A Tale of More than Two Covers – Contemporary

For this installment of my semi-regular discussion series on cover art, I’m going to cover the more modern/contemporary style that is often used. Generally I like this style more than a traditional one – it just feels better to me. I suspect that my primary reason for liking contemporary covers more is the stigma that I feel is often attached to SFF books and my insecurities about it – or to put it much more simply – I’m often embarrassed to be seen reading a book with a silly looking traditional SFF cover. When I’m reading a book with a more contemporary cover design, these insecurities go away – in fact something of the opposite effect results, possibly due to a perceived or imagined feel of intelligence or coolness associated with such a contemporary book.

To be fair and honest, I’m exaggerating the above emotional responses significantly; however, they are there. It’s simple enough to say that traditional covers often evoke negative feelings of self consciousness while contemporary covers are more likely to evoke positive feelings.

So, after all that rambling, let’s get to a few covers. We’ll start with the main point of this post – a couple of examples of contemporary styled covers that I like a lot.

David Rankine is the cover artist for the hardback publication of R. Scott Bakker’s books in The Prince of Nothing trilogy. Above are the covers for The Darkness That Comes Before and The Warrior Prophet. Both covers are well done in my opinion, but The Warrior Prophet certainly stands apart as the better of the two. The scroll-like script gives the feel of something ancient with a strong hint of the east with the similarity to Arabic, Cyrillic, and Chinese/Japanese. The well-chosen font and other patterns further enhance the feel from the cover, matching perfectly with the feel of the words from the books. This is cover art that works.

Chris Shamwana and Neil Lang created the above cover art for Vellum by Hal Duncan. While the initial glance at the cover is not as appealing as it is for The Warrior Prophet, the cover of Vellum does succeed, and the longer I look at it, the more strongly I believe it. The art is similar to that discussed above, especially with the use of script, but it soon becomes clear how much more is shown. The cover gives a sense of depth, of multiple levels within. The image of the hand and the use of red, orange, and black add a sense of unease, leaving a disturbing feeling – it’s hard to imagine a more appropriate cover for Vellum.

I had originally intended to leave this post as a discussion of only of the contemporary styled covers above, but fate would not allow it. The cover art by Todd Lockwood for the US release of The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson was released this week, and it screams for commentary.

Once again, the art is done very well, as seen in the full jacket cover before any text is added. With the addition of the badly chosen font, the art suffers greatly. The cover looks more like a Western rather than SFF; however the real travesty is matching this cover to The Bonehunters. While this is a recognizable scene within the book, it’s a very poor choice for the cover as it fails to match the book and the Malazan world at all. Do things look magical? Otherworldly? Even Ominous? No, this looks like nothing more than a wrecked stage coach. It’s simply amazing to see Tor appear to blatantly sabotage any chance of success for Erikson’s books.

The Prince of Nothing Trilogy by R. Scott Bakker

The Prince of Nothing trilogy stands apart as the single best completed fantasy series that I have read to date. Many will cry foul – “How could you dismiss the Lord of the Rings, the holy trilogy?” And many others will cry – what about Erikson and Martin (or even, what about Jordan and Goodkind *shudders the thought of Goodkind*)? Of course the caveat is the word completed, but all semantics aside; this is a superb work of speculative fiction.

The players of the story are rather familiar – a doubting sorcerer, a great warrior from a warlike people, a trodden-upon woman, and a mysterious, all-powerful, and charismatic leader. The world and its people are also nothing strikingly new – a pre-industrial world with European overtones, pale people of the north, darker skinned of the south, clashes in the desert, religious intolerance and wars. The characters are real, the battles epic, the sorcery powerful; and the beauty is what Bakker does with these elements. He creates a compelling story, that while using familiar pieces, builds into something new, something better.

On the surface, the Prince of Nothing is the history of a vast holy war, a clash of cultures and religions, and the ominous anticipation of a greater conflict, a true apocalypse. However, Bakker uses these as vehicles to do much more than merely entertain with a gripping narrative; he challenges the reader about good, evil, perception, manipulation, culture, gender, equality, and religion.

