Subterranean Press—after a good deal of discussion, consideration, and canvassing opinion—has gone ahead and signed contracts to publish the first two volumes of the A Song of Ice and Fire limited edition. Full details are not yet available, but this is a very interesting turn of events.
When Miesha Merlin first published A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings as limited editions, few would realize at the time that the company would close down and the production would shift to Subterranean. In the course of the move, an incredible amount of numbered sets were “broken”—left incomplete—through various issues related to documentation and the like. The first two novels—illustrated, respectively, by Jeffrey Jones and John Howe—have become quite rare, especially when trying to match them up to broken sets; the numbered Game of Thrones has now hit four figures in value on EBay and at specialist booksellers.
In related news, the excellent artist Marc Fishman has over 30 interior illustrations completed for the limited edition of A Dance with Dragons, and will complete the rest of his work—including several full-color paintings—when he receives the finished manuscript for the novel, which is due to be published on July 12.