Agreed. Definitely one of the best over the last decade. I have high standards and many LOTR releases suffer from poor quality unfortunately. This is for example far better quality wise than the 60th anniversary edition.
Thanks for posting this! Good to know. A lot of it really depends on the materials the publisher uses. After that, it's all about how one takes care of their physical collections. I'm all about maintaining a home library of physical books. Kindle and EBooks are nice for convenience, but it's just not the same as having the real thing.
I find it strange however that all other reviews of this exact edition of the book set says it is great, and people saying that have had it for months without problems. I think I'm gonna buy it anyways and hope it comes in better quality 😅
So great to see this from you, David, because my bros and I were at the bookstore the other week looking over and discussing the quality of the different LotR sets. You're always on point. And I am excitedly awaiting your analysis of Code Geass season 2!
i totally agree with you. just got the set today and was disappointed by the art quality. still nice books though. don't know if i should keep them. I will still try to find the older version
Real shame about the lack of proper art paper. In my book about ancient Egypt they used real, proper almost photograph paper, all shiny and thick and it really makes the images pop. Super detailed, high contrast, the images are really stunning. Alan Lee's art is gorgeous and this just seems like a damn shame.
I think the copy I have is great. It's the 2002(?) printing of the 1993 Houghton Mifflin edition. It's got the more classic, typewriter style font, good quality paper with a little bit of texture, and the foldout maps.
Doesn't matter. Everything after the second edition is pretty much the same, other than a few typos they fixed in the last few years. If you really want illustrations you can buy whatever cheap version plus Alan Lee and John Howe's separate art books.
From my personal experience the editions made by HMH were usually better than the ones by HC. Even the latest paperbacks by William Morrow seem to me better than HC, even though WM is an imprint of HC and there's no more HMH in the US.
Most people are wrong. You can make illustrations work on matte - watercolor ought to, but it has to be good paper (which this edition does NOT have). Even so you'll notice most color plates on older (better printed) books are on glossy paper. This is because publishers knew what people wanted: good-looking art, not some paper choice abstract its purpose.
Just after I purchased this edition, I watched your video😢. I do agree with the dust jacket issue and the washed out plates but I am enjoying it greatly. The type setting is great and the green shaded titles (in the Hobbit) are fantastic.
Did you have any issues with the spin of the book when opening pages ? I noticed as I flip threw the hobbit , it’s like there was to much glue between some parts of the book. They open up and kinda crack between the pages near the spin of the book . Just worried about how long it will last in the future
I just got a Beren and Luthien copy with a matte dust jacket, and the illustrations are on a satin coated paper. Not glossy, but still quite nice for illustrations. Similar to that used on the hobbit anniversary editions. So perhaps they experimented with different papers, or they had to use whatever they had for some time.
I bought the unillustrated edition with 4 volumes including the readers companion. I already have a single volume illustrated but fount it too hard and heavy to read in bed. The 4 volume that I mentioned was lighter, easier to read and more like Tolkien intended. Thanks for your honest review
This must be a preferance thing.. I prefer the "washed out", as you say, look - and dislike glossy artwork. Also I have the 2020 edition and got it 2 years ago and the dust jacket is fine.. perhaps there was something faulty with the edition David got.
100% agree with you. I ordered this set and then returned it right away because the Alan Lee illustrations looked so terrible. Went and found the larger ones with the darker covers and glossy paper.
Are there additional illustrations from the previous Alan Lee illustrated Lord of the Rings single volume editions (and the separate Hobbit Alan Lee illustrated edition)?
Thanks for the video. With those other versions of the books you show, do any of them have sewn binding? If so, is there any chance you could post the ISBN so I can find and buy the exact version? Assuming they're available of course. I've been struggling to figure out which version of these books to buy and had thought I had finally narrowed it down to this one. Ugh. I want sewn binding but if they're also illustrated and separated into the smaller trilogy, that would be even better.
