Folio LEs I will skip.

Are there any other fine press versions of this available?

Is this book good? Whenever it gets brought up the discourse only turns to how provocative it is.

>56 brokenwolf: lots of discussion on the book. Below, the first comment is from someone who did not like the book, the second is from someone who called it "brilliant". I did not find the book "brilliant" nor that provocative nor particularly interesting. So I would not recommend it. I thought the original Psycho by Robert Bloch is actually quite a bit more interesting and better written -- but of course it comes down to personal opinion.
https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/zdh570/american_psycho_what_am_i_missing...

>57 astropi: There’s no direct connection between American Psycho and Bloch’s Psycho. Ellis’s title derives from a movie marquee pairing Psycho 3 with American Anthem, but beyond that, the works are separate. Other than both featuring psychopaths (and a shared word in the title), there is not really any reason to consider them in the same breath.

Bloch's Psycho is a psychological horror about split identity and the thin boundary between normalcy and madness, shaped by repression and codependence.

American Psycho is an ambivalent satire about late-1980s elite capitalism, consumerism and status anxiety. (Ambivalent because Ellis is clearly somewhat attracted to the decadent world he lampoons.)

>53 njritchie: Precisely.

>58 abysswalker: I didn't mean to imply there's a direct connection, rather that American Psycho is a deliberate homage and satirical response to the original Psycho (book and film), with nods that include similar names (Bates/Bateman), shared apartment settings, and of course both have very disturbed protagonists, although American Psycho critiques 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism more than anything else.

I think the Bates / Bateman thing is either a coincidence or Ellis was playing a long game - Patrick Bateman is the brother of Sean Bateman, one of the central characters in Ellis' previous (second) novel The Rules of Attraction (I think Patrick makes an appearence there, though he doesn't kill anyone).

Though as most of Ellis' characters (especially in his early novels) are missing something essential in their makeup, possibly he was thinking of the Bates connection when he named Sean

>60 astropi: Do you have anything to back this up - that American Psycho is an homage and satirical response to Psycho?

>62 What_What: It is not an original opinion, but rather simple 'copy and paste' of summary of a googled AI Overview as quite a few online forum posts these days (served below in quotation marks; summarizing it and passing as own is still plagiarizing...):

"American Psycho is widely considered a deliberate homage and satirical response to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (both the original novel by Robert Bloch and the film adaptation), while functioning as its own distinct critique of 1980s consumer culture.

Key connections and similarities between the works include:

Character Names: The protagonists' last names are phonetically similar: Bateman (Patrick Bateman) and Bates (Norman Bates).
Protagonist's Mindset: Both works center on deeply disturbed and psychopathic protagonists who lead double lives and engage in gruesome violence, though the nature and motivation of their violence and the presentation of their mental states differ.
Apartment/Setting: Both characters have a specific dwelling (apartment for Bateman, Bates Motel and house for Bates) that serves as a base for their activities and a reflection of their isolation.
Satirical Intent: While Psycho subverts traditional horror and narrative expectations, American Psycho uses the structure of a serial killer narrative to launch a biting satire of Wall Street yuppie culture, consumerism, and the superficiality of the 1980s.
Identity and Anonymity: Both stories touch on themes of fluid identity and anonymity. In American Psycho, Bateman and his colleagues are often mistaken for one another, a reflection of their interchangeable, commodity-driven existence.
Ambiguity: Both narratives employ ambiguity, particularly regarding the reality of the events. The ending of American Psycho famously leaves the audience questioning what is real and what is imagined, a core element of its psychological horror, much like the psychological twists in Psycho.

Ultimately, the connections are intentional and serve to place Bret Easton Ellis's work within a larger tradition of American horror and satire, using the "psycho" archetype to critique a different, but equally chilling, societal malaise."

>63 EPsonNY: Interesting, thanks for sharing. And agreed on the non-attribution being equivalent to plagiarism.

>63 EPsonNY: Wow. I didn't have much belief in this connected theory at first but that was before I learned both characters had specific dwellings. And the ambiguity of one book is mirror by the "psychological twists" in the other, whatever that means. The scales have fallen from my eyes.

