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.
