Aarrgghh!! Part of my book is MISSING!!

[Halo]

I can't believe it! I'm currently reading King's The Dark Tower, the final book of the seven. This afternoon, I settled down to finish it. Read page 638, looked at the glossy illustration of The Artist, turned over, and... the next page was 655!!!! There are sixteen bloody pages missing! I'm absolutely fuming, and gutted, as I was really looking forward to finally finishing the series.

I bought it from eBay, so I think I would probably have quite a problem getting my money back, plus a lot of postage to pay as it is a very heavy book. So I don't think I'll bother. Of course, this means shelling out for another copy.

Has anyone else had this problem, or heard anything about it? The book is the Hodder and Stoughton hardback edition, with full-page glossy illustrations. If you have this edition, can you tell me if the missing pages include another illustration?

Do you think this book will become valuable because of this error? (I have carefully checked the book and the pages have not been taken out - the binding etc looks perfect as if this was the way it was produced.) If it's going to become collectable I will definitely hang onto it. Does anyone have any info as to whether many copies were printed like this? Well, something good might come from my misfortune!

 

[froggerz40]

Halo, that must be EXTREMELY frustrating... You seem to have almost as bad of luck as I usually do!
As a last resort, maybe one of the forum members can scan you the missing pages...Then you could trim the scans, stuff 'em neatly in, where they belong. This way, your hardback volume will have personal value, it'll have been "patched" by a friend from somewhere else on the planet!

 

[lies]

Halo, would contacting the publisher help? Maybe you could exchange your copy there without having to pay for it. Or you could go to a bookshop and ask them if you can exchange it there? I've had that happen to me a couple of times and took them back half a year to a year later. I'd used them already (one was a dictionary, the other a novel), but they didn't mind. They just send them back themselves, so I don't think it's a big deal.

 

[Dogtanian]

Contact the publisher? They may send out a replacement copy

 

[Pearl]

Oh god I hate it when that happens!

Granted it's only happend to me twice in my life. The second time was fairly recently. Luckily it was a book borrowed from the library so I didn't have money problems only them looking at me like 'I" was the who ripped the pages out since it was a new book and no one had taken it out before me.

 

[Wabbit]

I'm lucky that has never happened to me

The suggestion by Lies and doggie sound a good idea! Failing that, you can resort to shop lifting

 

[novella]

Sorry to say the book isn't worth anything. It and any other defective copies should have been destroyed when the error was realized. Books like that used to turn up at the Barnes & Noble sales outlet in NYC (my bro used to work there) and at flea markets. Contact the publisher by mail or email (customer relations) and explain. They will help you.

Also, I would report the seller as a bad risk on e-bay. I'm sure it was intentional.

 

[Halo]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I might try contacting the publisher, but would the fact that I bought it on eBay cause some trouble?

Sorry to say the book isn't worth anything. It and any other defective copies should have been destroyed when the error was realized.

Would this not give the book some rarity value then if I kept it? Probably not in my lifetime, though!

Also, I would report the seller as a bad risk on e-bay. I'm sure it was intentional.

At first I thought it was intentional, but I don't know. The guy has 100% positive feedback. Plus, the book was advertised as unread, so he wouldn't know about the missing pages if he hadn't read it (you can't tell there are missing pages by looking at the binding or anything).

I searched the net last night for any info on this, and apparently there were loads of similar problems with Song of Susannah, but not with The Dark Tower. I'll have to think about whether to contact the publisher, or just to hang onto it and buy it in paperback later.

And Mr Wabbit, hang your head in shame at your lack of morals!

 

[direstraits]

Well, think of it this way: you've now got the world's most suspenseful (because you're still waiting to read the ending) paperweight. Guaranteed to keep your sheets in place.

ds

 

[Halo]

Funnily enough, that has not made me feel any better. I've been waiting to read the end of this saga for literally years, and when I've got less than 100 pages to go, this happens. Very, very disappointed. Bloody useless publishers/proof-readers. I could have done a better job myself, even if I was drunk and blindfolded. Gits.

 

[direstraits]

This only means that you get to savour the book a little while longer, Halo.

Do try and take your book to the bookstores and see what they can do about it. I was surprised to hear it's even an option, but it's the quickest idea. And if they don't help you out you could always shoplift.

Oh damn, Wabbit's used that one already, huh?

Seriously. Give it a try and let us know how it goes...

ds

 

[Halo]

This only means that you get to savour the book a little while longer, Halo.

Another very good try, ds, but I still can't find a bright side to this!

Do try and take your book to the bookstores and see what they can do about it.

But I bought it off eBay...

 

[direstraits]

Well, I did see Roland Of Gilead while I was browsing around here...

My momma always said to hear it from the horse's mouth.




ds

 

[Halo]

Oh, but isn't that a spoiler? That means he survived if he's hanging around here. Bugger.

 

[direstraits]

That's what I thought too. But you forget he flits between planes, and may be flitting so fast he's moving backwards in time. So actually he may not have survived, but he's around anyhow if you want to know what's happening.

Be aware he may speak backwards.

I'm 4 books behind, so this may just be a wee bit inaccurate. But in the interest of raising your spirits, I must assess all avenues, even though they may border on outright lies.


ds

 

[Halo]

I think you covered every possibility there! Are you a politician, by any chance?

Have you started the Canavan yet?

 

[Freya]

Halo, I'm not sure if you have morals, but why not take it to a shop that you know sells the book and tell them someone bought it as a gift for you thus you don't have the receipt. Then explain the problem to them, and with a bit of luck they'll offer an exchange, faulty goods and all that. You don't need a receipt for an exchange, only a refund (at all the shops I've worked at, or taken things back to anyway).

 

[Halo]

Hmm, I'm not sure if I've got morals either. Only last week, I bought two boxes of cereals in Tesco and only got charged for one. Did I tell them? Nah. Tesco can afford £2.55. Now that's living life on the edge.

I am seriously considering doing what you suggest, the only trouble is there is only one small, independent bookshop in my town that probably knows it hasn't sold any Dark Towers at all. I'll probably have to travel to my nearest place with a Waterstones and try it there (also remove the mark from a sticky label from the cover first.)

 

[Freya]

If you're unsure you could ring beforehand and do the whole concerned consumer thing and check whether it's ok to exchange. The only trouble would be if the shop carried a different version of it to the one you have - not sure how that kind of thing works. You'd have to check first. Oh and if that kind of thing normally happens in batches. Ooh what an adventure!

I had a friend who bought a dress and got several cigarette burns on the back of it the first night she wore it out. She pulled one of the straps off, washed it and took it back the next day. The checked the strap and the front, then happily gave her her money back.

 

[Herenya]

How infuriating! I've had pages missing in library books, or, worse, stuck together with chewing gum. That's bad enough, and I didn't pay for the book!

I've never bought a book like that, but I have a... ah ... few books that are defective in the collection. My dad works with printing preses, and can occationally acquire books where the cover is on the wrong way, half the pages are upside down, not properly separated (a careful hand with a stanley knife does the trick - and it's an interesting insight into how books are printed) or some other fault. My Thesaurs has the cover on the wrong way... So I'm aware that such books do exist.

It's not possible to photocopy the pages from a library copy, or something? I hope you get to read those pages!