The image of what appears to be the cover to The Gathering Storm, Book One of Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, has been making the rounds across the internet(s).
But there are some things that set off my warning signals… that this cover isn’t legit.
Or possibly just isn’t finished.
If one looks closely at the cover, which is a small resolution image anyway, you’ll see it reads “Sequel to the #1 New York Times Bestseller Crossroads of Twilight.” As most of you know, book publishers tend to put the title of the last book to be released on the cover. The last book in the Wheel of Time series was not Crossroads of Twilight but Knife of Dreams.
Then there is the artwork itself. I know the quality of Darrell K. Sweet’s artwork has been lessening over the years—just look at his work on Eye of the World compared to Knife of Dreams, but this image seems too choppy even for him.
And one more thing. Information that The Gathering Storm would be published only in trade paperback surfaced alongside this image. Huh? A Memory of Light will be one of the largest cash cows for Tor this year. They wouldn’t release it as a trade paperback and lose that money. The surfacing of this cover and the information surrounding it just makes no sense.
I say don’t believe in this cover until Tor posts it legitimately on their website.
I wrote Brandon Sanderson upon viewing this cover, and he had no information about it. He was actually shocked at it, particularly the hardcover / trade paperback issue. He did confirm though that the first book will come out November 2009 and he will be touring for it!
I love Irene Gallo, the art director at Tor, and she does a fantastic job on the covers she oversees. You’ll see how much I like her in a post this weekend. The several oddities concerning this cover though make me believe this was a mock-up with mock-up art that was accidentally released.
So I warn: Take it with a grain of salt!
Or don’t believe everything you read!
Even this! Ha!
The original site that issued the news was a Dutch one (despite being called The American Library) which is what caused the confusion.
It appears that Tor are issuing a trade paperback edition AS WELL as the hardcover. If there was no hardcover, I would conclude that Tor have gone completely insane. The confusion (partially caused by my blog entry reporting the situation, I'll fully admit and apologise for) was due to the original site making lots of noise about how more affordable in these cash-strapped times a tradeback is than a hardcover, which whilst true is no reason for Tor not to do a hardcover (especially after KoD apparently sold out of its 1 million-strong hardcover print run).
Notably, Amazon.ca have now listed the hardcover as well.
Well, as you know, European publishers tend to release trade paperbacks with their hardcover releases, offering both at the same time. So maybe that is where the confusion comes from.
I'm sure Irene over at Tor will address all of this in a timely fashion. :)
Well, as you know, European publishers tend to release trade paperbacks with their hardcover releases, offering both at the same time. So maybe that is where the confusion comes from.
I'm sure Irene over at Tor will address all of this in a timely fashion. :)
Yup, it's bogus. Irene hasn't even taken delivery of the art yet! Dot Lin over at Tor Books just sent me the following note, which I posted on Tor.com:
So that's that, I suppose...
Ahh. Good to know. But I do see the word "formal" in there. Changes things a bit. *grins* It will be interesting to see how close the final cover is to the one that is posted on this blog post!
So, Monday morning. Not long to wait, I guess. :)
Well, there's not really any such thing as a 'European' publisher. European countries either import the US or UK editions (or wait to do their own translation) and in the case of WoT, the Netherlands imports the American (bookshops in Amsterdam are the only places I have seen the American Tor editions of WoT), a very large majority of Dutch people speak English so they tend not to wait for the translated edition. They're talking about the Tor edition, not the Orbit (UK publisher) one.
Also, Orbit haven't done a trade paperback edition of WoT for some time either, aside from the traditional airport edition.
I merely meant publishers in the UK tend to release both formats at the same time. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear.
As for Memory of Light, if you go to Amazon.co.uk right now you'll see Orbit is offering both hardcover and trade paperback editions of that book on the same day.
I'm just saying I can see how wires would get crossed for the Dutch is all.