I'm so glad we're pouring all the world's resources into this tech scam. Look at the D- book reports we're getting out of it.

>63 EPsonNY: I should have put the disclaimer, I got some of this from AI, and you're right, it's not an "original" opinion this is something that has been discussed for years. In fact, I believe Bloch's Psycho was noted in the forward to the Centipede Press edition of American Psycho (someone correct me if I'm mistaken, that's where I first read AP years ago). Also, over the years this has been discussed numerous times on various forums etc. just one example -
https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/urhjnd/psycho_vs_american_psycho/
So my opinion isn't original, but so what. Having read both I still stand by what I said, in my mind there clearly is a homage to the original Psycho while Ellis is steering his own course.

>65 PartTimeBookAddict: You think AI is a "tech scam"? I think it's an amazing tool. Can be misused for certain, but I assure you even when I was in school decades ago, people were still receiving D-book reports.

>50 LesMiserables:

LOL. You ain't wrong. Rob Roy looks like a masterpiece in comparison.

Such a pity Charles van Sandwyk was not able to take on the commission ...

>68 red_guy:

The mind boggles... lol

>69 SF-72:
But the wallet breathes…

>65 PartTimeBookAddict: not just D- book reports either, but AI "hallucinations" that spread misinformation based on a weird concocted soup of disconnected sources. Anyone that uses it loses all credibility in my mind. Relying on it for any consistency or credible information is lunacy.

>70 UK_History_Fan:

It certainly makes my bank account happy. ;-)

>71 UltansLibrary: The real problem with misinformation is not AI but people
https://2024.jou.ufl.edu/page/ai-and-misinformation
Misinformation and disinformation have emerged as a serious issue in the 21st century. Although the problem of false information has existed since the dawn of human civilization, artificial intelligence (AI) is exacerbating these challenges. AI tools make it easy for anyone to create fake images and news that are hard to distinguish from accurate information. From elections to wars, those with ill intentions can mass-produce and disseminate propaganda on social media...Researchers, tech companies, and governments are collaborating to fight AI-powered misinformation with AI technology.
Again, it's people purposely spreading misinformation and yes, AI is a tool that can help spread misinformation. But it can also combat misinformation and it is being used in that capacity as well.

And if anyone that uses AI "loses all credibility" with you, then stay away from academia -- they use AI all the time, along with anything technology related, finance, industry, media, tourism, ect. You know, even LibraryThing has adopted some AI -- so, going to be a rough time for you I take it.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/349719

>66 astropi: If you think that AI breakdown between the two books is amazing I won't fight you on it. To each their own.

I would also put forth that Batman is being being satirized by both Bloch and Ellis considering he has his own specific dwelling, a second personality and, of course, loves Huey Lewis & the News.

>74 PartTimeBookAddict: That was not my point. It was
1)AI is here to stay and even though some people may hate it, it's an incredibly powerful and useful tool used in nearly every industry you can think of. If you think your local hospital/medical clinic is not using AI, you're wrong. Which is not to say doctors are relying on AI, but they absolutely use it day in and day out.
2)It's ridiculous to think that AI is not a great resource. I personally don't think it's the end-all but it is incredibly powerful and will only keep getting "better" and more powerful over time. Frightening? For certain. Will replace lots of jobs? For certain. Like any technological leap there are pros and cons, but to call this a "scam" is ridiculous.

>75 astropi: I wasn't disagreeing if AI exists or not as a tool. But rather the poor results of that tool, which was the aforementioned comparison of two books with the word "Psycho" in their titles. I still don't know if you like that summary between the two books or not.

I think it made an absurd comparison. You may or may not think differently. I really don't care to pin down your argument for you nor argue in the first place.

>76 PartTimeBookAddict: Having read both books, the AI summary is in line with what many people think including myself. What the AI noted is not "poor results" as you so put it. It's what many people think. In case this is not clear, the AI is not actually "reading" the two books and then coming up with some new novel idea, it was merely searching online for posts, reviews, etc. and then it summarized what it found which is that there is a lot of homage to Bloch's Psycho in American Psycho. I'm curious, since you're so quick to dismiss this comparison, have you read both books?

