Why Is the Wheel of Time Cover Art So Bad
Over the concluding couple of years, Tor have introduced new cover art for The Wheel of Fourth dimension novels past Robert Jordan, presumably due to repeated complaints that the paper covers by Darrel K. Sweet are 'rather variable in quality' (that'south being kind). Whilst for now the new fine art is restricted to the ebooks, information technology's assumed that they volition be rolled out for the hard copies some time after A Retentiveness of Light is published at the end of 2012.
So are the new covers better than the old? Does Sweet become a scrap of a rough deal? Let's bank check out the old covers and the new ones. This post volition cover the get-go 7 books in the series and obviously feel free to disagree with my choices in the comments.
I. The Centre of the World
The Darrell M. Sweetness original. Simple, straightforward, fifty-fifty classic. Sure, strewn with ridiculously bizarre touches (Lan has been replaced by a samurai for no discernible reason) and it'due south very dated in mode, but likable, and shows the content of the book pretty well: a bunch of people setting out on an adventure.
The ebook cover past Dave Grove. Avast, me hearties! A somewhat odd choice of image, of Rand clinging to the mast of Bayle Domon's transport as it passes down the Arinelle with the Tower of Ghenjei in the distance. Points for emphasising the Tower, only and so it does and so in a rather unsubtle manner. Focusing on Rand is expert, but not showing his compatriots feels similar a shame, peculiarly since the Rand-Mat human relationship is a key office of the novel and Mat is missing altogether. Information technology's a proficient painting, merely feels like an internal paradigm from a deluxe illustrated edition rather than a summing-up of the content of the whole novel.
Winner: Sweet, by a nostalgic olfactory organ. This probably won't happen very often.
II. The Great Hunt
The original art for The Great Hunt has become infamous over the years, mainly since it seems to mark the start of Sugariness's bizarre insistence on painting Trollocs equally normal guys with horned helmets rather than monstrous crossbreed creatures. Loial looks like a hairy Vulcan with sparse legs, not really any taller than Rand, and Selene seems to be in a nightie. Not neat.
Clever. Kekai Kotaki revisits the same paradigm, but in a way that is notably less crap. The Trollocs wait right and the human figures are more than dramatic and interesting. I was thinking that some more of the new covers would revisit the erstwhile images and update them, but Tor clearly wanted to go in a new direction. Or didn't want to risk embarrassing Sweet any further.
Winner: The new cover, easily.
Iii. The Dragon Reborn
One of Sweet'southward better images, showing the iconic moment Rand al'Thor claims Callandor, which marks him every bit the Dragon Reborn. This is a reasonable paradigm, showing the Heart of the Rock, but Rand looks a bit neat because the several months of harsh travel and life-and-death struggle he's gone through to get to Tear, whilst Perrin seems to inexplicably dropped by from a costume-fitting for a remake of The Warriors. Despite these bug, I quite similar this image, despite the absence here of Ishamael'south burning confront on the spine (which obviously gave Harriet - Robert Hashemite kingdom of jordan'south wife - nightmares).
The new artwork, this time by Donato Giancola, is...dainty. A good-quality image of Rand, erm, chilling out on a tree somewhere. It'due south a proficient-quality paradigm simply lacks dynamism.
Winner: Sugariness, surprisingly.
4. The Shadow Ascension
Rand and Mat, who appears to accept transformed into a hobbit, chilling out on a tinker'south cart in the Aiel Waste product whilst, erm, someone makes tea (is that Moiraine or Egwene? Or someone completely unlike?). The environment fine art (more clearly seen on the dorsum cover) is really really good, just the embrace image is weak.
The new encompass art by Sam Weber is night and moody, showing Mat in a sinister and ill-omened calorie-free contrasting his normal jovial depiction. Excellent.
Winner: The new embrace, by about five light-years.
V. The Fires of Heaven
Mat, Rand and Aviendha get lost in Rhuidean whilst more than not-Trollocs look on threateningly from the shadows ('the shadows' in this example being about three feet from Rand whilst he's looking straight at them). Pretty much nonsensical, particularly given only a few capacity are set up in Rhuiden.
Dan Dos Santos gives us Moiraine Damodred, badass channeller, laying down the law on Lanfear.
Winner: The new encompass, nigh definitely. Moiraine's last stand up is one of the more iconic scenes from the series and definitely worthy of a cover shot.
Six. Lord of Chaos
The aftermath of Dumai'due south Wells is a good prototype to go with, simply not if you turn Rand into the cover hero from a Mills & Boon novel whilst a kneeling Aes Sedai swoons over him and a Draghkar flies overhead (non that whatsoever Draghkars are present at the battle, but whatever).
Greg Manchess paints some Agents from The Matrix blowing up some attacking ninjas! Crawly! Explosions! Lightning! Men running around on fire! Yeaaah! And it has a bigger version!
Winner: The new embrace. It's a flake corny, to exist honest, but also dynamic with lots of action.
VII. A Crown of Swords
Rand flexing his muscles in Shadar Logoth, as you do when Mashadar is floating two feet in front of you lot in a random pit. Not a great encompass, but the item on the buildings is quite squeamish. Plus this was the first hardcover novel I e'er bought, and so information technology has some nostalgia value for me.
The new cover, past Melanie Delon. Information technology'southward a non-instinctive image from the book to go for. In fact, considering the volume features the Seanchan storming the Fortress of the Low-cal, a Seanchan armada battling its fashion into Ebou Dar Harbour, the Shaido being scattered over the landscape and Rand bending the Bounding main Folk to his will (more or less), neither images are the most immediately obvious ones. This could have been made to work well, but here it doesn't. Nynaeve looks naught like Nynaeve, Lan looks similar a depression-res character model from Oblivion and both are direct out of the uncanny valley.
Winner: Sweet, disappointingly since his prototype isn't smashing either. But it makes a flake more sense and is a fleck less oddball than the new ane.
Half-Time Score: Sweet 3 - New Covers four
Still all to play for in Part 2.
Source: https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2011/07/wheel-of-time-art-off-part-1.html
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