Midworld Press...

[swintek]

I have the BP edition as well and will be passing on the book but am disappointed to see the price. I have a handful of their books, and while they are nice enough, they are not on the level on Suntup or Lividian nor do they include slipcases like those two publishers always have in that price point.

Thanks for your input on the books so far. It'll be interesting to see if more people agree with us and "vote" with their wallets, or if it just sells through.

[sholloman81]

Had the exact same reaction you did here, Ron, re: the price point on THE KEEP. When I expressed as much somewhere on Facebook a few weeks ago, someone defended the price by saying it was comparable to what Centipede and Suntup were doing. I wasn't so sure about that, though. Alas, I have yet to purchase a Midworld Press book- and have never seen one in person- so have no direct knowledge on how their production generally compares to those 2 venerable publishers above. Anyway, I will definitely be sitting this edition out, as I already have the signed, limited BP edition, which is a nice enough edition, actually. Even more so because I'm voting with my wallet more and more these days as small press collecting has skyrocketed. I know my single vote doesn't really matter as the endless parade of these high-priced offset-printed books keep being made are selling through their print runs as fast as ever (Chiroptera is another new press that charges a lot for offset overseas-printed books, but their aesthetic really aligns with mine these days so I generally pay it). Hell, hamburgers are expensive now, so- why not books, I guess.

I have the BP edition as well and will be passing on the book but am disappointed to see the price. I have a handful of their books, and while they are nice enough, they are not on the level on Suntup or Lividian nor do they include slipcases like those two publishers always have in that price point.

[swintek]

Had the exact same reaction you did here, Ron, re: the price point on THE KEEP. When I expressed as much somewhere on Facebook a few weeks ago, someone defended the price by saying it was comparable to what Centipede and Suntup were doing. I wasn't so sure about that, though. Alas, I have yet to purchase a Midworld Press book- and have never seen one in person- so have no direct knowledge on how their production generally compares to those 2 venerable publishers above. Anyway, I will definitely be sitting this edition out, as I already have the signed, limited BP edition, which is a nice enough edition, actually. Even more so because I'm voting with my wallet more and more these days as small press collecting has skyrocketed. I know my single vote doesn't really matter as the endless parade of these high-priced offset-printed books keep being made are selling through their print runs as fast as ever (Chiroptera is another new press that charges a lot for offset overseas-printed books, but their aesthetic really aligns with mine these days so I generally pay it). Hell, hamburgers are expensive now, so- why not books, I guess.

[Ben Staad]

Interesting. I don't believe I'm on their mailing list anymore. I will be interesting in seeing this one.

Yikes, the price was just (?) announced via email, and that new S/L edition of F. Paul Wilson's THE KEEP is going to be $175. Presumably offset printing (does not specify letterpress), just four color interior illustrations, presumably not oversized since the email again doesn't mention anything to the contrary, 400 copies. This one is more like Subterranean Press pricing than Midworld's usual $100ish, though looking at the specs I'm not too sure why. I'm sure it'll be a beautiful edition and I had been giving it some thought, but at that price I may just have to be satisfied with my signed trade 1st HC. Or not. We'll see.

[RonClinton]

Yikes, the price was just (?) announced via email, and that new S/L edition of F. Paul Wilson's THE KEEP is going to be $175. Presumably offset printing (does not specify letterpress), just four color interior illustrations, presumably not oversized since the email again doesn't mention anything to the contrary, 400 copies. This one is more like Subterranean Press pricing than Midworld's usual $100ish, though looking at the specs I'm not too sure why. I'm sure it'll be a beautiful edition and I had been giving it some thought, but at that price I may just have to be satisfied with my signed trade 1st HC. Or not. We'll see.

[sholloman81]

Hey, after reading today's newsletter it looks like I was right about The Keep. I'm hardly ever right about anything (just ask the wife) so maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket or something! I don't know if I'm going to pull the trigger on a copy, though.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice sounds interesting, but the price point might be too high for me to do a blind buy. However, both Fever House and the Laird Barron omnibus sound pretty intriguing, so I'll keep an eye out for those. I'm still have yet to purchase anything from Midworld--both criticism of their early editions, including some unattractive cover art, and their newsletter response about the cover art to The Girl With All the Gifts turned me off a bit--but never say never.

Congrats on your guess! Will be passing on the Keep as well. Already have it as a part of the Borderlands Adversary Cycle set and don't need a dupe copy. Not really interested in the Beekeeper's apprentice as an LE but would like to read it at some point. Not sure about the Barron book. He's one of those authors that never seems to quite click for me as much as others but perhaps I would like his crime stuff better. Never heard of Fever House but it sounds like tons of fun.

[swintek]

Hey, after reading today's newsletter it looks like I was right about The Keep. I'm hardly ever right about anything (just ask the wife) so maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket or something! I don't know if I'm going to pull the trigger on a copy, though.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice sounds interesting, but the price point might be too high for me to do a blind buy. However, both Fever House and the Laird Barron omnibus sound pretty intriguing, so I'll keep an eye out for those. I'm still have yet to purchase anything from Midworld--both criticism of their early editions, including some unattractive cover art, and their newsletter response about the cover art to The Girl With All the Gifts turned me off a bit--but never say never.

Wow- this is exactly where I'm at with the titles just announced, and the press as a whole- pretty much verbatim. Nothing so far has made me pull the trigger, but, as a long-time Sherlockian- I am intrigued by The Beekeepers Apprentice, but, maybe not at that price, and, The Keep? I've already got a pretty ok signed/limited Borderlands edition, but- Palumbo... oooh, I like his stuff.

