Folio Society - Ian Fleming Special Editions

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  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,783
    For £500 they can keep that.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    625 USD. They're nuts. Not a chance.
  • Posts: 12,256
    625 USD. They're nuts. Not a chance.

    Mine says $725!!! Honestly I’m relieved I’m not alone in finding this just crazy haha I don’t know anyone with this kind of money. Even the “standard” beautiful editions are about as far as I’m willing to go for pricing, so this is a big no go.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    I see the alure less in what the book looks like, and more in it's limited run. Even so, £500 is a bit steep for my wallet, especially at the present time.
  • Posts: 12,256
    My Folio edition of Casino Royale arrived today. I’m absolutely blown away by it now, having it up close. The pictures online still don’t do it justice; having it in my hands shows just how spectacular it is. I clearly made the right choice to start collecting these. I rarely splurge on expensive editions of anything, but this right here is a Bond fan’s dream. Got to be one of my new finest possessions! I’m so happy :D
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2023 Posts: 17,783
    I see the alure less in what the book looks like, and more in it's limited run. Even so, £500 is a bit steep for my wallet, especially at the present time.

    I think they must be taking a leaf out of Eon's playbook (if you'll pardon the pun) and putting out stuff only the richest Bond fans can afford to buy. I suppose they'll need it as the sales of the censored versions of Fleming's Bond books probably won't be anything to write home about.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,104
    I'll say one thing (although it's a very pretty book and I'd love to own it): Folio Society editions, gorgeous though they are, don't tend to increase in value, in fact they usually go down. Maybe this will be the exception because anything Bond gets that Midas touch?
  • Posts: 17,270
    mtm wrote: »
    I don't actually like the look of it very much. For that much cash I'd want a classier cover.



    I have to agree re. the cover. Its… alright, but nothing special – and for a premium priced limited edition release, you'd hope for something better. I don't feel a clamshell box, a limitation label signed by the illustrator, metal sprayed page edges etc. is enough to warrant the price – or even half the price. An easy "No" for me.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited April 2023 Posts: 2,921
    Makes me glad I'm not a collector, tbh. I'm not against it - people should spend their own money on whatever they like, obviously, but...500 quid? Sheesh.
  • Posts: 1,001
    There are some collectors (me included), that have all the Folio editions and are waiting for Octopussy to be published, so we can complete our collection. I suppose we should be thankful they haven't issued OP as their 'special edition!'
    It'd be a bitter pill to swallow, having to fork out five hundred squid to complete our collection.
  • Posts: 12,256
    I wouldn’t call myself a “collector,” but for this line of books I definitely want all of them, the new CR excluded (it isn’t part of a matching set anyway). Besides vintage video games, they’re the most expensive entertainment I’ve indulged in. But James Bond is my #1 franchise, and these are top of the line editions, so I can justify it. Especially when the Fleming originals are the best output of said franchise.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    I actually like the cover, but You can get half the set of Folio Bonds for that money. Won’t be buying this.
  • edited April 2023 Posts: 12,256
    I plan on giving CR a proper reread soon via my Folio copy, but for now I have just looked at all the artwork (and marveled!) and read the beautiful included introduction by John Banville. Such a wonderful tribute to Fleming and his iconic creation. I have already gushed over this edition a lot, just have to reiterate for anyone on the fence that *can* afford it that really wants to get it: take the plunge. I never spend this much money on books, but I’m so happy I have this. I am stoked to begin a new series reading with this gorgeous collection.
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    Posts: 2,721
    There's free shipping on folio society orders over 100 pounds for the next day or so. Save about 20 quid.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    FYEO arrived the other day, so my set stands at six now.
  • Posts: 12,256
    Thanks to better budgeting and a couple breaks, I've been able to build up my collection faster than I had anticipated! I've got the first 8 books now: CR, LALD, MR, DAF, FRWL, DN, GF, and FYEO. It could very well be my favorite collection of anything that I've grown. I'm hoping OP & TLD is announced and released later this year, so my novel Bondathon could be completed using all these lovely new editions! I'm only on reading DAF now, and I've paced it to where I think I can at least use all the other Folio versions for these rereads.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    I guess it's pure fools fantasy to hope for COLONEL SUN.
  • mybudgetbondmybudgetbond The World
    Posts: 189
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I guess it's pure fools fantasy to hope for COLONEL SUN.

