As the SilverFin paperback slithers onto store shelves in the U.S., the Young Bond Dossier and CommanderBond.net have uncovered something that will be of great interest to Young Bond fans and Bond book collectors in general.
A reported earlier this month, a few copies of the U.S. SilverFin paperback slipped out early and were spotted on eBay. It was noted these copies included a 5-page preview of Blood Fever. Well, it now appears these mysterious eBay copies were actually a rare "Special Edition" and only these Special Editions contain the Blood Fever preview!
This SilverFin “Special Edition” is also slightly smaller than the standard issue, it has a different price ($4.99), and a different ISBN. In addition, the words "Special Edition" appear in red below the barcode on the back of the book and the inside flap.
So what’s the story with these? Beats me, but this is the kind of thing that makes collecting fun (or frustrating, depending on your point of view).
Happy hunting!
UPDATE: Mystery solved? I contacted the original eBay seller who said she got her copies from the Scholastic warehouse. Check out THIS PAGE on the Scholastic website. It looks like SilverFin was a special "Scholastic book fair" selection. Note the "special price." Sounds like this could be our Special Edition.
This means the book would only be available to schools (the eBay seller probably got the unsold stock). But how many were printed? Only time will tell how rare this particular SilverFin paperback will become.
Old post, I know, but I own one of these and am wondering if it was ever determined whether they are a rarity?
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