I was recently lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the Ultimate Collectors Edition of Gunmetal Gods, Zamil Akhtar's first foray into self published luxury books. I say I was lucky, I was lucky in the sense that I backed the Kickstarter, bought an additional slipcase paid for international shipping but my partner wasn't home when it arrived to give me that withering look and ask me if i'd bought "another REDACTED book".
This book particularly is the reason I started a blog. Zamil was bold with his mission statement, but it was simple. 'I am determined to deliver an edition that surpasses the wildest expectations'. It set my juices flowing and I thought it would be fun to write about whether I think Indie Fine Press will ever be a thing, or even if it's already a thing. So that what we'll do, strap in and be ready to pick apart my thoughts as they fall out of my brain onto this laptop. I was also lucky enough to chat with Zamil himself about the edition and get his thoughts on the process and product. I also just wanted someone who can speak properly to contribute something to whatever this ends up being.
ANYWAY...
Lets start with the Slipcase.
I went through a bit of a phase buying slipcased books. Dune, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, Dragon Mage, Lord of th...Okay it's mostly Lord of the Rings but you get the point, I have a lot. The bulk of these are traditionally published editions and despite that this is one of the better slipcases I have, definitely top 3. It's covered in a lovely black faux leather and foil stamped with a unique Lovecraftian Arabic calligraphy that has become synonymous with this edition. You also get a lovely foil stamping of the Gunmetal Gods Typography on what I'm dubbing the anti-spine of the slipcase.
The only thing I could think of that could make this slipcase feel more deluxe is possibly a lining on the interior of the slipcase rather than a white paper, and I personally don't like a clipped slipcase with an unfinished edge, but that's very much my personal preference, not a flaw.
Now, lets talk Dustjackets.
I love a textless dustjacket. I think there's something about one that just makes a book feel more premium and Zamil delivers in a serious way. The dustjacket features a beautiful illustration by Rashid Al Akroka and is brought further to life in its production. The matte laminate finish paired with the rainbow foiling, topped off with the embossed eye on the front make this book an absolute delight to handle for a book magpie like me. On the back is more of the same with additional foiling, and again on the spine you get that classic Gunmetal Gods typography.
and it doesn't stop there. Under that gorgeous dustjacket is legitimately the best naked hardcover I have ever seen. Once again bound in that lovely black leather and stamped in that same Arabic calligraphy we see on the slipcase with a bit of added decoration to the top and bottom of the boards. In a similar vein to the dustjacket you get that lovely foreshadowing design on the back of the book and the Gunmetal Gods typography on the spine.
One final piece to mention on the exterior of the book is the matching calligraphy sprayed onto the edge, top and bottom of the text block. This book really feels like it belongs in the Gunmetal Gods Universe and that's part of what makes it so special to me.
Ok, lets talk construction and interior. On the face of it the book has all the specs you'd expect from a high end edition. The book is obviously covered in faux leather with intricate foiling on the boards and spine. The binding is sewn rather than glued meaning these books will still be here when giant monsters genuinely do take over the world, it has matching head and tail bands, it's hand signed by the author, it's printed on acid free paper, it has a sewn in two colour satin ribbon bookmark. To put it plainly, this book is feature heavy.
The only complaint I would have on the construction of the book is that the paper was listed as premium but does feel very thin, and as a result you get a reasonable amount of show through from the pages behind.
Now not only does the books have higher specs than an optician for giants, its absolute packed from start to finish with full colour and black and white illustrations. Zamil has gone to multiple artists when pulling this book together and its one of my favourite things about it. The book essentially doubles as an art gallery with big names such as Andrew Maleski and Ömer Burak Önal. My words really cannot do the artwork in this book justice, please just feast your eyes on them instead, including my personal favourite 'Micah the Metal'
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Micah the Metal - Andrew Maleski
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The Siege of Kostany - Ömer Burak Önal
The only gripe I had with the artwork is the formatting of Hazem Ameen's Burning Man illustration. I understand why it was reformatted like it was but I personally would have accepted a double blank in exchange for a two page spread similar to the below.
One final thing to mention before I get into the mini interview with Zamil, and this is something I know he's very proud of and took inspiration from trendy new fine press boys Curious King. The fold out map.
Look at it.
Soak it in.
Enjoy the map.
God I love maps.