It really washes out the watercolors, And they picked a much too absorbent paper for this run. They're washed out in some other Tolkien books I have but not nearly as bad as with this set.
Desk jackets are not actually intended to protect anything. Notice that textbooks use the much more robust laminate binding and receive much rougher use. The dust jacket was an invention by publishers in the 20th century to make it cheaper to destroy books and write them off on their taxes. When a book storr can't sell a book they mail back the dust jacket (or rip off the front cover for a paperback)and shred the book. Much cheaper than mailing back unsold copies. Most books that are printed are destroyed before they're ever sold.
I don't have it to judge,. The only one I've seen doesn't have any illustrations. The main problem is the choice of paper for illustrations. Won't be relevant if they are missing.
One of my biggest regrets is not taking good care of my copy of the special edition made for the Danish translation of the LOTR books that were published back when the movies had just been released. The books had beautiful illustrations that I believe were actually made by the queen of Denmark. Sadly due to my foolishness, I stored them somewhere inappropriate and as a result, they were damaged. I wonder if I can ever get my hands on an undamaged copy of those books without it costing an arm and a leg.
There arent any. This edition was first published in 2020. He’s suggesting you buy books that don’t exist. You can get a different illustrated edition that’s older, but it’s not going to look the same or have the same artwork.
Glad I found this. Been planning to get this set for my niece this Christmas. I'll satisfy myself with that semi-hardback one volume edition since I already own The Hobbit
Flimsy dust jacket. What?! The point of a dust jacket is to protect the hardback cover from wear isn’t it , at least that’s what I had always thought Edit: Just to be clear readers, I am shocked, this was not supposed to be a flippant comment
The "real" reason is that they are a cheap way to produce cover art and an easy way to mark the book for destruction when it doesn't sell. Still, I expect it wear at least as well as printer paper.
@@DVSPress - I wasn’t trying to be flippant by the way, i am genuinely shocked that the publishers have such a low opinion of their customers that they use poor quality on something that at least partly has the purpose of preserving their product in the best condition for as long as possible especially on what must be a premium publication (boxed set) , cheap materials on paperbacks makes some sort of sense. Thanks for replying by the way, especially at what must be about 3:00 in the morning! The cover art thing makes sense, I hadn’t thought of it that way before as a number of hardback books I have have the same cover art under the dust jacket. I never normally check when the dust jacket lasts 😉
How many Alan Lee llustrations for the LOTR Books (Fellowship, Two Towers and Return of the King)? Please note not to include the Hobbit book. The reason I ask it's because I own the single volume Alan Lee Illustrated Lord of the Rings hardcover book, I want to find out if they added more illustrations in the three book hardcover edition.
50 btwn the 3 volumes. I have the 2002 Houghton Mifflin 3 volume set and, iirc, there are 17 illustrations in FOTR, 16 in TT and 17 in ROTK. I don't believe there are any additional illustrations to this set.
I like your Nazgul cosplay but you should consider growing your nails on your other hand as well. Anyways, you are probably the only negative-ish review of this edition. As the main draw for me was always Alan Lee's art, I think I'll pass for another better edition.
Thank you for this. I was going to buy this box set over the 60th Anniversary edition mainly because this one contains the Hobbit, but I've now just placed an order for the 60th Anniversary edition instead. Compared the two, and the image quality on the 2014 edition definitely looks so much better.
Man, the lack of quality is pretty shocking. My American copies of The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and The Fall of Gondolin are all fantastic quality like you said here. The paper really allows the art to pop out at you and shows off Lee's mastery. Weird that they went cheap on the more well known stories.
I was between either buying these singularly or getting the 50th anniversary hardbacks. Being that these seem to have the drawbacks that you mentioned in your video I'm now thinking about the 50th anniversary ones as illustrations aren't really a prerequisite. Is there any edition in particular that you would recommend?
