On Monday, Tor.com released the cover for The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. The post included art director Irene Gallo and artist Michael Whelan sharing their thoughts about how the cover came about, giving some small glimpses into the forthcoming book.
I thought it would be fun to ask the writer what he thought about the cover as well. As I wrote on Monday, Brandon told me months ago he would be receiving a Whelan cover and shared it with me as soon as he could.
From one Whelan geek to another.
My own thoughts are fairly simple on the subject. It is refreshing to see a colorful scenic cover among the black-cloaked or tramp-stamped covers of today!
Here is the short interview I shot off to Brandon:
1. Hi Brandon, tell us a little about your novel, The Way of Kings?
I’m writing a blog post about this right now, actually, and I’m struggling to pin down exactly how to present the book. It’s much grander in scope than anything I’ve done before, and that–so far–has defied my ability to encapsulate what it’s about in any kind of reasonably brief blurb.
There are three primary viewpoints, one a youthful surgeon who is forced by circumstances into military service, another an aging warlord, the third a young noblewoman who is a self-trained natural historian. It’s a deeply personal book about their stories, but at the same time, the narrative is about ten orders of knights who fell, lost their powers, and vanished many years ago for reasons nobody quite understands.
I’m sure as the year progresses, I’ll figure out how to talk about it better. Look for a blog post on it in the next week or so. Maybe I’ll be able to pin it down by then.
(Robert Jordan once said in an interview something to the essence of “If I could have told my story in a few paragraphs, I would have. I didn’t. I wrote these books. If you want to know what they’re about, read them.”)
2. How were you and Tor able to attain the services of Michael Whelan, one of the genre’s most esteemed and awarded artists?
I’m honestly still not sure myself. I’ve wanted a Michael Whelan cover since before I even started writing my first novel. When I first sold Elantris, I asked about the possibility of having him do a cover for one of my books. I was told it was possible–but it would have to be the right book at the right time.
Eventually, when I pitched The Way of Kings to Tom Doherty, I did everything I could short of begging (well, maybe there was a little begging) to convince him THIS was the right book. He agreed, and I believe he called Michael personally on the phone to ask him.
3. What do you think of the artwork Michael created?
… Does saying I’m speechless count?
4. Is the cover scene representative of the book?
Perfectly. His interpretation was better than any author could hope to get from a cover artist. The piece is not only beautiful and perfectly representative of the book, it evokes a feeling of epic scope and wonder.
5. Do you know if Michael will be supplying artwork for the sequels to The Way of Kings?
I honestly haven’t asked. I know he’s very busy, and I wouldn’t want to presume. I suspect it will depend on his schedule.
6. When can we expect The Way of Kings on the bookshelves?
August 17th 2010.
7. Thanks, Brandon!
You bet!
