Mariner The History of Middle-Earth Boxed Set

The Complete History is an essential purchase for Tolkien fans, with all kinds of interesting material relating to both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Versions available currently include twelve expensive print-on-demand hardbacks, twelve cheap paperbacks or this new three volume deluxe boxed set. The advantages of the new edition are that it is the most compact of the three, beautifully printed and bound in the same style as other JRRT deluxe slipcased books and - at the £146 pre-order price - remarkably good value for money. (Anyone concerned about the quality of the Bible-like paper need not worry - I'm hard to please in such matters, and I'm more than happy with what Harper's English printer has achieved.) My only regret about the set is that the slipcase is a tight fit and has straight sides rather than the curves of earlier deluxe volumes, which makes extracting the books needlessly awkward: you have to upend the heavy box and rely on the help of gravity. ( I recommend covering the books in W. H. Smith's non-stick protective film to avoid damaging them and to reduce friction.) This caveat apart, I think that this new edition is certainly preferable to the alternatives.

It’s one heavy stack of a collection, it’s nicely-designed aesthetically pleasing and for I don’t have to get 10+ separate copies of different volumes. The only problem is that the shipping was quite brutal therefore and there are dents on the covers.update: I reordered a replacement because the first one I received most likely had some pre-existing binding issues. Make sure you check the book bounds upon arrival. They are bricks and therefore loose bounds will result in them falling apart very quickly.

Superb to get this compact (yet large) set of books, as the separate volumes are quite hard to get in a matching run.Very happy, but the paper is very thin, which was a necessity due to the amount of content.Still the tidiest edition I’ve seen, so now I have a set.

If you're a big fan of Tolkien/Collector then this is a must buy. The manufacturing of the books is exceptional, the pages (as expected) are quite thin BUT this is not a criticism, the quality of the paper completely makes up for this with a very soft finish to the paper. My main concern with this set was the books would be too impractical to actually read from due to the size of the books, I can confirm that, yes they are bulky but surprisingly quite easy to read from.

This is a collection of books I have wanted for a very long time. Now I found it in a gorgeous presentation. The quality of the paper used in the books is exquisite, a beautiful soft, smooth finish.I have merely glanced through these yet, but look forward to studying in more detail in due course...