They all have the same great words. The 50th anniversary one-volume edition is quite a beast, and the pages are thin if I remember. I bought it for a friend for his birthday and he liked it. It had the red letters and all that. Really, I think you can't go wrong with any of the other 3 volume hardback editions, either. I think they all have the same typesetting and are very readable. I just really wanted a good version of Alan Lee's illustrations, and this one happened to pick poor materials.
@@DVSPress Thanks for the response. Yeah I meant the 3 volume edition. Those can be bought separately but were originally part of a box set. Took a gamble on The Fellowship of the Ring, hoping it's printed and bound in Italy because I've heard the Chinese ones use lesser materials. Never could get into Lord of the Rings as a kid. Enjoyed The Hobbit though, and I've just re-read that and it was great. Ready to continue the story and give LOTR another shot.
I’ve never read *LOTR* or the *Hobbit,* I’ve only seen the movies. But I have all the *Hobbit* movies in *3D* *Blu-ray* they look so cool. 3D is much better in *Blu-ray* than at the cinema.
They do look good (I think the LOTR BRs were considered reference grade, too) but the movies themselves are god-aweful cinema; especially the Hobbit trilogy, which they had to make up a whole slew of stupid shit to crap out two additional movies.
Matter of taste. I like to actually hold a book instead of staring into a screen, which I already do for like 14 hours per day. And I have books from the early 90s which still look nice.
I don't get what's appealing holding a 2 pound behemoth or twisting fingers trying to read small washed out print it's just more comfortable on e reader plus dictionaries and easy to take notes
I met Alan Lee couple of years ago, got him to sign my copy of Lord of the Rings and his two art books working on LOTRs and The Hobbit. Nice bloke.
Just take the dust jacket off when you are reading......
You’ve got to be kidding. These are some of the best additions out there.
Sorry, but the materials are garbage compared to older editions I have. Maybe other people just have low standards.
Agreed. Definitely one of the best over the last decade. I have high standards and many LOTR releases suffer from poor quality unfortunately. This is for example far better quality wise than the 60th anniversary edition.
@@DVSPress totally agree with low standards of many people. 20 years ago, books were made to last. I am afraid these day are over.
Sees that he uses an old receipt as a book mark
Me: Ah a fellow man of culture
And another one here 😂
I was kinda grossed out for a second, then I remembered you play guitar.
😂
Thanks for posting this! Good to know. A lot of it really depends on the materials the publisher uses. After that, it's all about how one takes care of their physical collections. I'm all about maintaining a home library of physical books. Kindle and EBooks are nice for convenience, but it's just not the same as having the real thing.
I find it strange however that all other reviews of this exact edition of the book set says it is great, and people saying that have had it for months without problems. I think I'm gonna buy it anyways and hope it comes in better quality 😅
Other people are shills, what can I say?
5:17 It probably also doesnt help that I am watching this on my phone at 144p to save on data.
So great to see this from you, David, because my bros and I were at the bookstore the other week looking over and discussing the quality of the different LotR sets. You're always on point. And I am excitedly awaiting your analysis of Code Geass season 2!
i totally agree with you. just got the set today and was disappointed by the art quality. still nice books though. don't know if i should keep them. I will still try to find the older version
Real shame about the lack of proper art paper. In my book about ancient Egypt they used real, proper almost photograph paper, all shiny and thick and it really makes the images pop. Super detailed, high contrast, the images are really stunning. Alan Lee's art is gorgeous and this just seems like a damn shame.
I have the early 2000s edition. It's the one with the different colored ring on the spine of each book. It's simple but elegant.
I think the copy I have is great. It's the 2002(?) printing of the 1993 Houghton Mifflin edition. It's got the more classic, typewriter style font, good quality paper with a little bit of texture, and the foldout maps.
Too bad, Alan Lee is one of the best Tolkien artists. Made me think, time to snag a few hard copies of the few I dont have yet
What would you recommend as the best version of the lord of the rings and the hobbit for a first time reader?
