The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III

Occasionally, I critique the physical layout and even the pagination of a book. For example, I consider unnecessarily blank pages wasteful and unaesthetic. However, I can find very little adverse criticism to make of Rise Of The Terran Empire, which is Volume III of Baen Books' The Technic Civilization Saga, compiled by Hank Davis.

First, I think that the contents are just right, that the title is appropriate and even that the cover illustration (see image) is excellent, unlike those on some of the other Volumes. Secondly, in the entire seven-volume Saga, the text begins on page 1 in Arabic numerals whereas Roman numerals are used before that. I think that this should be a universal publishing practice. A glance at the last page should tell us the page count for the text. It should not be necessary to look to the front, then subtract a number.

In Rise..., we find that Hank Davis' Introduction, "Descent Into Empire," is on pp. VII-X, although it could have been fitted onto three pages and there is a miss-spelling in the heading of p. IX, "Desent Into Empire."

The Roman numerals number everything before the text except the front cover. Thus, we find:

outside front cover - see image;
inside front cover - the Baen symbol, prices and a bar code;
p. I - an extract from Mirkheim, the first work collected in this Volume;
p. II - a list of Baen Books by Poul Anderson;
p. III - title page;
p. IV - publication information;
p. V - Contents;
p. VI - Acknowledgements.

I also like it that there are few blank pages throughout the book and, in particular, that the text of "Sargasso of Lost Starships" ends on p. 436 while the text of The People Of The Wind, a novel, begins on p. 437, without any intervening blank pages or internal title page.