Just thought this was cool, is all. Art by Jillian Tamaki.
Looks exactly like all his other UK covers, so I suppose I’ll just re-direct you here for my opinion. The US cover art, which I prefer, is here.
I was asked to contribute another write-up for Suvudu’s 2012 Cage Matches. This time around, it’s The Wheel of Time‘s Moiraine Damodred, diminutive Aes Sedai, versus Terry Brooks’ hulking demon lord, The Dagda Mor. A taste:
The vicious sound of her Warder locked in battle with the Demon clawed at her, but Moiraine could not waste a thought for Lan, no matter his peril. The Dagda Mor dropped from the sky, and Moiraine caught a bat-shaped beast winging away into the dark night. Even hunched, the Demon towered over the diminutive Aes Sedai. Tufts of green hair, like saw-grass, sprouted over its entire body. In its hands was a long, gnarled staff, the end glowing green as magic coursed between the Demon and the shaft.
Moiraine wore a brocaded blue silk dress, horizontal slashes of alternating blue and white crossing her chest, and a black belt circling her waist. On her feet were high-calfed leather boots and gossamer stockings, made from Shara’s finest silk. Over all this, she wore a dark blue cloak trimmed in white, too light for travel, but so perfectly fitted that it gave the Aes Sedia a regal look, hinting at her noble Cairhienen background. The hood of her cloak was drawn up, so that the only hint of life in the shadowed recesses was the sparkle of her eyes and the glint of light caught in the small blue stone that sat suspended on her forehead by a silver chain.
“Can we get on with this?” the Dagda Mor growled. Moiraine’s eyes snapped up from admiring her outfit, startled from her reverie by the Demon’s words.
Read the Moiraine vs. The Dagda Mor cage match!
I accepted the gig before I thought about the fact that I’d be assuming a character from The Wheel of Time, which has one of the largest and most loyal fan bases in all of Fantasy. To say I was nervous for the fan reaction would be an understatement of enormous proportion. I had some fun with the match, though, so I hope they’ll enjoy it!
My previous cage matches:
2010
- Kahlan Amnell vs. Drizzt Do’Urden
- Kvothe vs. Garet Jax (My favourite!)
2011
2012
Guy Gavriel Kay’s new novel is once more inspired by Chinese history, this time during the Song Dynasty, almost four centuries after the story told in his bestselling Under Heaven. The dazzling elements of the Song – cultural brilliance, vicious political rivalries, warfare against nomadic peoples, court mandarins versus the military – are rich ground for Kay’s unique blending of fantasy and themes of history. Vivid among a large cast, a young man with a dream of regaining the empire’s lost ‘rivers and mountains’ and a brilliant woman trying to shape a space for herself outside the ‘inner quarters’, where women are expected to live out their lives, confront the challenges and dangers of a world in turmoil. The Song Dynasty’s legacy is prominent in the way Westerners imagine Chinese history to this day and Kay weaves a story that captivates on both an epic scale and within the intimate lives of his characters.
*drool*
Under Heaven is one of my favourite novels from the past five years and, though I’m not as well read in Kay’s work as I’d like (they’re rainy day novels for me), it’s also one of the author’s best. My excitement for him to return to that world/setting is unabashed and nearly shameful.
You know, last night, when I stumbled across this cover, my first reactions was:
:(
There aren’t enough sad faces in the world to express my dismay.
This morning, though, I looked at it again and thought:
I like the idea, and appreciate that it’s says ‘Urban Fantasy’ without the general cliches, but the execution is just weird. You know, it’s actually kina cool, except for the floating, super-imposed angel.
Regardless of which opinion is correct, I have high expectations that the book beyond the covers, The Dirty Streets of Heaven will be very good. Because, you know, it’s Tad Williams.
- Hugo Award
Winner
- About Aidan Moher
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