Apr 23

Free Readin’ | The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert VS Redick

Free Readin'
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When The Red Wolf Conspiracy was released last year in the UK, early buzz had it pegged as the debut of the year, even the next Patrick Rothfuss. It’s now been released in North America, so it’ll be interesting to see how it fares over on this side of the pacific.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert VS Redick

The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire. But the young woman in question-Thasha, the daughter of the Arquali ambassador-has no intention of going meekly to the altar. For the ship’s true mission is not peace but war-a war that threatens to unleash an ancient, all-consuming evil.

As the dark conspiracy at the heart of the voyage unfurls, Pazel Pathkendle, a lowly tarboy with an uncanny gift, will find himself in an unlikely alliance with Thasha and her protectors: Hercól, a valet who is more than he appears; Dri, the queen of a race of tiny stowaways who have their own plans for the great ship; and Ramachni, a powerful sorcerer from another world. Arrayed against them are the Chathrand’s brutal captain, Nilus Rose; the Emperor’s spymaster and chief assassin, Sandor Ott; and the enigmatic Dr. Chadfallow, a longtime friend to Pazel’s family whose kind words may hide a vicious betrayal.

As the Chathrand navigates treacherous waters to complete its mission, Pazel, Thasha, and their allies-including a singularly heroic rat-must also navigate a treacherous web of intrigue to uncover the secret of the legendary Red Wolf.

Chapter One is available for free courtesy of Del Rey and the Official Web Site for the novel. You can read a copy HERE or download a copy HERE.

Apr 23

Cover Art & Synopsis | The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin

Cover Art
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I hadn’t heard of this book until I stumbled across the cover art for it on the official Orbit Blog. Now I’m curious.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by J.K. Jemisin

Pretty cool, eh? Lauren Panepinto talks about the process behind the design:

Jemisin creates a very cool world and a very well-described landscape and characters, and it feels both epic and character-driven all at once. Since it’s the first of a trilogy, there’s even more pressure to get the look right because you have to carry it over 2 more books. We agonized a bit over the right illustrator, and decided on the dark and textural work of Cliff Nielsen. He did a fabulous job of depicting the city of Skye, and got a great rich dark tone set for the cover. We drove him a little crazy I think, poor guy, with color adjustments and revisions…and I hope he forgives us because I can’t wait to see what he does for the next two books.

Once I got the art back from Cliff, I must have gone through a hundred different fonts and layouts for the cover — there’s a lot of text that needs to be there, but of course, you don’t want it to look like there’s a lot of text on the cover, you want the art to be the star. But after a little hair-pulling and head-bonking-on-desk on my part, I think we nailed it.

Also, a synopsis:

“Yeine Darr is heir to the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. She is also an outcast. Until, that is, her mother dies under mysterious circumstances.

Summoned by her grandfather to the majestic city of Sky, Yeine finds herself thrust into a vicious power struggle for the throne. As she fights for her life, she comes ever closer to discovering the truth about her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history – as well as the unsettling truths within herself.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate are bound inseparably together, for both mortals and gods alike.”

Though maybe not the most original plot out there, the setting seems interesting and I’m always up for a good bout of political intrigue. Certainly looks like a novel I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Apr 23

Cover Art | The Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume II

Cover Art
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Hot off the heels of the recently released cover art for A Princess of Landover and The Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume I is the cover for the second omnibus in The Magic Kingdom of Landover series. Unfortunately it doesn’t fair as well as the other two covers.

The Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume II by Terry Brooks

As is occasionally the problem with Steve Stone’s art, this cover just comes off as too artificial. While I think the colour’s are fantastic, and there’s a fair amount of tension in the artwork, it just feels like Stone phoned this one in, without instilling much interest or charisma into the art. A shame considering how nice the other two recently released covers are.

What do you think?

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