The heart of the story is a holy war, a crusade, a jihad. The condemnation of religious fanaticism, and perhaps even religion itself, is clear – or is it. Religion is just another tool Bakker uses to show us the true object of his ire: certainty. When people become certain in their actions and beliefs, there is no room for anything, or anyone else. Absolute ideas and beliefs result in absolute decisions, reactions, and solutions. The ultimate result of such certainty is horror – absolute horror. Bakker shows us this lesson through his distinct brand of looking glass.

The weighty themes discussed above may serve to scare off many a reader – don’t let them. The powerful tale is not sacrificed for a message, but enhanced. Certainty is there, in your face, challenging the whole time; but it is not heavy handed. In the end, the message is clear, but never didactic, always an element of the story. The Prince of Nothing is a great work of epic fantasy, of speculative fiction, of literature. A must read for traditional genre fans, but it also will appeal to fans disenfranchised by the genre, and fans from outside of genre.

The conclusion of the trilogy brings us to a horrifically appropriate end, but does not yield ultimate closure. While some may be less than pleased by this, I revel in the knowledge of more to come. We’ve seen the Holy War, next is the Second Apocalypse – The Aspect Emperor, a planned duology. I’ve not rated a series before, but I think it appropriate to do so – on my 10-point scale, where 5 and below are not recommended, and 10 is simply unsurpassed, the Prince of Nothing gets a 9; they don’t get any higher than that.

Related reviews: The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior Prophet, and The Thousandfold Thought. Interview.

The Darkness That Comes Before by R Scott Bakker

Not since my introduction to A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin or The Malazan Tale of the Fallen by Steven Erikson has a new ‘epic fantasy’ series been recommended so highly. So, does Bakker live up to the hype? Yes. The first installment in the Prince of Nothing trilogy, The Darkness That Comes Before, earns Bakker the right to be named with the likes of Martin and Erikson, in the new breed of ‘epic fantasy’. I can only hope that the remaining installments, The Warrior Prophetand The Thousandfold Thought, continue the trend – and the hype indicates this is so.

Bakker takes the traditional ‘epic fantasy’ model and molds into something familiar, yet strikingly new. There is a young man of noble lineage from a far corner of the world seeking his destiny, sort of. There is a dark lord that threatens a new apocalypse, maybe. A seasoned warrior of unquestionable loyalty faithfully follows our prince, kind of but not really. A wise sorcerer guides our prince to his destiny, umm…not quite. Beautiful maidens are rescued and complete the characters, or not. All the usual players are present, but roles differ.

The Mandate School of Sorcery protects ancient, coveted secrets and guards against the return of the Consult – nonman followers of No-God who destroyed ancient civilization. However, the Consult has remained silent for centuries and only the Mandate even believe in its existence. Now a holy war is brewing and Mandate Schoolman Drusas Achamian must negotiate a fine line to stay alive and answer the most important question: Is the Consult involved.

Dûnyain monk Anasûrimbor Kellhus journeys south at a mysterious summons from his long absent father. His training of the mind allows manipulation of common men with little effort, and his training of the sword allows removal of obstacles with ease. Warrior-chief of a warrior society of the steppe, Cnaiür survives treachery in a great battle. Cnaiür discovers Kellhus at a scene of carnage and a connection is realized, Cnaiür knows Kellhus’s father. He joins Kellhus in his quest into uncertainty.

Bakker’s characters are flawed and simple determination of good guys versus bad guys remains illusive. Philosophy abounds with central characters of a monk and a sorcerer of schooling and the back-drop of holy war and Bakker achieves surprising depth in a story that is relatively easy to read.

What makes The Darkness That Comes Before difficult to rate is its clear place in a larger work – but a single part of a whole. So…on my 10-point scale, where 5 is a take-it or leave-novel that is generally not recommended and 10 is an unsurpassed novel, The Darkness That Comes Before rates 7.5 to 8. This is a must read for any fan of the genre, and a read that can capture fans traditionally opposed to ‘epic fantasy’.

The Darkness That Comes Before is part one of the Prince of Nothing trilogy – a very important distinction. While the end is not a cliff-hanger, it is in many ways an arbitrary ending without any resolution. This book is a beginning, but the good news is that this is a completed trilogy, not another unfinished series, and I look forward to its resolution.

Related reviews: The Warrior Prophet, The Thousandfold Thought, and The Prince of Nothing Trilogy. Interview.