Caution: O.C. Fangirl Blogging
When I started collecting Brandon Sanderson’s books, the very first one I bought was the UK mass market edition of Mistborn: The Final Empire. Although the US covers look and feel more like classic fantasy, the UK covers have a certain minimalist appeal. I tend to be OC about editions, so I hounded the stores until I got the entire Mistborn trilogy in matching editions.
I made sure to get the UK editions for his subsequent epic fantasies, although I gave up on getting them all in mass market format because Gollancz’s mass market The Way of Kings was split into 2 volumes. And when The Alloy of Law came out, the local store stocked only the regular paperback.
The UK edition of Warbreaker very recently appeared in another local store, so I got a copy even though I already read the e-book, so that I can complete my collection. I also want to read Warbreaker again to stick tabs on the pages with my favorite passages, and to just generally enjoy all of Lightsong’s witty dialogue. And I couldn’t resist the lilac-colored font. 😛
(O.C. comment: Warbreaker’s title doesn’t have curliques on the spine. It bothers me.)
As you can see, my copy of Elantris is still a mass market US; it looks so out-of-place in that group. Keep an eye out for the UK edition in stores for me, will you, Pinoy friends? 😀
So why do I like collecting the UK editions aside from the endless amusement I get when I imagine hearing the narrator speak in a British accent inside my head? If you don’t have the moolah to get a hardbound copy, then the UK mass markets are a good value for your money. They normally cost just as much as the US mass market, but the UK MMPs, particularly the Gollancz ones, have better paper and print quality. The British eds are also a little bigger (Elantris and Mistborn in the photo above are both classified as MMPs), so the font size is more comfortable for the eyes.
As for Sanderson’s other books, I’m still missing volumes 3 and 4 of his Alcatraz series for young adults. I got the 1st volume at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale, and the 2nd just randomly appeared in another store. I saw volume 3 somewhere else, but it’s a hardbound copy, and I’m hesitant to get it.
And although I’m 25 pages into the 1st volume of The Wheel of Time, um…that’s not on the table today, ‘kay? ‘Kay. 😛
Next mission: Procure a copy of the Mistborn Adventure Game.
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Shout-outs! — Thanks to Aaron for the heads-up on Warbreaker, and to Leia for calling the store to reserve a copy for me. 😀
The Girl Who Read and Other Stories 
That cover for Warbreaker is pretty cool, but for Elantris I prefer the US paperback edition (I have the same one you have in the photo). I also absolutely love the US paperback covers for the Mistborn Trilogy.
I’m a huge fan of his books, to the point that I’ll probably be buying everything he comes out with in Hardcover from now on. Although if all of his book covers are painted by Michael Whelan (who did the US cover for The Way of Kings) than there really is no issue about the quality of the cover art.
Hi, Adam! I’m a big fan, too. Sadly, the hardcovers tend to be too expensive out here. For now, I’ll have to settle for the UK paperbacks, which is a good workaround if I want a copy of his new book, because the UK releases paperbacks simultaneous with the hardcovers. I agree with you about the Michael Whelan art, though. The TwoK cover art is breathtaking; I used that as a computer wallpaper for months. 😀
Thanks for dropping by! 🙂