Doesn't matter. Everything after the second edition is pretty much the same, other than a few typos they fixed in the last few years.
If you really want illustrations you can buy whatever cheap version plus Alan Lee and John Howe's separate art books.
There's a Tolkien bestiary that's worth getting for the art work. Some great stuff by my fav fantasy artist Ian Miller in there
I've covered it on the channel, too. I still have my original hardback from 30 years ago.
What do you think of the cover illustrations for the 2002 Alan Lee set of the LOTR trilogy?
Have the same books, and have had no problems , well I have the 2021 edition of this same book
What's the difference? Genuinely asking
From my personal experience the editions made by HMH were usually better than the ones by HC. Even the latest paperbacks by William Morrow seem to me better than HC, even though WM is an imprint of HC and there's no more HMH in the US.
I feel like most people prefer matte over gloss.
Most people are wrong.
You can make illustrations work on matte - watercolor ought to, but it has to be good paper (which this edition does NOT have). Even so you'll notice most color plates on older (better printed) books are on glossy paper. This is because publishers knew what people wanted: good-looking art, not some paper choice abstract its purpose.
Thank god, I always wanted to buy this version. I will think twice now.
Just after I purchased this edition, I watched your video😢. I do agree with the dust jacket issue and the washed out plates but I am enjoying it greatly. The type setting is great and the green shaded titles (in the Hobbit) are fantastic.
I've still got the copy of Fellowship I borrowed from the school library in about 1984.
Smaug curled up on his pile of treasure was the best Hobbit cover.
So would you recommend the Hobbit (1997) Illustrated edition and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2002) Illustrated editions?
Did you have any issues with the spin of the book when opening pages ?
I noticed as I flip threw the hobbit , it’s like there was to much glue between some parts of the book. They open up and kinda crack between the pages near the spin of the book .
Just worried about how long it will last in the future
I just got a Beren and Luthien copy with a matte dust jacket, and the illustrations are on a satin coated paper. Not glossy, but still quite nice for illustrations. Similar to that used on the hobbit anniversary editions. So perhaps they experimented with different papers, or they had to use whatever they had for some time.
I bought the unillustrated edition with 4 volumes including the readers companion. I already have a single volume illustrated but fount it too hard and heavy to read in bed. The 4 volume that I mentioned was lighter, easier to read and more like Tolkien intended. Thanks for your honest review
This must be a preferance thing.. I prefer the "washed out", as you say, look - and dislike glossy artwork. Also I have the 2020 edition and got it 2 years ago and the dust jacket is fine.. perhaps there was something faulty with the edition David got.
100% agree with you. I ordered this set and then returned it right away because the Alan Lee illustrations looked so terrible. Went and found the larger ones with the darker covers and glossy paper.
Are there additional illustrations from the previous Alan Lee illustrated Lord of the Rings single volume editions (and the separate Hobbit Alan Lee illustrated edition)?
Not that I know of.
You can always get the Alan Lee art book if you want more. Cheaper than buying another copy of LOTR.
Great video review! Are the exterior book covers (not dust jackets) cloth-bound or paper-bound? Thanks in advance.
Guitar players finger nails 😉
"Paper designed to disintegrate when you touch it" 🤣
So I guess making the dust jackets out of moth wings was not the best decision.
Thanks for the video. With those other versions of the books you show, do any of them have sewn binding? If so, is there any chance you could post the ISBN so I can find and buy the exact version? Assuming they're available of course.
I've been struggling to figure out which version of these books to buy and had thought I had finally narrowed it down to this one. Ugh. I want sewn binding but if they're also illustrated and separated into the smaller trilogy, that would be even better.
Really prefer the matte paper for the images, it gives me a much warmer feeling than a flashy glossy paper
It really washes out the watercolors, And they picked a much too absorbent paper for this run. They're washed out in some other Tolkien books I have but not nearly as bad as with this set.
