You've heard that A Dance With Dragons is coming out July 12, right? It's like a unicorn farted out a rainbow, that's how amazing it is to hear that book five in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is almost finished. The book isn't actually completed yet, but author George R.R. Martin promises that it'll be ready in time, barring "tsunamis, general strikes, world wars, or asteroid strikes."
On his Not a Blog blog, Martin chronicles the different ADWD covers, starting with the original 2006 design. Yes, the 2006 design. It's been a long time coming.
The original 2006 cover. It matches the simple design on the series' other paperback covers you'll find in bookstores.
I'm not as big a fan of this 2007 revised version. The spirals aren't doing it for me.
The 2009 cover redesign replaces the dragon with a sword, another classic fantasy image that would be almost as appropriate for the book as a bloated, dead body. Probably not as marketable, that. (Edit: Commenter Adam Whitehead points out that this is actually the UK cover, which Westeros.org confirms. Adam suggests that a forthcoming U.S. reissue of the books –– with the inevitable HBO series tie in –– will use this exact image for A Game of Thrones).
Which brings us to the final design. Maybe. Underneath the image Martin writes "final cover? 2011." So maybe it's not set in stone, along with this other cover shared by Martin that is identical except for the colors.
The final covers show a shield with a fierce-looking dragon resting atop what appears to be a stone surface. It's simple, like the original design, but I like the added details and the depth it brings. Ultimately, it's what's on the inside of the cover that counts, but a good-looking cover never hurt anyone.
Read more of Ology's A Dance With Dragons coverage here, or keep up with Martin's upcoming Game of Thrones TV show adaptation here. And if you're feeling frisky, go ahead and follow me on Twitter @mattmarquez.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!