Zamil is obviously very passionate about books, about his story and about Arabic Culture and that passion shines through in both The Gunmetal Gods Deluxe Edition and in my interactions with Zamil. To take on a project of this ambition and magnitude is no small feat and he's taken it in his stride and delivered with only a few minor things that weren't to my own subjective tastes. I had originally gave this edition a 7/10 but having spent some time with it writing this I've fallen that little bit more in love with it, so this gets a definite 8/10. I don't think it's quite ready to be called Indie Fine Press just yet, and that's mainly because of the paper but it's very close at the first time of asking. Not only that but for the money this book cost (about £92.50 including shipping and slipcase), my god does it deliver. |
Now as promised, here's my little interview with Zamil.
Be gentle if this is terrible. It's my first time interviewing an author.
Q: Firstly, congratulations on the success of the Kickstarter! I think to open if you could tell us a little bit about the story itself for anybody that hasn’t read it?
A: Gunmetal Gods is an epic dark fantasy series about a crusader and a janissary battling over control of a holy city in a fantasy world reminiscent of the medieval Middle East. I often describe it as Arabian Nights meets Game of Thrones meets HP Lovecraft.
Q: Self published special editions are quite a new concept to me, it’s not something I’d seen a great deal of before your Kickstarter and maybe one other title. What was it that convinced you to produce a Deluxe Edition of Gunmetal Gods?
A: Until the Kickstarter, the fanciest edition of Gunmetal Gods was the Russian edition, and the second fanciest was a hardcover produced by Amazon that didn’t even have a dust jacket. Because the series has such passionate fans, it was obvious to me that they desired a Collector’s Edition. I also wanted to have a beautiful version of my breakout novel that I could be proud of. I tried some other avenues to getting a Collector’s Edition produced for Gunmetal Gods, and when those attempts stalled, I emailed Merrick Books and we discussed doing a Kickstarter.
Q: I think you’ve done a fantastic job of getting the aesthetic of the book to match the tone and setting of the story, to the extent that if Kevah picked a copy of the naked hardcover up in Gunmetal Gods it wouldn’t feel out of place. Was it a design choice to have it feel like an object from your world?
A: Yes, absolutely. The medieval Middle Eastern book aesthetic is not something found today, even in the Middle East. So I wanted to create a book that looked like it was from that era, but that also had all the bells and whistles of a modern Collector’s Edition. I think we succeeded in striking just the right balance of uniqueness and quality such that there’s really no other book like it. We also did something completely unheard of with the hardcase cover – Arabic calligraphy with a Lovecraftian theme. That’s never been done before by anyone, and it turned out amazing.
Q: There’s some fantastic art in this book from some big hitters in the fantasy space. What was it like working with such a broad team and would you say you have a favourite piece in the book?
A: All the artists were great to work with and I enjoyed the entire process tremendously. I think if I weren’t self-published and my publisher was doing all this art coordination for me, the final product would not have turned out to be nearly as beautiful and I also would have missed out on getting to know so many great artists. I’ve even had the pleasure of meeting some of them in person! This is one of the most fulfilling parts of the job, for me. There are so many pieces I love, but the Micah the Metal illustration by Andrew Maleski blew my mind when I first saw it, and I think it had the same impression on everyone else. It’s just so thoroughly Gunmetal Gods and it’s the one illustration I would show people if they wanted to know what the series is about.
Q: With any new venture I would imagine it wasn’t as smooth a process as the final product would suggest. Is there anything you’d do differently if you had the time again or advice that you can give to other authors looking to self produce their own deluxe editions?
A: Surprisingly, there were no major misfires or mistakes. Literally everything worked out. One thing to keep in mind is that timelines can take longer than you anticipate, but I think this is already understood by Kickstarter backers. It’s difficult to give advice to other authors because every author is working in a different set of circumstances. If you have the budget, go big and don’t hold back. Create something that will capture people’s imaginations.
Q: Last one Zamil and then I'll let you go, obviously with this is a really highly spec’d book, not just in its construction but also the aesthetic features you’ve added. Is there a stand out piece you were most excited to get in there?
A: The fold out map was the most exciting feature and it was one never seen before in an indie Collector’s Edition. We were the first to do it, so that is always exciting. I kept it a secret, too, until the final few days of the campaign. I kept dropping hints about what the final stretch goal would be, but no one figured it out! It was a lot of fun and very exciting, and it turned out great in the final product.
That's perfect, thanks Zamil and good luck with the next Kickstarter.
Coincidentally if you want to back the Kickstarter for the next instalment of the Gunmetal Gods Saga, Conquerors Blood, you can find it on the link below. It goes live mid November and Book 1 is available as an add on.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zamil/conquerors-blood-the-ultimate-collectors-edition?ref=profile_created&category_id=47
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