HarperCollins To Re-Issue Matching Boxed Sets Of "The History Of Middle-Earth" By J. R. R. Tolkien And Christopher Tolkien

A couple of months ago I ordered the entire lot of "The History of Middle-earth" (including the index) from the official HarperCollins UK website. They were so pricey but I was quite happy and excited to have the UK editions (I have copies of the US editions). Unfortunately after a weeks they were cancelled and I was refunded, but with a juicy piece of information included in the email. The publisher will not be able supply the order with the then edition as they are "reprinting" the books. It turns out the reprinting is a total redesign and a totally new revision!

In a news that got me all excited, HarperCollins will be publishing the entire collection in 4 boxed sets. The books will have reversible jackets, featuring matching John Howe art on one side and the original design on the other. They will be released in a span of months starting with the first boxed set, which includes The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales, Parts One & Part Two.

Check out the first boxed set of The History of Middle-Earth by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien, which includes The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales, Parts One & Part Two.

Synopsis

First in a series of hardback boxed sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dustjackets. Set 1 contains special editions of THE SILMARILLION and UNFINISHED TALES reproducing the first edition text, together with the two volumes of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES.

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s World. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth and the rise of Númenor in the Second Age to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor for the Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and English association, they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol to the lonely Isle where the Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse.

In the two volumes of the Tales are found the earliest accounts of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of the geography and cosmology of Tolkien’s invented world.

Published together for the first time, these four books collect the beginning of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.

The History of Middle-earth (Boxed Set 1): The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales, Parts One & Part Two by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien will be released on November 23, 2023.

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Cover Reveal News Round-Up, Including Books By Veronica Roth, And Katherine Arden

Another one-on-one bout for this edition of cover reveal news round-up, but this time it's coming from our strong female contenders. Here is a short list featuring new stand-alone novels from Veronica Roth and Katherine Arden.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, When Among Crows is a contemporary fantasy set in Chicago, where creatures from Slavic lore are real and among us, and is a story about the families we build―and the ones we destroy.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth will be released on May 14, 2024.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Synopsis

During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden will be released on February 13, 2024.

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Cover Reveal News Round-Up, Including Books By Peter V. Brett, And Brandon Sanderson

It's a mano-a-mano bout for this cover reveal news round-up, featuring a sequel from Peter V. Brett and an in-universe spin-off from Brandon Sanderson.

The Hidden Queen by Peter V. Brett

Synopsis

The second book in The Nightfall Saga, the stunning new epic fantasy series set in the world of The Demon Cycle, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett

Humanity thought the war with demonkind was over. Now, after humanity has had less than a generation to rebuild, the demon corelings have returned with a vengeance. The Spear of Ala—the fortress that stands at the gates of the demon’s hive—is the last bastion against the horde, and reports say it may already have fallen.

Olive Paper is expected to take the vanguard in the fight. Only an heir of Kaji can wield the artifact that opens the gates of the Spear of Ala, and as Ahmann Jardir’s child, Olive seems destined for a role as leader and savior. But Olive does not wish to follow in her father’s footsteps any more than she did her mother’s.

Darin Bales was born with supernatural senses that he struggles to process, but even those who love him believe he can barely take care of himself. Yet to save his mother from the clutches of Alagai Ka, the demon king, Darin will brave anything to mount a rescue.

Darin and Olive each strive to walk their own path but find themselves inextricably tied to the legacies of their parents and to a fated confrontation with the demon king and his new hatchling queen. If they fail, humanity may not survive.

The Hidden Queen by Peter V. Brett will be released on March 5, 2024.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson―creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy―comes this gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different cultures must work together to save their worlds from certain disaster.

Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society―but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero―a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.

Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson will be released on October 3, 2023.

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