Pagination

Poul Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, 2012).

I think:

that the text of a novel should begin on p. 1;

that all preceding pages, beginning with the front cover, should be numbered from p. i;

that, usually, blank pages are both unaesthetic and wasteful.

However, practices vary.

Flandry's Legacy is an omnibus collection of six works of different lengths:

the front cover and the inside front cover are unnumbered;
the inside front cover displays the Baen Books logo, two prices and a bar code;
p. i is an extract from the last story in the collection;
p. ii is a list of Bean Books by Poul Anderson;
p. iii is the title page of the collection;
p. iv is publishing information;
p. v is Contents;
p. vi is Acknowledgements;
pp. vii-xii are an Introduction, "The Wheel Turns," by the Compiler, Hank Davis, dated 2011;
p. 1 is the title page of A Stone In Heaven;
p. 2 is the dedication of A Stone In Heaven;
pp. 3-188 are the text of that novel;
p. 189 is the title page of A Game Of Empire;
p. 189 is the dedication of A Game...;
pp. 191-192 are an Introduction by the author, dated 1994;
p. 193 is maps of the Patrician System and the planet, Imhotep;
p. 194 is maps of the planet, Daedalus;
pp. 195-453 are the text of the novel;
p. 454 is blank;
p. 455 is an unnecessary title page for "A Tragedy of Errors";
p. 456 is blank;
p. 457, the first page of "A Tragedy of Errors," begins by repeating its title;
pp. 457-540 are the text of "A Tragedy of Errors";
p. 541 is an unnecessary title page for "The Night Face";
p. 542 is blank;
pp. 543-544 are an Introduction by the author, dated 1978;
p. 545, the first page of "The Night Face," repeats its title;
pp. 545-660 are the text of "The Night Face";
p. 661 is an unnecessary title page for "The Sharing of Flesh";
p. 662 is blank;
p. 663, the first page of "The Sharing of Flesh," repeats its title;
pp. 663-708 are the text of "The Sharing of Flesh";
p. 709 is an unnecessary title page for "Starfog";
p. 710 is blank;
p. 711, the first page of "Starfog," repeats its title;
pp. 711-794 are the text of "Starfog";
pp. 795-804 are "The Chronology of Technic Civilization," compiled by Sandra Miesel;
p. 805 is the title page for an excerpt from War Maid's Choice by David Weber;
p. 806 is blank;
pp. 807-820 are either some or all of Chapter One of War Maid's Choice;
the inside back cover displays a bar code;
the back cover is blurb.