You know, hooded figure aside, that’s pretty darn sexy and much preferable to the photorealistic cover for The Black Prism, while still retaining the same feeling for the series. This isn’t the final cover, but gives us a good idea of the direction that Orbit Books is taking with the series. I like it. Great colours. I’ll be sure to post the final cover when I get my hands on it.
Thoughts?
I like this new direction for the US editions of Abercrombie’s novels, even if I still prefer the UK covers. They’re well executed and take a familiar concept (dude with a sword), but inject some life into it. This will sit well along the trade paperback releases of Best Served Cold and The Heroes. So, good on Lauren Panepinto, art director at Orbit Books, for saving the series’ cover from their previous lows. I was hoping for something that would reflect the Western influence on the novel, like a pistol (do they exist yet in Abercrombie’s world?) or a dude with a mean handlebar moustache and a wide-brimmed hat, but, well, c’est la vie.
Panepinto’s brief thoughts on the cover:
I’m super excited to be able to continue our new US cover style from the trade paperbacks of The Heroes and Best Served Cold into the hardcover of Red Country. These have been the most epic photo shoots I’ve ever participated in, and Michael Frost and Gene Mollica have done an excellent job casting, styling, and producing fantastic images. The model for this shoot was particularly into the shoot, having been Pierce Brosnan’s Bond stunt double! Extra credit.
Last week, I gathered together everything we know about (A) Red Country into one handy post, so head there for a synopsis and some juicy analysis. And, if you’re into book trailers (for some reason…), you can find a short teaser for (A) Red Country at Fantasy Faction.
And so continues Jesse Bullington’s streak of great covers. Seriously awesome. Kudos again to Lauren Panepinto and the art team at Orbit Books for their work.
Presumably this is the novel that was first announced as Hook and Cod, first announced over a year ago. I prefer The Folly of the World.
A nice piece of cover art here from Julie Dillon, one of my favourite new artists. What’s worth noting, however, and the real reason I chose to post this cover, is that this is the first of Anthony’s Xanth series to be published since the death of Darrell K. Sweet, who had been with the series since the publication of its third volume, Castle Roogna, in 1979. This, of course, is of note to Wheel of Time fans who are eager to see the cover of the final volume, A Memory of Light, the first Wheel of Time novel to be released without a cover from Sweet. Dillon’s art captures Sweet’s style admirably while still having an identity of its own, which is great news for Xanth fans.
I mean, the upside-down sword is fairly overdone at this point, but the cover is nicely executed and I’m glad to see a change of scenery now that The Malazan Book of the Fallen series is over. It’s still identifiably Erikson, thanks to the typeface, but also clearly from a new series. Reminiscent of the Gollancz editions of Richard Morgan’s The Steel Remains and The Cold Commands.
