Sarob Press have recently announced Powers and Presences, a shared volume of new fiction by John Howard and Mark Valentine. The stories are inspired by the seven mid-20th century supernatural thrillers of Charles Williams, and comprise:
“The Dance of Gold” by John Howard, a novella in which the rector of a rural parish
discovers the secret of a legendary coin and the enormous responsibilities of
becoming, even temporarily, its guardian.
“Kraken Tide” by Mark Valentine, a long story in which a vast storm flooding the Lincolnshire coast coincides with the activities of a mysterious black magician and, possibly, the secrets of the Templars.
“Seek for the Pomegranate” by Mark Valentine, a long story about an ancient Roman talisman which leads two young scholars into a mystical adventure and the Orphic Mysteries.
Both authors also provide afterwords about their interest in Charles Williams' work.
It comes out to $20 per novella/novelette. Too much.
ReplyDeleteYou've obviously never had a Sarob press book before. I've reserved mine and look forward to it.
Delete-Jeff Matthews
Jeff, I'm sure the book is lovely, but some people would be content to read the contents in a less luxurious embodiment. The nice way to do it is to produce the luxury limited editions for those who collect them while issuing the content in a relatively budget-priced format for readers as such. This is particularly the case for senior readers whose finances might be limited, but, more to the point, have perhaps not a great many reading years left. They may enjoy the look of luxury editions on their shelves for a few years; and then? Odds are pretty good that many of the collections so fondly and expensively accumulated now are not going to mean a lot to the heirs. Meanwhile, people who would have enjoyed reading the stories never will. Even some who would be willing to pay for the books will not find out about their existence as they circulate in a small world of book fanciers. I hope I can share a different perspective without exasperating anyone.
DeleteI note that when Williams' superb novel The Place of the Lion was first issued by Gollancz, the price was a modest 3 shillings. Williams could figure that, if people praised his book, they were responding to what he wrote. Their response wasn't entangled with delectation of a book they'd spent a lot for and so naturally would -want- to think highly of (since nobody wants to think he just paid a lot for something lavishly got up but that was only so-so).
ReplyDeleteI expect that the stories by Valentine and Howard are going to be truly enjoyable, clever works of the unusual. I think I might be better positioned to enjoy what they wrote if it came to me in a less extraordinary dress. (It occurs to me that my first encounter with Tolkien was in mass-market paperbacks that got the man's writing into my hands so it could work its spell. Likewise my first Machen books were Pinnacle paperbacks. these in fact had rather cheesy covers. But the power of Machen's writing came through.)
I'm not saying that luxury editions shouldn't be published. It's a glory of a free market system that people can issue books as a labor of love and that they can be bought (if they have the funds) by people who like the look and feel of an elegant edition. But I'd think most authors would like as many people to be able to read their work as are interested, hence my remark about the nice way: publish a luxury edition for collectors but also a readers' edition for others. That way the collectors can enjoy the look and feel of the book without having the temptation to gloat vulgarly over reading something hardly anybody else gets to read, which I suppose has sometimes happened although I know of no reason whatever to think it has in the present case.