Well, part of that is a matter of taste. I took one look at it in the store and thought, "ew, they bothered to get tooled leather covers, and they chose such an ugly design?" Similarly, i really think the edge-gilding is *way* too dark for a black-covered book. Moreover, is the interior changed at all? Because, if not, i just can't imagine that color gilding with the page design of the regular 3.5E printing--very clash-y, IMHO. The colors of the 3.5E books would work much better with coppery gilding, rather than dark gold. For that matter, dark brown leather would've been a much better match for the graphic design of the book.Gort said:
One thing to watch out for: it feels like there's foam under the leather cover (something i've never understood, but that's just a matter of taste). This presents two concerns. First, the sorts of foams used generally only have a shelf-life of a decade or two, so if that's still the case, it's less of a candidate for heirloom status. Second, they make the actual cover material much more susceptible to damage. With a hard cover, you basically can't damage the leather without taking a knife (or other sharp) to it. With the foam, it is sometimes possible to rip the cover if it is hit sharply by something pokey--such as being dropped and hitting the corner of a table at a funky angle. So, they did not make the optimal decisions for long-term durability. At least these days you can pretty much count on glossy stock and binding glues to be acid-free.Ghostwind said:At $75.00, it is certainly not something that everyone will want to own. It is meant to be a collectible book that will sit on your shelf (worship optional) and be something to hand to your children.
