A few years ago I was really excited when the UK had their Brandon Sanderson books freshened up with some really nice abstract covers. Sanderson’s work has always been a favourite of mine and it was nice to see them so distinguished from other books on the shelves. I know in American the publishers have kind of gone the other way… rather than try to highlight Sanderson’s work, through his covers, as unique and forward thinking they’ve stuck with very traditional looking covers that suggest a safe, comfortable familiarity for genre fans.
I think both ideas are good ones, but what it means is we’ve never been able to see Sanderson’s characters in the way we’ve been able to see Peter V. Brett’s or Mark Lawrence’s, for example. Well, prepare for some good news. Although Americans aren’t having their covers updated anytime soon that I’m aware of, Brazilian publishing house, Leya, has commissioned publishing house favourite, Marc Simonetti. Marc is one of my favourite artists of all time (and not just because he has such a good name). His Game of Thrones art, Name of the Wind / Wise Man’s Fear art and Ryria Chronicles art capture the atmosphere of the books in a way that astounds me. I suggest you pay a visit to your website and lose yourself for a couple of hours in perfect representations of worlds you’ve spent hours reading about.
But, for now, here is his latest piece of work… perhaps the first Mistborn cover that I think truly captures the series:
What do you guys think?
Jennie Ivins
Little bit extra ‘cool’ for you:
“Although the cover has no sign of Vin, the series’ protagonist, the artist has stated that the covers for all three books will combine to form a complete triptych.”
Are those steel inquisitors???
Think so! 🙂