Midworld Press...

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[Sock Monkey]

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.

This was my thought in reaction to the Facebook defenders comparison to Suntup and Centipede. Now, I only have one Midworld book (thanks again, Ron!) and I do like it a lot, but it doesn't hit the heights of either press. Price point doesn't necessarily mean quality. I mean, I'd like to be wrong and for the edition to be amazing, and hopefully it will, but the book has quite a bit to live up to considering the elevated price point and the production details divulged so far.

Also, is there significant demand for this title? I know that it has a solid reputation and Wilson is a legend in the field, but isn't Borderlands still selling sets of the Adversary Cycle? I'm not be snide or anything, but genuinely curious.

[sholloman81]

This was my thought in reaction to the Facebook defenders comparison to Suntup and Centipede. Now, I only have one Midworld book (thanks again, Ron!) and I do like it a lot, but it doesn't hit the heights of either press. Price point doesn't necessarily mean quality. I mean, I'd like to be wrong and for the edition to be amazing, and hopefully it will, but the book has quite a bit to live up to considering the elevated price point and the production details divulged so far.

Also, is there significant demand for this title? I know that it has a solid reputation and Wilson is a legend in the field, but isn't Borderlands still selling sets of the Adversary Cycle? I'm not be snide or anything, but genuinely curious.

Personally, I don't think it needs another edition; however, I'm sure that there may be people who only want that book and not the whole BP Anniversary Cycle set, but I can't imagine that being too many people. Personally, while the BP Anniversary Cycle set isn't particularly lavish, I'm very happy to have it and that uniform set of books!

[RonClinton]

I'm sure that there may be people who only want that book and not the whole BP Anniversary Cycle set, but I can't imagine that being too many people.

Actually, I'm one who doesn't need the entire Adversary Cycle set but would like a nice deluxe limited HC of just THE KEEP. Other than THE KEEP, I have the cycle in Dark Harvest HCs, so I'm set in that regard, but Dark Harvest never did THE KEEP, and while it's part of the cycle I've always kind of thought of it as a standalone in many regards, so a standalone limited sounds great to me. I just don't know, at this price and presumed non-Suntup quality and sans slipcase (and general limitation is kind of a non-issue since the BP edition also exists as a limited), if this Midworld edition is the one I've been waiting for. I may wait for it to hit the secondary market via eBay, but the problem there, as one who has a Watch assigned to a few of their titles, seems to be a dearth of such copies...either those who buy Midworld hang on to their copies or sales at the publisher are slower than I might imagine. If I didn't already have a Fine/Fine signed 1st HC of THE KEEP, I might be more inclined to throw caution to the wind and pick up a copy, but with just four art pieces in it, I'll have to wait and see what else this new edition offers me that I don't already have.