First up...
'The Alchemist in the Shadows' - Pierre Pevel
I spent a good long while looking for a decent picture of this cover and this was the only one that I could find. Apologies if it comes out too small! The fact remains though, if there is better cover art featuring a dragon then I really want to see it! Doesn't it look gorgeous?
Here's the blurb,
Welcome to Paris, in 1633, where dragons menace the realm. Cardinal Richelieu, the most powerful and most feared man in France, is on his guard. He knows France is under threat, and that a secret society known as the Black Claw is conspiring against him from the heart of the greatest courts in Europe. They will strike from the shadows, and when they do the blow will be both terrible and deadly. To counter the threat, Richelieu has put his most trusted men into play: the Cardinal's Blades, led by Captain la Fargue. Six men and a woman, all of exceptional abilities and all ready to risk their lives on his command. They have saved France before, and the Cardinal is relying on them to do it again. So when la Fargue hears from a beautiful, infamous, deadly Italian spy claiming to have valuable information, he has to listen . . . and when La Donna demands Cardinal Richelieu's protection before she will talk, la Fargue is even prepared to consider it. Because La Donna can name their enemy. It's a man as elusive as he is manipulative, as subtle as Richelieu himself, an exceptionally dangerous adversary: the Alchemist in the shadows...
Look out for this one, published by Gollancz, in September. I enjoyed the last book so you can expect to see 'The Alchemist in the Shadows' reviewed here before too long...
'Antiphon' - Ken Scholes
Lovely and all but... why the change in artist after only two books...? Steven Erikson, Naomi Novik, Mike Carey and now Ken Scholes. Am I doomed never to have a complete set of books with cover art all by the same artist? Possibly... :o( Pat says it a lot better than I ever could, curse my English reserve!
Here's the blurb,
The ancient past is not dead. The hands of the Wizard Kings still reach out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to regain control of the magick and technology that the monks sought to understand and claim for their own. Rejoin the adventure in the Named Lands!
Look out for this in September, published by Tor in the US. 'Antiphon' will also get it's moment here on the blog but only if I ever get round to reading 'Canticle' first (a casualty of my reading malaise late last year). So many books and not enough time to read them all... Oh well, I'll keep trying!
That is definitely one of the best dragons. Although my recent favorite is the US art for The Adamantine Palace.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble finding a good version of the Pevel cover as well, but did manage to find the original art. Gorgeous. Another fine Sullivan piece.
That's a superb looking dragon
ReplyDeleteOh dude I have to wait until September :(
ReplyDeleteI dislike the new Scholes artwork. Lamentation and Canticle are some of my favorites. But I assume since they are switching artists halfway through, they're trying to get more readers. And I'm glad they are committed to this series.
ReplyDeleteBut dang. I liked the old covers.