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Cover launch: The new-look Terry Brooks

Wards of Faerie - the new title from bestselling master of fantasy Terry Brooks - endorsed by Christopher PaoliniToday we’re very excited to unveil a brand new cover look for one of the biggest and best-selling names in epic fantasy. In the words of Christopher Paolini:

‘If you haven’t read Terry Brooks, you haven’t read fantasy.’

And if you haven’t read  Terry Brooks yet – this is the perfect place to start! He’s writing at the top of his game, and I was just bowled over by this manuscript when it came in.

Set in Terry’s original and most popular core Shannara world (the one which fans have been begging him to return to for years) the new Dark Legacy of Shannara series is perfect both for steadfast Terry Brooks readers, and those discovering the world of Shannara for the first time.

Book 1, Wards of Faerie is released in just a few months’ time on 23rd August.

We hope you’ll agree that the fantasy illustrator Stephen Youll has done an awesome job on this dragon skull (who wants one on their wall? I do!!).

Don’t forget that you can also get hold of the paperback edition of Terry’s previous novel, The Measure of the Magic (UK / ANZ), on 2nd Aug 2012.

Check out a cover close-up and more information on Wards of Faerie below. (more…)

GEARS OF WAR: THE SLAB – Released Today!

The four Gear of War novels released so far

Karen Traviss, New York Times bestselling author and Lead Writer on the fantastic computer game Gears of War 3, is the writer of four Gears of War novels so far, with the fifth book, GEARS OF WAR: THE SLAB, released today!

As one of the creators of the games Karen is uniquely placed to tell all the untold stories that take place in the Gears universe. In this latest novel, we’ll finally hear the story of Marcus Fenix’s time in the COG’s most notorious prison – known as the Slab – discovering who intervened to save him from the death penalty, and why…

cover for Gears of War: The Slab by Karen Traviss

Cover Story: THE KING’S BLOOD by DANIEL ABRAHAM

WEAPONS! Where might one go to procure something if  …  say… you wanted to reenact the Knights of the Round Table, or Edward James Olmos in Miami Vice*, or find an axe for the cover of Daniel Abrahan’s THE KING’S BLOOD? You go to Weapons Specialists in downtown (or downton if you want to be chi chi) Manhattan. Which is what I did one blistering hot day last summer. Check out the video of my visit and revel in the fact that the folks who work there have THE BEST JOB in the world. I would like to apologize in advance for the rather large sweat stains I’m sporting in the video. It’s like my armpits had a pool party the rest of the body wasn’t invited to. So… yea.

I had very specific details for the axe and the final weapon needed to scream warrior. In other words, the axe needed to look used. Obviously this combination of elements isn’t something that you just find off the interwebs, so I needed to create the final image from composites of multiple weapons.

After leaving Weapon’s Specialists with a rifle case full of medieval cutlery, which by the way is really surreal carrying through Grand Central, I needed to photograph everything and start working on what you see on the final book. Here are the weapons I got to play with.

 
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Cover launch: BITTER SEEDS by Ian Tregillis

In July we’re extremely excited to be publishing Ian Tregillis’s acclaimed debut novel Bitter Seeds – a sinister reimagining of the Second World War in which scientifically-enhanced German superhumans clash with chilling sorcery. Or, as Cory Doctorow puts it, “Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you.”

We’ll talk a little more about this brilliant book nearer the time of release; for now, here’s the front cover in all its gritty military glory, courtesy of our designer Sean Garrehy (who as always has done a superb job).

Stealing from the fantastic past

The fantasy novel A Blight of Mages by Karen MillerDid you know that Henry VIII, famously infamous Tudor king of England, was the first English monarch to build a public toilet block? Well, he was. And if you’re wondering why he built it, that’s because he couldn’t stop his male courtiers from pissing inside his palace.

