Monthly Archives: January 2010

Followin the nice (if slightly sterile) US cover for Shadowrise by Tad Williams, we have the equally nice (if slightly sterile) UK Cover! I like nearly everything about the design of this cover (colour scheme and font, in particular), but wish it said more about the novel it represents. It doesn’t give us eny idea of what goes on between the pages. Still, it’ll certainly look nice on bookstore shelves.

Every year, like many people, I make resolutions for the new year. Every year, like many people, I completely and utterly abandon them by January 3rd. So, instead of doing that, I thought I’d ask you guys, my readers, to give me some ideas.

What would you like to see from A Dribble of Ink in 2010?

More interviews (this was a popular one on twitter, when I asked the question)? More reviews? More articles and commentary? Wider scope of News? Less snark? More snark? More Science Fiction? Videogame reviews? Something I’ve never done, or would never think of?

How can I make A Dribble of Ink your favourite blog of 2010?

Another month, another new cover for the latest e-book edition of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. This time around it’s The Shadow Rising a volume regarded by many as one of the strongest in the cycle. Mat Cauthon, featured on the cover, is a fan-favourite, thanks in large part to the effortless humour he injected into an otherwise very serious story. What drew me to Mat, though, was the melancholy hidden just under that superficial humour. Though it may miss on the light-hearted nature of Mat, Sam Weber, the artist behind the illustration, captures that darker side perfectly by sacrificing details for mood and atmosphere.

Irene Gallo, of Tor.com, talks about the process behind the cover HERE.

Thanks to Joe Abercrombie, we’ve got a look at the new cover for Before they are Hanged, the second volume of his First Law Trilogy. Similar to the paperback release of The Blade Itself, this new cover is a definite departure from the original cover. That said, I’m a fan of artist Chris McGrath, and don’t mind the figure-centric cover – it fits the tone of the novel and, though he doesn’t look at all as I pictured him in my head (he’s described as being much uglier, for one, which is the same criticism I had for Logen Ninefingers on the paperback release of The Blade Itself, but it’s nearly impossible for every reader’s image of a character to line up), the image of Glokta with Dagoska burning in the background is certainly compelling. Can’t ever go wrong with blue and a hint of orange, either. It’s hard to stand up to the iconic original, but it’s a decent cover all-around.

David Louis Edelman’s business science fiction saga that began with Infoquake and MultiReal comes to a stunning conclusion with Geosynchron, the last book of the Jump 225 trilogy.

The Defense and Wellness Council is enmeshed in full-scale civil war between Len Borda and the mysterious Magan Kai Lee. Quell has escaped from prison and is stirring up rebellion in the Islands with the aid of a brash young leader named Josiah. Jara and the apprentices of the Surina/Natch MultiReal Fiefcorp still find themselves fighting off legal attacks from Margaret Surina’s unscrupulous heirs — even though MultiReal has completely vanished.

The quest for the truth will lead to the edges of civilization, from the tumultuous society of the Pacific Islands to the lawless orbital colony of 49th Heaven; and through the depths of time, from the hidden agenda of the Surina family to the real truth behind the Autonomous Revolt that devastated humanity hundreds of years ago.

Meanwhile, Natch has awakened in a windowless prison with nothing but a haze of memory to clue him in as to how he got there. He’s still receiving strange hallucinatory messages from Margaret Surina and the nature of reality is buckling all around him. When the smoke clears, Natch must make the ultimate decision — whether to save a world that has scorned and discarded him, or to save the only person he has ever loved: himself.

I suppose this apply mostly to those who are already familiar with Edelman’s Jump 225 Trilogy, but an eight chapter excerpt of the concluding volume, Geosynchron, was just too much to pass up. You can find the excerpt HERE. From there, just follow the links to the subsequent chapters.

Geosynchron will hit shelves on February 23rd, 2010.

Comments closed