Knicked from The Mad Hatter:

'The Unremembered' by Peter Orullian

The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song.

Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells….

The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey. Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

Kekai Kotaki, once again proving why he’s one of the best in the Fantasy art business. I’ve been a fan of his since I first saw his art for the Guild Wars RPG series, and I’m more a fan every day. I also appreciate that Tor Books lets Kotaki’s art speak for itself, rather than adorning it with overblown typography. Beautiful.

The book itself sounds good (as much as I’ve grown broader in my tastes, I’m still a sucker for big Epic Fantasy; plus, like forests and bows and stuff. Reminds me of Elves in D&D, which I’m also a sucker for). I dunno about that title, though. How do you ‘unremember’ something? Nevertheless, I’m sure the book will let us know. Lord knows I’ve ran across a few things on the Internet that I’d like to ‘unremember’… not to mention a few novels.

Discussion
  • Andrew Liptak September 27, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    The cover looks fantastic – I’d buy it for that alone, but the story just sounds meh to me.

  • aidan September 27, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    One note of interest is that Orullian has a set of characters named after him in Terry Brooks’ latest novel, Bearers of the Black Staff, which might point to where his background as a writer is. This might be one to look out for for fans of Brooks, but might not satisfy those who’ve moved on past that style of Fantasy.

  • Jonathan September 27, 2010 at 12:31 pm

    I agree with Andrew. The story seems like well-trodden ground. Let’s hope Orullian’s take on it is as fantastic as the cover.

  • Kendall September 27, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    Gorgeous cover! The book sound interesting enough to read an excerpt from, if/when one shows up. I like music. ;-)

  • Dave Wagner September 27, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    I’d say “Unremembered” is the non-cliche way to say “forgotten”, which (as a word) is as overplayed in fantasy as just about anything.

    Great cover.

  • Mark September 27, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    I’m a sucker for Epic Fantasy too, I don’t care so much if it’s well trodden ground as long as the writing is good and has some new ideas.

    Adding it to the list.

  • Josiah Cadicamo September 27, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    Beauteous. This is fantasy art done right.

  • Mihai (Dark Wolf) September 28, 2010 at 3:31 am

    That’s an excellent cover, with a wonderful scene, beautiful colors and a character that isn’t the main feature of the cover. Kekai Kotaki is an awesome artist and I hope he’ll make many more of such awesome covers.

  • James September 28, 2010 at 10:39 am

    Epic Fantasy does not appeal to me all that much anymore, but I will try it if something about it catches my interest. I really like the cover for this one, but the story sounds a bit iffy–just the sort of book I hope my library system will buy.

    I get slightly worried when I see a debut novelist from Tor with beautiful cover art, but let’s just hope he sells better than Abraham or Scholes.

  • Jacob @ Drying Ink September 28, 2010 at 10:56 am

    I love the cover art, but the synopsis disappoints a little – I enjoy epic fantasy, but the premise for this one seems just a little overdone. Though it may not be in practice, speaking in an unknown language when fighting – done in WOT -, a sealed, dangerous world behind a “veil” – Brooks – and a “lost childhood”.

  • Chris September 28, 2010 at 12:17 pm

    Hmm, mysterious pair take a group of local kids with some sort of destiny away to far off adventures…smells like the Wheel of Time.

  • […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Aidan Moher, Aidan Moher, Aidan Moher, John leeze, Kevin Pearson and others. Kevin Pearson said: RT @adribbleofink: New Blog Post – A wonderful Kekai Kotaki cover for THE UNREMEMBERED by Peter Orullian: http://bit.ly/b9ifOC […]

  • Locusmortis October 2, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    Now THAT is good fantasy cover art. As for the story, I kind of miss old-school epic fantasy so I might well give it a go.

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