>77 astropi: AI indeed synthesizes information, that accessible to us for free on the web as well as that behind paywall or protected by copyright that has been 'borrowed' and fed into the algorithms often without compensating the creators or legal owners.

You cleverly turned a discussion into merits of AI whereas it really was about your plagiarizing the AI material. If you are well-read and have indeed read both books, at the very least it appears lazy to google and then summarize AI overview. Just like your 'original' opinion AI overview comes without attributing any sources and because it is written somewhere on the web by somebody and then pulled together does not necessarily make it valid or true.

When challenged, your defensive attempts at turning the tables on other members and asking them questions seem to further incriminate you. Perhaps more of your posts have been 'borrowed'?

FYI - Stephen King's (often pirated) books in their entirety have been used to train AI models, so AI does read books; however, for all the technological advancement, it still cannot reason. From google AI overview:

"The statement "AI cannot reason" reflects a current debate: AI excels at pattern-matching and complex data processing, often mimicking reasoning through methods like Chain-of-Thought, but many experts argue it lacks true human-like understanding, common sense, genuine causality, and the ability to generalize beyond its training data, with recent studies showing failures in complex problem-solving tasks despite apparent reasoning capabilities."

>78 EPsonNY: Very condescending post there. There is currently a large debate about whether one "must" cite an AI overview since again it's just summarizing web searches (as one example there is much said here https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/online-archive/plagiarism-copyright-and-ai), although I already admitted I should have noted I got some of this from the AI - because honestly, it really does a nice job of succinctly summarizing highlights.

If you are well-read and have indeed read both books, at the very least it appears lazy to google and then summarize AI overview. Just like your 'original' opinion AI overview comes without attributing any sources
Again, that reads as gaslighting, but apart from that, you're just wrong. AI absolutely attributes sources. Secondly, I already noted that years ago when I read American Psycho, I read critiques of the novel and many people absolutely believe some of it is a homage to the original Psycho -- I never stated this was my "original" opinion, but it is an opinion I share with many others.

When challenged, your defensive attempts at turning the tables on other members and asking them questions seem to further incriminate you. Perhaps more of your posts have been 'borrowed'?
No. The conversation I was in was originally was about whether AP is a homage to the original Psycho, so it seems to me you're the one "turning tables" right now with your ad hominem. I think it's 100% fair to ask someone who seems to think there is nothing between AP and the original if they have read both books. Maybe your posts have been "borrowed" or maybe more of your posts are just ad hominem attacks. Honestly, I don't think there's any point in trying to really have a conversation with you since you're being really ugly, and I'm sure other members on here are tired of this, which is why there's a block feature on Librarything which I take advantage of.

>76 PartTimeBookAddict: Over the past 15+ years LT user astropi populated multiple LT forums with the same impish attitude whenever confronted with generalized statements they posted or claims they made, or with private messages with low-ball offers for books, or eBay reselling claims under username Avatar!, or attempting to upsell/tout their offerings on LT forums to unsuspecting fellow members.

It is not an attempt at character assassination or mudslinging, but rather at preserving a book-lover forum and protecting it from abuse from folks who hope to gain or profit from it financially or emotionally...

Can we please get back to talking about this book, and it's terrible illustrations?

>81 coynedj: 'Leatherface' Bateman or 'Friday Scrotum' Bateman?

I am changing my mind on this and will opt for it. I like the look of the materials and binding

Looks like a nice book but wouldn't be interested in reading about the subject and the illustrations wouldn't appeal to me.

>83 DMulvee: 🙌

The pages for American Psycho are now up and are appended below, in preparation for 03.ii.26 release:

£450 | £520 ROW | $640 US | $900 CA

https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/american-psycho-limited-edition
https://www.foliosociety.com/row/american-psycho-limited-edition
https://www.foliosociety.com/us/american-psycho-limited-edition
https://www.foliosociety.com/ca/american-psycho-limited-edition

If anyone is having trouble ordering, try using an incognito window or a different browser.