Thank you for sharing the details!!! It's been helpful in order to make a decision :)
the matte paper criticsim is valid, but you're not supposed to read a book with the dust jackets on, it's for protecting the book on the shelf
Desk jackets are not actually intended to protect anything. Notice that textbooks use the much more robust laminate binding and receive much rougher use.
The dust jacket was an invention by publishers in the 20th century to make it cheaper to destroy books and write them off on their taxes. When a book storr can't sell a book they mail back the dust jacket (or rip off the front cover for a paperback)and shred the book. Much cheaper than mailing back unsold copies. Most books that are printed are destroyed before they're ever sold.
I much prefer the matte paper. I hate it when books contain two types of paper.
Does 60th anniversary edition is better than this?
I don't have it to judge,. The only one I've seen doesn't have any illustrations.
The main problem is the choice of paper for illustrations. Won't be relevant if they are missing.
No. Much worse quality and very thin paper
One of my biggest regrets is not taking good care of my copy of the special edition made for the Danish translation of the LOTR books that were published back when the movies had just been released. The books had beautiful illustrations that I believe were actually made by the queen of Denmark. Sadly due to my foolishness, I stored them somewhere inappropriate and as a result, they were damaged. I wonder if I can ever get my hands on an undamaged copy of those books without it costing an arm and a leg.
wait what?! the queen of denmark herself illustrates for tolkien books??? that's awesome 🤯
Thank you for your insights. Unfortunately, I'm not finding any 2014 editions anywhere. Have they all been snapped up?
There arent any. This edition was first published in 2020. He’s suggesting you buy books that don’t exist. You can get a different illustrated edition that’s older, but it’s not going to look the same or have the same artwork.
Glad I found this. Been planning to get this set for my niece this Christmas. I'll satisfy myself with that semi-hardback one volume edition since I already own The Hobbit
Stange, this is the only video about this Edition complainig about the materials., all the other videos I saw tell a very different story.
It's a good thing I made the video, then.
I've been thinking of purchasing a box set lotr copy myself. Thanks for saving me!
@5:25 I thought it was a valley; I didn't see the riders at all.
Flimsy dust jacket. What?! The point of a dust jacket is to protect the hardback cover from wear isn’t it , at least that’s what I had always thought
Edit: Just to be clear readers, I am shocked, this was not supposed to be a flippant comment
The "real" reason is that they are a cheap way to produce cover art and an easy way to mark the book for destruction when it doesn't sell.
Still, I expect it wear at least as well as printer paper.
@@DVSPress - I wasn’t trying to be flippant by the way, i am genuinely shocked that the publishers have such a low opinion of their customers that they use poor quality on something that at least partly has the purpose of preserving their product in the best condition for as long as possible especially on what must be a premium publication (boxed set) , cheap materials on paperbacks makes some sort of sense.
Thanks for replying by the way, especially at what must be about 3:00 in the morning!
The cover art thing makes sense, I hadn’t thought of it that way before as a number of hardback books I have have the same cover art under the dust jacket. I never normally check when the dust jacket lasts 😉
How many Alan Lee llustrations for the LOTR Books (Fellowship, Two Towers and Return of the King)? Please note not to include the Hobbit book. The reason I ask it's because I own the single volume Alan Lee Illustrated Lord of the Rings hardcover book, I want to find out if they added more illustrations in the three book hardcover edition.
50 btwn the 3 volumes. I have the 2002 Houghton Mifflin 3 volume set and, iirc, there are 17 illustrations in FOTR, 16 in TT and 17 in ROTK. I don't believe there are any additional illustrations to this set.
Hi, I also have this issue. Can you please tell me where you got those protective book covers to put on the outside? Thank you!
I got them from Amazon. You can just search for "Book Jacket protector"
One of the things this video made very clear - you are a guitar player.
