Gauntlet Press (with and w/out Borderlands partnership)...

[RonClinton]

I am asking here even though this has nothing to do with the Gauntlet edition of Pines: does anyone know of a facsimile or auto pen signature on the trade edition of The Last Town by Blake Crouch? I have two copies of the trade edition and the signatures are identical. Even down to where they are on the page. I really don’t think it’s possible that they are really signed but I’m not finding anything online about a facsimile signature.

I haven’t heard of anything like that, though I suppose anything is possible. But I can’t imagine it would be economical for the publisher to bind in a (real) signature page in a mass-market tpb, and a facsimile signature without context seems unlikely as well. My suspicion is that it’s just a coincidence, and maybe there are subtle differences in your two that just aren’t readily apparent…?

[jeffingoff]

I am asking here even though this has nothing to do with the Gauntlet edition of Pines: does anyone know of a facsimile or auto pen signature on the trade edition of The Last Town by Blake Crouch? I have two copies of the trade edition and the signatures are identical. Even down to where they are on the page. I really don’t think it’s possible that they are really signed but I’m not finding anything online about a facsimile signature.

[joejets]

Bradbury signings wrangled by his son David, who plays Doug on the Doug and Lemu commercials.

[Splync]

Same. That announcement came as a surprise…it’d seemed like he’d already mined just about anything publishable, so I’m curious to see what he may have unearthed (or gathered together).

I also wouldn't be surprised if the lettered edition is "signed" by Bradbury. I seem to recall Barry having bookplates signed by Bradbury. He may have used them all up, but there's always a chance that he has 26 of them waiting for a home.

[RonClinton]

I'm very intrigued by the Bradbury volume that Gauntlet will be publishing in 2022. Barry Hoffman has stated that he doesn't publish works that have already received the limited edition treatment, so I'm interested to see what it'll be.

Same. That announcement came as a surprise…it’d seemed like he’d already mined just about anything publishable, so I’m curious to see what he may have unearthed (or gathered together).

[Splync]

I'm very intrigued by the Bradbury volume that Gauntlet will be publishing in 2022. Barry Hoffman has stated that he doesn't publish works that have already received the limited edition treatment, so I'm interested to see what it'll be.

[Martin]

Gauntlet was kind enough to confirm that I made the correct decision to pass on The Pines. In their newsletter was a link to pre-order a copy:
CLICK HERE TO PRE-OREDER PINES

Happy to pass on the 'PRE-OREDER'!

[dannyboy121070]

The F. Paul Wilson short was one of a bunch of peripheral stories by other authors that were published digitally as the trilogy was being released. It seems to have been withdrawn from being sold that way, for some reason.

[jeffingoff]

I don't know if it's disrespectful - look at SubPress's edition of Ready Player One - it included a piece of fanfic from Andy Weir.

Hmm I've never seen anything like that. I suppose that's up to the author whether or not it's welcome. I just haven't seen a bonus piece of fiction from a different author in someone else's book. To be honest, I'd be thrilled to see a Malerman short story in a King limited edition or an Ania Ahlborn short story published together with a Joe Lansdale novel. Or an edition of Fight Club with new fiction from Crouch! And so on . . .

[TacomaDiver]

Obviously I'm struggling with passing on Pines. I've been looking into it and I thought it was being published as an omnibus but it's just the first book in the trilogy. So it'll still be a long wait for the other two to see the light of day. I'm getting tired of waiting. The cover and the quality of the edition are going to be lacking. Also, how do you all feel about F. Paul Wilson writing a story inspired by Pines to be included in the book? It seems disrespectful to me for another author to be included in the book. I don't know. I guess that's Crouch's call. All this combined makes me think I've already decided to pass. Again.

I don't know if it's disrespectful - look at SubPress's edition of Ready Player One - it included a piece of fanfic from Andy Weir.

[RonClinton]

I wish anyone else had done this set. I'll probably just make due with trade editions.

That's my plan, and my reason. You won't find a much bigger fan of the PINES trilogy than me, but I can't justify the book that's being offered (for reasons I've mentioned earlier so won't beat a dead horse here). It's really a shame. This one has been high on my Wish List for a deluxe production since the time I binge-read the trilogy, so it's extra disappointing...not only because I'm a Blake Crouch fan, but this is my favorite work by him and one I've hoped for years would see the light in limited form. It's also the type of book(s) of moderate appeal and that lacks classic status in the genre that, odds are, thus will not see a second publisher take a stab at it. There was one opportunity to get it right, and that lone chance just sailed.

[Martin]

I wish anyone else had done this set. I'll probably just make due with trade editions.

I currently only own the stories in audio format. At some point I will probably try to track down first editions, signed or unsigned.

[jeffingoff]

Although I loved The Pines trilogy and pretty much everything I have read from Crouch I passed on this set. I have several Gauntlet books and have generally been pleased with them. I purchased Hope and Miracles earlier this year. While I love the content the book itself feels cheap for the $199 price tag. My largest issue is that the paper stock feels like what would be found in a trade paperback. That and a rather unsatisfactory response from Mr. Hoffman regarding another recent purchase has me leery of purchasing from Gauntlet. Add in the fact that this is done in partnership with Borderlands made this an easy pass for me. It is unfortunate as this is a set that would be a must have for me from most small press publishers. Investing what I assume will be at least $150 into two companies I have strong reservations against doing business with was just not something I was not willing to do. I hope those who get it love it and that another publisher does a nice limited of the set that I can add to my collection.

I wish anyone else had done this set. I'll probably just make due with trade editions.

[jeffingoff]

I purchased a copy of The Pines. While I never expect Gauntlet books to be of the highest quality when compared to a Suntup/Centipede/Etc., they still seem perfectly suitable to me as nice reading copies, especially at the price-points they are being offered at. I have never read a Crouch book; so, while I don't love the cover, I am happy to give this one a try at the $50 range instead of the hundreds of dollars that seems to be the starting point recently for a lot of other publishers new books. In terms of the wait, The Pines also still seems to be on schedule for a Fall 2021 publication date per the most recent Gauntlet newsletter. The next book is scheduled to be announced early 2022. In my experience with the handful of Gauntlet purchases that I have made in the past, I don't recall ever having to wait for Gauntlet to publish their books on time unlike a lot of other small press publishers that I won't name here who still have me waiting for books that I purchased years ago. In fact, I believe that my last Gauntlet purchase, The Ravenous, was published and in my hands months early. I also have no issue with F. Paul WIlson's short story being included in the book. I have seen that done with other books in the past, and, while I don't know this for sure, I'm assuming that they have some sort of friendship from having co-written Draculas together and from having done book signings together in the past. Overall, while Gauntlet will probably never be among my favorite small press publishers, due to their lower prices and timely publication dates, when the right title presents itself, I will still be all-in on purchasing from them.

Great points. And I wasn't aware of the friendship. Probably why Crouch ended up having his limited edition published by Borderlands/Gauntlet.

[jeffingoff]

Well, it had a list price of $50, and using store credit made it $25, so I bought it. I'm not expecting much - Gauntlet tends to over promise and under deliver, but at this price point I don't really care. If it's really terrible, I'll just sell it. If I ever get around to selling the stack of books I have waiting to sell, that is...

Expectations matter and I think you're heading into it with the right expectations. I'm tempted to buy but I think I'll try my luck on the secondary.