[Sock Monkey]

Hey, after reading today's newsletter it looks like I was right about The Keep. I'm hardly ever right about anything (just ask the wife) so maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket or something! I don't know if I'm going to pull the trigger on a copy, though.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice sounds interesting, but the price point might be too high for me to do a blind buy. However, both Fever House and the Laird Barron omnibus sound pretty intriguing, so I'll keep an eye out for those. I'm still have yet to purchase anything from Midworld--both criticism of their early editions, including some unattractive cover art, and their newsletter response about the cover art to The Girl With All the Gifts turned me off a bit--but never say never.

[Sock Monkey]

Looks like you're correct...from a review I found:

"When a group of Nazi soldiers occupies an isolated keep deep in the Transylvanian Alps, they awaken something out for their blood, at a determined pace of one death per night. Terrified, they ask for help; alas, the elite reinforcements prove ineffective. Desperate, they end up reaching out to an expert on local legends, a wheelchair-bound intellectual who happens to be Jewish. But even the scholar and his daughter don’t suspect the repercussions of what has been unleashed in the keep…" Notice there's even a young woman (that aforementioned daughter...?) pushing the wheelchair in MidWorld's art.

Thanks for the follow-up, Ron. It's nice to know that wasn't completely off on my guess.

[RonClinton]

I actually had some serious doubts (and am still not 100% sold on my guess) after your post inquiring if there was a person in a wheelchair in the book. I mean, I am, after all, the guy who recently guessed that a new Suntup book was going to be a book that they had already published, so...

Looks like you're correct...from a review I found:

"When a group of Nazi soldiers occupies an isolated keep deep in the Transylvanian Alps, they awaken something out for their blood, at a determined pace of one death per night. Terrified, they ask for help; alas, the elite reinforcements prove ineffective. Desperate, they end up reaching out to an expert on local legends, a wheelchair-bound intellectual who happens to be Jewish. But even the scholar and his daughter don’t suspect the repercussions of what has been unleashed in the keep…" Notice there's even a young woman (that aforementioned daughter...?) pushing the wheelchair in MidWorld's art.

[Sock Monkey]

You're probably right...my memory on books read decades ago isn't very reliable. I'd like to think that it is -- it's a work that deserves limited treatment, and aside from being one of volumes in the Borderlands set (and, man, Monteleone didn't do himself any favors with people on that recent mass-distribution of his Substack post), it hasn't seen that kind of treatment, not as a solo edition. I have a signed 1st HC of it, but might consider a limited of it, especially if there was additional content of some sort.

I actually had some serious doubts (and am still not 100% sold on my guess) after your post inquiring if there was a person in a wheelchair in the book.  I mean, I am, after all, the guy who recently guessed that a new Suntup book was going to be a book that they had already published, so...

[Sock Monkey]

I received the Monteleone emails as well and had assumed that it came from Substack because I subscribe to Keene's newsletter (either his or his store, Vortex Books, uses Substack, I believe), so I assumed it was sent as a "if you like that one, you might like this one" type of thing.  Although, it seems that Monteleone and Keene are on quite different ends of the spectrum politically.  Since Ron is saying that he has no connection to Substack, then I'd say that Monteleone's comments about not knowing how those who received the email did, in fact, receive the email does seems iffy.

[RonClinton]

I received three emails from Monteleone. I only check email about once a day, so I read them in reverse order and was puzzled. I stopped all communication with Monteleone at least 15 years ago so my only awareness of his implosion came from this forum, and I believe it was discussed on Jeff Terry's Youtube live. Monteleone pretty much laid it out in the emails and made the point of people who were upset. I was certain I would not have subscribed to his Substack so I logged in and confirmed that I am not subscribed. When I had my issues with him, he was a total ass and it appears he is also a liar, Substack did not send me those emails.

I have no involvement or subscriptions to any Substack contributor, so his claim that my email didn’t come from his Borderlands customer list is, at best, suspect.

[Martin]

You're probably right...my memory on books read decades ago isn't very reliable. I'd like to think that it is -- it's a work that deserves limited treatment, and aside from being one of volumes in the Borderlands set (and, man, Monteleone didn't do himself any favors with people on that recent mass-distribution of his Substack post), it hasn't seen that kind of treatment, not as a solo edition. I have a signed 1st HC of it, but might consider a limited of it, especially if there was additional content of some sort.

I received three emails from Monteleone. I only check email about once a day, so I read them in reverse order and was puzzled. I stopped all communication with Monteleone at least 15 years ago so my only awareness of his implosion came from this forum, and I believe it was discussed on Jeff Terry's Youtube live. Monteleone pretty much laid it out in the emails and made the point of people who were upset. I was certain I would not have subscribed to his Substack so I logged in and confirmed that I am not subscribed. When I had my issues with him, he was a total ass and it appears he is also a liar, Substack did not send me those emails.

[RonClinton]

It’s been a long time since I read it as well, but I seen to remember an elderly possibly Jewish man and his daughter in the old castle with Nazis and a possibly vampiric creature. Â I might be off on some (or all!) of that, but that’s what led me to the conclusion about the art. Â

You're probably right...my memory on books read decades ago isn't very reliable. I'd like to think that it is -- it's a work that deserves limited treatment, and aside from being one of volumes in the Borderlands set (and, man, Monteleone didn't do himself any favors with people on that recent mass-distribution of his Substack post), it hasn't seen that kind of treatment, not as a solo edition. I have a signed 1st HC of it, but might consider a limited of it, especially if there was additional content of some sort.