GOP Edition of Lions of Al-Rassan

Opens for general sale at 11 AM PT.

Some extra color plates have been added, as Shawn Speakman is really pleased with the art.

Oh, thank you! I might have missed this one.

I decided to order a slipcased copy. Thanks for the heads up. Will be my first book from Grim Oak.

I'm a bit confused. The Lions of Al-Rassan is listed as part of the Sarantine Universe, but I can't find any previous books from GOP in that series. Can it be read completely as a standalone, or will I be missing important background or plot details? And are there any plans to publish the other books set in the same universe?

>4 DeviousMouse: The Lions of Al Rassan is the first book in the "universe". You won't be missing anything starting there. GGK's books share a fantasy setting that is recognizably an alternate Europe/middle east/Africa/China. The books aren't typically linked together (with some exceptions) but gain some richness through the shared setting.

Grim Oak books look more like Folio Society standard editions than fine press, which is no problem, but am I missing something?

>6 wcarter: Despite being signed limited editions, they are indeed more in the line of Folio SEs in terms of physical specs albeit with somewhat disappointing lack of attention to typesetting — particularly with respect to rather crowded page layouts — and an unfortunate predilection for bonded leather bindings (fortunately the Guy Gavriel Kay books have cloth bindings).

They are quite comparable to Subterranean Press in terms of the quality of the books and sharing the same aforementioned weaknesses. Like SubT, they focus on genre works that otherwise likely wouldn't have a quality edition out there which is why I appreciate their existence, I just wish they would address those issues. Unlike SubT they offer somewhat pricey but quite sturdy slipcases as an optional extra. They are worth a look if they have an edition for specific titles that interest you.

Since they don't have a dedicated group here I think every now and then there are posts about Grim Oak in the Fine Press group. I already ordered The Lions of Al-Rassan during the matching pre-order period as I had "series" rights to the author from the Fionavar Tapestry previously.

>5 Chemren: Thank you for the clarification!

>4 DeviousMouse: They would like to do other Kay works, but it depends on various factors. I think it likely they will do some of them, at least.

>7 zorg2099: The owner of the press as well as a fair number of the original customers are huge fans of the bonded leather for whatever reason, so I don't think it will go away, sadly. The lettered Kay is BL in part.
I will say we have a lot of SubT, as well as some GO titles, and I find the SubT books to be generally better, especially as regards to typesetting and paper quality.

I posted this here because at the time of the announcement, a fair number of people were interested, especially as the artist is the same as the CTP edition of Tigana.

Yeah I'm less a fan of the bonded leather I have to say. They are using cloth covered boards in at least one upcoming book (I forget which), and that too is Metallium cloth which is among my favourites (the Anderida fine bindings of the Sun Eater books, as well as the slipcases/traycases they made for the novellas and lettered editions are made from this, and are wonderful), but the bonded leather is their staple.

>10 leennnadine: Yeah its a shame and I don't really expect it to change as it will likely put off existing customers who perceive it as premium.

Thanks for your thoughts on the two presses in general. I don't have many titles from either, just the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and the Temeraire omnibuses from GO and 2nd/3rd printings of Malazan from SubT — Malazan has the worst typesetting of the three.

On balance I'm not unhappy with my purchases from GO and SubT, I just see some obvious room for improvement.

>12 zorg2099: I agree. i can't speak to Malazan- neither of us collect him, and I admit many of our SubT titles are older, but I do find them generally better. I'll also say that the bulk of the customers of GO are not really fine press people- most of them have no idea what letterpress actually looks like, for example. For the, it's about the author.

I actually prefer Grim Oak Press to Subterranean Press. Their editions are illustrated generously (Sub's mostly in a minimal way if at all), which is important to me, and I also like the friendliness and great atmosphere surrounding Grim Oak Press. The latter goes beyond their books, but it is a factor for me when it comes to a small publisher.

If I thought someone was likely to do a fine press Lions of Al-Rassan, I'd wait, but I think this will probably be the nicest one there is. I like the art well enough and the paper stock is good; I have the trade hardcover and it's yellowing. It's favorite that I reread, and this will be a more durable and pleasant reading experience.

I prefer my books unsigned and am as always a bit frustrated at how much of a price premium is commanded by a feature I actively don't want, but so it goes.

>15 ambyrglow: I would LOVE a fine press of Lions. Sigh. Yes- my trade hardcover is yellowing too. I do like the signatures, but I'm happy to deal with that muself.