Among other things, yes. -> zulonline.bandcamp.com
Sad to hear. Tolkien was positive to westerkind and had no white guilt. Something deemed "problematic" these days by the rulers that be.
I like your Nazgul cosplay but you should consider growing your nails on your other hand as well. Anyways, you are probably the only negative-ish review of this edition. As the main draw for me was always Alan Lee's art, I think I'll pass for another better edition.
Alan Lee never used black color, those mat illustrations are more closer to hes actual work then fake glossy ones.
bro all of mine were good except my hobbit one which came with the most damaged dust jacket out of the box
Have you ever seen the vinyl edition? They're the ones that I plan to get.
WTH... even the 15$ hobbit 70th anniversary has the illustrations on coated paper. And the illustrated LOTR doesn't?
Thank you for this. I was going to buy this box set over the 60th Anniversary edition mainly because this one contains the Hobbit, but I've now just placed an order for the 60th Anniversary edition instead. Compared the two, and the image quality on the 2014 edition definitely looks so much better.
Thanks! Glad it was helpful.
I agree with your opinions on this edition that’s why I prefer the HMH more.
Lol just watched this one at random, how prescient you were! It’s unsettling what is being done to the work of Christie, Dahl, and others.
Welp, this is tremendously disappointing. Maybe I should look at soft copies.
Man, the lack of quality is pretty shocking. My American copies of The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and The Fall of Gondolin are all fantastic quality like you said here. The paper really allows the art to pop out at you and shows off Lee's mastery. Weird that they went cheap on the more well known stories.
I wonder if there is a difference between books bought online and in stores where the quality can be felt.
I was between either buying these singularly or getting the 50th anniversary hardbacks. Being that these seem to have the drawbacks that you mentioned in your video I'm now thinking about the 50th anniversary ones as illustrations aren't really a prerequisite. Is there any edition in particular that you would recommend?
They all have the same great words. The 50th anniversary one-volume edition is quite a beast, and the pages are thin if I remember. I bought it for a friend for his birthday and he liked it. It had the red letters and all that. Really, I think you can't go wrong with any of the other 3 volume hardback editions, either. I think they all have the same typesetting and are very readable.
I just really wanted a good version of Alan Lee's illustrations, and this one happened to pick poor materials.
@@DVSPress Thanks for the response. Yeah I meant the 3 volume edition. Those can be bought separately but were originally part of a box set. Took a gamble on The Fellowship of the Ring, hoping it's printed and bound in Italy because I've heard the Chinese ones use lesser materials. Never could get into Lord of the Rings as a kid. Enjoyed The Hobbit though, and I've just re-read that and it was great. Ready to continue the story and give LOTR another shot.
Excellent review, thanks.
Shame cuz I bought this set for nearly $300
What is that at the end supposed to mean??
Gad dam that's cool
I’ve never read *LOTR* or the *Hobbit,* I’ve only seen the movies. But I have all the *Hobbit* movies in *3D* *Blu-ray* they look so cool. 3D is much better in *Blu-ray* than at the cinema.
They do look good (I think the LOTR BRs were considered reference grade, too) but the movies themselves are god-aweful cinema; especially the Hobbit trilogy, which they had to make up a whole slew of stupid shit to crap out two additional movies.
@@ForeverTemplar Yea isn’t the *Hobbit* a small book? Isn’t *LOTR* like 3x the page count?
I only buy kindle books anymore paper is becoming obsolete plus it looks like junk anyway after 10 years
Matter of taste. I like to actually hold a book instead of staring into a screen, which I already do for like 14 hours per day. And I have books from the early 90s which still look nice.
I don't get what's appealing holding a 2 pound behemoth or twisting fingers trying to read small washed out print it's just more comfortable on e reader plus dictionaries and easy to take notes
@@geert574 Ownership, that's the appeal.
NOOOOOO! Sacrilege!! 😉
@@TheAutistWhisperer and accessibility when there's no more power.