Over 250 copies sold in the first 15 minutes.

I’m surprised it’s actually selling faster than Anna Karenina LE. ~350 copies sold in ~20 mins so far

>88 HonorWulf: Was the full 750 copies there to begin with?

>90 assemblyman: The full 750 were there at the beginning.

>91 NotSoSlimShady: Wow. It was at 400 copies when I first clicked into it. I was wondering if it would struggle to sell out with the 750 copies limitation. Obviously not.

Over 400 copies sold in 30 minutes.

There are currently 54 copies up on eBay.

>94 assemblyman: With 257 left from Folio.

I do wonder how many people buy this despite the illustrations since they just want a special edition of the novel as opposed to because they really like the whole package.

I mean, resellers aside, I doubt many people would spend over 700 USD if they truly couldn’t stand the illustrations (or at least didn’t expect it to grow on them).

Less than 150 left at the 90 minute mark.

>96 SF-72: I know it is hard to accept, but he really is one of the grand old men of British illustration and has had a particularly successful career. I think this group has very conservative tastes!

He did once have an exhibition called 'Why Don't You Draw Something Nice' though ...

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple of people who bought the LE simply because they are fond of the memes based on the business card scene from the movie!

>99 red_guy: I like the illustrations for this one. I think they suit the story. I had similar feelings for his One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest illustrations.

>101 assemblyman: Yes, the whole production of this one is very stylish and another zinger for Folio. I can quite see why it has sold out so quickly. I have been fighting with myself all afternoon, but in the end a new set of tyres won. I think the SE will be almost identical, except with the LE box design on the binding, so I will be happy with that.

I understand there was a musical - did anyone see it?

68 copies left and counting.

>103 HonorWulf: 42 now - should be gone before the end of the day !

It's currently at 30 left. They should be gone within the hour!

>102 red_guy: The musical has been staged a few times & is currently playing again in London until March. I saw the original production in 2013 where the main highlights were the staging & great performances from Matt Smith & Jonathan Bailey.

Final 20!

And gone…in just under 4 hours

>108 antinous_in_london: Definitely one for the record books! We clocked A Christmas Carol at 3 hours, 50 minutes. This one appears to have been closer to 3 hours, 55 minutes, give or take a minute, making it #8 on the all-time Folio fastest sellout list.

Wasn’t going to buy it but then looking it over looked like it was a nice edition and also the clam shell case looks like one of the better ones.

>109 HonorWulf: Though wasn’t the A Christmas Carol only 350 copies as opposed to the 750 here ?

>111 antinous_in_london: Yep, which makes AP even more impressive.

>112 HonorWulf: £337,500 (or a little more with international pricing) of a single product in under 4 hours will make FS bank manager happy !

>113 antinous_in_london: Good start to the year, for sure! Both LE's and both signed editions sold out briskly. I suspect Howl's Moving Castle will continue the trend.

Was confused when this went on sale today because (as an American) I misread the subject line as March 2, 2026

Wow. I'm glad I have adamantly refused to buy any LEs - this went so fast that any sense of FOMO would have been overwhelming. As antinuous pointed out, FS's bankers must be very happy with this.

I suspected it'd do well regardless of the illustrations. The fanbase is huge. Good job FS, and hope to see a nice SE soon which I will probably get despite my reservations on the art.

>115 howtoeatrat: Apologies, Roman numerals ways pertain to the month, not day, and I'd hoped it would make the date clearer.

Looks like some people canceled there are 12 available all of a sudden. https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/american-psycho-limited-edition

>119 Carl64: They saw the art. (Sorry.)

Scalpers w. cold feet?

Could be the art or just changed their mind. I liked it overall so no regrets.

I doubt its scalpers backing out given how quickly it sold out.

>123 zorg2099: 105 eBay listings (& one sold) does not make for the quickest of resales...

Sold out again.

>124 FitzJames: Oh wow ok that's a way higher proportion of scalpers than I thought. Would be nice if at least most of them make a loss. But I guess they will mostly sell eventually for a profit even if it takes a while...

