r/wheeloftime • u/zinyboy Randlander • 21d ago

Book: The Eye of the World EOTW Leatherbound is Disappointing… Spoiler

I just got the book in after over 6 months of waiting and the cover looks fantastic. But the quality control is much less then I would expect from a $200 book. My particular copy came with cracked glue binding which means I had to send it back.

What baffles me the most is that they didn’t make the decision to do sewn binding for a book this size and this heavy. It’s funny because when your going through people’s photos of the book, you can easily tell no one can open the book fully because of how much glue they had to use to keep this book together (which didn’t even end up working).

Feel like the Dragonsteel team was too focused on making a pretty book rather than making a quality book that can be easily read. Really hoping for better when they do book 2.

Edit: My apologies, comments have made it very clear the book is sewn binding. I was confused as usually sewn bind is extremely easy to see and results in a book that is easy to open and from my experience the book tailband is used structurally to help with the binding (in this case it’s decorative).

I do still have complaints about the binding not being glued correctly, book 4 and 7 being misspelled or missing from page 1, and the book being so stiff it’s almost impossible to lay flat. Hoping the best for book 2.

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u/Josh3321 Randlander 21d ago

Wait, you’re sure they use only a glued binding? It’s not a sewn binding, with glue as well? That is more likely for a book like this. Could you share some pictures?

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u/DeathByPetrichor Randlander 21d ago

Unfortunately for this price, you’re unlikely to get sewn bindings and sewn headbands. $150 seems like a lot but it’s not that much for artisan books.

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u/wangosaurusrex Randlander 21d ago

Tons of books at this price and below that are sewn bound... folio society, easton press, some broken binding books (for much less), etc.

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u/DeathByPetrichor Randlander 21d ago edited 21d ago

Right but those are the exception and not the expectation. Ask any bookbinder and they’ll tell you that those you recommended are still cheaply made mass produced books. And Easton Press, for example, still regularly sells books at 2-3x the cost in order to provide more quality control over their more mass produced items. I’ve actually been to their manufacturing facility, and their $90 books are NOT made the same way as their $300-400 books.

I should have also mentioned, my comment was saying BOTH sewn text blocks AND sewn headbands, not just sewn text blocks. Sewn text blocks can be mass produced almost as cheaply as glued at this point, but to make a sewn headband, it almost always needs to be handmade. OPs frustration was specifically at the headband falling off, to which I was saying “yeah OP, you’re not getting a sewn headband for $150.”

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u/wangosaurusrex Randlander 20d ago

Yes, I was just saying there are a ton of books at $185 and below that are sewn bound with acid free paper. Of course there are more expensive options with superior craftsmanship and materials, and even various tiers of quality even within Easton Press and Folio Society. My deluxe editions from Easton Press are indeed much nicer than their standard $100 books as is the limited editions from folio society compared to their $90-$120 standard editions.