    I’d love that. And the Horowitz trilogy!
  • Posts: 1,001
    I hope they don't. Once they've done Octopussy, it'll be a perfect series of Fleming collectable hardbacks. I wouldn't want them to cherry-pick continuation authors and issue them in the same format as the Flemings.
    I don't think they would anyway. Not for a minute.
  • edited May 2023 Posts: 12,256
    I don't see the harm in releasing whichever other Bond books they want in a different format from the Fleming line, so they can still exist but it's clear they're not part of the original saga. It was a shame OP & TLD wasn't part of the newest Folio collection I saw, but I read somewhere (don't know how reliable) that it is supposed to come sometime this year, so hopefully Fall or Winter collection then for the series to be completed. If I read about 2 a month, then it should line up pretty well if it's out in the fall.

    My TB copy shipped out today after ordering yesterday. Next paycheck I should have just enough free cash to order the last four altogether. Didn't think I'd be able to collect them all this fast, but having cut out almost all my other entertainment spendings has helped allow for it.
  • edited May 2023 Posts: 1,001
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I don't see the harm in releasing whichever other Bond books they want in a different format from the Fleming line, so they can still exist but it's clear they're not part of the original saga.

    I completely agree. In a different format, they'd be great. I'd rather them not have the same format and Dalton artwork as the Flemings though.
    When I read Birdleson's post I assumed he meant he wanted Colonel Sun in the same format as the Fleming Folios.
    I think there was a Pan paperback of Colonel Sun which tied in with the Fleming paperbacks. Or I might have dreamt it.
  • Posts: 2,895
    The Folio Society tends to print literary books that have a reputation as classics, or popular books that have been around long enough to achieve that status. The Fleming books fit the latter, but I'm not sure if many of the Bond continuation books do. Perhaps Colonel Sun, but probably not Gardner or anyone more recent.
  • Posts: 1,001
    I agree. Can you imagine Benson's novelisation of Die Another Day getting a Folio reprint? It'd never happen.
    Colonel Sun though, given it's author, it's pedigree, it's quality, it's the only one I'd think would be a (slight) possible.
    But even then, I certainly wouldn't want it in the same series as the Flemings. And they wouldn't do that anyway, because it's a different author.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2023 Posts: 17,783
    Revelator wrote: »
    The Folio Society tends to print literary books that have a reputation as classics, or popular books that have been around long enough to achieve that status. The Fleming books fit the latter, but I'm not sure if many of the Bond continuation books do. Perhaps Colonel Sun, but probably not Gardner or anyone more recent.

    Sadly I have to agree with this, especially as regards Gardner and his successors. There's a slight chance that they might do Colonel Sun given it's now over 50 years old. Then there is the celebrated nature of its author, the fact it was written in the 1960s and has a more classic authentic feel to it and how it is more regarded as canon than any other Bond continuation novel. Scenes and ideas having been used in the Bond films does its semi-official status no harm either. In a legal analogy, Colonel Sun is similar to a Privy Council case in UK law - it is a persuasive authority though not binding on Fleming's Bond work.
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    edited June 2023 Posts: 2,721
    I'm loving these Folio editions. I'm currently reading 'For Your Eyes Only' and enjoying it. Can't wait for 'Octopussy & The Living Daylights' to be released (hopefully with 'Property of a Lady' and '007 in New York') so I can complete the set. I have all the others and they look so striking on the bookshelf. I've sold all my other editions (except for my original hardcovers from the 50s and 60s). These Folio ones are the definitive set for me from now on.
  • Posts: 1,001
    I'm glad to see other on here reading them too. When I started buying them I decided I wanted to physically read them too.
    This meant I had to read them a little out of order, but that's okay. I read the main novels in order, then TSWLM, and now I'm halfway through FYEO. It'll be the end of an era when I finish OP . . . I started my great re-read in March 2020.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    Hey Bond fans, Folio Society is doing free shipping this weekend only on orders greater than 100 pounds / $200CAD. Picking up a few myself.
  • Posts: 1,165
    Has there been any word from Folio about a potential TLD/Op release to complete the collection?
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    No word yet but I don’t see them not doing it, especially after FYEO.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,102
    Not James Bond related, but an interesting product from The Folio Society.

    https://www.cbr.com/dc-golden-age-book-batman-superman-wonder-woman/
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