Another month, another gorgeous ebook cover from Tor for Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. For A Crown of Swords, Irene Gallo teamed up with artist Mélanie Delon and produced a lovely rendition of Nynaeve and Lan.
So far we’ve been heroic, brooding, and action-packed. It was time to see something of the many relationships within The Wheel of Time. For that, we turned to Mélanie Delon to depict one of the most endearing, if tumultuous, couples in the series: Nynaeve and Lan.
I believe it was Jason Denzel that first turned me onto the scene of Nynaeve nearly drowning. He spoke so eloquently about a moment when a head-strong character had to let go of her ego to find the power within to save herself — it was impossible not to want to go read it. I loved that the sequence spoke to a clear romance in the story, but was also full of struggle and danger.
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Mélanie Delon’s work is exemplified by utilizing detail and soft focus, creating images that blur the edges between realism and fantasy. It was a great match for a moment of surrender and rebirth, a moment when Nynaeve must disengage from her usual character traits and, if just for second, open herself up.
Though nothing’s been announced, I expect we’ll see the novels re-issued with the new artwork sometime after the final volume, A Memory of Light, is published. If it happens, I’ll certainly be buying new copies.
I like the idea, but the execution is odd. I had to think to work out what scene from the book this is and it looks like it’s been computer-generated, with the two characters veering a little too closely into the uncanny valley for my tastes.
I personally would have liked to have seen the gholam, or maybe the Seanchan storming the Fortress of the Light. Book 7 sometimes gets roped into the ‘dull and slow’ part of WoT, but it’s rather more dynamic and with more stuff going on throughout the book than either 6 or 8-10, with several classic moments that would make for good artwork. This wasn’t one of the ones that came to mind.
hmm…It’s a bit of a let-down after the awesome LOC cover. It’s good, but I guess I was hoping for more.
With the exception of the LOC cover, Tor has made a distinct choice to showcase the characters, rather than some of the momentous scenes in the series. Frankly, I don’t even remember this scene from A Crown of Swords (the last volume of the series I’ve read), but then, I don’t remember any of the scenes Adam mentioned either. Still, I like the art.
Oddly, Nynaeve looks a little like Bella from the Twilight movies.
LOL! I totally agree, Aidan–she does look a bit suspiciously like Bella ;-) I have to say that I’m liking the idea of using covers for ebooks that are different from the printed book, because it presents a new way of engaging with the text (aside from the obvious new format), and I like this cover. I don’t really look at whether new covers do the book justice, etc, especially when there’s an original already out there, but as long as it isn’t corny and it doesn’t look like a kid drew it, I’m a fan ;-)
I like the artwork/style, but it just seems too…cluttered, I guess the word would be, for me. I think I would love it if it was just Nynaeve, though that wouldn’t really say what they’re trying to make it say…
I love it! Gorgeous work :D
Now I think on it, I’m pretty sure Nynaeve doesn’t have auburn hair either. She’s described as being black-haired throughout the books, and the pictures of her in both the world book and RPG (produced under Robert Jordan’s direction) show her as a brunette. Odd choice.
I’ve certainly always pictured her with black hair. And, given Jordan’s proclivity for describing his character’s hair, it would be rather difficult to come away with a false impression.
If I remember correctly, Nynaeve was supposed to be in disguise, that might explain the auburn hair.
If they print re-issues as you suggest I’d be tempted to buy these books. Hell, I might even read them…