COVER REVEAL ROUND-UP (XXV)

   This book will be out 27 May 2014 from Open Road Media/Mondadori. It is a translation from Italian, and was originally published there in 2004. It is the first of four books in this series.
   The cover immediately caught my eye on NetGalley, and a was lucky enough to be approved for an e-ARC. I think it is a great cover, the character intrigues me with her violet eyes, pointed ears, and blue hair. And the weapon she holds is an interesting one. I am really looking forward to reading this, and it was the cover that made me look at the novel.

      This one is coming from BBC Books/Ebury Publishing 31 July 2014. Really not much to say here, apart from: It's a book about The War Doctor! I mean, what's not to like? There's even Daleks there. I am really exited about this one. (You can read the cover copy here, and if this looks at all interesting you should.)

   This book is actually already out. It came out in the US on 6 May (2014), two days ago. I still wanted to feature it, since it is nice to see this in contrast to the UK one that I featured earlier. Like the UK cover, this does look interesting. However this catches my eye more and that is because it reminds me of Stephen King. Not entirely sure he's had a cover like this, but I seem to recall something not dissimilar. (Too lazy to check.) It doesn't really matter though, it is a very good cover that catches my interest.

   This cover, by Alan Brooks, is for the tenth and final book in the Shadows of the Apt series. It will be coming from Tor UK 3 July 2014. I really like these covers for this series. I've been meaning to start reading it, but want to wait until I can get all of the books (including this one). Every time I see these covers I feel bad for not having read any of it, so they are definitely very good covers.

   This anthology from Solaris will be out 27 May 2014 in North America, and 5 June 2014 in the UK. The list of authors is a really interesting one. I like this cover a lot. It pulls me in, and I am interested in seeing what is behind it. (And I have an e-ARC, so I plan to have this read before release day.)

   This is a book that will be out in August 2014, it is the first in the Children Trilogy. The top from Tor UK, with a cover by Alejandro Colucci, and the bottom from the US publisher Thomas Dunne Books, with design by Ervin Serrano. The US cover is the more stylish one, but although I like it there seems to be quite a few covers with just a sword lately, so I feel a bit meh about it. The UK one also has the sword on it. (Not the same one on the cover, but the same sword in the book from what I gather.) However this one also has a character featured, and that makes it more interesting to me. The US isn't bad, but the UK one is a clear winner here.

   Coming from Tor, 27 May. It is the first one in a new series, and you  can read an excerpt here. [A little side note here is that I have trouble not reading the authors name as Janne Lindsköld, like it was Swedish.] The cover is really interesting, and the face/star effect is very well done. I like this kind of cover, and it made me look into what the book is about. Think this would look nice on my shelf.

   From PYR, coming 10 June 2014, we have this cover with art by Raymond Swanland. The art is just stunning. This is a piece of art that would do very well on a wall in a gallery, or perhaps in the library/office room I am writing this in. I am a huge fan of art like this on covers, and I think I may have to get hold of this book just so I can have that cover.

   This cover is designed by James Annal, with design agency Crush. For an e-book release 22 May 2014 from Tor UK. It is an interesting cover. It is enough SFF that I would look closer at the book even had I not known who Sanderson is. Other than that, it doesn't really do it for me. But that is a personal preference, and not a fault with the cover.

COVER REVEAL ROUND-UP (XXIV)

   The Inheritance Trilogy from N.K. Jemisin gets an omnibus edition from Orbit. It will be out 9 December 2014. You can get more information, including the author talking about the included new novella here. I really liked the original covers for the three books (, and the books). But I really like this one too. It's more pared down than the originals, but it still evokes the feeling of the novels. Looking forward to seeing this in real life.

   From Delacorte Press comes the cover for the second book in The Reckoners, it has a publishing date of 6 January 2015. (This is the US edition.) I have not read the first book, Steelheart, so I can't speak to how the cover represents the book. But it looks kind of strange for an SFF book to me, more like a typical Action Thriller. It is eyecatching, and that is what a cover is supposed to do.