>126 zorg2099: "Oh wow ok that's a way higher proportion of scalpers than I thought."

There will be plenty more bought for on-selling, just not with the same immediacy. Folio will be happy, either way.

>97 BooksFriendsNotFood:

Buying things just because other people are buying the same thing, is a real thing.

>127 stubedoo: Fortunately, the high limitation number stretched the sale window to almost four hours, so anyone who really wanted a copy had time to get one. If the limitation had been 500, though, it would have sold thru in about 45 minutes and possibly less as FOMO kicked in.

The 500 copies of IT sold in about 7 minutes. I would bet if they would have had a 1,000 copies it would have sold out in 20 minutes. American Psycho is more gruesome and more controversial so i think thats one of the main reason for slower sales.

>130 Carl64: Yeah, but "It" was an exception. Only three books have sold out in under an hour in Folio history (The Hobbit, It and The Book Thief), so that's not typical behavior. As it was, American Psycho tied for 7th best seller in Folio history, and 2nd best seller with a limitation over 500 copies, so it was a historically strong performance.

>131 HonorWulf: True I would say Easton Press Deluxe editions sell much slower do to how many they have and higher volume.

Bizarre.

Love the book and film and when I first heard Folio were going to publish it I was excited, but after seeing the dreadful illustrations I lost all interest.

My copy came and it was number 538 pretty quick delivery to the states. Overall satisfied with the book and illustrations look pretty nice and creepy. 😂😳

I'm always impressed that people in the States sometimes get their Folio books as quickly as I do in Scotland!

My copy also arrived yesterday and I'm very impressed. Not familiar with Pureprint but they've done a lovely job here.

>135 Cat_of_Ulthar: Cool I always seem to get the limited editions in two days it's shipped Fedex international priority so it usually flys over to the states in a day.

There are still 39 copies for sale on Ebay at very varying prices, some at or below cost. Seems some scalpers may have had their fingers burnt!

>137 wcarter: "...some scalpers may have had their fingers burnt!"

Always a shame when that happens.

>137 wcarter: And between eBay fees, credit card fees and miscellaneous shipping and handling expenses beyond postage fees, a scalper really needs to sell for at least a 20% mark-up before they see any real profit.

Ghastly illustrations - I was mildly curious from the title - I read it some a two decades, now I am adamantly disgusted.

>140 ironjaw: Yep; McKean’s continued employment confounds.

>141 St._Troy: The art is by David Hughes, the satirist who also did Folio's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and others.

>141 St._Troy:

It's not McKean though.

Apologies for bungling.

Fortunately for me and my muddled mind, I feel the same about Hughes and McKean (I may have McKean on the brain because I accidentally ordered something contaminated by his work not long ago).

>144 St._Troy: Roadside Picnic probably? I actually really like Dave McKean, one of the most productive and distinctive illustrators currently working.

>146 SF-72:

I like his work in general, too. Some of it is just fantastic (Gormenghast, Invisible Cities, The House on the Borderlands). On the other hand, you never know what you get in advance - some of his work is also ugly to me (Benjamin Button). So it can be a bit of a gamble - I wouldn't buy blindly but want to see some samples of a new book first.

David Hughes is just ugly, again to me. Tastes differ.

Am now wondering if the choice of Hughes was deliberate to undermine the scalpers, who do not seem to be making out with this book, now people have seen it...

>147 InVitrio: I doubt it. I'm probably in the minority, but I think David Hughes is perfect for this book. I also love his work on Connecticut Yankee. If Folio does a standard edition one day, I'll probably only buy it for the Hughes art.

>145 NLNils: I actually really like Dave McKean, one of the most productive and distinctive illustrators currently working.

Absolutely. One of the very best Folio illustrators, in my opinion.

>148 HonorWulf: I'm probably in the minority, but I think David Hughes is perfect for this book.

I agree wholeheartedly and I doubt we're in the minority.

>149 folio_books: McKean's another favorite of mine as well, and from long before he started illustrating Folio's. He made a fantastic graphic novel called Cages back in the 90's that is quite stunning.

