Talk:SF Masterworks

Forthcoming books: merge with the rest?

The book listed under the 'forthcoming' section have been published and are available to buy. As far as I know, there is no news on new books being published. I suggest merging this section with the full list of books. Maybe 'Not known at this moment' can be added to the section 'forthcoming'. Casperhelptwiki (talk) 15:00, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

Awesome, thanks! I've been taking a long Wikipedia break, so I hadn't stayed on top of this --Jonie148 (talk) 08:54, 6 July 2025 (UTC)

Forthcoming table merged. Thosbsamsgom (talk) 16:16, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! Forge of God appears to have just been cancelled (for a second time) hours before release, having been postponed on Amazon and Waterstones sites until 31/12/2027, so I'll remove that row. --Jonie148 (talk) 07:20, 31 December 2025 (UTC)

71,73,73: additional hardcover, or hardcover only?

I was wondering whether there are actually soft cover prints in Masterworks design for the books with IDs 71,73,73. I can't seem to find them. Hard cover is about 6mm higher (I've got Dune (71) here). Can anyone confirm that the soft covers exist? Thanks Plmr (talk) 16:33, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Very belated reply: numbers 71, 72 & 73 were only ever issued in hardback because Orion didn’t own the paperback rights. This spoiled the continuity of the series for me, especially as all three titles had already been published in the Roman-numeral numbered set of 10 hardbacks published back in 2001. Note that The Man in the High Castle was incorrectly numbered 72 - it should have been 73. Dpsimms (talk) 10:58, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Extremely belated reply to that: Thanks! It seems there is a new Masterworks format out anyway. I'll pretend 70 is the end of the old one and that's that. Plmr (talk) 21:21, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

New paperback versions

Following up on a number of previous (unanswered) threads, almost all of the original numbered series entries have now been published in the new (yellow) paperback series. At present, however, most of them don't yet appear as reprints in the relaunch series table on this page. I'll sort this myself if need be, but it is a significant task so it may be a while before I get around to it - if anyone with a greater stake in the page wants to pre-empt me, please feel free. For reference, the only numbered series entries which I've NOT been able to find reprinted as a yellow paperback are:

• The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard
• Pavane - Keith Roberts
• Now Wait for Last Year - Philip K. Dick
• Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
• The Child Garden - Geoff Ryman
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

--Jonie148 (talk) 16:59, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was only ever issued in hardback. No. 72 in the original series and reissued in the yellow series. I own a yellow copy. The Drowned World went out of print during the lifetime of the numbered series. It was always one of the hardest to find for completists. Dpsimms (talk) 10:51, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Ah, that makes a lot of sense - thanks! That leaves just four paperbacks from the original series which haven't been reprinted in paperback (although a yellow ebook edition exists for Dying Inside, and booksellers occasionally erroneously use the newer cover image when selling paperbacks of it online) --Jonie148 (talk) 09:25, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

Publication years

My hope is to add a column to the main series table giving each entry's original publication year outside of the range, and then to also allow for ordering by column value. These dates can be deduced of course, but it would seem to add interactivity and value to the page to have the original publication years given, in relation to where the series (implicitly) deems the best SF has been published, etc. I'm aware of WP:BOLD, but would anyone object to this edit? I seem to recall another editor attempted similar a few years back, but was reverted. Jonie148 (talk) 09:04, 6 July 2025 (UTC)

These dates have now been added across the yellow spines tables, and exhaustively sourced. Jonie148 (talk) 17:13, 10 August 2025 (UTC)

Your contributions are appreciated. However, lede explains series editions are reprints. Links to the original works are sufficient, IMHO. The wider a table becomes the less useful it is for readers especially for those on mobile devices (who are a majority of readers). Wanderer0 (talk) 04:47, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Okay thanks, I can follow this logic and accept consensus :) I'll maintain the searchable version of the page in my sandbox for my own personal use --Jonie148 (talk) 07:16, 31 December 2025 (UTC)