   Another sequel, this is the follow up to Robocalypse. This one will be out 10 June 2014 from Doubleday. I think this is a great cover. I've had it on my computer for a while, and it always draws the eye when I look at the folder of book covers. It's not just the green eyes, but they do accentuate the a face that is just a little bit too smooth.

   Following up, Ancillary Justice, and being the second book in the Imperial Radch, this book is out from Orbit 7 October 2014. The art is by John Harris, with design by Kirk Benshoff. As with the previous book, this is traditional Space Opera art. You can find examples of books all the way from the middle of the last century that have similar looking covers. I think that is its strength. I like those types of covers, so I think this is a very good cover.

   Art by Steven Meyer-Rassow is on this follow up to Skulk from Strange Chemistry. It will be released 2 September 2014 in North America and as an e-book, and 4 September 2014 in the UK. As with the first book's cover, I really like the symbol on this one. And I find the building very intriguing. This is absolutely a very good cover.

   This, the fifth Laundry Files novel, will be out from Orbit 3 July 2014. The design is by Crush Creative. This book at first looks cluttered, but a closer look reveals some heavy symbolism in the "blob". I've said before that I like symbols, and this is not an exception. Interesting and intriguing.

   Then we move on to a trilogy of new Star Wars covers on books coming from Del Rey Books.

   The top one is pretty awesome for Original Trilogy fans like me, in that it has Darth Vader and the Emperor on it. You can read more about that one on the author's website.

   The second on is a pretty generic Luke Skywalker in Hero Pose image that anyone who read the comics in the 1980s will be familiar with.

   At the bottom we also have a pretty standard Star Wars image. The interesting thing is of course that it has two new characters on it.

   I am a fan of Star Wars, and I really like all three of these covers. 

   Coming 7 August 2014, with covers by Joe McLaren, the release of these two will complete Gollancz's Collector's Library editions of Discworld books. When I wrote about these releases initially, I said I liked them, and that still holds true. I just need to get hold of £199.80 to get these books.

COVER REVEAL ROUND-UP (XI)

   This is the cover to the second book in The Stormlight Archive. I liked the first book well enough that I will be getting this. The cover is technically very good. However, unless there's a serious shift in the story, 18th Century pirates/Revolutionary War soldiers are not going to be in this. So someone who is clearly one of those two should not be on this cover. If I had been in any way uncertain about buying this book, this cover would have made it a definitive no. It just doesn't look like an Epic Fantasy book I'd want to read. -You can read about how the cover was made here.

   This is a completely different cover than the one above. This one is done by Will Staehle for a January 28th 2014 release from Angry Robot books. This certainly catches my eye, but I am not sure if I like it or not. I actually think I'll have to see this "in the flesh" to decide. -Sketches for other versions of this cover can be found here.

   An upcoming collection of stories dedicated to David Gemmel has gotten a cover by Dominic Harman. It will be out 31 October, and you can find full table of contents here. I must say I really like this cover. It's simple and forceful, and fits the subject matter perfectly. Couldn't really think of any way this could have been better.

   The cover for the new Discworld novel, the third featuring Moist von Lipwig. The book is coming from Doubleday 24 October, and the cover is by Paul Kidby. Not much to say here really, I love Discworld, and I love the covers. Really looking forward to this one.

   I just reviewed the previous book in this series yesterday. (I actually found this cover when looking for the previous cover for my review.) I don't think I'm going out on a limb if I say this too is by Steward Noack/Don Sipley with design by Lauren Panepinto. It will be out 12 November from Orbit. I think the cover really fits with both the previous ones and the series as a whole, and I have a thing for redheads...so, great cover!

   Art by Andy Bigwood, release from Newcon Press Easter(Con) 2014. This one is really stylised, and has a colour that makes it pop out from a mile away. I really like this cover, sometimes simple is simply better.

   This is the cover, by Jason Chan, for the first book in a new series called The Book of the Black Earth, it will be released in March 2014 by Pyr. This cover makes me want to check it out. And that's really a cover's job, isn't it.


