It must be admitted that fans of the book may find this illustrated volume too grand a thing for casual thumbing and pawing. But this gorgeous new volume gambles correctly on the sheer visceral pleasure of seeing “Illustrated by the author” on the title page. Illustrators from the brothers Hildebrandt (surely another illustrated edition just waiting to be assembled?) to Alan Lee (the previous artist for an HMH illustrated volume) have clothed the author’s visions in far more detailed and vibrant lines and colors. Those illustrations have been superseded in both art and aggression, almost since the first moment Lord of the Rings caught the public imagination. This opulent new version has an extensive index, red font for chapter titles, those folded maps, and of course all of Tolkien’s illustrations. Like the One Ring, it compels touching, caressing, and endless, bitter glares from all those battered, trusted and much-thumbed older editions already sitting on the shelves, patiently waiting to be taken up again. The thing is almost compulsively addictive.
The combination of all these elements creates an absolutely stunning edition (HMH simultaneously produced an even more elaborate edition in quarter-leather with a slipcase - a limited-print version that was instantly out of stock and intensely collectible.)
The thing is lavishly ornate: a cloth bookmark ribbon, red-gilded pages onto which have been inscribed Tolkien Elvish letters, a hole cut in the dust jacket through which peers the baleful eye of Sauron, sewn rather than glued binding, two tipped-in maps, and, as the main selling point, all the illustrations Tolkien himself made for has masterpiece.
The new one-volume hardcover edition of Lord of the Rings from HarperCollins is so opulent a thing that it practically needs to be seen to be believed ironically or otherwise, it stands as a silent and curiously graceful commentary on the limits of what e-books can do.
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