This seller would like only $150 for a 'lightly dinged' slipcase and business card.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/168245921987

>151 mr.philistine: ha! I thought we were past the era of the Xbox box scam.

Just keeping an eye on the Ebay market, there are still 20 copies of American Psycho for sale, some below purchase price, others ridiculously expensive.
The scalpers definitely got burned on this one!

>153 wcarter: Always nice to hear!

>153 wcarter:

Excellent.

>153 wcarter:

Excellent.

>153 wcarter: perhaps they might even bring themselves to read it!

>157 cyber_naut: I am curious what those that purchased the book (and read it) thought of it? Again, not my cup of tea.

>158 astropi: Have gotten around 150 pages pretty graphic and not for anyone who gets upset easy. The writing is great but the subject is adults only for sure. I take it as a guy who’s gone to far and capitalism has over consumed his brain.

>159 Carl64: Thanks, I'd like to hear your full thoughts when done. There were a few moments in the book that I thought were truly interesting and very well done. Overall, not my thing and I would not read it again. However, it's clearly a very well regarded novel. I probably should watch the movie at some point.

>160 astropi: Finally finished It took longer than usual read a few books in between. The book is more graphic and makes the movie seem tame. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone with a weak stomach. The writing is pretty good though and it’s very detailed more so than a lot of writers. If you can handle the gore and can look at it as someone who’s gone completely mad would recommend.

>161 Carl64: Glad to hear you enjoyed it! As I said, not my cup of tea. Now that you've read the book, here's an interesting article from 2010 --
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jul/26/bret-easton-ellis-pain-misogyny-dr...
Here's a quote by Ellis:
"If you're writing about a misogynist, does that then make a book misogynist? I don't think I'm a misogynist. But even if I was, so what? So you're a misogynist – so what? So you're a homophobe, or a racist – so what? Does that make your art less interesting? I don't think so. Call me a misogynist. I think basically most men are misogynistic. And it is what it is."
I personally don't agree with him, and maybe that's just one reason I never really enjoyed his writing.

>162 astropi: First time reading any of his books I disagree with his statement but it’s his opinion. My wife says I am a feminist so he’s probably wrong on some but not all men.

>163 Carl64: He's definitely wrong about some men, perhaps even most men. It's also hard for me to read a work written by someone whose views I strongly disagree with.

>164 astropi: I agree didn't know until after I read it but still a good book. My next book will be a total different one Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood.

I've never read Ellis' novel before, but a trade paperback of it is now in my TBR pile, literally alongside a copy of Michael Lewis' Liar's Poker. I suspect that they'll make a nice pairing.

25 copies just showed up at the Folio Vault:

https://www.foliosociety.com/row/american-psycho-limited-edition

>167 Dr.Fiddy: I highly recommend this for anyone one the fence! I read this edition and it quickly became an all-time favorite for me (both the story and the FS book).

Sold out again wonder if it was some customers returning the reason they had 25 pop up?

>169 Carl64: Most likely. Folio has a generous 30 day return policy, so my guess is that some of these are from scalpers who can't turn a buck if the aftermarket price isn't at least 20% over retail. The rest are probably from chaps whose spouses discovered their credit card purchases....

>170 HonorWulf: Probably right on that if you do want to sell that quick better to wait a year or so when it will be more in demand.

56 more must of come back. https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/american-psycho-limited-edition

That must be a joke

Or maybe they wasn’t able to produce them all until now.

>174 Carl64: No, these would be returns. LE's don't have staggered releases.

>175 HonorWulf: Cool I know Easton sells their deluxe limited editions at different times.

Scalpers returning them as no profit to be made, I expect.

Twelve hours later, 56 copies in stock anew has dropped to 20.

Sold out again for the third time.

I'm sure there'll be more returns.

They really should consider finding some way to flag accounts that continue doing this in such an egregious way.

They would just reopen their account using different credentials. Same reason Ticketmaster can’t ever seem to stop ticket brokers from gobbling up the best seats immediately after they go on sale (though in this case I have no suspicions of collusion between Folio and the flippers unlike TM).