   Finally, there's three covers for paperback re-releases. At least one of these should be out already. I like the subtle difference from the original covers on these. I have only got as far as book one on this series (, and I liked that enough that I really want to read the next two now that I write this), but these covers are do suit the books better than the original ones in my opinion.

   As usual I welcome any thoughts you have on these. And I especially would like to hear if anyone has the same feeling as me on the cover for Words of Radiance.

COVER REVEAL ROUND-UP (VI)

  Quite a few covers this time, as I'm trying to catch up with some of the covers I've missed in previous posts, and there's some very recent reveals as well.


First two covers for the same book, Terry Brook's Bloodfire Quest. At the top the US one, and at the bottom the UK one.

   These are two very different covers. And I don't think there's much doubt that the UK one, with art by Stephen Youll, is the superior one here. (Only too bad we get that annoying "sticker" on it.)
   I like the cover a lot. It's a classic fantasy cover, but it's still not a design that has been done to death. And the creature whose skull that is looks really interesting. The book is out 19 March 2013.

This is the cover to the third Department 19 book by Will Hill, Department 19: Battle Lines. It fits very well with the two previous ones, and I like the style of them. Having read the first book, and having the second on my TBR pile, this is a book I'm looking forward to. It's out 28 March 2013 in the UK.

The follow up to Alchemist of Souls, The Merchant of Dreams, by Anne Lyle. Art by Larry Rostant. Having just read the first book, I can say that this cover very much captures the feel of the world. It's also a book I look forward to getting my hands on.

Another book two, this time The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock. I like the fact that this cover, as the cover to book one The City's Son, is really stylish and simple.

Pantomime by Laura Lam, with cover art by Tom Bagshaw, is out from Strange Chemistry in February 2013. This is a really intriguing cover, and it looks really good. Having been inspired by the cover to read the synopsis/cover copy on the publisher's website, I'm even more interested. So there's no doubt that for me this cover grabs attention.

Another cover from Strange Chemistry. This time it's by Steven Wood for A. E. Rought's Broken. This cover looks really good, although not very original in my opinion. But despite being of a woman in a dress, I think the background and title makes it stand out a bit. And again it's a book I had to find out more about.

Rounding up the trio of Strange Chemistry covers this time is the one for The Holders by Julianna Scott. I like covers of this type, those with a mysterious/magical object and nothing much else. Although I must say that it reminds me of the movie Romancing the Stone. That statement needs a bit of explanation...The Norwegian title of Romancing the Stone is Kampen om den grønne diamant, which translates as The Battle for the Green Diamond.

The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination is a title that really grabs your attention. And I think the cover fits that title perfectly. I'm very curious to see what this anthology, edited by John Joseph Adams and out from Tor next year, brings to the table.

And while we are on the subject of mad scientists, here's the cover for The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke, coming from Angry Robot in February 2013. I like this cover, not sure why exactly but it just sort of calls to me.

From Tor we have the cover for Brandon Sanderson's Young Adult novel The Rithmatist with art by Christopher Gibbs, out in May 2013. Looks very Stempunk-y to me. Not a bad cover, but it still feels a bit meh to me.

This cover for Joe Hill's NOS4R2 is really good, I like it a lot. No information on the novel yet, but the title obviously refers to vampires, and the license plate says 1931, so I'm guessing it will be set at that time.

I've already had a cover for this book up here. I'm not sure if the previous cover is the US one or an earlier version, but this is the UK cover for Banks' new Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata. There's nothing really special about it, but it fits in perfectly with the previous Culture covers from Orbit, so I like it.

That concludes a rather long cover reveal post. I hope you find at least some of these covers interesting. And as always I welcome any comments you have.

I'M BACK! / READING HIGHLIGHTS OF 2010

I'M BACK!