Hard to believe, isn’t it? Henry was the most magnificent, the most awe-inspiring, the most kingly king England had seen in a very long time. He was charismatic, athletic, intellectual . . . and ruthless. Everyone remembers him for the six wives and the two beheadings. What a lot of people don’t know is that he also had executed – or judicially murdered – more people than any monarch before him, or after. Over two hundred people killed: men, women, young, old, guilty – or simply inconvenient. They died because Henry wanted them dead.

And yet . . . despite his indisputable, terrifying power . . . he couldn’t stop his male courtiers from pissing inside his palace. On the floor, up the walls, in the corners – they were incorrigible, those male courtiers. And Henry couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t stop the massive thieving by his servants, either. His household budget was always ridiculously in the red because he couldn’t stop his underlings from pinching things, double-dipping, fudging accounts, eating more than their fair share, selling food out of the kitchens.

More power than any man or woman in his kingdom . . . and still, Henry was powerless. An extraordinary paradox, isn’t it? Surprising. Intriguing. (more…)

Wallpapers for 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

So… I’ve been sitting on this project for quite some time now and super excited to show you. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (UK | US | AUS) is one of those projects that immediately hit home with me. You’ll be able to read more about the design and development of the cover in the coming week. But for now, you get to adorn your digital devices with the in-your-face art from this epic book.

Here’s all the wallpaper download links…if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!

 

 

 

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad | Facebook

N. K. Jemisin’s new fantasy novel, THE KILLING MOON, is out now!

The Killing Moon by N.K. JemisinAt the end of 2010, a manuscript dropped into my inbox. It was from Lucienne Diver, who said that it “knocked her socks off.”

I was curious as I do love Lucienne’s taste (being the agent for Carol Berg, Lynn Flewelling, & Rachel Caine to name a few). I was slow to realize that this Nora’s next novel that she’d been working on!

Nora , whom some of you might know better as N.K. Jemisin, is the Locus Award-winning and World-Fantasy, Hugo & Nebula nominated author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms & The Kingdom of Gods.

The novel that was then newly submitted eventually came to be called THE KILLING MOON (US/UK/AUS) and it was everything Lucienne said and more. Exotic, thrilling and thoroughly mesmerizing, it will, even more than her first three novels, establish her as a writer to watch. But don’t trust me – just check out the early praise below!

“The Killing Moon is a great tale of magic, religion and war but it’s also a story of all the hard lessons and choices growing up entails, no matter how old you are in terms of years. Beautifully written and brought to life The Dreamblood duology is sure to cement Jemisin’s place as one of the most exciting and innovative new fantasy authors of recent years.”

—io9

“Jemisin’s gripping series launch immerses readers in an unfamiliar but enthralling world as well as a rousing political and supernatural adventure.”

—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Absolutely fascinating.”

—RT BookReviews

If you’d like a bit more about the novel:

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers – the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe . . . and kill those judged corrupt.

But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh’s great temple, Ehiru – the most famous of the city’s Gatherers – must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is stalking its prey both in Gujaareh’s alleys and the realm of dreams. Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill – or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.

And read the first chapter here!

An Interview of James S. A. Corey by Daniel Abraham

DANIEL:  Well. This is odd, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve done interviews before, but seeing that I’m half of the team that writes as “James S. A. Corey” and you are James S. A. Corey, this whole project feels a little meta.

JIMMY: Eh. Meta’s for chumps. Meta and twee have been what’s wrong with science fiction for decades. You got me here to ask questions, ask questions. I’ll answer ’em. I got nothing to hide.

DANIEL: All right. So Leviathan Wakes is the first book in the Expanse series. That’s been out for almost a year now.  How has your view of the book changed since it came out?

JIMMY: More distance, mostly. It’s not like I go back and reread it. Did that enough when it was in production. The editing pass, the copy edits, the galley proofs. I still go back if there’s something I’m looking for, but you have to understand, I’m coming in sight of the end of the third book. The opening page of Leviathan Wakes is a long way from here. Like what I remember, though. Not a bad book. Still love that cover though.

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