   After over a month with a computer that seizes up after 5-15 minutes, I have finally gotten a computer that works as it should again. This is quite a relief, it's been a pain being cut off from interacting with all the nice people I've gotten to know in the last year. Most of these I've met through Twitter. I could mention names, but I'll go with the Norwegian saying:  No-one mentioned, no-one forgotten.

    I also missed being able to blog a lot. I have of course been reading quite a bit, and have some reviews lined up for the blog. 2010 has been a sort of test year for me when it comes to blogging, and it is something I want to continue doing. I'm planing to post 2-3 reviews a week on the blog from now on. The first one will be up later today (European time).

    I hope you will follow the blog in the future, whether you're here for the first time, or if you are a regular visitor.

READING HIGHLIGHTS OF 2010

   These are some of the books that I have appreciated reading the most in 2010. Not all of them were published in 2010, and I have not reviewed all of them. Some of them I read before I started reviewing, and some of them will be reviewed on the blog later.

-I'll start at the beginning, with the first book I read last year, one I got for Christmas in 2009:

PANSERHJERTE by Jo Nesbø

This is of course the original Norwegian edition, published by Aschehoug in 2009. It's a great book, Nesbø just keeps getting better.

The English edition is called The Leopard, and is published by Random House this Thursday (20 January).

Note: The Norwegian title translates as Iron Heart/ Heart of Iron. Or more directly Armor Heart/Heart of Armor. (Panser=armor, hjerte=heart.)

  THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE BOOKS by Gail Carriger

  Soulless (review) came out in 2009, and has since been followed by Changeless

  (review) and Blameless in 2010.

  The humor and action in these books have made them favorites of mine. They are not

  the type of books I would typically look for, so I am grateful that I discovered these

  through Twitter.

  Note: I have already read Blameless, and will review it soon.

LEGENDS OF THE RED SUN by Mark Charan Newton

Nights of Villjamur (review) was published in 2009 and was followed in 2010 by

City of Ruin (review).

 A more or less city-bound fantasy series. Interesting and different from the myriad Tolkienesque fantasy books out there. Book three is on the way, and Mark said on Twitter that he is already 10.000 words into book four. (Hope that wasn't supposed to be a secret, Mark.)

TOME OF THE UNDERGATES by Sam Sykes


Tome of the Undergates (review) is a 2010 debut novel.


This is action-packed Sword and Sorcery that manages to both be classic in style, and a fresh breath in today's fantasy landscape. 
Book two, Black Halo, is coming later this year. And I'm eagerly awaiting it.

THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson


The Way of Kings (review), published in 2010, this is the first of what is said to be ten books in The Stormlight Archive.


I really liked this book, and although I look forward to reading the rest of the series, I don't particularly look forward to the long wait until the last book is published.
If I remember correctly six years was mentioned.

INVISIBLE FIENDS: MR MUMBLES by Barry Hutchison


Invisible Fiends: Mr Mumbles (review) is another 2010 debut.


This is marketed as a children's book (9+), but I found it worked as a Horror novel for all ages. 
It is another book/author I've discovered through Twitter.
Book two, Invisible Fiends: Raggy Maggie, is already out.

WOLFSANGEL by M.D. Lachlan


Wolfsangel is a 2010 debut for M.D.Lachlan, but the author behind the pseudonym has published several books before.


Fantasy set in the lands of the old Norse Sagas.
I'll review this later in the week.

THE SOLARIS BOOK OF NEW FANTASY edited by George Mann


This collection of short stories was published in 2007. 


I won't say much about it here. But I have included it in my highlights of 2010 for a reason. A review will be coming shortly.


   This post is starting to approach the point where it's getting very long, so I'll round off with mentioning a couple of authors that I've read for the first time in 2010.

-IAIN M. BANKS: I've heard of him for years, and started on his Culture novels in 2010. I read Consider Phlebas (review) and The Player of Games -review coming up soon.


-IAN McDONALD: Also an author I've heard lots about, but never gotten around too before 2010. River of Gods (review) and Brasyl (review coming up), are the two I've gotten through.